[sdiy] can you really *not* hear the difference? (was: Frequency Counter Software)

[Scott Gravenhorst]

Application is everything.  In one place, you can use ribbon cable with no
degrading effect, in other cases it could be a disaster.  I think general
comments like "ribbon cable is horrible" are broad-brushing.  No, I wouldn't
connect my guitar to my guitar amp with ribbon cable, but inside a synth, there
are places where it is entirely appropriate.  Signal level and impedance of
outs and ins must be considered.  Proper attention to grounding details is
important as well.  Eg. If I run 11 signals and one ground on a 12 wire ribbon,
I could get crosstalk, but if I use a gnd-sig-gnd-sig-gnd-sig arrangement, that
could work.  Placement of ins and outs is also a consideration.  Putting high
level outputs right next to high impedance inputs is asking for trouble.

As far as gold is concerned, I don't believe that I could hear the difference
between good quality uncorroded copper wire and gold wire (for example).  Gold
is used in some equipment because of it's resistance to chemical corrosion, not
because it sounds better.

Please let us not allow this to become a "monster cable" thread.  It's been
done to death here and elsewhere.



cheater cheater <cheater00 at gmail.com> wrote:
>On 10/12/05, Grant Richter <grichter at asapnet.net> wrote:
>>
>> You and Rex would get along great.
>>
>
>who's rex...?
>
>>
>>> I'm talking about good cable vs. run of the mill radioshack cable, or
>>> *cringe* ribbon cable.
>>
>> You can easily put 100 MHz through a piece of ribbon cable.
>> It is not really bandwidth limited in any sense meaningful to audio
>> frequencies.
>>
>
>Then tell me why people don't connect their thule cd-audio and avr amp
>with ribbon cable.*
>
>
>>
>>> I'm talking about crappy EL caps in audio paths.
>>
>> Most synth modules are DC coupled and do not use audio coupling caps at all.
>>
>>
>>> I'm talking about $.25 jacks in patch cables.
>>
>> Also will handle 100 MHz signals.
>> They do not really make time domain reflectometers for audio CABLES, since
>> audio frequencies are VERY
>> long at light speed.
>
>then tell me why there's a demand for gold-plated connectors* :P
>
>>
>> The reason "audiophile" gear sounds good is because some engineer lovingly
>> tweaked the design until it did.
>
>and because it's not made out of junk parts :)
>
>> People in SDIY do it all the time to much more complex circuits.
>> No matter how much test equipment or fancy parts you have, the ear must be
>> the final judge.
>>
>>
>
>indeed!
>
>my ears judge ribbon cables as unusable. never, ever. :p
>
>
>*answers like "they don't know what they're doing" will not be honored ;-)
>
>Cheers!
>D. 8)
>

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-- Scott Gravenhorst | LegoManiac / Lego Trains / RIS 1.5
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