While I was reading a Fanfare Tuner instruction pamphlet in 1987, I found the admonition that an unbalanced RCA interconnect should not be any longer than twenty-five feet [25 ft]. I was curious about the consequences of such a long unbalanced interconnecting wire, so I assembled enough R/S Gold RCA interconnects plus some R/S Gold female-female couplers to assemble two twenty-six feet [26 ft] long interconnects. Now note that these 26 ft long daisy-chained interconnects had a LOT of pieces plugged into each other.

Then I used those 26 ft long interconnects to connect a Musical Fidelity CD player to the DeCoursey crossover that fed the Futterman amps (treble/midrange) and Gas Amp (bass) that drove the Tympanis and the Velodyne Servo-15 amp. The CD player provided a controlled signal source. I powered up everything and listened for the results.

Did the audiophile world, as we would like to know it, suddenly end? Heck, no.

Was there a “lot of grunge” from those 26 ft long interconnects? Heck, no.

What WAS the result of using those 26 ft daisy-chained interconnects?

The result of using those 26 ft long interconnects was a modest dulling of the treble, nothing more. I did not have to develop audiophile-ear hernias to hear that modest dulling of the treble. It was audible but still modest.

Conclusion: R/S Gold three foot [3 ft] interconnects would cause no audible problems.

Now I have read web posts by people who waxed eloquently about the joys of using expensive interconnects, and some did claim that they were EE’s. I had problems with their dissertations when I learned they were all employed in the expensive-interconnects industry. So I considered their viewpoints to be a classic conflict of interest.

As a contrast, the chief engineer at Macintosh Labs wrote a data-filled piece explaining the reasons for not spending on expensive wire. But maybe he wanted us to spend our money on Mac gear, rather that on wire?

Simply put:
You do not ask a fox to count your chickens.

I prefer the full-kimono approach: I want to know how everyone’s personal or financial interests relate to a decision before I even consider their opinions. Only the opinions of a truly disinterested third-party, who has NO hidden agendas, should ever be considered.

Since I have never been connected to the audio industry, I am truly a “disinterested third-party”.

I visit this site infrequently so I notice the continual changes in poster ID’s. There is a steady stream of “newbies” who are interested in audiophilia. But whenever these “newbies” discover they have been burned by buying overpriced wires and gear by snake oil salesmen and Carney hustlers, they switch to HDTV where they can SEE what they are getting for their money. They can also learn about HDTV in Consumer Reports. Our eyes dominate our ears, so HDTV renders the audio contribution of the HDTV experience to a very secondary position.

The audio hobby magazines have been disappearing because the people interested in audio have been disappearing.

This place was a lot better when people like Skeptic were around to challenge the BS posts and hidden agendas. I had some great catfights with Skeptic but they were in good fun. Skeptic’s intentions were at least honest.