Cables - one of the most taboo subjects in audio

AnthonyI said:
If I hadn't already started down the Pangea path I probably would have gone the eBay Zu auction route. I do believe there is something to be said for consistency in the cables though. Having the same construction, materials and "Logic" from point A (Cart) to point Z (Amp) not only makes sense, but in my opinion/usage, has produced positive results.

That being said, I think the "Like $ Pool" formula comes into play as well, meaning a system who's components are in the $300-800 pool may not notice/produce the same results as a system in the $1500 + component pool. Just my math of course ;)
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HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT MY CABL-

nevermind
 
I finally splurged and got some Zu Cables off ebay. Haven't had time to do a fair A/B to my existing setup, but I will say the Power Cable upgrade to my SVS sub made a very noticeable improvement, very noticeable. Just cleaner and quicker.
Still experimenting but I would say the general concencous on internet reviews of only 5-10% is a fairly accurate statement over LC1 from Blue Jean's (mostly just sound stage). I prefer the look and size of the ZU but the BJC are definitely contenders.
I got speaker wires, phono interconnects, power cables. I left my Pangea in the Pho8 since the sub made such a difference.
If starting from scratch Ivwould go ZU ebay route. If just wanting to save money and need solid cables at fair consistent price BJC is solid.
After I have the speaker wire awhile I will do A/B with BJC white belden I had previously.
Oh yeah all my ZU orders were Mission MK1
 
Hi guys,

First, I'm still a bit of a novice to the hi-fi world, so I appreciate all of the advice you share, thanks in advance.

I had read through this thread and decided to buy a couple of 2 meter Pangea AC-14SE power cables. One is for a Cambridge Audio CXA80 and another for a subwoofer. I changed out the original power cables and ran the Pangea cables. I'm trying to listen and do some A/B comparisons with and without headphones - haven't heard a big difference yet.

So, my question is that I tried doing what Kaan did in this video to check the cable for leakage (noise) (see the link below, the Video tab on the page) - changing magnet field from AC induces voltage - I believe this is how the physics works.

Pangea Audio AC-14SE MkII Signature Power Cable | Audio Advisor

The Pangea Audio AC 14SE MKII Signature Power Cable is designed from source components and delivers an extremely clean and noise free power delievered through some of the best copper on the planet.
www.audioadvisor.com

But, actually, the Pangea cable sets off the voltage detector.
pangea_cable_voltage_detector.jpeg

Is this thing supposed to do this? I thought that the shielding was supposed to prevent it.

I'm using this stray voltage detector - I think this is the same kind of device that Kaan uses, but I'm not sure. The users manual actually says that it won't detect anything from a shielded cable:

GT-11VoltageDetector
:

The Pangea cable seems to set off the voltage detector in the same way as the original cable - if I increase the volume (power) the distance that the voltage meter goes off increases, but it is pretty much the same between the Pangea and the original cable. I have two of these, and both Pangea cables do the same thing, so seems like a trend.

Hmm, so not sure if there are other benefits, but the shielding sure seems like it isn't working. What do you think? I will also follow-up with Audio Advisors where I bought it but thought I would check in with the knowledgeable folks here.

Thanks!
 
There would have to be some very heavy shielding involved to make the AC induced field undetectable. Like, it would either be extremely thick or rigid.
 
debianlinux said:
There would have to be some very heavy shielding involved to make the AC induced field undetectable. Like, it would either be extremely thick or rigid.
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Thanks for your comments- note that Kaan's video (linked above) shows that the cable the AC field undetectable by his sensor - this is the whole point of the video. Also, the user manual of my detector says a shieleded cable is not detectable. And, there is no difference in the distance where the voltage is detected from the Pangea cable or the original cabel that came with the amplifier and the subwoofer. The evidence seems to suggest the shielding is not working, but I'm open to other explanations.
 
adrock said:
Thanks for your comments- note that Kaan's video (linked above) shows that the cable the AC field undetectable by his sensor - this is the whole point of the video. Also, the user manual of my detector says a shieleded cable is not detectable. And, there is no difference in the distance where the voltage is detected from the Pangea cable or the original cabel that came with the amplifier and the subwoofer. The evidence seems to suggest the shielding is not working, but I'm open to other explanations.
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I’d go with the two easiest answers. One is the video is faked. Simple enough for Karan to simply not fully despress the switch on the detector. But it could be a little more subtle. The field strength is proportional to the current flowing through the cable. If little or no current is flowing the field could be undetectable. Does your cable still leak under zero load?
 
Thanks for comments - I ordered the 14 since the existing cables were 16 and 18 gauge. I don't really see any difference with my sensor tests nor hearing much difference - could just be limits of my crappy system and the cables can't help it. Will do more research/testing - thanks again.
 
All of this is my opinion and not a scientific fact in any way shape or form ;)

I don't want anyone to take this as a knock on their system or anything like that, but, I think there is some validity to the notion that "high end" cables may show little, if any, difference on a more budget oriented system. I feel this is especially true with power cables.
 
I have never denied wire/cable break in but I never considered to expect a drastic improvement. These Zu Mission speaker wires are now noticeably better than the BJC I had before. Could possibly be the power cable added slightly also. That said I'm noticing a lot better sound from even last weekend.

Edit: just from the Rasp Pi DAC no RCA interconnect.
 
Haimez40 said:
I have never denied wire/cable break in but I never considered to expect a drastic improvement. These Zu Mission speaker wires are now noticeably better than the BJC I had before. Could possibly be the power cable added slightly also. That said I'm noticing a lot better sound from even last weekend.

Edit: just from the Rasp Pi DAC no RCA interconnect.
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My cables have a 600 hour burn in (according to the manufacturer) I guarantee yours will continue to get better and better as time goes on... It's pretty wild to hear it happen...
 
AnthonyI said:
All of this is my opinion and not a scientific fact in any way shape or form ;)

I don't want anyone to take this as a knock on their system or anything like that, but, I think there is some validity to the notion that "high end" cables may show little, if any, difference on a more budget oriented system. I feel this is especially true with power cables.
Click to expand...
Just to add my experience, the quality of shielding on better cables made a difference for me. Adding BJC rcas completely erased an annoying hum in my system. I think that's the biggest gain in a budget system.
 
AnthonyI said:
All of this is my opinion and not a scientific fact in any way shape or form ;)

I don't want anyone to take this as a knock on their system or anything like that, but, I think there is some validity to the notion that "high end" cables may show little, if any, difference on a more budget oriented system. I feel this is especially true with power cables.
Click to expand...
So, I believe that I may have figured out the issue. The main concern I had was why the shielding seemed to have no effect - it turns out my outlet powering the system is not grounded, and so the shielding will not really be effective. There are a number of resources about this, but you can see a quick demo of this in this video:



I was able to detect the open ground with an inexpensive tool like this:

I need to take a look a the electrical outlet to check, but if you have a house built before 1962 or something like this, you might have a circuit that isn't grounded:

thecraftsmanblog.com

How To: Fix Ungrounded Outlets - The Craftsman Blog

Old houses often have ungrounded outlets which can be a hazard. Learn how you can ground these outlets and make them safe.
thecraftsmanblog.com thecraftsmanblog.com

I returned the shielded cable I bought earlier, so I'll have to try again but this appears to be the culprit. I'm going to be a bit more careful to research this futher this time, but will share again if I learn anything new...
 
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