Audioquest Thunderbird Zero Speaker Cable Review: 72V DBS Legit Science or Snake Oil?

[@willbrink]

As the man said "No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public." No place is that (true) statement more evident than in audio. Another great vid from a legit SME.

[@Spkrdctr]

That is so true it is sad.

[@carmenandthedevil2804]

Yeah, look who they voted for in the last election. Ohh, sorry, it was stolen as TIME magazine admitted.

[@carmenandthedevil2804]

@@Spkrdctr Don't cry Argentina!!

[@keithcoltron3171]

Not just the American public, it's the same in every country, they are no different, there's one born every second in every country, so sad but true.

[@doublet147]

@@carmenandthedevil2804 post political views somewhere else. This is about audio

[@bhoge2000]

I'm a mechnical engineer and an audiophile and you are doing the lord's work. Keep it up!

[@analogjames3429]

Go with Christ!

[@ajviorella5200]

How can I get these from you? I need something to use as a whip for my Indiana Jones Costume

[@johnmastroleo995]

That was the best one. Use them as a whip with my Indiana Jones costume. He wins the prize

[@tonyrobles9070]

I've always thought these companies charged ridiculous amounts of money for something that is no better than cheaper reliable cables! Always great to see them exposed! More importantly, thanks for taking the time to save so many of us from throwing our money away. Keep up the fantastic work and have a great day Gene! 👍

[@chrispyp2331]

You don't need batteries to improve sonic performance. I soak my cables in chicken fat. Before I discovered this amazing technology, I always felt as though I was sitting outside the room, like there was a wall between my ears, and the music. It's like a veil has been lifted. The fat content really opened up the soundstage, and put me front & centre. The chocolately midrange is now present. For the first time I feel like my ears have opened up. AND, my sound system smells like bbq chicken - Audio Nirvana!

[@harrisfogel6992]

Free Range chicken fat?

[@danielp2937]

Goose fat works better

[@chrispyp2331]

@@harrisfogel6992 If you like a more organic, less anaylitical sound, free range chicken fat is definitely the way to go. You pay a bit more but it's absolutely worth it!...;).

[@chrispyp2331]

@@danielp2937 I tried goose fat. I found that for me at least, goose fat resulted in a sound that was too muddy. The bass roll off was far too gentle, so it tended to bleed into the mids too much. I prefer a rolloff that's still gentle, but a little more controlled. This gives me that chocolatey midrange. Dark chocolate to be more precise..:)

[@harrisfogel6992]

Do Woke chickens favor singer/songwriter tracks? Do really mean and tough chickens produce a cable soak that works only on military march music? Do cables soaked in herb favor the Grateful Dead or Reggae? Asking for a friend too lazy to wake up.

[@andreiaudio]

One of the best snake oil debunking videos ever! From this point on i'm following your channel.

[@you2ber252]

@David Califano the problem is... there is absolutely NO problem with speaker cables, as long as they are reasonably sized and manufactured. And all this costs no more than 1 dollar per ft, even less. So you can take even the Creator in person or spend plenty of dollars, but there's nothing in the World that can be done to "improve" something that is already perfect given that any improvement cannot be heard by human auditory system!

[@Audioholics]

@David Califano it's sad you have very little knowledge of signal propagation and just regurgitate marketing from exotic cable vendors that often topically have very little knowledge as well. This is a prime example of Dunning Kreuger cognitive bias as work.

[@edwinvanderkooij8713]

They are now profided a RF filter actually now with dbs. 🤣

[@edwinvanderkooij8713]

AQ also uses the dbs on digital signal cables. And it surely affects the digital signal according to the measurements I saw in Dutch research. Rather strange maintaining their faith in dbs with so many type of cables.

[@almostpolitical]

@@Audioholics I just recently read a description of the Dunning-Kruger effect. Now, while I only read the definition I do feel like I need to share it with everyone out there. I’d go as far as saying I’m kind of an expert at understanding the Dunning-Kruger effect. Perhaps I’ll write a paper on it later today. Anyway I just wanted to thank you for the video. I really enjoyed it. I also worked in the movie theater industry for my career, I also worked for Strong (they are the techs who actually fix the technology for the movie theaters) and I worked for Best Buy for a short period of time. I’ve learned how little most know in these areas. That may not be much of a surprise but I have to say I am surprised to hear that a company that specializes in high end audio (AudioQuest) is producing products that do the exact opposite of what they claim. Have you ever had a discussion with anyone that works for them? With your knowledge it would be an absolutely fascinating video to watch a conversation about your findings with a person that works in their R&D department. Hell if you had a Patron page I’d pony up quite a few bucks to watch a conversation like that. Any chance you’d pursue that! Any of your other videos you’d recommend watching? Thanks again.

[@GameSack]

Thanks for this video. I used to be a tech for movie theaters and there was very little of this kind of nonsense. Well usually there's none, I only say "very little" because there are a few examples of it here and there that I've seen like HPS-4000 that fortunately didn't catch on. But consumer audio, OH MY LORDY! Like you say (and I paraphrase) the science is the science. But when someone is spending thousands of dollars on a speaker cable, they will absolutely convince themselves that it sounds better. I'm convinced that most of it is psychological. I'd absolutely love to change the wiring to something Best Buy quality (non-Magnolia) in a self-professed audiophile's setup without them knowing just to see if they can notice a difference the next time they use their system. I bet they wouldn't. For these people it's largely a sense of pride. But hey... it's their money.

[@testthisfordecficiencies]

Q-Sys Theater system that is all digital, except speaker runs is all you need. No one can tell the difference at this level.

[@GameSack]

@@testthisfordecficiencies QSC is the best!

