PART 1 - LAMP CORDS VERSUS $100,000 SPEAKER CABLES

In today's episode, i take you to a local hardware store to purchase lamp cord so we can use it as speaker cable and compare it to my $100,000 audiophile speaker cables. Sit down and watch!

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[jaysaudiolab]

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[jonnoabody]

Lamp cord is what you use to hang yourself after spending a $10000 on speaker cables😜

[markfischer]

I'm probably a fool to get involved in this for the umpteenth time. I expect a lot of hate responses. However, I come from a place most of you don't. I'm an electrical engineer who has spent more millions of dollars of other people's money on more kinds of wire over the last nearly 50 years than I care to think about.

Can different wire change the sound of your sound system? YES, it is possible. But as an engineer I have to understand how and why. There's a guy out there who called himself an electrical engineer, hates math, never went to engineering school, and wouldn't get past the preface and introduction of an electrical engineering textbook if he ever opened one. It takes two years of advanced mathematics before you're even qualified to begin studying electrical engineering which only adds even more math. So I will try to keep this explanation as simple for those who aren't as I can. You won't have to do any math yourself, just try to understand what the equations mean, the basic concepts.

We probably know more about the electrical properties of wire than any other electrical component. The mathematical understanding is probably about 150 years old and correlates very well with measurements. In short it does what we expect it to do. So here is the one equation that explains it all.
Notice that this is a four element frequency response filter.
"The conductance
The conductance G of the dielectric material separating the two conductors is represented by a shunt resistor between the signal. For our purposes here this will always be zero so you can eliminate it.
The values of the parameters depends on many factors, one of which is their length.

Let's see how this can be used to understand what wire does in a circuit. The mathematical model begins at 5:37. Some of the data used for the cartridge is explained just prior. As you can see, the model is divided into three parts, the source which in this case is the electrical properties of the cartridge, the telegrapher's equation you saw in the wikipedia model, and the load which is the input impedance of the preamplifier. Changes to any of them will affect the results. If you don't know all of the parameters, it is impossible to predict what a specific wire will do in a particular circuit. So for fans of audiophile wire's it's a matter of trial and error. The model shows a frequency response anomaly that can be corrected in any number of ways. Here's how it was improved in this case.

So when you are buying audiophile wire, you are buying an expensive frequency filter. Wire was never intended to alter the frequency response of a sound system. Exactly the opposite is true. So the best test isn't A versus B but A versus A shunted. If there is an audible difference then the wire has distorted the waveform. As a means to change the frequency response of a sound system, it has a number of drawbacks. It is expensive, it's not adjustable, its effect is unpredictable depending on what the rest of the circuit is about. In a given system it depends on the length of the wire.

There are other ways. In the example I cited the technician used a change in the capacitance of the load. But a far better way which overcomes all of these objections is the use of a graphic equalizer. It takes skill to use one. It's not just plug and play. It is an extremely powerful tool. It has gone from being very expensive, $900 per channel in the 1950s and 1960s used only in recording studios to calibrate monitor speakers to affordable to anyone. It's an inexpensive one time adjustable, predictable tool. Most recording engineers use them to obtain the results they want. That's what many if not most of all of those knob on a studio mixing board do. If you play phonograph records then the signal has passed through at least six stages of equalization. If Dolby A was used it's 14 not counting the knob twiddling by the mixdown engineer. Ironically the only format that doesn't require equalization is digital.

If you're looking for instant gratification then an equalizer is not for you. Getting the benefits it has to offer requires a critical ear and a lot of patience. I know I'm going to get a lot of flack from many audiophiles who think equalizers are the devil's work. However they have gotten some attention in what's called room correction. It's an automated way to apply equalization in ways you might like or not like. As with any powerful tool, it can do more harm than good. It can make sound much worse and it can even damage your equipment. I'm not an audiophile, I''m an electrical engineer and music lover. My reference is live unamplified classical music. So this is just another point of view. I hope not to many people get worked up over this. It is after all just a hobby to be enjoyed and machines.

[brianboswell]

Audiophile level hearing. Completely immune to snake oil.

