If you aren’t single and start using cable risers, you will be soon.

I have just made speaker cable risers from oak wood and i can definitely hear a difference. More fine low-level detail, freer very high frequencies and more dynamic, faster transients and perceived louder peaks. My hardwood floor has underfloor water heating and I believe I have reduced the capacitance of the cables by raising them 6 inches off the floor.. My system is very good at resolving detail. My older Exposure amplifier is -3dB I believe at 100 kHz so it has a very extended frequency response. I do my best to have very clean AC, as little RF as possible and negligible susceptibility to non-audio signals so the amplifier can spend its energy on audio-band signals. Speaker cables are Kimber Crystal 24, length of each side is 4.5 metres or about 14 feet. Another huge improvement was gained by isolating the KEF Reference Three Two loudspeakers from the floor with compliant anti-vibration feet for washing machines. Here again huge amounts of treble energy liberated after isolation, better detail resolution. All the best, Rob in Switzerland

Cable risers look like train tracks and that's why I want them. Choo choo

Danny. You might just be the best audio troll youtube channel in history.

Daanny I only come here for the plain truth. You lay everything on the table. It's easy to understand and everything I've learned here matches my own findings. I'm putting into practice everything I've leaned here over the years. Unfortunately currently I don't have room for indoors hifi. But I built a completely sq build. Competing in IASCA SQ daily truck comp this season. I have custom passive crossovers with mylar film caps and sonic caps bypass caps. Braided my own cables with a 7/16 poly ripe center wrapped with custom braided 16gx6 - 28 strand conductors woven by hand each half wrapped in tpfe tape then wrapped as one. Each conductor is wound in opposing directions. Then soildered and terminated on the ends. My hands are still cramped. But man was it worth it. Image and stage jumped to life. Upper vocal ranger. No words. Took me 3 years to get here and still not done. Lol😂 blackhole of hifi! Love ❤️ it. Danny keep it up.

Cable risers? Why not. It’s a nice addition to a sophisticated megabuck junkyard of a living room. 👌

How did they change the measurements?

I suspend my cables off the floor with wild horse hair from Mongolia, the difference in sound is incredible. Wrap cable twice then make a suspension support above cables, approximately 2’ 3”. high.

You can dramatically improve the sound quality of your cable lifters if you paint the Tinker Toy surfaces with a green Sharpie. You won't believe how it cleans up the female vocals to the crash of cymbals.

Hi. Found you via Vinyl Attack. Nice to hear your explanation of some of the cable issues (your speaker cable reminds me in appearance of the first Shunyata signal cables, which they sourced from someone else). I've sold serious cables for about 30 years now. Even with that I avoided risers. However I was wrong, even though my system right now, which is very high resolution, doesn't respond much. All the variables you mentioned are in play but in my case I use monoblocks and the cables are only 5' long. Not much was lying on the carpet. I did put my manufacturer's risers under them and the difference was really fairly slight. Although this company makes some extraordinarily expensive products, the risers aren't at $150 for a pack of 8. The designer thinks the massive "high end" ones perform worse. These are plastic cables with a piece of nylon string stretch between their U shape. The cable just rests on it with a tiny contact area. I'm glad I found you. Always love places where I can continue learning and send friends and customers.

I loved tinker toys as a kid. Now I have an excuse to go out and buy some !!

My neighbor is gonna wonder where his mailbox’s 4x4 post went😳🤣👍😎.

My stereo system sounds better on Wednesdays, it's really amazing. I challenge everyone to listen to their systems on Wednesdays compared to the rest off the week. You have to have a REALLY GOOD SYSTEM to hear the difference.

This is new levels of audiophile insanity. You couldn't make this up and yet here we are.

