You know... as an American it would be nice if someone in my country would produce reviews as detailed, well structured, logical, and just enough technical talk to make it interesting but not get us non-engineers lost in the weeds of transistors, capacitors and biasing tubes, Tarun surely is becoming the standard for excellence. The review on interconnects is absolutely a first rate job. All I can say is... Well Done Sir!! and I will definitely continue watching and I will recommend your videos to my audiophile friends... just really well done.

I'm a 3 x Grammy nominated audio engineer. Let me share my experience. I did a simple scientific test, that consists of taking the signal out of the converter (D/A) and recording it back through a A/D converter. So, the signal path is: DAW (Pro Tools HDX @ 96k) > D/A converter > *CABLE* > A/D converter > DAW. I used music program, white/pink noises and 1k sine wave signals, and repeated the process using my cables from Monster Cable (Studio Pro 1000), Mogami (Gold Studio- quad), Gepco (can't remember), Van Den Hul (D 102 MKII), Reference (RMLCO2) and Belden (don't know which model), one by one. After getting all the signals recorded back through each one of the cables, I started doing null tests with them. And surprisingly, ALL OF THEM NULLED with each other. Only with the Belden, really (I mean REALLY) minor 'tsc' (say, after 10 seconds, one 'tsc' happened). You *should* know that when 2 signals null themselves, is because they are IDENTICAL. So, from my own experience, in a scientifically controlled experience, all this buzz about some cable being more 'coloured', or 'the bass response of that cable is deeper', all this talk is pure BIAS. Back in time I was always concerned about which cable I should use with that mic or gear, and I could swear that I was hearing differences between them. But now, I just pick the one in front of me and use with total confidence and knowledge: good shield, longevity, flexibility, reliability, well built, those are what I expect from a good cable. *Important* - when regarding INSTRUMENT cables, then yes, there are differences in sound between cables due to the CAPACITANCE. But this is another subject...

I'm not a regular commenter, but you know you've done something well when a subscriber rewatches your videos several times to cull every last bit of knowledge your sharing. Several of your informational videos are reference material to me. Thank you again keep up the great work.

Great one Tarun, excellent conclussion. Thanks for the effort and time invested!

Excellent, Tarun. Very high quality content and meaningful evaluation categories for audiophiles because we know that cables make a significant difference. All the best, Rob in Switzerland

Excellent video, you set the foundation and science, explained the experiment, and documented the results. A joy to watch and I learned a lot. Thanks

That was very well done, thank you. I was surprised and impressed to hear you advocate extended, relaxed listening sessions as a method of evaluation over the usual quick A/B swaps.

Ah Tarun you are a brave man indeed, evaluating cables. As always, I appreciate your approach to reviewing. You tell us what you hear, rather than summarizing. And since we know what your reference system is, we have a way to correlate your descriptions to a know reference.

Awesome Tarun! The think that I like about your reviews are the clarification of the fundamentals which folks won't find in any other channels. Keep it up.

Wow, Tarun. What a fantastic video. Never seen such a thorough video on cables before.

Best cable discussion I’ve seen. Balanced, scored and enjoyed watching. Thanks Tarun. Makes me want to test my crazy cables against one of these…

Great work Tarun. This review couldn't be more timely. Currently thinking of building my own rca cables. Even though the price of the chord would be way out of my level of affordability, it gives me some comfort knowing that the likes of the mogami isn't that far off behind. Much appreciated for your effort to do this video.

Nice one, Tarun. This was a great video and your final advice was perfect.

Hands down the most informative UKposts presentation I've watched explaining the importance of cables within a HiFi system. Many thanks Tarun. The content on your channel is always a MUST SEE for anyone with an interest in the audiophile world. Always superbly explained and absolutely no hyperbole. Thanks for taking the time and effort.

Wow, that was a lot of work! The results and your analysis are very impressive. Thank you. I hope you had fun.

Another great video, with an eloquent explanation of your thoughts that so closely mirror my own musings my wife looked up and asked if Id been involved with your script! Thanks for doing what you do so well , I always enjoy your content.

Great review, I wish more reviewers adopted this approach with speakers, amps etc as well as cables. It’s much more useful to compare products across categories in order to shortlist what may appeal to you.

Probably the best cable presentation that you can come across on the net. I really liked the objectivity and the categories used to determine differences that may exist between cables.

