In reply to:
Now granted there is a benefit to (twisted pairs)
In network and telephony applications, they have some real benefit, I've seen people have problems with DSL on station wire in older homes. For interconnects, the foundation they work on no longer exists (voltage differential) so the point is moot.
In reply to:
These are the same people that say an XLR connection is a huge sounding upgrading over a regular RCA connection
Well, the XLR is balanced. So if you happen to live in a stadium, arena or concert hall and your CD player is backstage and your listening area is 250feet away in the balcony, it will reject more noise.
(Also, XLR and TRS aren't necessarily balanced - it's all in the cable, sometimes you end up with unbalanced sources, and have to put a BALUN into the line, you can have balanced and unbalanced cables with XLR and TRS connectors, unbalanced TS (Tip Sleeve... ie: "mono" 1/4" phono) and TRS can also be wired for an effects loop - sometimes to dual TS connectors - Effect In and Effect Out, even rarely to another TRS)
In reply to:
Silver is the greatest thing since slice bread
My rings are made of it...
In reply to:
rubbing Vaseline on your cables will improve the sound
I won't touch that one.
In reply to:
hooking up a 9 volt battery to your cables and making them active will somehow make them the best cables on earth
AudioQuest, for instance, has a set of cables that run 72 volts through the dielectric, since it is their belief cable break-in has to do with the charging of the dielectric and keeping it in a state of charge negates the break-in period (they also contend you have to break-in non-"active" cables every time they're used - they discharge unless you use their battery operated ones. The battery will last for years (Well, I guess so, the only load on it is the "test LED"... you can push a button and light up an LED to be sure your battery is still functioning) since the battery isn't even part of an electrical circuit, this dives headfirst into the hogwash section.
Bren R.
