Cables@kemela

Manufacturers allocate very little of the manufacturing cost of a product towards any cables supplied in the box and many customers already have their own. The ones provided are to get you up and running but are not going to reveal the full potential of a component. Exploring better cables is worthwhile not just to optimize the component but to get the sound you want.

Basic Electrodynamics and Electron Flow

Electric and magnetic fields result when current flows through wires and this is the basis for electric motors, loudspeakers, cartridges, and electromagnetic induction in range hobs or contact-less toothbrush and cellphone chargers.

Power is delivered in one direction from source/generator to load even in alternating circuits Poynting vectors. Energy - the capacity to get work done - actually does 'get out' of your wall outlet (rather than going back and forth with the alternating current flow) to 'power' your appliances and Hi-Fi system.

These excellent three video's with animations may expand your understanding about what is happening.

Do we really know how electricity flows in wires?

Really, do we really know how electricity flows in wires?

No really, do we really know how electricity flows in wires?

We've all also experienced a static electricity shock from the discharge of an electric charge imbalance between one object to another caused by friction between two different materials.

Why Cables are influential

Translating basic electrical engineering properties of resistance, capacitance and inductance is too simplistic. Additionally there are mechanical resonances, electric field strength, memory effects, signal transmission distortion, shielding, impedance changes along a cable and at terminations and many other attributes that will affect how one cable sounds compared to another especially if you challenge a cable in a state of the art system with music with a larger frequency and dynamic range.

Choosing Cables

With the potential permutations of analog/digital interconnects, speaker, and power cables available from many manufacturers, on-line research as a means to pick cables is a bit of a hit or miss affair. Just because a cable works well in one situation doesn't mean it will necessarily work well in another as cables interact with the complex reactive impedance of components. Room acoustics and personal preferences come into play.

How much should you spend and why are they so expensive

High quality cables use more expensive materials, take longer to manufacture under much more tightly controlled conditions, and are made in much smaller batches.

There is no hard rule but generally the cable budget allowance should be in proportion to the performance capability of the components. A $500 consumer grade receiver is likely tuned for lower cost cables and high resolution cables may reveal the limitations of the equipment. Using $50 speaker cables on $5,000 loudspeakers is unlikely to make them sound their best.

At kemela we use cables from two American and two European manufacturers and dialog with consultants from these companies and we have proven to ourselves there is no debate about whether cables contribute to the sound of a good Hi-Fi system.