In my experience, no one brings more science to cable design than Galen Gareis of Iconoclast, and no one has contributed more to the art of cable voicing than Bill Low of AudioQuest. Bill’s work reflects a deep understanding of how we hear and interpret sound—not just in terms of frequency or measurement, but in the way music connects emotionally through timing, texture, and space.
These two men couldn’t be more different in their approaches, yet in their own ways, both have helped shape the high-end cable world. So when Bill wrote me a note in response to one of my posts on cables, I just had to share.
In my post, I had written about how cables, at their core, cannot add anything to the signal. They can only take something away, selectively or broadly, which is why the changes we hear are the result of subtraction, not addition. When we say a cable is “bright,” we often mean it has lost some warmth or body—not that it somehow gained extra treble energy. Bill largely agreed with that idea, but took it several steps further, adding his own observations that are worth unpacking.
Bill pointed out that while it’s true cables don’t output more energy than they take in—no surprise there unless you believe in perpetual motion machines—he believes it’s rare that what we interpret as “brightness” in a cable comes from a loss of bass. In fact, he suggests that perceived brightness or harshness more often results from signal corruption rather than tonal imbalance. For example, he singles out silver-plated conductors in analog cables, which he says cause a kind of distortion that results in what he’s long called the “tweeter-in-your-face” effect. That’s not about added treble or reduced bass—it’s the brain responding negatively to distorted signal cues.
This idea fascinates me. Our auditory system isn't just a passive receiver—it’s a deeply interpretive processor. When something in the time or phase domain is off—even slightly—it can trigger discomfort or fatigue. Bill calls it a “neurological issue,” not just a frequency-domain problem.
In the next couple of posts, I want to explore two key ideas Bill raises: first, the neurological interpretation of cable-caused distortions; and second, the way conductor size and design—not just material—shape our perception of timing, dynamics, and tonal balance.
As someone who’s spent decades designing audio gear and listening deeply, I find this kind of thinking invaluable.
Tomorrow, let's dive in a little deeper.
0 comments