On cables

Underpinning a discussion about the merits of potentially costly specialist audio cables is an obvious question: Why do we need them? Doesn't almost all wire conduct audio signals with negligible distortion and very little loss of power?

- MARTIN COLLOMS

Specialist hi-fi cables seem expensive for what you get. Especially at the upper end, they seem like a worse value than electronics and loudspeakers. Depreciation is greater, too: Cables are almost a consumable.

But if you wish to finesse the quality endeavor of classic separates-based hi-fi systems, you cannot do without them. Fundamentally, it is not the efficient transfer of audio power that's the issue; that is the easy bit. Rather, it is a matter of optimizing the transmission of the more subtle information that describes recorded acoustic, instrumental detail, the performers, and, not least, dynamics and rhythm: Are your feet tapping unconsciously in time to the performance?

The seemingly high cost of good cable is an inevitable consequence of often-arduous prototyping followed by a costly manufacturing run. Then consider stocking issues and the potential for product returns when the hoped-for improvement is not readily apparent when a cable is installed in a customer's system. What's more, a dealer needs excellent fieldcraft to reliably demonstrate the sometimes-elusive benefits that can come from cable substitutions. And then there's the markup.

How much of your budget should be allocated to a set of cables? Even the least expensive options will perform to some degree. With unlimited resources, you can spend whatever you like, even for small improvements, but 10%–20% of total system cost seems reasonable for a good audio system. Sometimes a given spend will have effectively topped out with just the speakers and electronics; subsequent system improvement can only be achieved by additional, perhaps stressful investments in those other bits, passive “components” such as cables and equipment supports, and—where aesthetically acceptable—room acoustic treatment.