Hardware Information |
|
A Technical Introduction to Audio Cables
What is so important about cables anyway? One of the most common questions asked by consumers faced with purchasing cables for their audio or home theater system is, "What is so important about cables anyway?" They can cost as much or more than some of the hardware in the system and to many it is difficult to understand why wire isn't just wire. To begin to understand how audio cables work, we have to start with the two fundamentally different types of audio cables you are likely to have in your system. The first type of cable is called an interconnect, which is used to connect various components together (such as a CD player to a receiver). The second type of cable is called the loudspeaker cable (this is the wire going from the receiver or amplifier to the speakers). It is important to realize that both types of cables are carrying the same information, just with different amounts of energy. Interconnects carry a signal with very little energy. These cables only need just enough energy to convey the information from the source, for example a CD player, to the amplifier. The low energy requirement means that the signal in interconnects has very little current (usually in the range of thousandths of an amp). Loudspeaker cables on the other hand, carry a large amount of energy. All of the energy required to move the speaker cones and make sound must come through the loudspeaker cables. Because of the high-energy requirement in these cables the current is relatively high (currents can reach 10 amps or more). The very basic reason why audio cables are important is because they change the signal going through them. There are two different, fundamental ways that an audio cable can change the signal. The cable itself can change the signal, or the cable can allow outside sources of energy to change the signal. In order to understand how these two situations can occur, some basic background electrical knowledge is needed. Signals in all types of wires are conveyed by the combination of voltage and current. Every signal has some amount of voltage and some amount of current. The larger the difference in voltage between two places, say the beginning and the end of a cable, the larger the amount of current, and vice-versa. The direct analogy to voltage and current is the flow of water through a hose. The amount of water flowing through the hose is analogous to current. The water pressure in the hose is analogous to voltage. The higher the amount of water pressure, the more water will flow through the hose. The higher the amount of voltage, the more current will flow through the wire. Every cable has a set of electrical properties that can be measured using standard electrical testing equipment. The three most basic properties are resistance, capacitance and inductance. While a detailed description of these three different electrical properties is outside the scope of this article, a basic description of the relevant effects of these three properties can be given. - Resistance opposes current. The higher the resistance the greater the amount of energy that is removed from the current and turned into heat. - Capacitance opposes changes in voltage. If a voltage is increasing, capacitance will cause the voltage to increase more slowly. If a voltage is decreasing, capacitance will cause the voltage to decrease more slowly. - Inductance opposes changes in current. If current is increasing, inductance will cause the current to increase more slowly. If current is decreasing, inductance will causethe current to decrease more slowly. The final piece of background knowledge that is needed for this article is what the audio signal looks like. If one were to take the speaker cover off a speaker to look at the speaker cone while music is playing, you would see that it is moving back and forth. In order to move the speaker cone back and forth, the electrical signal must push and then pull the cone in rapid and repeating fashion. This is accomplished by having an Alternating Current, or AC. Alternating Current simply means that the voltage oscillates between positive and negative. Because the voltage drives the current, this means that the current also goes positive and negative. In other words, the current is going back and forth in the wire, just like the speaker cone. The subtle variations in how fast the voltage and current go back and forth creates the different sounds that we hear when listening to music. How a cable itself affects the audio signal Now, going back to the ways that the cable itself can change the signal going through it, let's consider both types of cables separately. As stated previously, interconnect cables carry a very small amount of current. Relative to the current the voltage is large. Because of that fact, capacitance is important, but inductance is relatively unimportant. As the voltage oscillates between being positive and negative, the capacitance slows the voltage changes down, and causes delays. This can cause audible distortion in the sound. Because interconnects have very little current, resistance is not much of a factor. Even an interconnect with extremely high resistance will only remove an infinitesimally small amount of energy. The signal in loudspeaker