Great!!! Best cable discussion Tarun. Perfectly defined categories to measure the cable performance. 👍🏻👍🏻

What an awesome explanation. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your/wife findings.. Very much appreciated!! 🙏🏻

As always, you bring a unique and detailed balanced info. There were too many subjective / uncontrolled variables here with an n = 1 for my scientist brain to truly believe differences in cables could be accurately discerned, but I appreciate the effort put in, and the neutral presentation of the experiment.

Studios don't use RCA cables. I should know. I design cable and signal transmission systems for contemporary TV studios. We use XLR cables, Belden, Mogami, Klotz, Sommer, Canford, whatever we can find in the box, (but always Neutrik connectors, because they don't break). Then we run it to the stage box, where it's A/D converted, and run as multicast IP traffic over the cheapest available unshielded CAT6 into a wall box where there's a £3 RJ45 IDC jack, and then 70 metres of CAT6, another IDC jack, and then into an Ethernet switch. The switch of course costs £5000, because it's a PTP boundary switch. The cable wankery is just that, wankery. It does not matter a bleeping worm turd what you use, as long as it is balanced, reasonable impedance and rugged. If you could be arsed to do a proper *double* blind test, you would be very hard pressed to find any differences, and if you do, it's usually because the audiophile gear tends to be built using unstable unfiltered designs that brown out when you load it just a little bit wrongly. Proper gear, built right to pro transmission standards, is very insensitive to cable loading. 100 meters 120Ω pair cable is inaudible if you do it right.

Dear Tarun...till today I have seen so many various tests and reviews regarding audio signal cables...but this one from You vastly overcomes all the prevoius ones ...and in all aspects . For me as B.Sc. electrical engineer it was quite easy to smootly fallow your ecellent presentation...and with a lot of joy. For over 40 Years I have been using Van den Hul cables...as well. No regret at all. Best regards

Back in the late 90's I was loaned an off board Dac by my hifi dealer to use with an ageing Phillips cd850mk2. Over the course of the week of listening I have to admit I wasn't overly excited, so the end of the week came and the dac was unplugged to return as I didn't thing it made a difference. Playing a track while boxing the dac up to return got my attention as it now sounded closed in and flat not 3 dimensional and full bodied!!!! A very quick re plugging of the DAC returned the 3d fullness so I left it in place and stumped up the £200 for the dac. Some times it is when some thing is removed that we hear what it did.

I love the approach you took with evaluating these cables and the advice you give is sage. I subscribed well before you brought up quantum mechanics. Now I wish I could hit that button x10!

As always intelligent, informative and enjoyable to watch. Good show.

Just came across your video, and even though it is not new anymore, it is very refreshing to see someone try and explain cable theory - Thank you! As a former cable designer I just want to add a few notes that you may find interesting. So glad you touched upon the inductance and capacitance of cables. This is where things get interesting for a designer. The impedance can almost be reduced to a result of the inductance and capacitance. Often an interconnect cable impedance ends up being around 75 ohms. For XLR it will certainly be. But that does not mean that all cables share the same inductance and capacitance, but the sum of these values often will be comparable. The real magic happens around the di-electric as you also touched upon. These materials are key to the charge curve and phase of the cable - Not as a battery charge, but comparable to a capacitor, this curve will not be linear, and it will influence on the sound. The input impedance on the receiving equipment, will also form a filtering part with the cable, this of course has impact on the sound. Conducting materials and DC resistance, is far from the only exciting specs. of a cable.

Yep !! You got that right mate. The Mogami Neglex W2534 is quite the hidden gem of a cable. Been using it as my primary interconnect for audio and HT appliocations since 2008. With all my microphones and even with all my headfphones. It is simply that good. Definitely one of the very best bang for your buck, quality all rounder audio cables out there. Nice one again Tarun. Keep up the good work. Cheers.

This video was perfectly timed for where I am in my audiophile journey. I've only been in the hobby for about a year, and I've recently considered upgrading my interconnects and speaker cables to possibly improve the sound of my system. I'm looking at two pro-grade cables: Mogami 2549 and Canare L-4ES6. Your review gave me some things to consider (in terms of cables and system synergy.) The midrange is a bit lean in my system, and the right cable could potentially make an incremental improvement to the sound at a reasonable cost. Thanks, and keep up the good work. Cheers!

