Topic: Cable lifters?

[Lil Kim Jong-Il]

I've read alot of recommendations to get the cables off the carpet.  There are lots of reports on the usual sites about good results.  I see those ceramic lifters that look like old telegraph line insulators showing up in more system pictures.  The common component seems to be just getting them off the floor.

I tried using ceremic coffee cups.  I had the cables about 3" off the carpet.  I could not detect any difference.

I'm just wondering if anyone has tried this and if they heard an effect?

[Tim]

what kind of interference would the carpet be causing?

[Lil Kim Jong-Il]

I don't know.  I've read posts that claim static from the carpet is an issue.  Some people suggest that resting against carpet influences the cable capacitance (the "air is the best dialectric" argument).  Other posts say that vibrations from the floor affect the cable and influence imaging.  So apparently no one else really knows either.

But many people claim to hear a difference using lifters, even those made from wooden chop sticks tied together.  So this can't be dismissed as a case in which someone needs to hear a difference because they spent $300 on a tweak.

Do a search in audioasylum.  There are many related posts. 

[Tim]

will do... interesting thought. I can see where the static might matter, especially living at 5280 feet... the air is very dry up here and there is a lot of static energy

[ducati]

I haven't tried it on purpose...  But my right speaker cable is actually off the ground as the way it's routed to my amp causes it to sit a bit off the ground.  I don't notice a difference in imaging between L and R.  But maybe I need to get the L cable off the ground to try.  A tweak to pursue in the dark of night, when the wife isn't looking 

[BobW]

D'oh !  I thought that cable lifting meant opening the shield connection on a balanced cable........