I go by what professional studios use. I’ve never seen fancy boutique interconnects or cables in a studio. Just decent quality ones

Whenever my Smile/Giggle Index sinks below a certain level, I come to your channel for a TUNEup. Thanks much.

I talked to Mark Levinson once and he said that unless a person can truly afford it they should just stay out of the high end. He didn't mean it in a bad way... just that the law of diminishing returns is real.

Making sure your interconnects are actually connected.. is perhaps the most important step to (great) audio from your source !

This longtime audiophile with a Master's in psychology agrees more than 95%. Thanks!

Finally, someone that looks at the limitations of studies, rather than citing them as empirical fact. Wonderful explanation on how bias can skew results. Thanks for the content. Personally, I never heard any exotic cable make a difference, agree as long as a cable has good copper and dialectic, it is plenty good enough. The more one cost does not mean you get more.

"Tests by Stereo Review Magazine in 1983 concluded that Monster cables did not make a difference in the sound and were "indistinguishable" from 16-gauge lamp cord. Whether someone claims they can hear the difference varies from person to person.[47] Many reporters and audiophiles have done double-blind A/B listening tests and are unable to hear the difference.[48] According to PC Magazine, Monster is "often accused of selling over-priced cables that you can buy elsewhere for a fraction of the price".[35]@ Wikipedia

During my past studies in physics, where I studied topics like electricity and waves, calculations revealed that for the audio frequency range (20Hz-20kHz), any decent cable proves to be perfectly adequate, as long as it is appropriately connected and not excessively long. This knowledge is enough for me, and there's no necessity to concern oneself with investing in any extravagant 'interconnect' that would incur a cost of about 1000 GBP unless one intends to listen to signals in the MHz or GHz range :)

I believe it was Tom's Hardware Guide that once did a comparison of a DAC that was integrated onto a motherboard vs. an expensive external DAC. They had invited an audiophile to join them for the testing. He refused to take part in most of it. The results they did collect (it was an abx test as far as I recall) showed that they couldn't tell the difference. Honestly, I think that deep down, the audiophile knew what the outcome would be, and refused to take part to protect his own reputation and ego.

Thanks for helping me become a more discerning shopper in audio equipment. I've learned that I don't have to pay thousands of dollars to have a great sound system. Please, keep up the good work.

Very true. Many Audiophiles obsess over trivia. Loudfpeakers and room acoustics have by far the biggest influence on audio quality. Moving a pot plant in the listening room will have more effect than using $1000 Magic Cables that defy the laws of physics.

Having the ability to enjoy $1,000 interconnects isn't the ability to discern audible differences, it's the ability to piss away 1K USD on interconnects thus enjoying them.

Please do a video on the best sounding record sleeves. Tonality, pace, air, timing; all that.

Blind tests are rules. Double-blind tests are rules twice. But $10 000 car tuning not always makes the car move faster - it just enhances the experience of driving this car. Worth it, nothing to regret ))

You are absolutely right. It is a pitty that a lot of other science is not based on double blind testing results either.

In the electronic measurement (calibration) industry its all about reliable and short connections. These always provide the best results when measuring signals. Loose connections bad... tight connections good, shorter the lead the better. I make all my own RCA cables. Coaxial is perfect.

When people hear great audio for the first time they're primed to believe the audiophile myths. I once thought speaker wires needed lugs or plugs on the ends, that spikes were required on stands, and ditto for similar features which were actually just mounting or installation techniques.

I DIY'd me a set of Mogami W2497 with KLE copper Harmony connectors. Total of $130. All copper from tip to tip and the connectors are silver plated. I believe getting rid of the brass and gold plating from your connectors, which has bad conductivity, makes a difference. I notice it in the clarity and in the Highs. First cable I have noticed an actual difference.

Cables have always been snakeoil, but to see them carry it over to digital cables is just hilarious.

Cables do make a difference as well as type of caps and coil in speaker crossover. 2nd thing that makes difference even on the same type of cable is geometry. I have been trying interconnects from $10 to $10000. Expensive cables are not necessary better. For example, $10 Klotz MC5000 with $5 Neutrik connectors smoked out most of expensive audiophile cables. Go with decent studio cables (Klotz, Roland, Canare) and forget that everything else exist. Not gonna go into discussions with anyone. I have just wrote this comment here in case someone find it helpful and may save time and money. Cheers!

