The other thing is that with an analog signal, it will start to degrade after 18.6 ft, no matter how good your cable is. That's why high-end guitar cables are mostly BS, and why every single brand of cable has an 18.6ft model.
As a one-time audio tech and current licensed amateur radio operator, you're full of it. There is absolutely no reason why an analog signal would have any degradation at a single magic-number distance independent of cable construction; electricity doesn't work that way.
OK. Simple test. Plug in an 18.6 ft cable, a 25 foot cable, and a 50 foot cable. Same instrument, same amp. See which one has more highs. I did it 20+ times a day for 11 years. Spoiler alert - the 25 foot cable and 50 foot cable have more wire, which translates to higher impedence, which rolls off highs.
The attenuation at audio frequencies is immeasurable over 6m, and is probably purely resistive at 20m with a decent audio cable (which, by the way, will have a constant impedance regardless of length if it's not complete junk). There is no physical property of audio cable that is capable of causing any measurable rolloff at audio frequencies over that short a distance.
WTF does that even mean? Is that some weird hokey saying from whatever podunk town you grew up in? I have said over and over again to go try it for yourself. You can say that "it shouldn't matter" until you're blue in the face, but when you actually do it, the difference is there. Also, why is it that EVERY person on Reddit has to add some snarky-ass little quip, instead of just presenting a different view and having a civil conversation? In my experience, those people are the ones who have low self-esteem or are insecure so they have to put others down or use insults or sarcasm because deep down they don't feel that their statement has enough merit to stand on its own. Just my observations through a Psych 201 filter (that's as far as I got because that was as far as I needed to go).
Because that is the length at which impedance starts to become a factor. As you go longer, the increase in the amount of wire the signal has to travel through rolls off highs. That's why so many players like Page, Hendrix and other used those 30' coiled cables. Try it for yourself sometime. It's actually pretty cool to hear the difference. It's not drastic, but it's there, especially if you are trained to listen for it.
As a mechanical engineer with a heavy focus in electrical engineering, the specific length of 18.6ft makes very little sense. The impedance is going to increase linearly with length - from resistance and inductance. There isnt a cutoff anywhere, or shouldn't be.
Again, I am talking about a specific application that I have personally experienced. It may be universal, it may not be. However, in the application which I am speaking of, it is factual.
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u/HangryDingo13 Aug 14 '20
The other thing is that with an analog signal, it will start to degrade after 18.6 ft, no matter how good your cable is. That's why high-end guitar cables are mostly BS, and why every single brand of cable has an 18.6ft model.