Cables with SS and Valve Amps

[IslandPink]

Speaker cables.
Amp at the moment is 4P1L pentode driving KR300B XLS outputs , transformers are Bud Purvine ( O-Netics ) . Output impedance about 2R to the upper horn but about 1R to the midrange driver because it's on the 4R tap. Fairly typical of the amps I've used over the last 15 years, although I do have a small SS chip-amp in last couple of years that is used at times.

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

Well maybe the theory should be modified to the better the quality of the output transformers then the more speaker cable differences will show up, as they get more out of the way of the music. But my point stands that valve amps (apart from maybe OTL) don't show cables differences up as much as SS.

[Nick]

I also think that SS amps can be affected by the cable more than most valve amps as the lack of output transformer allows much larger amounts of global feedback that may react in different ways to having lengths of wire attached to it. I have often thought this is the mechanism where cable effects we are repeatedly told only happen outside the audio band can end up making a difference inside the audio band.

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

I don't have large amounts of global feedback yet NVA amps are VERY cable sensitive. To the extent I often tell customer to upgrade speaker cable before they upgrade amplifiers. Interconnects are more icing on the cake but speaker cable is basic.

[Thermionic Idler]

This is an Interesting discussion - of course my OTL's use gobs of NFB to get the output impedance down, it's the only way they stand any chance of working at all. I've found that they are at their happiest when the speaker cables are nice and short.

[andrew Ivimey]

Ive never thought about that. Ive happily had my basic futterman 6080 drsign going over the last ooooo 8 years abd it still works one side has 8tc and the other 4pl into nice old Tannoys....3 or so metres.