Oh boy, here we go…

Cable Risers, like so many other aspects of the hobby, are exactly the reason why it's difficult to have audio and speakers as a hobby. Because you can so quickly reach a brick wall in the hobby, where there isn't anything left to do, that people begin to look for more things they can do or desire, so they can continue the hobby. This also causes an Emperors New Clothes effect where the person thinks they hear improvements because they WANT to hear improvements, because otherwise they have to admit the hobby is at another brick wall. Think about it, you get your favorite amp, sources, and processors, combine them with your dream speakers, and set them up in an acoustically friendly room. That's it! Hobby over! Time to put your time somewhere else! But some people don't WANT to stop there, so they have to keep finding ways to continue the hobby. This is where everything from cable risers to Snake Oils to the little disk you just place on your CD player in the 90's that was supposed to "clean up" your digital audio stream. And of course people think they hear a difference. They aren't able to perform a true ABX test between their exact system before the change and after the change, so hearing a slight difference means you didn't just waste your time and money, and you can keep moving forward with the hobby infinitely! Yay!

A life long friend of mine has a great system, he is really into his music, his front room has 6 windows and patio doors, his wife changed the curtains and the material type and he said it has changed the sound 😁

Many thumbs up! LOL Wonderful audiophile world. I have yet to try cable risers. I do have hardwood floor but I think it would make a difference. First, I have to upgrade my speakers with your crossover kits. When I get time, I'll do it.

would this be the same for power cables and interconnects, or only something that affects speaker cables. Not that my system is anywhere near the level that it would make a difference but just curious. Thanks for the great video Danny.

Hey Danny, I'm curious about the defuser in the front of your room. Who makes it, what's it made of and where did you get it. Thanks

i used to do a lot of FCC compliance work with power supplies where we had to meed requirements for the level of interference we could put back on the power line feeding the equipment under test. i used a $25k spectrum analyzer to read the level of interference we were cause and did what ever it took to get us below the limits.I would add common mode chokes, capacitors across the line and to ground but in the end the layout of the parts was more important than which parts I used. There are more things in heaven and Earth, Horatio, / Than are dreamt of in your philosophy [science]

Have you tried solid copper twisted pair for speaker cable? I am not a fan of stranded wire anywhere in my system.

So how do I manage the 50 cables hanging off the back of my equipment? I can't seperate all those cables in the cabinet. Is there a similar cable management system for all the power, RCA and speaker wire mess behind the cabinet?

Would you recommend putting the amplifier closer to the speakers, or the source?

I'm curious about the sound difference using self-powered speakers and digital signals (AES) (or line level in shielded signal cable/conduit) to the monitors and how they compare to separate amplifiers. Personally, I have found self-powered systems to work quite well.

For unshielded cables there is an electric field around the cable when active. Maybe the floor interferes with that. But a few inches from the cable, the intensity of the field decreases. So where the field is most intense it has a clear space for the electric field to happen (and doesn't affect the signal as much as on the floor). Just my snake oil hypothesis.

What type of flooring do you have and how high off the floor?

Those little sawhorses for the cables are cool

In my last home I couldn't have the cables on the floor but the was a wooden rail around the room about a foot from the ceiling with hooks screwed into it so I used so sewing thred and hung the cables using it from the hooks and yes the cables gained around 4 foot in length but it made a huge difference even with a low end budget audio system (less than £700 all in turntable, tapedeck, receiver, secondhand speakers)

Will it make a difference on a ceramic tile floor?

I'm in the UK and we have carpets in all our rooms. I found a distinct improvement in using small light wooden blocks as risers in my system (mid level LP12 and Musical Fidelity separates). Also keeping interconnects away from mains power cables.

good information , key points are cotton ,right angle spacing ,dialectric new to me .will these be applicable to all cables power , interconnect ,speaker etc ?

My dog walks on my 10 gauge Belden 5000 series left speaker cable to get to his nap location.

Any idea what the mechanism for the perceived improvement is? I can't think of anything myself, all of the floors in my house (and a tremendous amount of others too) are wooden so I can't see how any electromagnetic effect can be involved.

Wondering if the cable manufacturer recommends that customers put their cables on risers? And if so, does that mean they should just be making a better cable that does not require this tweak? Also, are their any instrumented measurements that show a signal difference? Just wondering.

Tinkertoys! What a great idea!!

I like the tinker toys! Great simple tweak. What difference would be made if you shortened your cables? The ones behind you seem to be too long and are snaking around some.

Would custom risers 3d printed with silicone bands suspended across being only thing touching the cables make it ideal?

