[Audio wire] Classification and application of audio wire how to connect the audio wire to the computer
Talking about the classification and application of audio wire p>
Audio cables are a love-hate thing for some Hi-Fi and AV enthusiasts. As to whether the cable can change the sound or image quality, I think everyone should have a positive attitude; but the extent of the change is controversial. At the same time, because the current product prices in the wire rod market tend to be polarized, it is even more difficult to reach a consensus on this issue for a while.
Faced with a wide variety of wire products on the market, how to choose the right wire has become the most important issue. At this time, first of all, you need to understand the characteristics of your own audio, whether you need to make the sound brighter or lower, and then it will be much easier to buy cables. Let me take you to see the difference and function of audio cables.
Because of the wide variety of audio cables, this article mainly introduces some common cables in audio systems, such as HDMI, USB and other cables, and will be explained in detail next time.
First, the use of audio wire
The function of the wire is mainly to connect the two ends of the equipment. The effect of equipment such as speakers is so great, but a good wire can enhance or correct the sound. Generally speaking, it is not necessary to reconnect the wires of the fixed and assembled small or mini audio products. Usually a speaker contains the following three kinds of wires.
Signal cable
Connect each stand-alone or peripheral signal source ( Such as decks, CD players, etc.) output and input wires are called signal wires (that is, the wires connecting the signal source and the amplifier). At this time, if the cables are properly matched, the audio-visual quality will be improved; if the cables are not properly matched, in addition to causing the sound to be distorted and unpleasant, other cluttered sound signals will also be heard.
Digital cable
The digital cable was developed based on digital audio It is mainly used to connect digital/analog converters (ie decoders) and CD players. According to the different materials, the digital cable is divided into two types: fiber optic cable and coaxial cable.
Speaker cable
This is used to connect the amplifier to the speaker. If the wires are properly matched, the sound will become better. On the contrary, if the cable is not matched properly, it will affect the function of the amplifier and cause the sound to be distorted.
It is worth noting that due to the different wavelengths of various sound frequencies, it is easy to produce high and low phase shifts when transmitting signals. Faster to the destination, and some slower, resulting in distortion of the sound. The longer the distance traveled, the more severe the distortion will be.
Therefore, some manufacturers develop a kind of “black box” on the wire, so that the transmission speed of very low frequency to very high frequency is the same. But this kind of wire is not available in every household, and whether this design is really good is still inconclusive, but the price will be higher than that of products of the same level.
2. Design elements of wire rods
Design and materials of wire rods It will directly affect the change of sound quality, so the price of the wire is from more than 20 yuan to 200,000 yuan. There are roughly three ways of internal design of the wire, including: winding, isolation and coating. The winding type design is not necessarily used for every wire, while the isolation type and the covered type are used for every wire.
Wire-wound
Some manufacturers believe that the bass will be transmitted through thick wires and the treble will be transmitted through thin wires, so the metal wire in the wire should include Thick and thin lines, and the two should be wound in an appropriate proportion, so that the sound transmission can be balanced. So this design wraps a variable amount of fine wire around the thick wire. If you want to know whether the wire is designed in this way, you can twist off the terminal and see the internal design of the wire.
Isolation
Isolation is to set an isolation net inside the wire , so that the wire will not be interfered by other signals, so the best isolation method should be able to achieve 100% density, so as to completely isolate the external electromagnetic waves. However, the wire must be soft and bendable, so it is necessary to use weaving skills so that the wire can be bent and used without making the isolation net sparse and exposing the wire.
Covered
The outermost surface of the jacketed cable is soft and hard Moderate plastic wrap. If the wrapped material is very soft, the isolation effect will be poor, and it may also mean that there is too little metal material in the wire, which will affect the conduction function, but if it is too hard, it will be easily broken.
Three, wire material
At present, the material of audio wire is mainly copper wire and silver wire. Since the conductivity of copper wire is not very good, but the wire with good conductivity is very expensive, so most manufacturers will adopt a compromise method to cross other metals on the copper wire to increase the conductivity of the copper wire. Therefore, copper wire is divided into “pure copper” wire and “processed” wire, such as silver-plated, tin-plated and so on. The former is mainly developed in Japan, while the “processed” wires are mainly made in European and American countries.
Copper wire
As the name suggests, it is made of copper. Due to its low price, it is the most common wire at present. However, it is best to use oxygen-free copper and long grain copper or even single crystal copper to reduce impedance.