cables is essentially the opposite of the signal in interconnects. Both cables have the same information, but in loudspeaker cables, the voltage is small and the current is large, relatively speaking. Because of the high current, both resistance and inductance are important in loudspeaker cables. The higher the resistance, the greater the amount of energy that will be absorbed by the cables. The resistance will not cause any distortion, but it will decrease the volume of the sound. The inductance on the other hand, can cause distortion. As the current oscillates between being positive and negative, the inductance slows the current changes down, and causes delays. How a cable lets outside sources of energy affect the signal As stated previously, the second fundamental way of altering a signal passing through an audio cable is to introduce outside sources of energy. This outside energy is typically termed "noise". By definition, if any energy is absorbed by the signal, the signal has been distorted. There are many potential sources of noise around audio cables. Some of the more common sources of noise, such as radio frequency waves, are familiar to most people. When wiring up a radio, frequently a consumer must attach an antenna. Antennae are intentionally designed to channel radio frequency energy into a stereo. Just like an antenna, it is entirely possible for an audio cable to pick up radio frequency energy. If you are not intending to listen to the radio, this is not a welcome effect. Electronic components, electrical cords, sound waves, and even the sun, are all capable of creating noise. Electrical cords create electromagnetic fields around them that can transfer energy to a cable. Sound waves create mechanical vibrations that can be transformed into electrical energy that is added to an audio signal. Because there are so many different types of noise, there are many methods used to prevent a cable from picking up noise. Shielding, twisting of conductors, and mechanical damping are all common noise protection methods in cables. While noise affects both interconnects and loudspeaker cables, generally the effects are far more significant in interconnects. This is because the signals in the interconnects have far less energy. Since most forms of noise are inherently low energy to begin with, this means that it is far easier for them to modify the low energy interconnect signals than the high-energy loudspeaker cable signals. Macro vs. Micro The parameters discussed so far have been primarily "macro" effects. These are for the most part the top-level parameters that effect cables. These parameters as well as others not discussed here also exist at a "micro" level. Taking capacitance as an example, a given cable will have an overall capacitance that can be measured. This overall capacitance is a "macro" level parameter. The same cable can also be analyzed as 1000 separate but connected pieces. Each piece will have a local capacitance. These local parameters are "micro" effects and can have their own impact on the signal separate from the "macro" effects. The impact that the "micro" level parameters have on an audio signal is usually less than the impact of the "macro" level parameters. However, they do still make a difference in the signal transfer. The various ways that audio companies choose to either mitigate or ignore these "micro" level details is, in part, responsible for the vast array of different cable designs. From cryogenic treatments and precious metal wires, to fine silk insulation and fluid filled cable jackets; extreme cable designs abound. Will I hear the difference? The fact of the matter is that cables do alter the sound going through them, and that it is audible. You do not need to be an expert, or an audiophile, to hear the difference. To demonstrate this point, simply listen to your stereo. If you close your eyes, does it sound like the music is being played live right in front of you? This is what audiophiles strive for, and unless you have a very high-fidelity system, your answer to this question will most likely be no. You may have a hard time describing what exactly does not sound right about your system, but you know that it doesn't sound like a live performance. Of course, the reason why the music does not sound live cannot be blamed solely on the cables. The degradation of the sound occurs in every component of your system. However, the point here is that even a casual listener can detect the subtle distortions that can prevent music playback from sounding live. Improving the quality of your audio cables will improve the sound quality of your system. It is fairly safe to say that no matter what cable you use, the modifications to the sound will be small. Audio cables will never cause a listener to hear a piano when a flute is being played. However, it is the small detail that makes all the difference between good and bad quality sound. That is why very strong opinions are formed about various cables. As audio systems continue to improve in accuracy, listening to a "live" performance in your living room gets closer to reality. Cables are an enabling factor for advancements in audio reproduction and can play a remarkably important role in your system. Adam Blake CEO / Co-Founder Pear Cable, Inc.