[@electronash]

Game Sack - I wasn't expecting to see you on here, Joe. lol Yes, lots of psychological bias with this kind of stuff. I used to be into the whole "Audiophile" thing (on a budget), with M&K S-150 speakers, MX-350 sub, and messing with Digital Room Correction. I definitely wasn't immune to the whole "purchasing bias" or placebo thing either. It's a powerful thing for marketing. I eventually came to the conclusion that as long as you buy standard copper speaker with with a large enough cross section to handle the current with minimal voltage drop for the cable run, 99.99% of people would never be able to tell the difference in a blind test. We all enjoy tinkering and making other improvements to a system. Line level cables can have a much larger influence over the sound, but honestly the expensive speaker cables are just diminishing returns after a point, IMO. It's more important to just have a decent enough system, and enjoy listening to it.

[@Jordonater]

@@electronash Any cable past $100 a meter is a waste of money unless you care about the way it looks and video shows it doesn't even get you a better made termination which was surprising to me as I thought that was the minimum they could do at $5000.

[@fepethepenguin8287]

@@Jordonater these cables are 100 a meter or less....... For the manufacturer, lol. I'd love to see these margins

[@skzeeman007]

Bit late to this video. But I am in the market for a Good cable and this is exactly the video I needed to watch. Your scientific reporting and debunking snake oil products is a huge service for the audiophile community and is much appreciated.

[@Audioholics]

@@skzeeman007 much appreciated!

[@tjp444]

Why do I subscribe to Gene's KZbin channel? It's videos like this. Great job Gene.

[@davetelling]

$5k speaker cables?! You have GOT to be kidding! Former staff engineer at National Semi, Bob Pease, now deceased, had a long standing "speaker wire challenge" where he offered a cash award to anyone who could tell, from a blind listening test, any difference between any high-end speaker cables and random lengths of hookup wire from his lab bench. As far as I know, none of the snake oil, I mean high end speaker cable suppliers, ever took up the challenge. Ol' Bob is probably rolling in his grave at this level of scam!

[@GAK1atatt]

‘Ol’ Bob was on the spectrum IMHO. About 20 dB past clipping when he got going. However there are better cables than 12/2 romex. I like Cardas. I’ve tried many different types when I was in the hi end biz and they alter the sound in some way. L,C and R can screw up sound in a hurry.

[@danielesbordone1871]

With 5000 bucks you can buy yourself a decent amp and preamp.

[@SgtHenick]

5,000 bucks would buy a fantastic system for me

[@quikspecv4d]

Yeah. I think my entire system is about 5k total

[@trent_nathan3889]

@@SgtHenick in Australia, an SVS PB16-Ultra costs $5,000

[@ikealamp53]

My 1200 euro system (Denon avr + pair of B&W 606's) sounds great.

[@Monsux]

I could get a good system + high-end 85" TV for 5k.

[@redblock5150]

Gene, I wouldn't spend a microsecond worrying about any "heat" you get for debunking audio myths. I look at you like the Neil deGrasse Tyson of audio science. You provide an incredibly important service to audiophiles who might fall prey to some of this BS.

[@Foxrock321]

I would go with his mentor Carl Sagan….Neil is too political. ..but Gene is telling it like it is..

[@mrkrinkle8323]

Neil D Tyson! Hahahaha! I bet you're a Bill Nye the science guy fan too!

[@chrismonterubio9475]

NDT talks so much because he loves the sound of his own voice. No one else can stand it, but he loves it’s.

[@dingdong2103]

OTOH saying that these effects have been known for 'hundreds of years' erm... no. Electronics are known for dozens, not hundreds of years. I'm fairly sure that in the beginning of the 20th century the knowledge of these things was very basic compared to today. Otherwise the WW2 warplanes would have had advanced electronics instead of mechanic or semi-mechanic devices.

[@dadeoo4722]

Tyson is the BOZO of space science! Bill Nye knows more than he does and he isn't even a scientist! There are many great Astrophysicists here on KZbin, JPL, and NASA. Check it out! Your mileage may vary!

[@DustyD0]

At least the name of the cable is accurate, the "Zero" is for the audible difference their cable makes.

[@econautx]

Where in the video does he listen to it?

[@imacdou6668]

It broke

[@iamjackalope]

@@econautx How do you listen to a cable? Besides this video is about OBjective measurable effects not SUBjective unmeasurable opinions.

[@PeteNice29]

Oh they sound different. Whether that's "better" is up for debate. In fact, I think AQ takes active steps to ensure they do sound different.

[@RideGasGas]

So happy I found this channel and thanks for the links. Nothing new to me but I think it is really important to back up discussion with documented reference material and sources for data values, etc. I'm a licensed professional engineer and have been working in the communications field for over 45 years. Most of my work as been in RF up in the microwave frequencies but earlier in my career I did work at audio frequencies, telephony, modems, faxes, and so on, but moved on before ADSL came along. In the early 80s for one satellite communications system and before the advent of digital echo cancellers, we used hook up our test gear and spend time measuring return loss for each trunk and then adding in capacitance or inductance as necessary to match the impedance of our gear to the trunk line which was ideally 600 ohms. Even though we had access to all this fancy test gear, none of us thought to go testing speaker wires ten ways to Sunday even though there were a couple guys who were seriously into audio at the time. As engineers we just understood that once you had wires of sufficient gauge for the power pumping through them anything else was overkill. My personal home theater set up has 14 gauge stranded wire that's essentially lamp cable, though I think it may have been labeled as speaker hook up wire when I bought it in a roll of 100 foot as I recall - its been a few years. Sadly, I have very pronounced high frequency hearing loss these days so my audiophile phase has long been behind me. As an engineer the claims that some of these companies make is beyond me and as you've noted defy commonly understood engineering principles. In many cases it seems to go well beyond sales puffery and more into the category of false advertising. There was a great episode of Northern Exposure once where the characters fake a rare wine vintage and fooled even those with supposedly refined wine taste - don't recall if they were actual sommeliers. Point is without doing a double blind test, you can't rule out expectations coloring what the listeners think they're hearing. One great anecdote about this includes PBS. A satellite communications company I worked for provided bandwidth for PBS to transmit radio over satellite to their affiliate stations. At some point in time we wanted to move the transmissions off our C-band satellites over to Ku-band satellites. The golden ears folks within PBS thought they they could hear a difference in noise between audio sent via the C-band transmissions and via the Ku-band transmissions. We had to set up a double blind test and after running through that the PBS folks had to admit they couldn't tell the difference.