[snomofilms]

You forgot to burn the lamp cords in before listening 😂

[thechuckster]

In the 1980's, I used to work at Power Station in New York. Power Station is a studio that was the state-of-the- art recording facility. Many #1 records were recorded there. In fact, it is still in operation as Berkeley school of music in the exact same configuration that the place was in the 1980's. Bruce Springsteen Born in the USA and BonJovi were recorded there. In fact Jon BonJovi's cousin owned the place and Jon used to work there before he made a household name of himself. The studio used to test lots of equipment on off times We did an experiment doing the same test as you did. The super expensive speaker cable and the lamp cord were tested and there was no audible difference between the two. The in wall Westlake speakers remained as installed, but the nearfields that sat on top of the console used lamp cord. Bruce Springsteen used lamp cord to track and mix his multi platinum albums as did David Bowie, Duran Duran, Madonna, etc. How is that for a kick in the ass?

[tuathadedanann]

you aren't comparing a cable with a cable. you are comparing a cable with a cable with a passive filter on it. which is a component that alters the sound according to the filter design. of course the cable with filter will sound different... its a filter. it's got nothing to do with cable differences

[isobutylquinoline]

The way he grabs that stalk while driving is very Dominic Toretto.

[LetThereBeSound]

Jay most brown "lamp cord" wires indeed have a way you can tell which leg is the (+) and which leg is the (-). If you take a closer look to this cable you will note that one of the sides have a "ribbed" type pattern running on its outer side. That's how you can tell which side is which and it is up to you to determine whether the ribbed side is the positive or the negative. Anyway, FYI.

All my best,

Oz
LTBS

[shadowofpain]

In the 60's early 70's some amps came with instructions to use lamp cord for speaker wires. I am betting the strand gauge was larger and the copper was of higher purity back in those days.

[tom-oymn]

Jay-the most muscular hi -ender and most hi-end bodybuilder🙆

[davidburg]

You should make it more fair by making a thick cord or buying a cheap cable on amazon, instead of lamp cord

[Hi-EndAudioGuy]

I think most guys recommend 14AWG or 12AWG to reduce insertion loss. While levels should be similar, should check with an SPL meter. Cables like the MIT has a network inside that might also attenuate the sound.

[nikorautiainen]

Oh, I've been waiting for this one. Great to see that you are actually doing this. Lately this has become one of my favourite audio yt channels. Been hitting the like button like crazy 😅

[lintashdown]

I'm intrigued. About 40 years ago there was at least one reviewer in the UK who recommended solid core cables used for internal house wiring. I tried it out and improved my system. Well done Jay for going where the current generation of HiFi reviewers daren't tread 😇. Part 2 should be very interesting!!

[jas.oncroft]

Loved this type of video and the video was really well made and well filmed.

Talk about a legit cliffhanger. If what we heard in those final seconds was actually Home Depot lamp cord, we have an issue. There is NO WAY lamp cord compares. I suspect you are a brilliant show man who got his hook in for the Part Two of this.

[tudorgabrielgavrilescu]

Hi Jay, some years ago I compared a cheap cable versus a more expensive one. The result was really intriguing and definitely not the one expected.
I would of course keep it secret until you will reveal the result.

I can say now that everything became clear after I replaced only one cable and kept the expensive one in the place.
Then you see why and how, and where are your money going.

There is a reason for such debate and hate for the expensive cables.

One can try and see. If you do not accept the result, just replace only one cable and is clear. All the best !

[shannonwilliams]

Please do more content like this it's good to change it up

[JasonDominus]

Jay. It's cool to see you explore some of the nitty gritty of the audiophile world. It will be interesting to hear your experience.

Cables absolutely can change the sound of your system and that is scientifically validated. Resistance and capacitance values can have an effect. It mostly present as high frequency roll-off. Note that any vendor talking about inductance and skin effect is lying to you. Skin effect does not have anything to do with the audio band. That being said, in a home environment with its limited distance runs there is no reason you can't have a totally transparent cable. The cost of a totally transparent cable is negigible. I use Canare 4s11 star quad cable because it is the most transparent and neutral cable I have found vs other cables. It's not free, but it is not expensive either. The star quad arrangement (twisted cable) has a neat trick that straight cable doesn't. It gives the cable natural EMI rejection. This is the same concept that Ethernet cables use to be able to run at very high speeds. You can run it next to power cables without the typical bleed over. The cable is used in a lot of music produiction studios because of that property.