When you pay attention to and understand the science and engineering of cables, you soon realize that speaker cables do not get effected by “static electricity” from simply laying on carpet, plain and simple.
Raising them, lowering them makes no difference UNLESS you are moving them away from power lines that they are running parallel to in which a very slight chance may effect them, or if you have multiple runs of speaker cables somehow laying on top of each other, thus creating higher capacitance within the cables.
So again… The Placebo Effect is in play when it comes to this particular topic.
You say there is a possibility there is an effect in certain conditions and yet claim unequivocally that everyone who hears something from lifters is psychologically willing it.
Got it. So, lifters do work, but their function has nothing to do with static or the floor. Rather, they help with distancing from things like nearby EM fields of other cables.
Why assume placebo?
Wouldn’t it be more reasonable to rationalize that most cables will intersect another EM field at some point, and thus lifters may modify the distance from those fields?
I don’t use lifters. I’m not taking any position on their usefulness. (I tried tea cups once)
But with anything, a hard set opinion ends the thought process and that’s fine for some and they shouldn’t be criticized for it.
But others like to continue to try to work it out; how do they/can they work?
I’m one who tends to keep pondering things like this.
It’s similar to Galen’s explanation that conductor material does effect the sound of a cable, but material differences can’t be explained by measurement. That measurement technology apparently has yet to be invented. Just like the measurement tool has not yet been invented that can define the qualities of live sound vs recorded.
Healthy skepticism and describing your own experiments and experiences as having a placebo effect is one thing, but throwing around emphatically “It’s called the Placebo Effect” is a fancy way of saying someone else’s experiences are B.S.
I’d rather spend a few bucks on simple cable lifters—placebo or not, and be happy, than be out $100,000 for a few feet of cable to find out it doesn’t work.
I find neither option to be all that appealing and choose to listen to the music without obsessing. Of course my funds are, comparatively, somewhat limited.
No obsessing here—it’s simply easier to vacuum the carpet underneath lifted cables. I had some extra glass window blocks in the garage (free, since they came with the house) and they work just fine.
Just out of curiosity. Are the ones you’re referring to look like this?
I’ve found that this particular type when used with speaker cables shut-in the high end (not the bass) but don’t seem to affect power cables in terms of sound one way or the other.
I have used the original ceramic elevators for years, later I bought some 4x4 wood blocks when I bi-wired my cables. Do they make a difference? It is hard to say and I have hardwood floor. If they do it is very minor that sometime I thought I heard an improvement. But that could be done by a fine glass of red wine too.
But none of them work when I bought two pairs of Fidelium speaker cables. Because they are so thin and flexible, they would not stay on the elevators. So they have been touching the floor between elevators. Finally, I decided to do something and bought some 8x4x2 Polystyrene Foam Blocks. I cut 4 1" slot into each one and inserted the cables (4 thin ribbon in each) into the form. Now they are off floor.
Do they sound better? For sure they look better and maybe sounded better too.
So, one day I was contemplating the mysteries of cable elevators. I was considering the best materials for electrical insulation. Glass is an excellent insulator. Hmmm. I made a trip to my local Hi-Fi tweak supply store (Dollar Tree). Here’s what I came up with; 7 tall glass mugs, 2 short glass cups, 9 tie wraps, and a few extra’s of each. Total investment, less than $12. Does it work? I don’t know but it makes me content knowing that I’m doing all I can to get the best sound possible. ♬♬♬♬♬
If you want the best possible sound conditioning from those mugs…fill them with your favorite beer… gulp them down while listening to your favorite tunes… and enjoy the music.