Tarun, I really appreciate hearing your opinions and knowledge on all things audio. In a future piece can you shed light on the pros and cons of TOSLINK versus S/PDIF RCA interconnects. I’m always looking for ways to tweak my system. Keep up the great work.

Wow.. A sensible, well thought out objective review of affordable cables ! I didn’t think such a thing existed in the audiophile world ! I replaced some “audiophile” speaker cables with some Canare pro 4S11 which was much less expensive than what I was using previously. they don’t look as impressive, but they do sound better in my system. Since I’m using a Music First Audio passive TVC, I have selected wire that best meets the proper electrical characteristics for Impedance, resistance, capacitance, A good place to start I thought.. but still searching for that last percentage of synergy that seems elusive. Thank you again for the time and effort you put into this comparison ! It’s not an easy task and you pulled it together quite well ! 👍🏻

Hi Tarun I've really enjoyed the two videos you've done on interconnects. I agree with you that buying better kit is a more preferable route than expecting 'better' cables to be a panacea for what is perceived as lacking in a system. You also make a great point about how our listening experience is affected by tiredness, electricity supply etc. But when you think about it there are two reasons to buy and swap out existing hi-fi components and accessories. The first one is a must in that if you are unhappy with clarity, tonality and dynamics, you'll want o buy better kit. Your suggestion of spending 3 X more on the upgrade has worked for me, (I did this before hearing you say it). The second reason for upgrading is where you love what you've got but there must be better kit out to buy, and we don't want to miss out. I've got chord cobra interconnects between CD player and Amp. Before upgrading my amp and CD player to high-end,. I couldn't tell the difference between my interconnects and Chord Shawline. I heard the difference when I heard Chord epic, but to my ears, it flattened the music. Now I have better kit, I thought about trying Chord Epic or similar in my newest system, and see how that would work. But then I heard you relate in this video how the 5 cables performed in terms of clarity of acoustic instruments etc, and I realized that the interconnects give me what I want, simply because they do, and the hi-fi equipment is very good. So, I'm not going to buy or stress myself trying several£400 interconnects 'on loan' to chase a better sound. That's because the ones I have do the job right. Ultimately, I don't want to pay money for interconnects that may well introduce neutrality or sibilance.

This is the best interconnect cable review I’ve ever seen. The recommendation are very interesting. Another great video. Keep up the great work.

We could say the same for sources and amps. Some might dazzle you with sparkle and energy, other just open a window to a performance to let you peek in. Our preferences regarding music genres and the volume we usually listen to are also factors contributing to the selection of a particular brand. Great video as usual! Trust your ears and not the hype!

Hi Tarun as always great video, you take the time ti give a great explanation on all your reviews , much appreciated.

excellent review as always love this style and detailed analysis not for bragging rights or ego just raw data and facts keep goin tarun we appreciate you friend