Would love to know more about your battery power sources. Thanks Danny.

our trips to ikea, purchased some cheap glass tea light holders with little slot designs at the top that could (effectively) cradle my cables. And - dammit - it made quite a difference.

Love it, I just recently saw Chris's video on this when he visted with you. I have your 24-strand cables and will try this very cheap tweek. I ordered the Tinker Toys and I thnk they will be safe as my grandkids play with Legos, although I guess Legos would work as well LoL

Okay, this can make perfect sense on a concrete slab home. There is a grid of rebar in the concrete. The home's electrical system, if it's a relatively new home, within the last 50 years or so, the electrical system is grounded to the rebar in the slab. So, the question then remains. How high off the floor do the cables need to be? Has anybody tested different elevations?

Excellent advice. My journey followed a similar path. Well after my system achieved a good 3d sound stage I read about cable risers and skeptically tried them and observed similar results. I have used cardboard V risers. My fastest most cost effective was paper coffee cups. Paper has a dielectric coefficient as good as cotton. I am so cheap I saved my morning coffee cups. Cut a V in the top and they work well. 3" tall. Bingo. Currently I don't need them. The speaker cable is sized to travel from the monobloc to the speaker without touching the floor. Now for an even more controversial topic. I find a slight improvement getting power cables up off the carpet. Impact is a slight sense of compression of the sound like you have with a new capacitor. Not as pronounced. Definitely could not pick it out in a controlled ABX test. But once you hear it, it stays in the system. One of those hundred little things that all add up.

It looks like your cables are about 3" off the floor. Do you know if the benefits are reduced or change much by only lifting the cables 1/2" -1" off the floor?

Is this just something one can try with speaker cables? Not power cords ?

I hope you make a video on Cryo treatment for wires, tubes, etc.

Is it electrical or vibrational issues affecting the cable, and what’s under the floor? If height doesn’t matter then perhaps using slit pipe insulation,cut into short pieces would do the job too

It's a win-win.... Buy & try the Tinker Toys, and if you don't like it, give them to some kids. Somebody wins! And, it's not some crappy plastic toy that will go into landfill... it's a biodegradable solution!

If Tinker Toys work on speaker cables, should I consider Lincoln Logs for my sub cables? 🤔

So is leaving cables tangled up with my av systems other components and resting on carpet a bad idea?

Danny digging my Pedest'ale Tower speakers, I'm going to try this, eventually.

Lowes sells a plastic cone shaped tower called a rebar chair. Its 58 cents. It looks good under the cables and it does improve the sound. Improved imaging and focus, is noticeable in my system. Dirt cheap! Looks good and sounds good. All you have to lose is $15 at Lowes. Just try it with a open mind. Yes I am serious.

Nice video as always 😊 a cheap way to test this is using washing clip 🎶😃🎶 have fun all 👍

Mr. Research, In your experience, are the sonic results of the cable lifting phenomenon only applicable to speaker cables? Or, should all the cables in the system be lifted? Thank you.

You really need to use a cable cooker first, followed by the cd demagnetizer and don't forget to check the direction of the electron flow marked on the wire.

I install PA systems and use a Tone Generator and Probe Kit. Which will allow me to hear the music on the cable just by hovering the wand next to the cable. I can disconnect the speaker and still hear the music on the cable using the probe. Very good tool for finding out where interference is being added to the cables. Tried it at home, cables on nylon mix carpet had a lot of background static. Lifted cables of floor using lego blocks and this removed the static I was hearing on the cables. No noticeable difference at the speaker end. But I believe it would be noticeable on a higher end system.

I raised my cables off my carpeted floor in my fairly expensive system and the difference was very apparent. I had trouble understanding the lyrics but after I lifted the cables off the floor with some folded pieces of cardboard I could hear every word clearly.

Danny is your floor on the ground ie is it a slab of concrete or perhaps is there already electrical cables running through your floor just trying to make sense of why this is making a difference. I'm in an upstairs flat so if its because you're lifting them up away from ground then it's unlikely to change in a flat but if its because of proximity to other electrical cables then it may just make a difference in a flat as well.