[@harpalchauhan428]

This has to be one of your most anticipated videos 😂😂😂

[@the-pixel-whisperer]

Well done, Gene. Yes, I'm one of those audiophiles you asked to reveal if they've ever been duped by pseudo-science. Thank goodness I'm in the industry and didn't pay even a tiny fraction of these prices. But it's still embarrassing to know that it was all BS. At least the brands I own are well-made, with no fragile banana plugs or stiff construction. And no freakin' batteries. So I got that going for me, which is nice.

[@mikeinmontana8875]

'So I got that going for me, which is nice.' LOL!! Thanks for that...

[@harrisfogel1697]

not so much being duped by pseudo-science, but there have have been a few women along the way who duped me.

[@harpalchauhan428]

If you sell a product its nice to see a non biased view.

[@BPTVch]

I am so glad I made my own speaker cables using Mogami W3104 and they look and perform amazingly. A good friend of mine has exactly the same cables you are featuring on this video.

[@michaelwright1602]

Doing the same here, Mogami W3104, I found it for around $4 a foot... Some PET sleeve and banana plugs... I'll have a pair of $30,000 speaker cables for under $100.

[@BPTVch]

@@michaelwright1602 I made my cables following a video from Tharbamar. He also left links for the items he was using where I found most of the stuff I used. I did however made my cables somewhat different at the ends and they look much more professional than the ones featured on the video. I am extremely happy with the results and will never pay for exotic cables.

[@gdubyadubya8961]

Yep. I don’t make my own but I buy Mogami / Neutrix and from a pro audio company. Pro audio ppl know the BS Audiophiles believe in and wont spend stupid money on stupid product generally. To put this in some sort of context when I was in home audio wholesale for many years I represented two very high profile well known “ audiophile” cable brands. I remember shaking my head in disbelief when a dealer ordered a $4000 HDMI cable ! Yep, 4K for a cable that simply cannot, ever, in any way best a $50 one. The problem is this. What do you expect someone who’s spent many thousands on amps and speakers to spend on cable? We all know it doesn’t have to be in the thousands but they do anyway because they can and also can’t fathom the disproportionate spend compared to components. Brands like Audioquest and many others know this and exploit it.

[@g.johnson9901]

I use the OFC version of Canare 4s11, called 4s11G, in single wire, which is 11 AWG. It has low resistance, capacitance, inductance. They are excellent for the money and I am happy with them. I am done with expensive cables.

[@anishnair5544]

Very nice Gene. I wish I worked in one of those ‘designer audio accessories’ companies - no design reviews, no formal verification or validation to worry about. Marketing would do all the work for me 😀

[@barskuleli8612]

One of the best video about the situation. There are lots of myths and scams and snake oils in this market. Please continue to do whatever you are doing. Respects…

[@mattsnook1723]

I do many car audio installs. I always use RG6 cable for interconnects and cheap OFC 12ga all speakers except subs. I never have noise or alternator whine issues, which the use of other cables, including AudioQuest interconnects always are noisy. Pure snake oil those are. Thanks Gene!

[@Cubik303]

Former Car Audio installer here. I did the same - RG6 runs in many systems. Sometimes it was tricky to install and could get bulky if you were running 5/6 channels from the head, but the heavy shielding kept out all the alternator and CAN bus noise. The interconnect products back in those days for mobile audio were absolutely terrible - not sure how it is now but vehicles are noisier than ever and the market still seems flooded with poor quality interconnects. I would do show/competition systems and the customer would often specify whatever trendy snake oil cable was available and I would say, "Do you want it to look good or sound good?"

[@mattsnook1723]

@@Cubik303 it's worse now and the market is still flooded with crap and snake oil cables. I tried AudioQuest at the request of one of my customers, to which I said, they are snake oil and definitely not up to snuff with all the noise in a car audio system. Those cables were worse than a basic RCA cable. Ended up with RG6 throughout. They are hard to run in modern cars, sometimes you just end up running them side by side, I use spark plug cable separators to keep them in place that way.

[@SheikhN-bible-syndrome]

I like the stinger 8k's ive never had alt or static in my speakers or subs when i use them

[@mattsnook1723]

@@SheikhN-bible-syndromestinger 8k is good stuff too. RG6 is cheaper though.

[@dr4jesus87]

I am just glad to find an audio professional that is challenging the norm. A lot of the channels I’ve found don’t break down the science of speaker cables

[@ivandragicevic6786]

Those cables are actually so good that you don't even need an amp or speakers...a true all in one audio system.

[@ramencurry6672]

You could modify them so they wire into your headphones. It would sound good but you have to deal with the weight of the cables on your chest. If work out in the gym then you can get used to it.

[@lylevalentine5902]

Plug them into a Sony Walkman and you have a killer hifi system!

[@alexanderbelov6892]

Audioquest should add some FM tuner to the cable, so it would be at least some useful radio tuner plus antenna.

[@hsharma3933]

You don’t even need ears.

[@joelmartinez1359]

This is an awesome video! I was always in interested in seeing EE concepts applied to hifi components ESPECIALLY cables to determine what parameters actually matter. Would’ve helped out a lot picking gear early on in my hifi journey lol. Really appreciate all the work you put into making this content! Thanks Gene!