Interesting results, thanks for the video

Very well done. Thanks to your wife for providing her ear to you and us. As women generally are smaller than men, so are their ears and ear canals and consequently they can hear higher frequencies than the less refined bigger males. As to the table, I have a hobby in decision theory and so I copied the table from the video into a spreadsheet. My Mogami row adds up to 47, not 46. That's not a big deal though. The reason I did this was to see what the effect on the scores would be if I "weighed" the individual attributes. A weight of "1" for all attributes then gives 40, 46, 47, 42, 50 as scores. Note that the sum of the weights is 14. If I then apply a 1, 2 or 3 weight to each attribute according to what I feel is important, then in my case the weights add up to 31 now - 7 times a 3, 3 times a 2 and 4 times a 1. To get my weighted scores in the same ballpark as yours, I multiplied my score sum by 14/31. This results in 40.6, 45.2, 48.8, 40.2, 50.6. Not a shockingly different ordering. Let me add a bit to the conversation, still. There's one thing we generally do not measure: wave shape. Electrical engineers test with DC or sinusoidal signals and both have zero relevance to our ears and the hearing behind it. Play the central A on the piano and if tuned to today's standard, you'll hear something we call "440 Hz". If you look at the shape of that piano's wave, you'll see complexity and the shape does not resemble a sinusoidal wave. There are really high frequency elements in there that determine the "voice" of the individual instrument - they are all different, like human voices. The reason we recognize a piano is because our ear is a complex microphone with 20,000 neurons each measuring another frequency (range). The auditory nerve system is much faster than the visual system, by the way. What we can do with this system requires training or learning. And our ability to "judge" sound depends on that learning experience. A concert pianist may be able to discern the five Steinway grands they can choose from for their recital "in the blind" even when to us they all sound the same - like a very nice concert grand. What does this have to do with cables? Well, the differences in quality we perceive indicate that they have frequency dependent properties and their impact on acoustic imaging suggests these are in part frequency dependent phase shifts. An electrical engineer with their Ohm's Law and "humans hear nothing above 20 kHz sinusoidal" is totally oblivious to this all. The second thing we have to be aware of is that the cable as interface in a system, is not subjected to legal standards. My power amp can throw 60 Ampères at each of my speakers. Try to get that properly across with thick figure 8 lamp wire. And my pre-amplifier as a Voltage amplifier can throw over 100V at my power amps input. Which again poses serious requirements to the "audio interconnect" cable. Three octaves above piano's central A, we are in musical domain that does not see a lot of action (3,520 Hz), relative. If a transversal flute plays the same note as the piano's central A, it sounds differently. And so does a clarinet. And a violin. And a human voice. Our ears can pick them apart, place them in space and recognize them as such. Even when some of them play at the same time. In terms of "sinusoidal frequency response" we need way more bandwidth than 20 kHz. Distortion-free BANDWIDTH. Try to get an amplifier, interconnect and loudspeaker to produce a 1,760 Hz block wave (2 octaves above piano's central A) and with a measurement microphone and oscilloscope compare what was sent to the input of the chain and what comes out. You'll be shocked and wonder how come we recognize anything coming out of these systems. Yes, I am saying that part of what one person might call snake oil, another might call the former's limitations in their measurement and their hearing abilities. To be very clear, Tarun, that was a heck of a nice review with a very good presentation. Keep up the good work.

Very interesting presentation. Thanks for going to all that trouble to bring us the results of the testing!

This video breaks everything down that we enthusiasts are looking for in cables. You go into great detail with explanations, well appreciated. I feel you on the wife picking up the right remote. Haha!

Another excellent video, especially love how you conclude with your own experiences. Myself, I've done a few things which have had very negligible differences before and after such as bi-wiring, putting cheap anti-vibration pads under my TT, etc. But recently changed my Chord Rumour X speaker cables to Kimber 8TC and that made a significant difference in the tonality of the music.

Like you basically said Tarun at the end of your video, it's all about matching the correct cable to your existing system to get the balanced and needed sound for you. The cost of the cable means Diddley squat if it doesn't produce the sound your wanting. A very good video and thanks for sharing it.

Love your videos Taran - great stuff. My OCD is triggered hard though, by your camera not being placed in the sweetspot of your speakers :D Keep up the good work man. from a fan i Denmark.

many thanks for the cable tests.its always interesting to hear what other peoples thoughts are.. as usual the arguments go on..

Best description of cable characteristics I’ve heard.

Great video. As an intermediate audiophile I’ve also noticed cabling matters. Naturally I don’t go looking for the most expensive or exotic stuff. But I have plunked down enough cash to compare a few moderately priced balanced cables on my headphone rig. One was a cheap generic brand from China that came 3-pairs-to-a-pack. The next most expensive was a custom cable from Blue Jean. The third and most expensive was a pair of Mogami. The Chinese brand was sort of meh. The Blue Jeans seemed to be a distinct step up and were the most natural sounding. The Mogamis sucked the life out of the music and harshened up the sound in a way that I could not have predicted. I’m glad l tried all three to see what was up because if I’d just bought the Mogami’s on price/brand, today I would be assuming something was wrong with the rest of my rig. And it would have been a lot more expensive upgrading my other components trying to “fix” what some $90 cables were doing to my sound. The moral of the story: new cables aren’t always about chasing audio perfection - sometimes they’re about finding out your default cable choices were ruining the audio perfection you already had.

Most excellent presentation Tarun, Thank You. I have made my own cables for 50 years. I use various professional cables, like the Belden and Mogami that you have reviewed. Indeed there are subtle differences in each. But this is the joy and frustration of this hobby. Please keep up your remarkable work.

