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Finally, a scientific reason why speaker cables make a difference

Passion for Sound

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Checkout Iconoclast cables here - https://www.iconoclastcable.com
Watch the original video - The Uncommonly Understood Nature of Common...

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In this video, I sit down to translate the complex physics of high-end audio cable design into plain English. Using a presentation from Galen Gareis of Iconoclast Cables, I explore why speaker cables, interconnects, and power cords aren't just "jewelry" for your hi-fi system. Whether you use Kef, Bowers & Wilkins, or Sennheiser, the way electricity moves through your wire affects the final sound you hear.

I break down technical concepts like skin effect, velocity of propagation, and dielectric absorption to show how they impact transparency, imaging, and tonality in your audiophile setup. My goal is to demystify the science behind Iconoclast and help you understand how cable geometry and metallurgy can elevate your listening experience. If you’ve ever wondered if premium cables are worth it, this deep dive into cable physics and signal integrity provides the answers you've been looking for.

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00:00 Do hifi cables really make a difference?
05:20 Galen Gareis presentation - AXPONA 2023
09:14 Impedance alters with frequency
20:06 Interactions between frequency and phase
38:47 Measurable differences between cables
57:19 Q&A

#audiophile #hifi #speaker-cables #iconoclast #passionforsound #audioreview #highendaudio #stereosystem #cablephysics #musiclover #soundsystem #audioengineering

20 Comments

@ChrisMag100 5 months ago (edited)

FWIW, I’ve used a range of speaker cables into my Focal Scala Utopias, and the result varies. This is true if I’m using a high powered tube amp, Class AB, or Class D.

It’s not hard to hear differences between a higher capacitance/low inductance cable vs a low-cap cable in a familiar resolving system.

I’ve met Galen. He’s definitely an engineering type guy, and not a salesman. Enthusiastic, smart, passionate about his hobbies.

I use WBC cable in my office setup. I use Galen’s design in my main system.

@Pksparty2112 4 months ago

I retired 4 years ago from the healthcare industry. I was a clinical biomedical technician. When we pulled bulk cable or built one off connectors we used Belden cable whenever possible. That was our personal standard

@ScientiaIpsaPotentiaEst 5 months ago (edited)

4:31 bro you're super genuine. One of my favorites

@renesrensen8789 3 months ago (edited)

I have been active with sound technology for along time earlier in my life, and what I can tell is that most musicians has some cable preferences at recording level, and they are all different. A good example is when a concert scene is being rigged, the guitarists in the same band having different cables.So it is with output at end listeners home... Cables matters a lot

@V-Basso 5 months ago

I hope this video reach as many audiophiles as possible. Thank you! Please make more videos about cables keeping this level of technical content. Galen is great!

@jakobgooijer 5 months ago

Very nice video and very educational. As an average consumer, I have never had the chance to test multiple speaker cables side by side, or even to just try them out for free. I get the feeling that I will never hear the best cable for my specific speakers and will have to make do with what I have.

@aj8ky 5 months ago (edited)

I used to think speaker cables mattered more than interconnects do. After testing in my own system I realised I was wrong. It doesn’t matter what length, what materials or even how damaged it is. Speaker cables don’t affect the sound of my speakers.

They still only connect via WiFi!😂

@colleenschwartz2838 5 months ago

Lachlan, thank you for this! I plan on rewatching. Clarifies many things for me!😊

@arthurhaywood2184 5 months ago

I remember back when I was hardcore into 2 channel audio. The complexity of this topic is enormous and the variables affecting sound quality are numerous.

I’ve done enough experimentations over the years to know that there’s absolutely no correlation between cable performance and price. I’ve found many inexpensive cable that perform as well as expensive cables. In some cases, they’ve outperformed.

This is not to say that cheap cables can’t sound cheap. It’s to say to be informed and shop smart. You don’t always have to throw gobs of money to get good results if you know the science of a good cable design.

One thing I want everyone to think about…….🤔

If you can, open up your speakers and look at the internal wiring. I can guarantee you that it’s going to be fairly rudimentary compared to the speaker cables running to it! I’ve seen very expensive speakers that were internally wired with cables that would get you laughed at if they were used between your amplifier and said speaker! Think about that for a minute……

@markwestley6706 5 months ago

As a retired audio engineer and amplifier designer and music lover, my personal opinion concerning perceived audible differences heard between different speaker cables in an audio system are mainly due to the output impedance of the power amplifier being used.
The higher the power amplifier output impedance, the greater likelihood that the cable and speaker characteristics may be audible.
Where an interconnecting cable is used between a low level signal from , for example, a Preamp and a Power Amp ,the same principle applies depending on the output and input impedances of the two pieces of equipment.
Amplifier output impedance can vary significantly between different power amplifiers and is dependent on the original design parameters used.