[@Chris_Rock]

Gene has taught me some hefty skepticism of marketing claims in every industry. Thanks!

[@RealHIFIHelp]

What about the sound, did you like the sound? Or did it break before you heard it?

[@Pohgrey]

I did not hear you once address quantum or magical effects. Everybody knows that quantum magic is a huge factor with speaker cables!

[@mackado]

I've got a feeling it's one of the big 3!

[@matthewgaines10]

Don't give them ideas.

[@ghostmanno]

Thank you Gene, really nice to see these data down on paper. I studied electronic in the early 90's and this cable discussion came up. How much dose a cable affect a amplified audio signal, and the short answer is not much. It's the AWG that is by far the biggest factor in differens between cables not any fancy shielding and other exotic ways to design cool looking cable. All these high end speaker cables are pure marketing nonsens. A pair of good ofc copper wires with thick enough AWG for the load and it's good to go for audio signals. The speakers, amplifier and room acoustics is where the magic is done :-)

[@adrianbarac3063]

Awesome work Gene. Call 'em out.

[@carmenandthedevil2804]

Lol, lots of BS artists around here. You ever heard the Audioquests? Of course your gonna say yes. If not, shut up.

[@chriss881000]

@@carmenandthedevil2804 audioquest is just alot of bullshit

[@charlesnguyen3517]

Thanks for doing a great service to the audio community. I got rid of all my Monster, Audioquest, MIT, Kimber speaker cables and interconnects years ago. I use 18 gauge RCA speaker cables and generic interconnects shielded of course for all my audio system needs. Deception always loose!

[@oluhamilton2121]

QED and DH LABS are legit, imo.

[@CaptainCave-t3n]

SnakeoilQuest cables 😆🤣 5k cable and the banana plug broke Jesus man. I'll say it this company is horrible they have been talking people to the cleaners for years. Nice work Gene 💪love it man.

[@ripleyhrgiger4669]

I can just hear the excuse from the person who bought the cable, "This means they forged the metal to its highest degree. A sign of the finest metals!"

[@DD-gi6kx]

it is so nice to find someone on youtube that really knows what they are talking about, and puts out the science/engineering

[@nathankohler7621]

Hi Gene from Australia - Great video...I’ve been watching you guys for some time now and the more I watch the more I’ve realised my own experience with high end cables is not my imagination taking place. Case in point, I owned some high end Nordost speaker cables and thought for years they were worth the 2k I paid for them! Until on night when I lent them to a friend to try out I hooked up some 12awg multi strand cable so I could listen at a somewhat compromised experience. Much to my horror the cheap cable had a better sound especially in the bass department. Not night and day but definitely better sound. So I quickly sold the ribbon cable and after much research I ended up with Kimber Kable and have never looked back. I’m only adding my two cents because I truely wanted the expensive cable to shine and it definitely didn’t. Interestingly the guy I sold it to moved it on within a week of using it. So do believe Gene in what he is saying as he possesses the education to back it up! When it’s all said and done we all like cable candy but it’s probably best to buy cheaper cable and sheath it in something pretty to look at. Anyway hope this helps the sceptics as I was one for 20 years and now content with good cable that makes scientific sense. PS : I also own some audio quest interconnects and toslink which were not expensive and I’m very happy with them both. So I’m not bashing the brand. Hope this helps others save their hard earned money.

[@ameliopompeo5722]

What Kimber Kable series speaker cable did you use as I need to buy some for my system. Thanks for your input .🙏🏼👍🏽

[@dscott6915]

Which Kimber cables did you buy?

[@loudsubwoofer8492]

keep doing what you're doing. honesty is important.

[@charlesclifton1006]

Gene, thanks for this. You've gone to a lot of work here and I appreciate it. It was only yesterday that I watched Amir @ Audio Science Review (KZbin) and the information he brought forth mirrored your presentation herein. May the audio Gods bless both of you. Good speaker cables (I use Blue Jeans Canare) have always been "good enough" for me but if anyone can ever actually show me a speaker cable that's better AND its cost increase is equal to a sonic improvement that I can actually hear!! - I might buy them.... maybe. I think what is being said here is that The Emperor Has No Clothes but sadly knows it thinking he can fool his subjects? Keep up the good work Gene, you're a blessing to this hobby and passion.

[@simullane7836]

Just out of interest, did you listen to the cables on your system, and if so how did they sound. I agree there is so much snake oil around, but think it key to add the ear to the tests?

[@multioptipupiloptomy]

I need popcorn before start watching this one :)

[@bNNjh5fu000jy]

Gene, how about side-by-side foil cable with enough distance such that there is little to no Cp or Lp on the the conductors ??

[@Audioholics]

you worry about Ls not Lp. Side by side conductors is basically twin-feeder or zip cord. No reason to go flat unless you want to tape it to a wall to be less obtrusive.

[@patrickheredia1431]

Been waiting for this video. Did not disappoint.

[@andrevanstiphout]

A very well explained topic that even slightly "techy" audio enthusiasts could come to grips with. I have always been of the opinion that reasonably priced copper cables (i.e. less than $10.00 per metre, would do the job for me. In late 2019, I refurbished a pair of JBL C50 Olympus S8R (phew!) speakers. These are a classic JBL high end design and really do sound amazing. The work included refinishing the cabinets, having all drivers checked/repaired to original specification, rebuilding the (twin) crossover networks and completely rewiring the internals. This is the good bit. JBL recommended your run of the mill 18 gauge wire for all internal wiring but more importantly, recommended "standard lamp cable" for amplifier to speaker connections up to 50 feet (just over 15 metres). I have been running the C50's with cables and banana plugs that cost me less than $100.00 and they sound absolutely incredible. I would suggest that Audioquest maybe talk to speaker manufacturers about what they think is an appropriate cable for their speakers instead of trying to push their BS cables onto non-tech inclined enthusiasts. But they won't, will they? To all those contemplating big dollar cables, save your money and buy some vinyl!