Hi Tarun really enjoyed this video very subjective and you took the time it would seem to really get to grips with what you were dealing with. I would describe myself as cable curious. I definitely know they make a difference but like you it's sometimes difficult to understand how. And anytime I get the opportunity to hear somebody's opinion that I respect explain and shine some light on what they've found it's always very interesting to me. So thanks mate for doing this I am one who enjoyed it a great deal. 👍🎧🙂

I started my audio journey in the early 80s. I’ve spent a lot of time, hard earned money, and experimentation building a system that reproduces music the way I prefer to hear it. The smallest part of my budget, given over to cables. Whilst I appreciate they do make a difference, you need to spend a lot of money for very small differences, which may or may not be favourable. I’ve spent as much money on my hifi as many people spend on a new family car. I have friends who have spent more on cables than I’ve spent on my complete, and to my way of thinking that is extreme. That having been said, many of my friends, colleagues and family consider my hifi expenditure, extreme. Even though I think my rig is now about as good as I can get it, within the limits of my listening environment, I still avidly and enthusiastically read, listen to and watch hifi reviews and comparisons. I still have a thirst for knowledge. I can honestly say, that was one of the best, if not the best video I’ve seen. I’d raise my hat to you, if I had a hat! Absolutely superb. Keep those videos coming.

I was just researching this myself you hit the nail on the head.We must be twins so much of your thoughts and theory are mine also.But you do a better job putting it into words.

as always Tarun another great presentation.... your expertise and advise is very much appreciated !!

Just picked up a Mogami balanced XLR cable after hearing about the brand from this video. Great build quality, great sound, great price. I am delighted. Thanks, Tarun !

Thank you! Thank you! Tarun, this video was a game changer for me! This video set me off on the search for the Belden 8402 cable, and I tracked some down. I then saw a few online posts, picked up some Switchcraft 3502AAU RCA connectors, and made some DIY interconnects following the "Japanese" termination, as suggested by Jeff Day and others, where the shield is connected at both ends. I used Cardas Quad-Eutectic solder which is awesome to work with. Wow!!! I am so happy with the results. These IC's are, hands down, the best I have heard in my system which is on the bright side. Soundstage width and depth increased, there was more "air" around performers who were more precisely positioned in the soundstage, I was able to hear the acoustic nature of the recording space and its natural reverberation more, the timbre of acoustic instruments became more natural, and the attack and decay increased from my former cables, mainly on solo piano pieces. I was actually able to sell all of my Nirvana SL interconnects and end up with a substantial amount of cash in my pocket at the end of the day. I have since also replaced my Nirvana SL speaker cables with DIY Belden 9497 speaker cables, but that's another story.

This is a cool comparison! I plan to experiment with a bunch of different rca cables from Ali express to see how they compare in sound to my Beldon rca, same ones you used here. Should be fun!

I am surprised by the results, but thanks for all your time and energy doing this test.

Very well done! Loved the detailed presentation. Thanks!

Cool test. ⭐/⭐! Cheers, thanks and many extra thanks to Mrs British Audiophile,, 🍻🍻😎👍‍‍👍‍‍!

Having been interested in good quality Hifi just my observation: interconnects sound different indeed, and you don’t need to be an audiophile to hear the differences. To my surprise when doing a comparison: it seemed that one interconnect sounded louder than another one. Another difference was the soundstage: Nordost Red Dawn brought the sound more forward into the room than the v.d.Hul you included. As always really appreciated your in depth review!

One of the very very best UKposts reviewers. Enough detail and no BS: Congratulations.

Hi Tarun. Great video - objective listening and comparison with some science thrown in for good measure. I've commented on a previous video regarding cables. I can hear a difference with cables and my journey has led me through Van den Hul to Chord Chorus to Chord Signature to Chord Indigo. Each time I have experienced an improvement the further up the chain I go in terms of expense. Recently I've been using a Wireworld Platinum Eclipse (top of the range) to connect my Dac for streaming which unfortunately had to be sent for repair due to a faulty connection. While the cable was away I had to use a much inferior Cambrige Audio I/c instead. Let's just say that after hearing the difference I stopped streaming until the Wireworld cable returned. Sceptics will always cry 'snake oil' but if you can hear it, you can hear it.