MORE RESOURCES: Asus vows to improve clarity surrounding warranty claims and astronomical hardware repair costs Tom's Hardware Nvidia RTX 4070 Ti with memory mod easily beats RTX 4080 in Superposition benchmark - Tom's Hardware Bye Bye, AI: How to turn off Google's annoying AI overviews and just get search results Tom's Hardware Software and hardware update theSun Montclair hardware store to close after 131 years in business News 12 New Jersey My Mom and Dad Owned Competing Side-by-Side Hardware Stores. It Was a Lesson in Life. The Wall Street Journal OP police looking for 6 people involved in hardware store theft: WDAF FOX4 Kansas City Ace Hardware Reports Increase in Q1 2024 Revenues Hardware Retailing Canyon ISD brings home hardware at UIL state tennis tournament Press Pass Sports Hardware Center in Paoli shutting down after nearly 73 years The Philadelphia Inquirer Overland Park police searching for suspects in multiple thefts KMBC Kansas City ACE HARDWARE REPORTS FIRST QUARTER 2024 RESULTS PR Newswire Three-year-old CPU beats Intel's fastest current chip in RAM benchmark — 7 GHz Core i9-11900K tops 8.3 GHz Core ... Tom's Hardware Intel-powered Aurora supercomputer fails to dethrone AMD-powered Frontier on Top500 list, again — claims spot as ... Tom's Hardware Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, and other tech giants are cutting back on headcount—but their spending on hardware and ... Yahoo Canada Finance Ace Hardware purchases 13 local chain store locations across central Illinois The State Journal-Register How Much Does It Cost To Open an Ace Hardware Franchise? 1851 Franchise OpenAI's new assistant makes Apple's Siri look primitive, also announces GPT-4o and new desktop PC client (Updated) Tom's Hardware Melaco Sisters Hardware & Supplies Player of the Week: Zariell Pollard Lafourche Gazette Massive Dell blunder leaks Intel and Nvidia's mobile roadmaps — Nova Lake, Panther Lake CPUs and GENxx Nvidia ... Tom's Hardware Schoolmeester, Diani bring home hardware for Banks | Sports | forestgrovenewstimes.com Forest Grove News times CoLab Software raises $21M to help hardware engineering teams accelerate product development Business Wire Western Digital rolls out new 2.5-inch HDDs for the first time in seven years: is 6TB the swan song for 2.5-inch hard ... Tom's Hardware Enthusiast gets Windows XP running on an i486 — merging two dinosaurs from different eras Tom's Hardware US to increase tariffs on Chinese semiconductors by 100% in 2025 — officials say it protects the $53 billion spent on ... Tom's Hardware CPU Benchmarks and Hierarchy 2024: CPU Rankings Tom's Hardware Homegrown European processor for supercomputers delayed by a year — chip upgraded to 80 cores, but timeline gets ... Tom's Hardware If you think PCIe 5.0 runs hot, wait till you see PCIe 6.0's new thermal throttling technique Tom's Hardware Hardware Wildlife Education Center Utah Division of Wildlife Resources URI club sailing team heads to nationals, collects post-season hardware The University of Rhode Island Hardware visit Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Ace Hardware Brunswick | Ads | fredericknewspost.com Frederick News Post GPU Price Index 2024: Lowest price on every graphics card from Nvidia, AMD, and Intel today Tom's Hardware Microsoft offers to relocate nearly 10% of China-based staffers to the US or allied nations — AI and cloud engineering ... Tom's Hardware Intel's 1500W TDP for Falcon Shores AI processor confirmed — next-gen AI chip consumes more power than Nvidia's ... Tom's Hardware PS5 Best-Seller, Sales Drop For All Consoles - Europe Hardware Estimates for April 2024 - Sales VGChartz Save up to 50% on BBQs, lawn mowers and garden essentials during Home Hardware's massive pre-summer sale Yahoo Canada Shine On Intel's new Thunderbolt Share provides file and screen sharing without hurting network performance Tom's Hardware Area softball teams in search of hardware at various state tournaments Moscow-Pullman Daily News Nintendo Switch hacked to run Windows 11 on Arm, and it's just about as awful as you can imagine Tom's Hardware Ace Hardware partners with Webster Parish Council on Aging for fan drive Minden Press-Herald Daily Dish with K&K Hardware WHBF - OurQuadCities.com Our newest hardware office in Taiwan The Keyword | Google Product and Technology News Windows translator makes PC games run on Android — Fallout 4 demoed at 30 fps using Winlator app Tom's Hardware Windows 11 24H2 will enable BitLocker encryption for everyone — happens on both clean installs and reinstalls Tom's Hardware Asus quotes ridiculous $2750 fee to replace chipped GPU power connector— docs back up claims of egregious repair ... Tom's Hardware OLED monitor momentum expected to continue — analysts expect 1.34 million units shipped by year end Tom's Hardware Stack Overflow bans users en masse for rebelling against OpenAI partnership — users banned for deleting answers to ... Tom's Hardware 5 Best Hardware Wallets for DeFi in 2024 CoinCodex Curt's Ace Hardware Ribbon Cutting - Morristown, TN | Local News | citizentribune.com Citizentribune Full scan of 1 cubic millimeter of brain tissue took 1.4 petabytes of data, equivalent to 14000 4K movies — Google's AI ... Tom's Hardware Multiple Arm vendors are making chips for desktop PCs — Arm exec says Qualcomm Snapdragon won't be the only ... Tom's Hardware Incredible Apple M4 benchmarks suggest it is the new single-core performance champ, beating Intel's Core i9 ... Tom's Hardware |