No $1000 interconnects for me. Just a reasonable quality, non-corroded and - esp for speakers - a reasonable thickness. All very cheap to buy or make yourself from parts from an electronics store. And let's not forget whatever 'magic' material is in these $1000 interconnects, is not present inside your amp, CD-player or wherever else you connect them to. The last mile is always some copper trace on a PCB.

4 of these $1000 "interconnects" would buy you a Nagra IV-S. Sounds great and look at the fabulous engineering! Most $1000 cable live their lives behind the couch. Not to be seen. I make my own cables, buy the plugs and use Gotham's cables (Swiss made) and solder them. Be proud and live happily ever after. I am biased! Keep up these video's. Such an enjoyment!

I am more than happy with the QED performance interconnects at £26, just as good to my ears as the audiophile ones that cost me a weeks wage and much better than the £10 budget ones off eBay.

Here's a very simple test anyone can do right now, with almost no effort... Relax, let your face to limp ... now listen to the sound of your room. Got it? Now, using your fingers, gently pull your ears back and up a little bit... Hear the sound change? Relax again. Then without touching your ears concentrate full hard on the sound of the room... Uh-huh... This is actually a normal reflex when paying close attention. Now you can ask "what changed" and answer "my hearing changed."

I was a cable sceptic for many years. I took the “blind” interconnect test between $20 and $100 cables. I preferred the sound of the $100 cables. However I’m not going to spend $1000 on an interconnect even if a blind (or double blind) test confirms a difference! Oh and I will say I did also note a difference with $150 power cables. But again it’s unlikely I would go to $1000 ones?

Recall a discussion with a salesperson in a high end audio shop. He asked how my cables were working for me. I replied " I turn on my system and the electrons find their way from my source thru my amplifiers to my speakers and I hear the music" He responded "what?' His colleague laughed and said "I think he just told you" LOL

Back in the '70s or '80s, whenever high-end speaker cable had just become a thing, Stereo Review magazine did a double-blind study comparing the new cable with hardware store lamp cord, using audiophiles as judges. The result: no significant difference. I've been suspicious of any and all audiophile claims ever since.

I bought four Audioquest $500 Silver Extreme IC's for $360. Even at the discount price I wasted that money. I learned my lesson! They look nice though!

I am currently utilizing approximately 10,000 interconnects/cables, which provides a noticeably superior auditory experience for me. I am able to discern the difference in sound quality. Moreover, I have the advantage of being able to test various types of equipment cables within my own residence. Consequently, my purchasing decisions are primarily determined by my personal experiences and the performance of these equipment in my system.

I have an example of where expectations influence opinions. I owned a barber shop and one of my elderly customers had recently been in hospital for a few days . This stay was in Stamford hospital. He said he preferred Stamford for hospitalization as the food was better than that in Peterborough's hospital. The fact was , the food served in Stamford was prepared in Peterborough's hospital kitchen and delivered by van to Stamford. This I knew as true as the van driver was also a customer of mine. Human beings are easily influenced by what they expect.

$1000 interconnects can be detrimental to your system in unexpected ways; these high-end cables are often heavy, thick, stiff, and come with very heavy solid and tight-fitting plugs; they can place quite a bit of mechanical strain on the RCA connectors of the amp & CD-player etc. And, of course on the inside of the amp there is likely a _much_ lower $/m bit of cable that takes the signal from the RCA connector to the volume control, if not simply a decent length of unshielded copper track on the PCB that serves the input selector circuitry. So the signal sees $1000 of super highway, followed by a few inches of dirt-track to negotiate, so to speak.

Many musicians can hear the difference between different guitar cables. Mainly when it's a radical difference between them such as a very cheap one versus a reasonably decent one. Or a normal length versus a significantly shorter one. But the reason for this is cable capacitance and the way it affects a high impedance signal. HiFi equipment line outputs are low impedance so this cable capacitance has far less (practically zero) effect. That's the guts of it really.

First of all, I really enjoy your videos. Thanks very much for making them. As for $1000 interconnects, I would not listen to them, even if doing so would cost me absolutely nothing. Why? Because I will not be buying them no matter what, therefore why bother? As long as the shielding is adequate, the capacitance is kept reasonably low, the conductors are copper (of any variety) rather than CCA (copper clad aluminum), and the connectors are of decent quality, I have not found any compelling reason to spend more than $10 on an "RCA" cable. Oh, and I use 10 or 12 gauge "lamp" cord for speaker cables. Horrors... Corrosion at the connectors can indeed become an issue in areas with higher levels of sulfur dioxide in the air. The tiniest film of dielectric grease works wonders, as does unplugging and re-plugging them periodically. 👍👍

Excellent way of holding your audience rapt all the way to the end. Promise it Bettie and Debbie...!