The power earth cable in a kettle or toaster or fridge is required to have a DC resistance less than 0.1 Ohm, regardless of length, including the plug pin. This is easy stuff, and interconnects over a dollar or two are snake oil for easy victims.

I read something once about single crystal copper that seemed plausible : the "grain boundaries" between crystals of standard copper are like semiconductor junctions, so they introduce nonlinearity (distortion). I acquired some Hitachi single crystal speaker cables and they do sound cleaner to me.

Great video. Thank you for explaining everything so clearly and simply.

As always great review and absolutely loved hearing your honest advise.👍🏻

Great review! Good to know that everything needn’t cost an arm and a leg. I like Chord’s Clearwater. I was wondering whether Audioquest’s Golden Gate would be a good alternative to that for my second set up?

"There might be all types of windows and doors to our perception that we haven't uncovered yet" perfect.

An excellent effort at narrowing the field yet providing the foundation for continued exploration and enjoyment.

Thanks a lot for your in depth review! I eventually swapped my Chord co. c-line interconnect (between CD player and pre-amp) for the vintage Belden you reviewed. I've got active speakers and the system sounds rather analytical. The c-lines brought a lot of more detail and sound stage compared to the then about 20 year old Monster interconnects (entry-level). But it was all a bit too much aggressive, especially in the mid-highs and highs. The Belden do fit my equipment much better in my case. At first glance they sounded very natural but I thought I was missing out some details. When listening longer I learned that everything was there, but just more in balance. Voices always upfront and intact, no matter what there was sounding around them. But some instruments and effects more behind in the sound, as they are supposed to be! Overall a far more relaxed listening experience with better bass control and silence around the instruments. Feels like a perfect fit (for me).

Well done and much appreciated! I spent a little recently to upgrade to Blue Jean interconnects and speaker cable. It was definitely different but I never concluded it was better or worse...just different.

The results of this experiment, as far as I'm concerned, are mixed. On the one hand, the Chord Co. cables demonstrate that as you pay more for audio components, you do get marginally better performance, but not multiple times better performance. On the other hand, it appears that the Van Den Hul cables demonstrate that not all audio components perform in line with the price you pay for them, allowing for the snake oil theory to continue to haunt us. In other words, the results, as I see them, give both camps ammunition, and therefore, the debate continues. Thank you for taking the time to conduct this experiment. I really appreciate it. Cheers!

Thanks for this review. New to me high gain vintage valve monoblocks on 105 db sensitive speakers have had me chasing down unwanted noise in my system that’s been very audible from the listening position. I’ve now reduced it down to only being audible right next to the speakers. It’s taken shielded mains and interconnect cables to do this combined with plugging power amps and source into the same gang plug. I’m looking at cables again now because I’ve got Ifi phono 3 on order that deserves a quality cable.

New to your channel i've already watched several videos and love your approach. Expecially on delicate and controversial issues like this one. Respect!

Audiophille's attempting to reconcile Quantum Mechanics? Their arrogance would never alllow it. Excellent and informative as always Tarun!

Great work. What a well presented video.

Great video. Being an average music listener I don’t have the knowledge or ear (40 years flying jets) to tell the worst from the best component. So you do a great service to all in my category. Ty Steve

A very well done video on a subject that divides hifi lovers. I've only used three interconnects throughout my 26 years of hifi listening. The first being the old Cambridge Audio Pacifics, this was a cracking upgrade from the inbox cables. Second being the Chord Crimson which was leagues ahead of the CA. Lastly, the Atlas Integra which I'm still using today.

OutStanding video so much work appreciate your effort. Although it would've been nice to throw in a much higher end cable. So I'm still at a loss to understand what a truly higher end interconnect table Will do for me. Although mogami seems to offer a great value.