[@alexdeleon7135]

Well done! Audio Quest has made laughable claims for some time now. This review was necessary, and is backed by the axioms of experience, and empirical evidence of cable characteristics. As a retired touring instrument tech for many eighties acts. I would use either Mogami, or Gepco for cabling, and buffers for long runs. My home system utilizes Canare 4S11. Enjoy the weekend.

[@gbaker6478]

I have only just started watching KZbin, I'm setting up a 7.2.4 system, my first video was ps audio, I started watching their stuff. Then the guy said he used a cable with a battery and before that, house electrical solid wire. I never listen to just one source as I want to hear other opinions. The battery thing sounded way out in outer space. Thanks Gene, love your work, now I know I'm not as stupid as I thought, peace.

[@nielsoe8970]

Interesting video. One question: Did you sit down and listen to the cable?

[@DueM]

listen to it?

[@nielsoe8970]

@@DueM Connected to an amp and a set of speakers. Please let me know if I should elaborate further. By the way, I did actually receive an answer to my question from Audioholics and there were no difference to detect from the other cables. Thank you for your input even if modest.

[@matthewgaines10]

Considering he had one cable only, it wouldn't be balanced if said magical cable even did something.

[@audionovize7262]

Great analysis & reference points (= demonstrable science)! I have to admit though that I don't understand all aspects, but your calm way of explaining combined with "seeable" measurements makes it not only interesting, but easy to follow (even without understanding all aspects). So, regarding your question if those videos are helpful: Very much so, please continue! :)

[@RA-eo6rv]

Money can buy a lot of psychological pressure when it come to Audio fantasy

[@allansh828]

i thought the same until I audited some expensive stuff. The sad truth is most of the time, more expensive stuff sounds better.

[@srmitch9260]

You and Amir from Audio Science Review really do catch out these snake oil companies. Thank you.

[@invisibles362]

Good information Gene. People pay way to much for speakers cables. You can't buy a lot of batteries for that cable price plus a good power amplifiers lol

[@nileshbarai4999]

Gene, liked the video it was very informative. Just wish you had a few people in your audio room do a blind A-B listening test, to see if they liked the Audioquest or Belken 10 guage better? If the measurements you provided are a true guage of a speaker cable's audio performance a blind test should completely back your measurements. My guess is you will have majority of the blind testers choose the audioquest cable. As I have tried a blind A-B listening test with Monoprice 10 guage speaker cable and a lower model Audioquest speaker cable that does not include the battery pack. Would love for your team to show the scientific data you provide and also a blink listening test impressions

[@aleksander2960]

This video is a cure for all Harry Potter Academy members.

[@jeremyhemp8241]

I use 12GA monoprice. Longest run is about 50 feet. Sounds good to me and was affordable. All of these "cable claims" from companies are getting absurd. I also work for AT&T (referencing your past telecomm work) and totally get everything you were talking about. Thanks for everything you do to inform us!

[@nicksundby]

Nice video but you misunderstand the purpose of the cables. They are made to impress non-audiophiles with a flashy, expensive looking cable, and also to boost margins for audio resellers. They do this very well. Not sure why you are measuring the cables as the results are completely irrelevant.

[@umbrollo]

I genuinely love this channel and content. Love to see professionals in action 🎉

[@venusodio2003]

Thank you so very much for this topic and all the videos you make about BS in High End. I am an electrical engineer as well and designing High End Audio Tube Amps. As a musician and an engineer, I try to explain to my customers that the only way to improve their audio system is to invest in amplifiers, source, speakers, room treatment before spending thousand dollars in some snake oil stuffs. About cables, I have made many times ABX Testing without saying anything to my customers. They never heard any difference between a $600 speaker cables and a $20 one. Never ever. As a musician I can't hear that difference. Pro musician could not hear differences. BUT ! they could heard a difference between 2 different amps, speakers or source....

[@RobWhittlestone]

Hi Gene, I really appreciate the effort you put into this video. Very surprising results after the comparative demo I heard of high-end AudioQuest speaker cables. I am about to test some high-end signal cables with DBS so am really curious to see how they compare to what I'm using now. All the best, Rob

[@afrojoe24]

Thank you for taking the time to make these videos! Very informative and keeps my expectations in check! We audiophiles always want to squeeze out as much fidelity as we can from our gear and setups! But not many of us have engineering degrees! We need your science! Cheers!

[@howardskeivys4184]

Excellent video. You barred no punches, without being patronising to the manufacturer. I’m a big fan of Amir from Audio Science Review and after watching this video I’d like to see much more of this type of thing from you. Sometimes us audiophiles are mislead and confused by the sudo-science many manufacturers bamboozle us with, in order to promote their products at vastly inflated prices.we need a touch of realism to ground us. Now to your question. Would I consider spending 5000 on speaker cable? The concise answer is NO. Not even if I had more money than sense! My firm belief is that in the world of high fidelity the signal path between the source and speakers should be as simple and uncrowded as possible. Should leave that signal as pure, unaltered as feasible. Without going into too much unnecessary detail. I have spent years of trial and error. Sweat and tears. Not listening to good advice and adhering to dubious advice. Spending bucket loads of hard earned money. I have ended up with a hifi system that within the constraints of my budget, reproduces music the way I like to hear it. I guess the value of my current system is around that of a decent family car, with the lion’s share of my budget going on my speakers. I have 2 1.5 metre lengths of speaker, which I purchased ready made from direct from the manufacturer. From memory, they cost me in total around $45! The cable was recommended to me by the manufacturer of my speakers. Give me $5000 to upgrade my hifi. I would bite your hand off, but none of that money would go on cables or interconnects. Keep up the good work. You’ve just earned yourself another subscriber.