Yes, I would listen to a hifi system that utilised a £1000 cable. I think I would be extremely unlikely to be persuaded to buy a £1000 cable. The first ever hifi system I put together, included a CD player I purchased for £2200. I’ve never been a TV addict, a video or film enthusiast. I’ve never invested heavily in viewing equipment. For years, I never had a DVD player, until a friend bought me one for £18 from Tesco. I plumbed it into my hifi system. I’ve a number of duplicate copies of CDs. Birthday presents Etc. I put a copy of the same CD, one in my £2200 CD layer the other in my. £18 DVD player. After volume compensation, it was extremely difficult to tell them apart. I think that speaks volumes.

I thought I was really going wild when I bought a pair of TRS to XLR interconnects for $60. I've also used a coat hanger as an HDMI interconnect, so, you know.

It's a generaly known fact audiophiles have sixth sense hearing if not radio frequency or subsonic hearing. It's easy to test though, run an audio signal through 30 and 1000 (your currency here) cable, sample the result with a dac at 24 bits 96khz, invert one signal, time align them and add them up. The result is the difference between cables. Listen to the difference at the same volume as you listen to the audio signal. Can't hear a thing? Boost the signal and if you just hear the noise floor, there's no difference that you'll hear when listening normally, unless yoe have 6th sense hearing. Then you don't need cables at all.

Audio pro here (and hifi enthusiast, but not an "audiophile"...that very word fills me with horror). Only twice (in many, MANY years) have I ever "noticed a difference" in cables, and in both cases it was hardly surprising. One time was with speaker cables. I was having a party, wanted my hifi out of the way, so moved it to my bedroom and ran long cables to the speakers. Long, cheap cable I'd "borrowed" from work. Sounded crap...and no big surprise there! To be honest, I thought it would be up to the task, but it just wasn't. Kept at a more "normal" length, the cable would've been just fine. Second time was a cheap 3.5mm to RCA cable from my Mac to an amp. Nice-looking cable, cosmetically, but had woefully inadequate shielding. Again, no big surprise, and in a less electrically-noisy environment it would likely have performed just fine. People who spend insane amounts on "interconnects" would do well to understand that audio signals travel all over the place through thin strips of ordinary copper PCB tracks inside equipment. So long as the external wiring is at least as good as that, which most "ordinary" cables are, and as long as cable lengths are kept as short as possible, then all will be fine. Cables have to be pretty bad before you'll notice any negative effects, and there's really no significant difference between an "adequate" cable and an "audiophile" cable. Besides the price tag 😄

Imho, a listening test is very subjective. A technical test with a cro and signal gen could show measurable differences of band width, resistance, capacitance, noise etc. To me, this is a proper test and would likely show, given clean termination, the truth.

Audio comparisons are always one of the hardest to perform. Unlike an image comparison that can be displayed side by side, audio comparisons have to be made serially with some time gap in between. Audio comparisons realizes on one to remember the quality of the the last audio segment that has been played and compare it the present audio segment. I'm guessing a persons ability to remember audio quality can be problematic and subjective.

Love your channel. I think you nailed it with mixing desk comparison, literally kilometres of audio cable. Then my supposedly top 20 ever amplifiers, Nilai Class D, the Hypex engineers use bog standard 4 pin CPU power connectors for the audio inputs and even more shocking automotive crimp connectors on the PCB speaker outs! Absolute sacrilege and not even gold plated automotive connectors if such a thing even exists. Then as the supplier forgot to send the audio input cables, I had to hack up some more automotive crimp connectors to squeeze onto the 4 pin PCB audio input plug. I am now amongst the fallen I am afraid.

glad to hear about the corrosion. I had a heated discussion a few years ago with someone that really didn't believe that I could hear a difference when I stripped off a bit of my (pretty budget) silver plated copper speaker cables.

I was with you as you compared Coke to Pepsi and, obviously, Coke would win (incidentally, while at a restaurant, I ordered a Coke but was served Pepsi...I immediately noted it and the waiter was surprised as she thought everyone would accept any cola offered). However, you lost me when you revealed that you didn't like either! What were we talking about again? Cables? Put me in the "no" column for $1000 cables (unless they are VERY long). And yes to star-quad cables. They are great for low-noise (and, typically, high flexibility). I used them in the cinema industry when wiring up magnetic heads for 70mm and 35mm projectors where the preamps were, typically, 10m (or more) away from the projectors/mag heads.