Entertaining video Tarun. Thank-you for explaining the engineering involved with the cables in front of you. Plenty of good advice on listening tests too. Your conclusion is also bang-on. As audio engineers, it is hard to resist the temptation to measure what we can, rather than researching the things we should be measuring. For the true cable nerds, I recommend reading Allen Wright's "The Supercables Cookbook". The theory section is both surprising and convincing. Those able to solder can try some "recipes". Having tried a few I am confident that the adventurous readers here will not be disappointed. On the subject of air as a dielectric, if you examine the geometry of DNM cable, it appears to be a ribbon but on closer examination proves to be a flattened C-shaped so that the direct path between conductors is mostly air. (This is purely an observation, everyone's system works differently.) Finally my own findings: 1. The most obvious differences between cables can be heard when using a "passive pre-amp" of the volume pot variety. (Probably because you are adding impedance to the signal path as you reduce the volume setting.) 2. Cable differences are less obvious with an active pre-amp. 3. A passive "magnetic" pre-amp of the audio auto-transformer type shows the least difference between cables. (Probably because turning down the volume reduces impedance in the signal path, the opposite of a pot and boy, they sound different.) I am comfortable expressing my personal judgements on cables as my monoblock power amps sit right next to my speakers and the interconnects back to the pre-amp are 10 metres long. This has been my configuration for about 25 years during which time several pre-amp configurations and various types of interconnect have passed through my system.

Wow . Really enjoyed this video. I and friends have done many of similar tests over the years and got some interesting results. pricing usually bears little relevance to the results. I have made my own cables for over 30 years and rarely buy pre made commercial cables. I have borrowed high end, but not 1000 pounds per metre cables from friends to compare to the cables i have made. I currently have 2 pairs of interconnects made up by a friend. He has not told me what cable he has used . One pair uses the older ETI plastic Phono plugs and the other up market Chinese copy phono plugs. Both have silver solder used. So i shall be comparing these to my current cables. So once again many thanks for this video really enjoyed it

Again very detailed and informative. Thank you so much sir

Interesting review - I own the same version of Chord Signature as in the review and I also bought a set of the Belden 8402 from Designacable as an experiment earlier this year. They are very different sounding cables, the Belden very much focusing on the mids and the Chord being much more neutral. I'm surprised by your bass rating of the Belden - I found it rolled off but also slow and indistinct and lacking any rhythm, I find the Chord to be particularly good in that area. With that said I have some other "cheap" cables that are almost as good as the Chord.

Great review. Great descriptions. I had some very expensive high end cables. I replaced them with simple pure occ fine strand copper wire and got much better results. No, dollars don't always mean better sound.

Excellent evaluation. Hope you have more in the works!

I am completely floored ! Excellent video , very informative , very well presented , full of relevant scientific info . I don't know what say , except you are the first who has changed my mind on speaker cables .I used to be a deep sceptic (it's all snake oil ) , but your outro on the human hearing system and quantum mechanics made a deep impression . Oh man , my respect for you has skyrocketed to stratospheric levels . Tip : if you can get your hands on them , try a pair of braided Kimber cables , the only ones that I made an exception for

My suggestion, based on years of evaluating cables: change the cables on one channel versus the other. Left vs Right. This eliminates the BIG problem of limited audio memory. I have taught this technique to my audiophile friends, and it has been adopted by them also with great success. With time, and practice, you will be able to judge open, transparency, and imaging. I trust my ability to eliminate the placebo effort. As, I don't care about proving anything, ever. Just finding the best sound. The approach shortens the evaluation time. And allows you to make the quickest audio progress.

It is in videos like these that Tarun proves that he is one of the best audio reviewers on this planet.

Excellent review with very useful conclusions. Can't get enough of this kind of comparison. Cables can be an irritating and expensive business and I'm always on the lookout for recommendations. Thank you very much for this video. FYI my go to speaker cables are 3m Nordost Red Dawn and I tend to do my seasoning elsewhere, but that's probably a product of limited time and funds. I have had some success making my own IC cables by using various Duelund wires, I'm particularly fond of the 2.0 Duelund silver foil in baked cotton and oil for a digital IC I made and I'm a fan of Neutrik profi RCA for all occasions. I also like 4mm Lapp Kabel with Martin Kaiser Schuko [that's right I use Schuko in the UK and rely on the ultrafast switches in my modern consumer unit for safety, copy at your own risk] and Martin Kaiser IEC [all plain copper] for decent quality low cost power cables. I do have just as much Oyaide 2.1 with more exotic Furutech of various metal types, Gold, Silver and Rhodium, that I use for flavouring, but they were a bugger to make and in use due to the thick solid core wires. In the end the other metals were just part of my experimentation and I'm most fond of Gold for keeping things oxidation free, warm and rich, or decent quality plain copper connectors. Best wishes all.

I really like your approach to reviewing and your honesty.