[@homeboi808]

What would be awesome is measuring a Nordost cable before and after their Vidar cable break-in device (which they suggest you go to your dealer and pay for every year or even after a few weeks of no use). I think they only charge $50, but still, they found a way to get continual repeat business from selling cables.

[@homeboi808]

@@kahuna1247 Probably per cable.

[@matthewgaines10]

Now that is a great business. The entrance price of magical cables + a residual income stream for cable "break-in". That is an even better business model. Wish I had thought about that. The snake oil is even more slippery.

[@edvdploeg1]

What about a review about the listening experience?

[@rafitorres15]

Listening is not measurable between cables and is not audible (as Gene said multiple times in the video) when comparing cables. The point is that an affordable Home Depot 10 AWG speaker cable measures fairly comparable to this $5k cable!

[@giriprasadkotte9876]

Also known as placebo and nocebo

[@imacdou6668]

It broke

[@ericharrelson2045]

This was informative, I like the way you presented this technical review.

[@historyupinsmokecigarchato4036]

I love the objective, non bias work you're doing. Thoroughly enjoyed the video, and cable that costs hundreds, even thousands of dollars is absurd. Thank you for the test

[@vdochev]

The funny thing is "audiophiles" won't even watch this video. They will deny it like flatearthers.

[@mainsource8030]

perfect comparison!

[@jefft275]

I'm an "audiophile" and I'm watching it. I love this kind of analysis. I even own AQ interconnects. I always thought the DBS thing was a gimmick. I think some of their interconnects sound great but I demoed their speaker cables and didn't care for them.

[@clausabitzboysen4942]

I watch it. I am an audiophile and Audioquest owner. I do not mind.

[@allansh828]

but expensive cables do some great. I don’t want to spend that kind of money so that stick to AIO systems

[@BlenDeR619]

Agree, that’s what I was thinking haha! But if they did watch it, they would deny science and believe the exotic price of the cable justifies the snake oil in the marketing as truth.

[@sychedelix]

This is the first video about speaker cables that makes sense 🙏🏼

[@RowanTasmanian]

Great work Gene. Electronic Engineers use Logic, some Cable Manufacturers use AstroLogic, a derivative of Astrology.

[@wilfredmay5231]

Thankyou for the science. You are one of the few who publishes numbers not many of them do. It is refreshing.

[@gavinj7850]

This is why I'm a subscriber. Thanks Gene! Even though I frequently think I'm done upgrading my systems, I still see new technology and wonder what it does and why I am supposed to get it as per the sales pitches. Your videos have saved me from headaches related to the unknowns, and you do make them an enjoyable learning experience.

[@andrewaajohnson7584]

I have Rocket 88s speaker cables.I tried them ( I took them home with me) .I live in Wales -thats part of the UK- and a lot of our Hi-fi dealers will let you take a bit of kit home with you to try at our own leisure. We have a saying here in " the proof of the pudding is in the eating", never take any manufacturer,s word for it without listening first.They have a living to make and there's a lot of competition out there.Here in the UK we have sixty days to make our minds up ,so if you've bought something you don't have to keep it ,take it back or send back you get your money back.Here you're not obligated to keep anything . Never mind the blurb if it sounds right it is right.I love my 88s.💛👍

[@MarkSH76]

Great information in this video. I've heard from multiple audiophiles, "measurement is irrelevant. What they hear and don't hear is what matters." I say, More power to them. If I hear no sonic difference (or the difference doesn't outweigh the price of the product) the salesman doesn't get my hard-earned dollars. And Gene, I would MUCH rather spend the extra 5 grand on treating my room for acoustics - for this is - by far - the most important factor when it comes to creating sound in a room. Your videos are very educational and I appreciate the knowledge you bring to the table to thus have the ability to explain the jargon that is embellished (IMHO) on some high-end manufacturer's websites. Thanks again, Gene.

[@theGrindcrusher]

Some Hi-Fi people: Measurements don't matter. What I hear is all that matters! Also some Hi-Fi people: I don't do blind tests...

[@barrymiller3385]

@@theGrindcrusher Why does it have to be one thing or the other? If we hear differences between cables then we should use measurements and testing to see if we can identify the cause of those differences. If we hear no difference then what is the point of taking measurements?

[@theGrindcrusher]

@@barrymiller3385 I think we are in agreement basically. My point is that some people make high claims they can hear a difference on a pice of audio equipment, but not keen on putting that claim to the test. There are of course lots of components that have subtle impact on the sound (for better or worse), so subtle they could be hard to pick out in a blind test on their own, but together might make a bigger impact. The claim on such components should be backed up by science and measurable facts, if you ask me.

[@barrymiller3385]

@@theGrindcrusher I guess the point I am trying to make is that listening to music is a human listening experience. We hear what we hear. We either like it or we don't. Many factors may come into play in this whether they are acoustic, electronic, mechanical or psychological. Measurements should be used to better understand why we like what we like. Not to dispute it. So if you like the sound of one cable more than another then use every means at your disposal to find out why. If you don't hear any difference then there is no real benefit in measuring anything. Buy a cable because it is cheap. Or because it is blue! It is up to you.

[@theGrindcrusher]

@@barrymiller3385 I will add that we hear what we expect to hear, and what we want to hear. There is a lot of science on this. So the core question is; do you take the blue pill or the red pill? Do you want to know if you are actually hearing a difference? If you want to know you need to get rid of confirmation bias. I'm a red pill guy, but I like to say things like "if people WANT to get ripped off - what's the harm?" but I guess what I consider quackery and snake oil does push my buttons.