I have done my part experimenting this. No difference at least to my ears. Enough is enough.

in the UK back in the past some audiophiles experimented using fine fishing lines attached to the ceiling lifting the cables & claimed it made a difference i kid you not.

😂 Danny did you measure the difference? Being an engineer can you explain what it is what you think you are hearing?

Yes. It's just the laws of physics. Remove or minimize as many variables that can transform an electrical signal. And all transformation is degradation. I am a believer. Now first i need money to buy a high end system, so i can also experience that influence. I like your practical approach to solving the problems in signal paths.

I understand that we don't live on an orb moving thru a vacuum, but rather a stationary extended flat plane, yet _I'M_ the krazy one...

More than 30 years ago I had a Hewlett Packard 4800 Vector impedance Meter. I bought it second hand in a computer shop. When I was measuring the impedance from speakers that I had built, there was a strange reading on the meter when I moved the cables an inch or so sideways. They were just on a wooden floor. When I lifted the cables several inches from the floor and moved the cable sideways there was no effect on the meter. I thought maybe it was the radiation of a power cable in the floor but could not find any cable there. So, I'm not at all surprised that cable risers have some effect.

With pinpoint center and wide soundstage you can make, a lot things are sensitive. Doesn't need to be costly along the chain or good room treatment. You can DIY or buy prettier cable raiser. There is a difference doesn't mean you need to change it.

We use marshmallows in case we want a snack during the movie

I recently took a motorsports wiring course. For digital signal wires that connect CANBUS components, not only are you not supposed to run parallel wires, the twists per inch is specified! Very similar to your closer to 90 degree explanation. It cancels noise in high frequency data wires.

A very serious question, what songs are you listening to that the improvement of cable risers is obvious in your system?

Hey Danny what amplifeiers are you running in the back there?

I started using cable risers after following the uTube channel, A stereophile in Seattle. I can vouch that keeping the power cord off the floor makes a huge difference. As for speaker cable I’m not sure as I’m still looking for the right cable. I’ve sued from I could have bought a small car with the money to lamp cord. Maybe I’ll give you a call and try yours. Good video.

Danny - you always bring "UP" the best subjects. Wink - grin... Now, because of this video, the price of Tinker Toys is going to go way up on Amazon. Hahaha All the best to you and yours, Kevin

On one of our trips to ikea, purchased some cheap glass tea light holders with little slot designs at the top that could (effectively) cradle my cables. And - dammit - it made quite a difference.

I use cork sanding blocks on a hardwood floor with Nordost Red Dawn on a modest setup (Rega CD and a 10 watt PSE). And it gives a better detailed bass.

When you explain it makes sense. 👍

I would love to the differences quantified somehow. Maybe a spectral decay measurement?

I haven't tried this yet but I would think it should help the low cost cables the most?

What's your floor construction? Is it a concrete slab? If so, there is probably steel mesh reinforcement (often 6" x 6" grid). Or is the floor constructed in another way? What's going on?

Hi Danny. I have been using cable risers for years. The best cheap option is 3 wooden chopsticks and some string tied into a tepee. This costs practically nothing and is an easy way of testing this principle, to see if it can work for you. Give it a whirl.

Applied science upsets some people because it basically means that everything matters and everything makes a difference to some extent. Doesn't at all surprise me. Products made from drilled oil always have noticeably stronger negative electrically active properties. I'd be curious if an unbleached undyed untreated cotton or linen blanket/mat in between the wire and the floor would make a noticeable difference, since it's probably the artificial carpet in your room causing the issue with the wire. Hardwood floors might be better but even those have a plastic coating.

Pro Tip - Concrete rebar plastic “chairs” are real cheap and easily available from hardware/trade stores, work a treat.

I have a pair of speakers (ADS) that's over 25 yrs old.. they were working fine until I changed the impedance on the amplifier from 4ohms to 8 and I switched them around putting the speaker that was normally on the left and the other on the right.. I got major rattle on the low frequencies then I switched them back, right to left and the rattle went away? .. is this possible?.. I left the amplifier impedance switch at 8ohms

i use clothespins for this,also use it when cables are close to eachother to keep a distance

Excellent, thanks

Sir do u have a value for money dac to suggest???

