Frequency Response

The differences in sound quality that cables make can be both heard and measured. The frequency response of a system is one of the most basic ways to measure the accuracy of a sound system. Although it certainly does not give all of the information about the sound quality of a cable, it does illustrate the basic cable accuracy. An ideal system would have a frequency response that was completely flat from 20 Hz to 20kHz. That would mean that the system was able to play all frequencies, from low bass to high pitch symbols, without any distortion or decrease in volume.

The graph shown here is an example that gives a direct comparison between the frequency response of two audio systems that are identical except for the cables. As can be clearly seen, the system using the Pear Cable (depicted in dark green) shows greatly extended frequency response. When we say that our

cables are more accurate, we actually mean it, and can prove it.

By allowing a virtually flat frequency response all the way to 20 kHz, the Comice Cables used in this test preserve the harmonic information of the original recording. When this system is compared side by side in listening tests, the difference is obvious. The "Other Cables" sound much harsher and tinny. Pear Cables on the other hand will sound far more natural, with an infinitely improved soundstage, because they are more accurate.

The bottom line is that if the sound never gets to the speakers, the quality of the rest of your system will not matter. Pear Cables allow your system to reach its full potential.

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System Specifications

So what exactly is the comparison depicted on the graph?

The frequency response comparison has been specifically designed to be as fair of a comparison as possible. The setup is a 4 channel audio system that uses a cd player, a pair of 2-channel amps, and 2 pairs of coaxial 5.25" speakers. 2 channels are hooked up with our competitors cable, and 2 channels are hooked up with our Comice Cable.

The sets of cable are all identical in length and gauge. The Pear Cable side utilizes Comice Silver Interconnects, Comice Speaker Cable, and Comice Power Cable. The "Other Cable" is major name brand "high quality" cable. The interconnect pairs are both 5 meters long and utilize shielded twisted pair configurations. The speaker cables are all 14 foot long 12 gauge runs. The "Other Cable" speaker cable is a standard 12 gauge zip design, whereas the Comice Speaker Cable is a 12 gauge cable utilizing a unique 6 conductor configuration. Finally, the amplifiers are both hooked up using 2 foot runs of 8 gauge power wire.

The measurements were taken with a digital storage oscilloscope at the speaker terminals. Because this system utilizes just 5.25" coaxial speakers, the low frequency roll-off can clearly be seen in both cases, but this has nothing to do with the cables. This is due to the fact that the system was not designed to play low frequency bass, and cuts that information out.

One final important note is that the frequency response of cables will not, of course, give all the information about how they will sound. However, it will demonstrate the basic accuracy of the cables. Other factors such as cable vibration, noise, etc. will not show up in a frequency response plot, but are still important. Pear Cables are designed to deal with all of these factors.