I've had all the air in my lounge pumped out & replaced with genuine silent air from the purcell room. I'm saving up for RAH silence. my neighbours think I'm mad BUT THEY JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND.

You question the use of the term 'interconnect' by audiophiles. Although I take your point and agree that they are just cables, the term does help to clarify that it is the link between say a CD player and amplifier or between a pre and power amplifier that is being spoken about as opposed to speaker cable.

I agree completely. If a number of "good ears" cannot reliably detect a favorable difference in double blind testing, there is no "cash worthy" difference. Manufacturers and reviewers make many claims (anyone can claim anything), but rarely is there any proper evidence. Much of this phenomena (paying big $ for audio illusions) reflects that audiophilia has little to do with reason.

I Believe in good cables, NOT expensive ones. I always make my own ones and i use good microphone cables that cost less than a pound for 3 ft and good connectors that i get from ebay or aliexpress. works great and sound great.

A masterclass in audio...thank you.... I just reconfigured my systems layout in my room (my BIL's advice) and improved my sound considerably. I also went back to my good but inexpensive cables (to my BIL's horror) soon after and hear no difference. The reason for the cable switch was the high$$ cables were big fat ugly and hard to configure. The cheaper ones are more pliable and easy to use. The whole thing looks more tidy and sounds the same. Do I have a bias due to the looks of the cheaper ones? Maybe.

I worked in a HiFi shop briefly and I realised some customers' opinions were coming directly from something they'd read (I used to read them all for free) and I heard them talk to eachother with these opinions, including some the sales floor people too. The way it came out wasn't always the usual "being as percentage of budget should be interconnect" to kick off discussion. One time there was this speaker and interconnect combination that supposed to have some subtle sound quirk, I heard two customers and one sales guy listening test and discussing hearing it whatever it was supposed to be, while I'm hearing something else.... and I'm thinking "can't ANY of you hear that? ??"

I get it, you might be right, but about 30 years ago I bought some very expensive cables (speaker and interlink) from Transparant. A few years ago I bougth some relatively cheap cables that were hot in the market to see if quality had improved with time. I had hooked them up and was playing music when my wife came home from work. She didn't know I had changed anything but she said: "What have you done with the system? It sounds like crap!". ..?

I really like your videos. It makes me think

Made the mistake of going to a Hifi show, a long time ago. Did learn something. In the cable room the only thing that changed, to my ear, was the smile on the demonstrator’s face when he connected hosepipe sized examples. However, in an awkward corner elsewhere, a German chap was playing some industrial metal, if that is a genre, through a small floor standing loudspeaker and removing and replacing one part of a two piece “cone” beneath. He would raise and lower his eyebrows. The improvement to the sound’s definition was unmistakeable. His unforgettable comment on the music in accented English was, “ Is not nice, but is good”

I can only say that whenever I would hear the difference between a 10$ and a 1000$ cable, surely it is not worth the difference of cost. But I can tell that I hear the difference between a very cheap 1m RCA cable and a 5-10$ standard grade cable. I don't hear hear the most difference in the high frequencies (as I expected), but the basses are less deep and dynamic. Not an important difference, but there is, and it is worth the difference of cost.

I've just spent the first week at the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall. 7 or 8 concerts of various kinds. I heard Benjamin Grosvenor playing the piano and will go the 250 miles down to London again later on to hear Yuja Wang. Anyway for these first concerts I stood slightly left of centre in the front of the arena. Now if I'd have stood 10 metres either side, it would have sounded different. If I had sat in the stalls, or in the gods, or the gallery it would also have sounded different. From the front some of the violins are just 3 or 4 metres from my ears. The trumpets are probably 10 times this distance. So I hear the trumpets some time after I hear the violins. But they are all (more or less) in front of me, unless I turn my head a bit. Sometimes there are instruments up in the gallery. My room is not as high as the Albert Hall and my speakers struggle to make sounds appear to come from so high above me. When I listen at home, I am aware that there are numerous microphones connected by numerous cables of various lengths. The sound goes along these to a big mixing desk in a van outside the hall. I guess the phase and time delay between these various cables makes a difference to the sound which eventually gets to me, 250 miles away, via various cables, air of various densities and temperatures, and even via satellites. I often record the broadcasts on, horror of horrors, a DAB radio with an SD Card slot. But it generally sounds musically satisfying because it is the music I listen to through my 76 year old ears, and I grew out of the search for perfection 50 years ago.