I wonder if any of this would be measurable with a VNA? I know moving an antenna near any object can cause dramatic changes in the antennas characteristics but this is also in the UHF realm.

I only wish I could find some sort of riser for my wireless audio system😄.

I wonder how bad it would sound if we put the cables on vibrators.

This is yet another example of why double blind testing is needed for tweaks like this. Anything can make a huge difference, whether it's real or not. It is also true for crossover components. It all has to do with expectations. If you change something, and tell the listener to find differences, they will. The brain can't isolate sound from other senses, no matter how hard we try. It's a very interesting phenomenon.

Tried it back and forward a few days with my speaker cables, sounded better without the risers and just lying on the carpet. There was definitely a difference, with the risers voices became thinner and almost fatiguing. I now use them to route the power cables over the signal cables but stay away from the speaker cables 👍 Still find it strange to notice a difference 😳

In commercial installations involving transmission lines, GIL or Gas Filled Lines use Nitrogen and Sulphur Hexafloride (SF6) as a dielectric. Yes, I know the comparison is quite unlikely given the parameters at audio frequencies but I have oftentimes wondered how long before someone develops GIL audio cables but why go to that expense when your grandkids tinker toys, Lincoln Logs, or Legos wind up in our audio system. As for me, I saving my money for a Flux Capacitor to recap my passive crossovers 😉

Hi Danny . How do you feel about isolating your speakers from the ground ? I have never heard you talk about it. A dozen speakers in my home have improved from it. I would assume your kits would as well. Products like GAII and Townshend Audio are expensive but do the job. Less expensive things can be tried like springs off Amazon and other cheap products like that.

I used to be an electrician and a elevator mechanic and I could trouble shoot basic electric circuits it also seemed the more I learned the more confused it seemed so I am not a electrical engineer. but I just watched a video from a guy who is a ee, somewhere along the way I learned electricity travels along the skin of an electrical wire now in this video I watched it said electrons move from electric motive force(with means the lines of force that radiate out from a wire that has electrical current moving thru it) causes electrons to flow outside the wire not on the skin or thru the core... which would mean being on the floor could very well make a diff... but to be honest it is completely over my head. I have a nice entry level system 1500$ speakers and a 3000$ receiver and A1500$ integrated amp playing airplay or CD player as a source and listening to zeppelin and the like. It probably wouldn't make a difference but it does sound pretty good. I went all thru that to say I like the way Danny explained it and if I was quite a bit upstream in a system I might be interested but since I am in the bottom 80 to 90 percent I will just say thanks for the video

Hello Danny. Rebar chairs at Home Depot. 20 for $6.00. Easy alternative:)

Your T-shirts are going to give the audiopheliac a run for his money, that's very nice

Cable risers work for me. I paid $35 for enough 3D printed plastic risers to suspend my cables off the floor. The increase in clarity and focus is obvious. Thanks for sharing, Danny.

So what would be the science behind this supposed difference in sound? Thanks.

I use to have my cables on the floor. I could hear some distortion but thought maybe it was a loose connection somewhere. One day while moving my speakers around I drapped the cables over my chair to get them out of the way and when I listen to them no distortion. I thought hmmm it couldnt be but lets see so I placed the cables back on the floor and there was that static sound. When asked others as to why most said snake oil. Then one person said it all depends on whats underneath your flooring.

At dealers, shows, that I have seen the use of risers, the explanation was always the same, static electricity in the carpet was affecting the sonics and that it wouldn't have much effect on wooden floors. Never heard of rebar in concrete issue or see how cryogenically treating the risers would improve things. But hell if it works, c'est la vie.

I’m trying to find the video where someone has speaker wire connected to an oscilloscope. Simply lifting the wire of the bench you can see the noise on the scope disappear. I think it was Cardas or Danny himself who did the video. If you can measure a difference on a scope then you can hear a difference on a resolving enough system.

I tried tinker toys for my wires. I found a set at a yard sale. It didn't sound much different but it may be that my system is not as detailed. After viewing this video, the price of these tinker toys just went up 💯% .😎 BTW your Amps might benefit from iso platforms? Greg