@philipw7058 2 days ago

This is the fact I tell every reviewer that your opinions on sound signature of a electronic device is always going to be different on other systems with different cables and electronics,and this fact this gentleman speaks about is relevant to all cables,power cables,and all interconnects

@dtdcampbell 5 months ago

Been wanting to test different speaker cables in my system. Is there a vendor that loans out cables to try?

Also any suggestions on cables to try? Currently using Blue Jeans 4S11 for my B&W 705 S3 Signature speakers.

@mohumohu-mofu 5 months ago

This was very helpful.
I'm glad I finally understood what was causing that strange feeling when I changed cables.

@Nefty_ 5 months ago

Thanks for keeping the information about cables going Lachlan. I think that the IIWI reviews videos are just the best ones to demonstrate what cables do. I wonder why more YouTubers don’t just do that! I’m even tempted to do it myself. We just need to records with poor cables then with high end ones, and the difference will be very apparent. The mistake is often to try to demonstrate what only one cable does, but changing multiple cables at once demonstrate much better I think.

@mortlach186 4 months ago

Bruce Brisson knew this back in the early eighties. He first worked at Noel Lee's company, designing cables for him, but at a price point before founding his own company in 85-86, somewhere in that time.

@christianreyes409 1 month ago (edited)

I’ve been watching a lot on speaker cables and interconnects I’m about to move up on my end game speaker cables , but what I’ve seen the metric that seems to matter the most is phase timing ,and I noticed a trend in the higher end speaker cables are the separation of the conductors to lower capacitance but in general increase inductance and impedance, but it seems that phase timing is an important metric for companies like tellerium q Tara labs , Nordost , and so forth, by the way I’m leaning to purchase the tellerium q ultra black ii

@stephenmeckley 5 months ago (edited)

Thanks for sharing and commenting. The RLC tank circuit at the beginning is useful for understanding where the impedance curve flattens but I think the RF stuff may make the rest of the discussion a bit more confusing TBH.

My thing is KISS! Use mono blocks close to the speakers and use short jumper cables:

1) Reduced high-frequency resistance from skin and proximity effects. AC resistance rises with frequency due to current migrating to the conductor surface; a shorter cable minimizes the total amount of conductor where this effect accumulates, keeping the high-frequency response flatter.
2) Preserved damping factor. Cable resistance is often the dominant factor degrading damping factor — not the amp's output impedance — and shorter cable keeps the amp in tighter control of the speaker cone, especially on transients and bass.
3) Lower total capacitance. Less cable length means less energy stored and released out of time with the signal, reducing the capacitive behavior that Gareis showed dominates at low audio frequencies.
4) Lower total inductance. Less cable reduces opposition to rapid current changes, which matters for high-frequency transient detail and clarity.
5) Reduced impedance mismatch with the speaker load. The cable's characteristic impedance at audio frequencies is inherently hundreds of ohms regardless of design; shorter cable reduces the magnitude of the reactive interaction between the amp, cable, and speaker.
6) Less group delay variation. Velocity of propagation varies with frequency in all cables — signals at different frequencies travel at different speeds — and a shorter cable gives those speed differences less distance over which to accumulate timing errors.

Longer balanced XLRs from pre to amp is a much easier engineering problem and saving all that speaker cable money lets me spend more on the amp and preamp. ;-)

@fuffy442 5 months ago

I know that thousands upon thousands of people can attest to hearing a clear difference in cables. Fine. But keep in mind that Millions upon Millions believe that some rando guy in upstate NY was able to read a magic text inside a hat using magic stones, and even more believe that they've seen the Virgin Mary in a water stain on the side of a building. If you've got the money to spend $3,500 on 10-feet of cable, then go for it. Have the best time, enjoy yourself and know that, when you play your "Best Of Fifty-Cent" CD, you're getting every nuance available.

@Rower30-ye6qn 5 months ago

The RL BLUE trace is the same cable, the STRUCTURAL change along the cable with respect to frequency changes the RL and the cable impedance.

@suryaparaman 5 months ago

This video made me sit back and seriously think about how complex the cable theory is

Good that you have taken an academic approach to balance out the expensive and cheap cables because most of the tests done by others don't do the capacitance, impedance and phase at every frequency

Now add less sensitive speaker say 83 db with a cable having higher impedance, it's definitely gonna make the amp cry.

Also I wanted to understand the delay for playing lower Freq around 20 hz concept
What would be audible effect will it loose rhythm or it's just indirect power loss from amp leading to more linear operation of amp speaker?