Just make a null test, as I suggested to a customer that wanted to test any difference. Same cable length. Needless to say that the Null was perfect.

I can't believe how much some people self-deceive when it comes to stuff like cables. So long as they are mechanically sound and are properly shielded there is no hearable difference beyond a low price point.

Blue Jeans Cable for me.

I'd rather spend $1000 on acoustic treatment for my room than on cables... I did a blind test once on a hi-end store, we were 4 people listening. The test system was extremely high-end. I could hear the difference between $0.5/m cables and $100/m cables but I didn't hear any difference above that price point, nor did the other 3 people... And all this despite the store owner trying to sway us toward the most expensive stuff

I have to say...the Morrisey bit about we all want to be loved just like everybody else does...well that had me rolling on the floor! Great video! And yes...Wire is wire...Sorry to piss on anyone's cheerios but it is a fact! I have worked not in the audio field but as an Industrial Maint Tech for years...yep! It's wire, it moved electrons! End of story! Just subbed!

Way way back I used two stage monitors for a stereo in my living room. That isn't the point. I also used the bands speaker cables. It wasn't the best sound. So one day I heard about oxygen free cable and picked some up, monster cable, and switchcraft phone plugs. Yes that's what we used 40 years ago. Anyway I made two OFC speaker cables and swapped them with the band's cables and there was a noticeable difference, in my living room. I found the OFC weren't better. It's just that the bands cables were crap. Or more politely, they were of poor quality and poorly made. So I saved my money and made OFC speaker cables for all the monitors and PA cabinets. The result, any improvement of the band's sound wasn't noticeable. What can I say.

Wilkos used to sell a good quality speaker wire but it sold so slowly they didnt bother reordering it and the cable drum has been sitting empty for 3 years , which has brought an end to my speaker projects as you dont see many washing machines in skkips these days.

I remember being shown 2 concepts about mic preamps back in the day, one was " adding color" the other was "wire plus gain", hinting at the "fact" that wire tends to be transparent, so "wire plus gain" stood for a transparent gain stage. The other thing that comes to mind is that far more important than participation bias and confirmation bias is the so-called "belief perseverance" and the "backfire effect", meaning that the more one is confronted with actual scientific facts contradicting ones' core beliefs (such as that cables do make a difference) the more he/she will defend his/ her core beliefs. That response closely mimics the 'fight or flight" response and originates in the same part of the brain. It's base programming and people fall into these patterns, regardless whether the topic is politics, religion or the audiophile hobby. It's human nature.

You can rely on measurements. They are objetive if done properly. And, in fact, they usually show no audible diference between 1000£ and 10£ cables. But like anything else, due to participation and confirmation bias, or even the placebo effect, what matters is that, at least for the listener who bought the cables (or someone who knows how much they cost), the music sounds better. Just like buying a beautifully designed tube amp or pair of speakers. The way they look and feel makes them sound better to your ears... Great video as usual!!!

There is one thing to notice here, that is almost never discussed... _ALL of these fancy cables and doodads audiophiles love so much are external to the active equipment in their systems ... and... they are replaceable without the use of tools_ They know their audience well. This actually points out a very interesting divide in the hobby ... Those with technical skills are not, by and large, cable enthusiasts. They tend to use well made but relatively inexpensive cables because they know, from training and experience, the expensive ones are simply a waste of money. These same people, informed by technical skills, are also prone to point out the lies and misinformation in the advertising of these products. Those with almost no technical knowledge are the ones playing with fancy cables, all wrapped up in the garbage handed out by audio reviewers and manufacturer's advertising sites. They claim magnificent change and improvement in ways that are generally known to be impossible while relying on their ears without ever looking beyond their own subjective experiences. Heaven forbid they should explore WHY they heard what they did! This group will decry the use of skills they don't have and equipment they don't understand, rather than admitting they have no real clue what's going on inside the boxes. The snake oil guys cater to this second group for two pirmary reasons: 1) Being the most ignorant person in the room also makes you the easiest person to lie to. 2) Easy changes sell better than those requiring skills. It's sad, but in the 6 or so years since I rejoined this hobby, the only real observation I can make is that a once enjoyable hobby has reduced itself to a childish pissing contest between smart and stupid. If either side of the problem had even the first lick of common sense, they would be helping eachother.

