Exotic cable designs
can include unusual geometries, such as square or flat conductors, to
reduce cable capacitance and/or inductance. For speaker cables, some manufacturers
minimize self-inductance by using multiple insulated wires to form each
conductor. And capacitance is often reduced in line cables with expensive
insulators and jackets. Also common is the use of silver, gold, and other
expensive materials in conductors and connectors to improve performance.
These kinds of tweaks can cost some serious money, resulting in remarkably
high-priced cables. But in the right sonic environment with the right
gear, they really can provide audible improvements, albeit subtle ones.
Whether those improvements are worth the price depends on many factors,
starting with your budget and ending with simple common sense. If you
are trying to decide whether to spend your inheritance on a pair of speaker
cables or a new Jeep, you’re probably overdoing it!
The
Big Runaround
So, what is the best way to go about upgrading your audio system with
better cables? Well, short of simply replacing every cable with the best
that money can buy—a costly proposition—one approach is to replace
a few key cables and determine for yourself if there’s an improvement.
For example, you might try purchasing a premium-quality mic cable and
a similar-quality line cable for connecting a mic and preamp directly
to a recorder. Then, record a source using both sets of cables—the
originals and the new ones—and compare the results. If you hear an
improvement, you must decide if it’s worth the money to replace the
rest of your cables.
In the meantime, you can do several things to maximize the performance
of the cables presently in your system. For starters, be neat with cable
runs, not only to keep a tidy house, but also so that your cables don’t
cause problems with one another. Specifically, be sure that analog audio
cables, digital audio cables, speaker cables, and power cables are separated.
It is especially important to keep speaker and power cables separate from
audio cables, because they can cause hum and signal degradation. If you
have to cross audio and speaker cables (or power cables), do so at a right
angle; however, do this only if you can’t find a better solution.
It’s also important to clean your connectors on a regular basis.
Connectors left sitting in jacks for extended periods will build up dirt
and oxidation, which degrade the connection. Regular plugging and unplugging
helps connectors to self-clean to some extent. In addition, you should
periodically use Tweak, Cramolin, or a similar product to directly clean
contacts and jacks.
Make every effort to avoid excessive cable runs. Because longer cables
have more resistance and capacitance and are more prone to interference,
keep your cables as short as possible. Use the most appropriate length
for a given cable run—even if means you have to cut and solder the
cable. Also, be sure that all permanent cables have good strain relief,
and wherever possible, affix cables to a support to take the weight off
the connectors. Finally, label all the cables in your studio. Months after
you have wired everything up and can’t remember what goes where,
you’ll be glad you did!
Jeff Baust is an audio engineer and a composer in Boston and New York City. He is owner of Coral Sea Music and a professor of Music Technology at Berklee College of Music.
Reprinted with
permission from 
Magazine, January, 2001
© 2001, Intertec Publishing, A Primedia Company All Rights Reserved
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