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Try changing

one black strand, say, in one input ground. It should be audible even if you change only one channel as there will be a channel imbalance. If you change the two grounds, then you can have an instant A-B by simply changing the selector switch and moving the IC's. That shouldn't take more than a few minutes. In fact, you can simply lift one end of the ground wire and parallel another non carbon based strand for a quicker evaluation.

That's what I did although I experimented with various cables, with various insulations and gauges. The ground wires are just as important as the signal carrying wires, IMHE.

Until you try it, you will not be aware of the smear the carbon adds. I lived with it for many decades, and the simple changing of the wire significantly increased the overall resolution of my system. I started with the inputs of my preamp to the PCB ground and from there slowly changed all the black wires. Fine detail and resolution increased significantly considering how little non back wire can cost, although the time invested is quite significant.

Some may say its psychosomatic, but I have changed out wires for customers' components without telling them exactly what I did, offering a money back guarantee if they were not satisfied (and a return to stock), and never got a complaint in 15 years of doing this.

Of course, if you have voiced your components to accomodate this smear, the change may jar your listening tastes at first: some may find it a bit more analytical, and, simply put, a lot more issues may be audible. I liken the effect like switching from an Instamatic camera to a good 35 mm camera (yeah, I'm an old man). With the Instamatic you never have to focus because it is never in real focus anyway. With the better camera, you will notice the difference with f-stops and lighting and every other controllable parameters.

Again YMMV.

Also remember the semi conductive insulation lying upon the superior conductor means that the signal can go in any direction, forward, backward, sidewards, etc. Not only do you get varying resistances with their corresponding group delays, but you also get varying capacitances and inductances, small though they may be. I believe they all add up to corrupting the sound and the longer the conductive insulation, obviously, the worse the effect.

In response to other posters, I see no need for me to provide further proof. I have literally spent the past two decades examining this issue. I have gone to unusual lengths to obtain wire as uniformly constructed as possible and then comparing the sonics. Being a home hobbyist, I can not afford the instrumentation needed to verify what I can hear is happening. I have O'scopes, ohm meters, gaussmeters, a Genrad SPL meter, which is probably more than most hobbyists. Still, for me measuring the effect is almost impossible. I can, however, distinctly hear the difference.

The hypothesis is very simple: carbon being conductive adds problems to the conductive element. Now considering that there are only three parameters which can affect wire: resistance, capacitance, and inductance; again, consider how a conductive sheath can affect such parameters and what effect it will have.

If you do not believe, that is fine. That's your system and your sound. IF you are happy with what you have, so be it.

Stu

PS: ever wonder why an air or vacuum dielectric sounds "better"? Or at least why some claim it does? Ever wonder why some love cloth insulated wire, say like Yamamura/ with their silk insulated wire?



Edits: 05/02/12

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