This is just another example of the way things are in a 40 plus year service economy were a lot of items are purchased with credit. Split hairs and blow up the significance of each hair.

What I dont understand is how ANYONE could believe that a $1000 cable at home would somehow give them better reults than the $30-$150 microphone cable the studio used to record the audio in the first place. Or even worse, the cable they had to bodge together after the drummer tripped over the cbles while setting up his kit. And we all know that kind of thing happens

Sure, I'll listen to them. As long as someone else is paying for them. Cables can make a difference. Different isn't necessarily "better".

I had a work mate that spent $2K AU about same as $1.6K US and I asked him if I could borrow them for a night,not a weekend,just one night,and he refused,I think he thought I would make fun of him,if I hadn't heard a difference,compared to my own DIY cables,amps and speakers,In Australia finding a good tube tech is quite diificult,and I had to learn how to bias my own amps,when he bought new tubes for his original Dynaco ST70 and needed the tubes biased correctly he didn't have a problem asking me to do it for him. 😆

Remember when I bought my first lcd tv and Blu-ray player for a lot of money. The salesmen tried to convince me to spend another couple of hundred pounds on some audioquest hdmi cable. He just couldn’t get it in his head that a digital signal either works or it doesn’t, that the bog standard hdmi cable will suffice.

I'm using ordinary but well made solid core aerial/antenna cable from NKT covered in a snakeskin like sock and with RCA/Phono plugs soldered on, using a larger than average solder joint to compensate for the higher restistance in the solder itself. Works absolutely perfect. And they're dirt cheap.

I think of it that way. Imagine how much your sound will be improved when played trough a $1000 cable. Now imagine how much your sound will be improved if you put an extra $1000 towards your amplifier and speakers.

I once saw a $1000 power cable that goes from the socket to your amplifier. I couldn’t belief anyone would invest in this. After all the power travels for kilometres tough the power grid in to a transformer and along standard power cables in to the house to your socket. Somehow that final bit of cable from the socket to the amplifier is magically going to make a difference, I don't think so.

I'm not an audiophile nor do I want to be one. I do like listening to music on a good sounding system. I also enjoy watching movies and I have a nice home theater. I have never heard of a home theater installer using super expensive cables in an installation.

The best way to listen _to_ $1000 interconnects is to apply increasing amounts tensile stress to them while plucking them until they become clearly audible.

There are two steps in every 'upgrade' : what difference does it make, and what is that difference worth to you. With cables, I would say that, among technically decent cables, there won't be any audible difference, so what it's worth to you becomes a moot point. I simply buy cables I can trust (which does not include anything built just for looks or a low price point, even though they may be fine).

Most of it down to marketing. In particular, the technique of FUD - Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt. Call something an "upgrade" and Mr / Ms Muggins are bound to but into it.

a lot of speculation, I have 1000.00 XLR cables but I make the more critical digital cable myself for about 26.00, thanks!

Here is another test you can perform easily, that's what I did when I was working at a HiFi dealer. You give your customer 3 cables to test them, privately at home on his own stereo. You don't tell him the price and you make sure that all 3 cables are really different because there are a lot cables out there that look different but have more or less the same thing inside like i.e. the classic copper cable with silver coating. Now when the client returns the cables you simply ask him what the differences were on his stereo. "How did they sound mate?" And then wait for a description and surprisingly with 80-90% accuracy people describe them the same way. Maybe that was like the horse counting and only happened because I bend my head in a certain way but I guess not because my co-workers did the same with the same results. The real problem with cables is that if you go into a factory and let them produce a few kilometers for you all the cables cost more or less the same. The differences are usually only a few cents while the sales prices can be insanely different. There are cables that cost 1000€ per meter and there are cables that cost 100€ per meter but they are basically the same only that one cable has another colour or looks more fancy in general but the real cable inside is identical. So undoubtably there are scammers out there, but that does not mean all cables sound the same. Only because there was one Bernie Madoff does not mean you can't make money with stocks. Some will rip you off and some don't, that's life and has nothing to do with HiFi in particular.

I have most definately heard a cable. I recently replaced a 25yr old amp with a new one. It was a huge improvement. Then on a whim I replaced the old originally provided interconnect between it and my CD player with a £27 half meter mid range one. It was another clear improvement. That'll do me now though.