I've never found an audible difference between cables (beyond interferences and noise) but I always use Belden, good quality and affordable.

All cables are loads. They are inductive, capacitive, and resistive loads, we collectively call impedance. The degree they vary goes a long way towards explaining why they sound different. I don't dbout that other things effect the sound, but the relationship between these is a primary reason for differences, and as all these interact with the impedances of the equipment, a cable doing X with Z DAC, and Y preamp may sound quite different should you swap out either, or both components. 🤔 Yeah, lots of fun, and companies make out as a result. I've never used them, but I believe that the Cable company in the US will allow people to try out cables. It's not perfect, but it beats paying a ton for cables that don't work in your system!

Another great review and highly interesting to gain more of an understanding cheers

Great video i really enjoyed watching this one, I think it would be very helpful for a lot of people if you could do a review in this format for different speaker cables, a while back i was interested in the Tellurium range and wondered if they would make any improvement over my current QED speaker cables.

….I'm more confused than ever! 😁…Kind of the same way I feel about DACs and DAC reviews….different does not mean better…so I will just stick with the interconnects that I have, the 10-gauge lamp cord to my speakers and enjoy the music. 👍🏼

Tarun, this is a really good video. Because a measurement shows no difference between two components does not mean that there is no difference, it only means that the measurement process is not necesssarily adequate. Typically people measure the frequency spectrum of two cables and conclude that it is the same and therefore both cable should sound the same. But the last conclusion is the culprit because it is no secret that our ears are incredibly sensitive to the time domain, not the frequency domain. It is like testing dacs and the THD, in the frequency domain where they measure great but the problem with digital is all about the time domain, where the signal is chopped to start with. Talking about dacs, we are now using femtosecond clocks and some times atomic clocks; doesn't that prove the accuracy of our ears at detecting minimal phase shifts/ temporal distortion. Coming back to cable, I make my own interconnects and speaker cables with quality components and I have experimented with OFC/OCC cable and to my ears there is a significant difference in favour of the OCC cables. I am a physicist and I can not necessarily explain in detail why this is the case. However crystal dislocations/boundaries have an effect on phase velocity dispersion with frequency and can produce wave damping. Subtle phase effects: trust your ears to hear them. Tarun, I suggest that you experiment OFC vs OCC!

Once again, another world class presentation. :-)

Thank you for the evaluations

Another great review Tarun, your objectivity and analysis shine through and are what make you the best and most professional reviewer, thanks. I love reviews like this but at the end of the day I'll not be running out to replace all my cabling, that would be silly. My speaker connects are obviously new and very good quality but after those I'd be looking at all my component connects which is just too much spaghetti to consider replacing at once, but even if I did would I really hear a better quality of sound? Different yes, but better for my ears? Isn't it also some kind of diminishing return concept? Maybe replacing components themselves would be a better use of our hard-earned for many? I tend not to be a 'tinkerer' following the old adage; If it isn't broken don't fix it. As I said, interesting topic and many thanks for covering it so well.

I am in the camp if you can't measure the difference you surely can't hear it...So...this wasn't a blind test? So basicly it's worthless...If you don't test this blind and give your opinion based on that you can get rid of inheret bias...The whole "audiophile" thing is nothing more then...oooh thats shiny and expensive, so it must be better...At least when it comes to cables and interconnects...There is a prize/performance scale and tbh most of the differences people say they can "hear" is nothing more then the placebo effect at work... I would love to see a test with a high enf measuring microphone and all the graphs next to each other...if they're all the same..there is no difference..

Loved your attitude Tarun,thanks for this video

Hello Tarun Another well researched and superbly presented video. Thank you for creating the most sensible and enjoyable channel of its type on UKposts. During my career, I spent years both in the Hi Fi and Pro Audio industries and,from what I can remember, the studio engineers used to despair at the Hi Fi market for their ignorance of the complex electronic circuitry,including many ICs , and metres of cables that the music signal went through during the mixing process before the final performance is listened to by the consumer. So if you include the electronic circuitry, digital and analogue, and cables that the end listener uses, it seems a miracle that the music we listen to on our Hi Fi systems sounds even remotely similar to the original performances. Finally Tarun, you mentioned that your wife, who obviously has a very keen sense of hearing, always noticed the difference between the cables. Which ones did she like best?