[@stevenb7779]

Thank you for this review! I’m a year late on viewing this video. I had Bi-Amped my B&W 702 S2 fronts to my Denon AVR-X6300H receiver using AudioQuest Slip 14/2 wire and I made the banana connections myself. I added a Moon Ace to that system and have so much better performance from my 702s. However, the Ace only has a single left and right out. So, I wanted to bi-wire the 702s from the Ace and I purchased the AudioQuest Rocket 33 bi-wire speaker wire from Amazon. In the meantime, I used one of the 14/2 wires per speaker with the clips that came with the speakers to connected the second set of posts on the back of the speaker. The speakers were shockingly better with the Ace and the 14/2 wires. I was excited when the AudioQuest wires came and I quickly hooked them up. To my surprise, the audio quality very slightly diminished with the AudioQuest wires. However, I have not admitted that to anyone else and the wires are still connected. I was too embarrassed to admit i got sucked in to the hype. Eventually I will change out with the 10 gauge you recommend. However, BlueJeans will build a bi-wire cable for me but, only at 14 gauge. Would you recommend I build my own 10 gauge bi-wire instead?

[@robertjermantowicz-uw3iw]

Bi-wiring is nonsense and a waste of money!

[@russelsteward3412]

I have switched over to Audioquest cables for speaker cables, interconnects and mains cables, and the difference is palpable to what I had before, truly amazing. I'm not talking the mega expensive ones as seen here, but £100 -£300 area. They have amazed me, especially the mains cables where I was sceptical before buying, but the difference was so noticeable. You can argue with me if you like, but I will probably just ignore you. All I am saying, engineers are a little too wrapped up in their technical manuals to actually listen to the damn things! But here is the NEWS guys, many hi-fi cable retailers offer a MONEY BACK IF NOT HAPPY POLICY!!! Meaning you can try one in your home system (many offer a 3 month trial period) and if you can't detect an improvement you can return it and loose nothing!! Surely any intelligent person can see how fair that is. Like I said though, my positive results have been with the more affordable range, I can't speak for the high end stuff.

[@raydm4015]

All measurements considered, how does it sound?

[@petersaint656]

Hi from the UK. I’m a recent subscriber to your channel and would like to thank you for the invaluable information and knowledge I’ve gained from you during this short period of time.

[@zamdrang]

Thanks for this. I fell victim to the placebo effect with AQ ICs with DBS many years ago. I can't say they sound bad, I've left them in my system. But over the years I've compared them with cheaper ICs and can't hear any difference. I've also A/B'd unplugging the battery to try and hear a difference. I don't. I've concluded the battery is nothing more than marketing BS. Great to see the science. Thanks.

[@walrusgumbootable]

Gene thank you for taking the time to protect and educate the younger audiophiles! I’ve just replaced the copper clad aluminum with 14/2 pure copper 200 feet $60!!!

[@lp1133]

Gene, I respect your education, experience, and the science behind your investigation. However, I would love to see a blind listening test with multiple people on a high resolving sound system.

[@spacecadet6575]

I’ve been in and around the audio biz since the late 80’s. My experience is that getting to “good enough” performance out of a cable can be had for short money - after which it’s very hard and expensive to make noticeable improvements. I run 12ga Monoprice cable with an in-wall rating. I’m only running 10’ per side. Sounds good to me. I dressed them up with a cool looking nylon sleeve, gold banana plugs and wire pants so they look impressive.

[@hellR1de]

Now I feel I've been had completely, by buying a pair of AQ interconnects, to plug my fronts pre-outs to my power amp. At least, after seeing your great video Gene, I stopped the hemorrhage to about 100$, before wasting more on crook-a-cables. But what would be interesting if I may, would be some suggestions about decent affordable cables, both for interconnects and speaker cables. Great work, Gene! I'm learning so much, here.

[@hellR1de]

Thanks. I already have a pair of Kimber for my front speakers, so I most probably won't ever change those. But good to know about the interconnects!

[@TheCanyonhopper]

Thank you for showing some of the problems with "expensive cable company" claims. Detailing the solid core vs stranded one is what I really like (could be a longer deep dive someday perhaps?). Personally, I've been using Nakamichi's cheap red interconnects for all of my systems (both home and car). Might not be pretty but incredible noise rejection. Stranded speaker cables bought in bulk (made by the company I worked at before it went kaput) and never been happier. Although I love the science I also love tube amps sound (distortion?).

[@kottke25]

How do Nordost Valhalla cables measure? Surely different sound given the silver composition. Is there a point of time where measurements don't detect what the ear can?

[@luisrodrigonunezolguin7038]

Thanks Gene, excellent video, technical and clear. By the way, I had never seen a broken Banana.

[@marcomartin9854]

Thanks Gene. Like always, good science. I personally have a set of Very high end expensive cables. These are 10 ft 12 gauge. These are Mogami cables and I paid $120 terminated, by the way with Audio quest spades basic model. All cable measurements are posted online @ Mogami site. Per foot impedance, induction, capacitance etc.

[@Audioholics]

Mogami is snake oil free.

[@ja8020]

Hi Gene great content and the videos help a lot. You are providing a public service for audiophiles. I’ll keep listening. 😊

[@AudiOhm]

Is it true, that there is a battery test button on these cables. Would you not notice the batteries have run out because the sound has changed...

[@MrSuranai]

Great job, thank you so much. Seriously shouldn’t we sue them for false advertising?

[@eddevlincycling6322]

Interesting data on the speaker cable. You did a good job of addressing differences of lack thereof of measured responses of the cable. I don't think caught in your video, how they sounded compared to generic 10 gauge wire. Maybe you were just interested in how they measured, but I am curious about how they sounded, thx,

[@c.j.vanwoerden1676]

I have an Audioquest Water interconnect. The best sounding interconnect I ever had.