RELATED ARTICLES
Dusting Your Computer - Keeping it Cool My mother always told me to dust, but I never did, mostly because I was lazy, but also because I couldn't find any tangible benefit to dusting. I just didn't see how I'd benefit from my room or my things being less dusty. Laptop Notebook - Inexpensive Business Laptops Laptop Notebook - Your Portable OfficeIn much of today's business world, portability and mobility are the keys to success. Having a laptop notebook computer provides business men and women with portable computing capability, and these notebooks help them take their mobile business functionality to a new level. What to Do Once You Are Infected with Spyware, Ad-ware or Viruses What to do once your PC is infected with spyware, ad-ware or virusesSo you've been running a virus program. Or you haven't. Used Laptop Computer: Your Quick Purchase Inspection Guide - Part 2 Used laptop computers are everywhere these days. How can you sift through the mass of available used laptop computers to narrow your search down to the right laptop for you? This is the second part of a series of articles designed to give you a few suggestions for your next purchase. How to Shop for Inkjet Printer Cartridges Keeping Shipping Costs DownWhen shopping for inkjet printer cartridges online keep in mind that postage can add significantly to the cost of a single inkjet cartridge. In some cases the cost of postage can be as much as the cost of the inkjet printer cartridge effectively doubling the price you pay. A Guide to Refurbished Laptops Computing freedom, independence, and mobility don't have to come with a hefty price tag.Manufacturers refurbish laptop computers that have been returned. Do You Have Dead Pixels? Take a good look at your notebook computer screen. Do you find some tiny dark spots? You could have dead pixels. The Right Way To Discharge Capacitor In Switch Mode Power Supplies Switch mode power supply contain some large filter capacitors that can hold dangerous charges even if the unit has not been used for several days. Typical values of this type of filter capacitor are 220uf 250volt and 330uf 400volt! If you are going to work on the power supply circuits, it's a good idea to discharge that capacitor first. Testing Diode -The Accurate Way on How to Test Semiconductor Diode Using Multimeter Testing diodes is different from testing a resistor because you need a skill to do it. If you do not know or wrongly test a diode you will be unable to repair the equipment. 5 Ways To Backup Your Data... The data on your hard drive is the most critical item inside your computer, and the only item which can not be replaced. It may be an unwanted hassle and expense to replace a defective memory module, monitor, or processor, but there is no replacing data once lost. A Guide to Refurbished IBM Laptops IBM boasts a very large array of older and newer refurbished laptops on their website ibm.com. Laptop and Notebook Theft Prevention Laptops or Notebook computers are an expensive personal and business asset that are highly sought after by both small time thieves and large complicated theft rings. Keeping your laptop and notebook computers safely in your possession should always be in the back of your mind. How to Read CRT Tube Part Numbers All picture tubes, whether monochrome or color type are identified by a specific code consisting of numbers and letters. The codes are different from each other because different tubes have different characteristics. Obsolete Is A Dirty Word (Intel Pentium 64 Bit Microchip) Get ready everyone, home computers are about to set new LAN speed records! The Intel 64-bit microchip will soon be powering the new line of Pentium 4 computers. This long awaited sizzling fast release will be heading to store shelves across America just in time for the new blazing fast Windows 64-bit operating system. Computer Hardware Preventive Maintenance Software Computers often break down at the worst of all times. These problems can be averted, or at least minimized with preventive maintenance. Investing On A 1D Bar Code Reader Whereas 2D bar codes offer more security and safety for their subjects, 1D bar codes, as read by 1D bar code readers, are more practical for wide scale operations. The reason? Bar codes with single layers are more affordable to produce than the double layered inscriptions of 2D bar codes. Your Hard Drive is Going to Explode - Why a UPS is Essential It's most peoples worst computing nightmare. You wake up in the morning, flip on the computer, and it doesn't boot. Flash Memory Part 2: MMC and SD MMC and SDFlash memory is available in so many formats that it can be difficult to know what will work with any particular device. Devices such as MP3 players, PDAs, mobile phones, digital cameras, and personal computers can take advantage of flash memory to bolster their storage capacity, but selecting the right format may be easier said than done. Cisco CCNA Certification: An Illustrated Guide To Ethernet CSMA/CD When you're studying for your CCNA exams, you're going to study the theory of technologies we basically take for granted in networking. CSMA/CD is one of those technologies. Review: Implementing the Google Search Appliance in an Intranet environment Our corporate intranet is a non-framed environment with both Lotus Domino and IIS (.Net and classic ASP) applications and content. |
home | site map |
© 2006 |