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Subwoofer cable vs. audio RCA cable?


kenratboy

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No such thing as an RCA cable. There are cables with RCA (otherwise known as phono) plugs. Common variants have either coax or shielded cable in between. Coax won't do a darn bit better than good shielded single audio cable for a subwoofer.

FWIW some of the folks that frequent these forums might consider the single audio cable normal and the stero cable "new fashioned."

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OK, so what is closer to the Monster Subwoofer Cable I pull off the shelf:

a.) a composite video cable

OR

b.) a single audio cable

If you read the back of the packages, the composite video cable is constructed differently than the audio cable, which is closer (or the same as) a Monster subwoofer cable?

Again, I am NOT asking what is better, just technically, what is the same?

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Based on a quick read of their propaganda, single audio cable...

There is so much bullsh*t in there it is hard to tell exactly how they are built.

Wonder what the folks in recording and broadcast studios did all those years before Monster came on the scene?

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On 8/7/2004 11:48:04 PM Malcolm wrote:

Based on a quick read of their propaganda, single audio cable...

There is so much bullsh*t in there it is hard to tell exactly how they are built.

Wonder what the folks in recording and broadcast studios did all those years before Monster came on the scene?
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Werd.

When I read the packages, all I see is ISO this, POLY that, BLANACED it, etc. No idea what the real deal is. My problem is they talk about all the technology, but not a whole lot of results.

In defence, the cables are built well and look very nice, but if I did a A vs. B test with, lets say the AR $30 component video cables and AUdioquest $$$ component video cables, would I really see a difference? Until someone proves it to me, thats my answer. If there is a difference, GREAT, but until then...

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Amazing. We used to construct our own cables (RG58, RG59, RG62, RG 6, RG 8, etc. After installing the connectors we would sweep them over the range required into pefect teminations and if the waveforms were not good we would toss the cable into the garbage. Found out that if even a few of the coax shield woven wires were a bit mixed up it would put frequency dips into the range of frequencies the cable was supposed to pass.

JJK

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Component video cable is the one cable that you might pick up a difference with your eye. Video requires high bandwidth in the megahertz range in comparison to audio in the kilohertz range. The AudioQuest component cables are too expensive. Component video cables from any competent manufacturer will work as well and should cost much less.

Bill

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Guest Anonymous

the reason that your cable has a signal flow is because the way the copper is stranded through out the wire. I assume that you are using a monster sub cable. and there is a lower resistance going in the direction of the signal flow due to the windings then there is in the reverse direction if that makes sense. The electrons with follow the least path of resistence, obviousley, sorry for my horrible spelling i am typing fast, but the cable is made to have a lower resistence in the forward direction to help reduce interference in the opposite direction. Now wether all the bullsh*t i just said is true or not is for you to decide. I guess I am a believer, but I guess until you have that same testing equipment that can measure resistance to the .000000000000001 acuracy the average consumer will never know.

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I think it is yellow button time! Audio is an alternating current signal. It goes both ways. If you could come up with a piece of wire that would have lower resistance in one direction than the other, and I have trouble believing that is possible, it would probably sound terrible! I would guess that the shield is only terminated at one end to try to eliminate ground loops and the arrow is related to which end the shield is grounded.

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A related question:

I recently moved into a new home and had DirecTV installed. There is a dual run of RG6 coax from the wall to my Audio/Video area for the TIVO and it has a seperate ground wire connencted to it. The incoming Satalite signal has already been grounded so this wire is unused. Rather than pull it off is it possible to use this wire to carry another type of signal? The main reason I am considering this is that I need to push this wire under the baseboard it would be easier to use this wire than to run another one.

I was thinking i might be able to attach RCA plugs to it and use it to carry the subwoofer out signal from my reciever to an amplifier in the back room. or alternatively, as the subwoofer cable from an amp to the sub. or from an amp to my base transducers in the couch.

Any idea if this would work?

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let's get simple with this. RCA audio (lets call it radio shack), RCA Monster, Composite Video, Subwoofer 'coax' ARE ALL SHIELDED cables. They are all coaxial design (one signal carrying cable surrounded by a shield). A balanced cable would have two signal carrying cables inside a shield.

The only difference is the mechanical build of the cables, ie solid vs stranded conductor, type of shielding, material of non-conductive cable parts. They all carry signal both ways (arrows on a cable- what snake oil!)

For a signal cable for your subwoofer, I'd just get a GOOD GRADE RCA audio cable, anything else is just good $$ spent on marketing IMHO. Others will undoubtedly disagree. If you can hear the difference in a blind A/B test, be my guest, spend all the $$$ you can afford to blow.

Michael

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On 8/7/2004 6:31:26 PM Malcolm wrote:

Coax won't do a darn bit better than good shielded single audio cable for a subwoofer.

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in fact a coax cable and a shielded cable is almost the same thing.

in a coax cable, the exterior conductor(-) act like a shield.

so the interior conductor(+) receive no noise from the outside.

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colter,

A *LOT* of "RCA" cables are not coax designs. Here's a picture of one pretty popular cable, the Kimber PBJ:

PBJ_cable.gif

As you can see, the connector that is tied to the sleeve of the RCA plug and the connecter that is tied to the central pin form a simple twisted pair. There is not even an outer jacket on this one. Many RCA cables are constructed like this, then placed inside an outer jacket. Most of the AudioQuest line, the Kimber, the Goetz and a host of others look like this. Radio Shack's are Coax, and most of the generic variety that come in the box are coax. I think some of Monster's designs are coax and some are pairs of wires in a jacket, and I think I used to have a set that were some sort of weird combo where there was a pair of connectors inside a shielded outer braid, with the braid and one of the connectors tied together (?).

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On 8/11/2004 8:28:38 AM Ray Garrison wrote:

colter,

A *LOT* of "RCA" cables are not coax designs. Here's a picture of one pretty popular cable, the Kimber PBJ:

"<a
http://www.kimber.com/Products/Interconnects/PBJ/PBJ_cable.gif">

As you can see, the connector that is tied to the sleeve of the RCA plug and the connecter that is tied to the central pin form a simple twisted pair. There is not even an outer jacket on this one. Many RCA cables are constructed like this, then placed inside an outer jacket. Most of the AudioQuest line, the Kimber, the Goetz and a host of others look like this. Radio Shack's are Coax, and most of the generic variety that come in the box are coax. I think some of Monster's designs are coax and some are pairs of wires in a jacket, and I think I used to have a set that were some sort of weird combo where there was a pair of connectors inside a shielded outer braid, with the braid and one of the connectors tied together (?).

----------------

twisting the pairs is a way of shielding a wire.

it s use in cat 5 wire for network.

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