$1000 will get you a good used slate-bed pool table in the UK. I know what gives *me* value for money. :)

Spot on! 😊

Yeah, I often look at these things the way I look at cars. Hyper-cars are often several times more expensive than super-cars (the reasons are usually not very clear to satisfy the price difference), while super-cars themselves are often several times more expensive that regular sports-cars which are quite close or on par with the super-cars in outright performance, just not looking as outrageous as super-cars often are. So, the are differences, but not at the level that makes much difference. The 1000 pound or dollar cable might make a difference but not the one remarkable enough for me to spend that much on a cable.

Question: Did you find someone in your circle who could confirm, that CD's get a bit wobbly and therefore present the laser/lens-servo with challenges.

While I mostly agree, what is the point. if 1000€ cables makes someone happy, why not, unless they need to be protected of making such purchase :) The biggest reason however that a cable just one link on the chain, so how ever good they are, the recoding is not that good, make hundreds of maters of far "inferior" cable.

I already spend some serious money. Moving forward, will Not. Thanks for the enlightment.

$1k cables would sure make me feel special, but then kind of dirty after a while. Best to avoid. Another thought: imagine the costs of setting up an ATMOS system with said cables!

I'm not sure if i would ever want to invite you into my audiophile listening room ha ha ha.. (Let me know if you're ever in Sweden) Yes, i've tested lots of interconnects from £5 to £10000 in my listening room. It's all down to personal taste and budget. I play drums,piano,guitar and bass, so i want a natural sound, the sound of hi-hats or a cymbals for example on cheap cables can sound harsh and distorted. Not all expensive cables sound good. 95% of Audiophiles that i know haven't got a clue about music and recordings, there systems are more about how much it costs and the brands they use. Great video as usual. Keep up the good work.

Is that why cable manufacturers are called imagineers instead of engineers ? 😂

When a power supply toroid with a rated capability to source 20 Amps of Current costs 129 bucks and HEXFRED ultra high-speed, soft recovery, diodes a few bucks apiece, if you're going to spend a grand on a straight wire, maybe a meter in length, invest the cash matriculating into 3rd semester Physics, E&M, and a semester of Partial Differential Eqs., then you'll know how looney tunes the cost of the $1000 wire is. But as the Kinks in 20th Century Man sang, "Its the age of insanity". So if you're wealthy and stupid, enjoy.

“If the opportunity came up?” Yes I would. I would love to. Just for my own sake. Ive heard quite an obvious differences in instrument cables of various kinds - so would it apply here? No point in saying “no” (kneejerk kneejerk): because I have never listened to them. But I want to!😂

This argument will rage for eternity but we all secretly know bell wire wrapped in tin foil sounds great (mains cable isn't bad) and that the BD140/39 are the finest transistors ever ! and as for Valves isn't that just more 2nd harmonics rubbish ? fascinating stuff..cheers...Give Betty her money back and give Debbie a decent Tee Shirt !

I have found that some of the very best "Speaker" cabling can be purchased at The Home Depot, in the extension-cord department.

Here I am, I own a pair of 6-foot speaker cables that cost more than a thousand dollars. I also spent more than a thousand dollars on several xlr cables. I am happy with my purchases.

Audio cables for me must have the following properties: Non-oxidizing (gold-plated) plugs, well shielded and well built for durability. That's it and I sure as hell don't have to spend $1000 or more to achieve that. 😁

No names, but only last night I saw some RCA cables thet were GBP 25,000! You'd have to be insane.

Actually, you don’t need double blind testing, most audiophiles are already double blind 😂

I have the bad luck to clearly hear a significant difference between cables (a.o.) on my system. I have the good luck to make the cables myself, so I did not exceed 70 euro for a rca-interlink.

🤔I don’t believe I’ve ever heard a cable, but then again, I’ve never heard an Angel singing either!😉 Some people can’t seem to grasp the concept of diminishing returns. 😵‍💫 Hard core enthusiasts typically fall into this category. 👍My man, Dave! Best Audio “biased” channel ever!🤣 Much respect, David!👨🏻

I use a cheap contact clear the doesn't corrode the metal contacts and costs a couple of quid from any DIY store. have tried a 5ml bottle of nanofluid for £150, even I draw the line there. 90% of the hifi sales people don't even own a system, it's just a job. I've spent over 30 years in hifi, buying, testing and selling so I know a thing or two.

Platinum coated gold is the best.