[@dwightballard3868]

Compelling argument. I do think that measurements alone does not tell the whole story without a listening test- which I was waiting for. I would be really interested in a side by side comparison between the Kimber and the Audioquest. For instance, I have no idea the way my Chord Company speaker cable and interconnects measure, but I sure do like the sound in terms of musicality and inner detail. LP's can certainly sound fantastic even though it has a way higher noise floor than a CD.

[@Yiannis2112]

The other day, a well known reviewer - influencer, with a channel exclusive to analogue audio, said that even the slightest 0.001mm scratch on a wire (caused for example by a stripping tool) will not only have negative but also audible effect, on sound quality. I confronted him, but as you can imagine (when your head is so far up your back alley), he remained defiant. I finally gave up. Now that I think of it, I realise I wasn't talking to a human. I believe I was talking to a so far unknown species %50 bat, %50 dolphin. Dressed as a human.

[@fivish]

Dr. Matti Otala decades ago was writing about how he could hear the difference between batches of resistors! He did come up with some novel transistor amplifier designs which in 1973 were just taking over from valves. But john-linsley-hood was my inspiration.

[@Yiannis2112]

@@fivish OK, but what does all that mean?

[@VinceCASPERPimentel]

I don't use anything too special for speaker wire and my system isn't very high end. But from what I just learned.... I'll be taking some wire measurements to see if I'd benefit from some 10 gauge. Great video, love the data. Thank you.

[@keesvanwoerden2156]

I have an Audioquest Water interconnect with the battery pack. It 's the best sounding interconnect I ever had.

[@Paxmax]

quite the double post... what is your relation to "C.J van Woerden"?

[@keesvanwoerden2156]

@@Paxmax Kees van Woerden en C.J. van Woerden are one and the same person.

[@johnnewcomb5162]

My experience in the past has been, when purchasing these or any of the expensive cables, they sound really amazing, only when you get them for $2 to $5 bucks a piece from goodwill or thrift shops by the local retirement communities, make sure you hit their Yard sales, you would be amazed at the wifes not knowing how much their husbands spent on hifi equipment and they give it away. I mean who doesn't want a pair of AR3 speakers for $5 bucks. Great video.

[@dudemastermaster8944]

I got AQ rocket 33, and they changed and in my particular case also improved the sound significantly, compared to my former silver coated cable. Therefore I am thankful to AQ. Good job you guys, hang in there. Take care

[@allanwhittle3041]

Gene I want to congratulate you on your honesty and integrity , in an industry rife with smoke and mirrors and paid for bullshit reviews . Your content and decency shines through ..Thank you 👍

[@gridexplorer]

Thanks as always for bringing data and science to the discussion, and using real world forces installing, I'd have a rough night if I broke a 5k cable b-plug on first install, quality audio and build matters.

[@NYAudioGuru]

I too use 8TC. I have for more than 20 years. I love it!

[@christaylor5887]

I have 8vs.10.years 😍😍😎😎

[@harpalchauhan428]

You are gonna become the reference point for speaker cables and interconnect and so on. 👏👏

[@themafia3119]

Amazing educational video. I stopped selling and installing Audioquest cables 4 years ago. Thanks Gene.

[@flasha29]

The 38 dislikes must be Audioquest staff.😁

[@iamjackalope]

Or the 38 golden eared suckers that bought these cables that just now realized that maybe they haven't been hearing the big difference that they have been going on and on about to all their friends. It's now up to 88.

[@Libertà_sulla_vita]

@@iamjackalope my thoughts exactly

[@damonm3]

Ya, more likely to be purchasers 😂.

[@spillmana]

It's the dealers who sell them!

[@matthewtaylor7355]

Or they r the sensible types who purchased Audioquest Redwood etc from from Ali expresss for 200GBP...They r 5000 GBP in the West... Why doesn't Sallas tell us THIS??

[@AluminumHaste]

Can you take a standard CAT7 Ethernet cable, twist the conductors together, and plug it into this system?

[@slidetek]

I've been doing audio since the early 70's. Hard to believe that this all started with Monster Cable: a simple, fat zip cord terminated with pins. Back then it made sense, and compared to the lamp wire we were getting at the hardware store, there was a noticeable difference if only because of the gauge and shielding. The entire industry changed to accommodate spades and banana plugs. I myself started going down this dark path in the 80's and 90's. Luckily, I had friends with more money and even less sense than myself. Yes, I can hear a difference. But, is it _better?_ Gene and Amir are doing a great service to those who will listen and haven't yet acquired the crab in a pot mentality. Yes, they're not making any friends in some parts of the industry - including resellers who get to drive around Ducati's and Alfas from selling $12k power conditioners to music lovers. If people knew the markup on cable they'd _know_ all the intensive research goes into marketing.

[@richardsoffice9176]

Thank you. Please note, that the PS Audio Rejuvenators, are not filters, or conditioners; they convert the AC wall voltage, current to DC, and thence, to high quality AC. Some are, `affordable.'

[@darcykolodziejak2503]

Hi there I have a random question. I have recently purchased a 7.1. 4 system. The speakers are all from the same manufacturer. My question is . I have two front powered towers. They have dual 8 inch powered subs. As well as dual 6.5 inch mid bass drivers and a 1 inch titanium tweeter. They are very massive towers. I am also running 2 towers for side surround speakers. Those have dual 6.5 inch mid bass as well as a 1 inch titanium tweeter. For the rear surrounds I am running a 6.5 inch single driver mid bass driver and a 1 inch titanium tweeter. I also have 2 12 inch subwoofers. My question is should I run the 12 inch subwoofers behind the seating position as I am running the powered towers up front. Thanks for any insight that you are able too give

[@alkestos]

I’m unfortunately no help to your question but I just wanted to say your system seems quite nice, I could even say I’m a tad bit jealous :D But wouldn’t it be 7.2.4 as you have two subs?