Silver wire
Silver is also a commonly used wire conductive material. The conductivity of silver is slightly better than that of copper, but because silver is more expensive, silver wire is usually used in high-end audio.
copper alloy
that is copper, silver, zinc alloy, commonly known as brass. This is an unusual conductor material. Its tone is very different from traditional copper wire, which is suitable for some equipment and not suitable for others. Generally speaking, this kind of wire is suitable for equipment that has high-pitched requirements. At present, it is more popular in foreign medium and high-grade wires, and it is also good for use in homes that are not very long distances.
Carbon Fiber
This cable resists aging, oxidation and The tensile strength is extremely superior, but the internal impedance is very high, which is not suitable for equipment with low input impedance and professional places for long-distance transmission.
4. Origin of wire rods
The countries that currently produce wire rods mainly include Europe, America, Japan, etc. Because of different design concepts and materials used, countries are developing , When the audio wire is manufactured, the sound it shows is also different. Generally speaking, the audio cables produced in Europe and the United States have a strong personality and momentum in the tone and charm, and are suitable for large listening spaces; some cables are relatively cheap in price, good in quality, good in low frequency response, and the tone sounds milder; The price of some cables is not high, but they have a good performance in the detail and speed of the tone, which is suitable for listening to pop music.
Japanese cables are not as diverse as European and American products, and their timbres sound relatively mild. However, everyone’s subjective feelings about music are different, and the list here is for reference only.
Conclusion: Any cable with a certain level has its own advantages and No matter how famous or expensive it is, it cannot escape this theorem. Audiophile cables are definitely worth it, but they don’t have to be expensive, and if audiophiles are paying a ton of money for a little sound quality improvement (perhaps just a change), it’s not worth it. On the contrary, as long as you are willing to work hard to understand the sound quality and timbre characteristics of various cables, and know how to match them on the basis of a comprehensive understanding of the characteristics of your own equipment, there will be red, green, and complementary effects.
How to connect the speaker cable to the computer?
Active speakers and passive speakers:
Computer speakers are mainly divided into two types of speakers, active speakers and passive speakers speakers. The way to tell these two speakers apart is simple. Active speakers have a built-in low-power amplifier, which is directly plugged into the microphone interface of the computer through the speaker cable, and then can work normally when the power is turned on. Passive speakers are generally some large speakers or some old-fashioned speakers. They do not have power amplifiers, so you must first connect the speaker wires to the power amplifier, then connect the computer through the power amplifier cable, and finally connect the other end of the power amplifier to the power supply. This will work fine.
1. Connect the active speaker to the computer:
The method of connecting the active speaker to the computer is very simple, you pass a 3.5m one-to-two audio cable , Generally, plug in the headphone output interface of the computer, and plug in the red and white interface of the speaker on the other side, and it can work after connecting the power supply.
Second, connecting the passive speaker to the computer:
And our focus is to introduce the method of connecting the passive speaker to the computer, Maybe some lines and connectors do not match and need to be wired by soldering. Buy a 3.5 to 6.5 stereo adapter cable in the electronics market, the jack is a 3.5mm plug, and solder the plug wire to the speaker wire. To put it simply, the 6.5 plug is connected to one channel of the power amplifier, such as AUX DVD. The 3.5 plug is inserted into the signal output terminal of the sound card and it is OK. However, many people are not good at welding lines, so they do not dare to weld by themselves. First, test the polarity of the two lines of the speaker by yourself. If the polarity is reversed, there will be no sound. Use a AA battery and connect the two wires of the speaker to the positive and negative poles of the battery respectively. If you can hear the “crackling” sound in the speaker by pulling the wire, then the negative pole of the battery is connected to the ground wire, otherwise there should be no sound. If it is the left speaker, it is the left channel; if it is the right speaker, it is the right channel. But if it is a digital connection, only one line is required, and one end is connected to the SDIF output of the sound card and the other end is connected to the SDIF input of the power amplifier, and the sound quality is better.
How to connect the passive speaker cable to the computer
After testing the polarity of the speaker, there are three poles in the stereo plug, which are ground and left and right. Channel, the ground wire of the left and right speakers is uniformly welded to the ground wire of the plug, and the other wire is welded to the left and right channels. There is also a plug housing that can be screwed on. After soldering, cover the plug shell, it is almost the same as the headphone head bought outside.
In fact, to put it plainly, connecting a passive speaker to a computer is a process of connecting an amplifier to a computer.
