Banana, Mud, and the Illusion of Superior Cables
An audiophile forum moderator tested different signal paths—copper wire, a banana, pennies soldered to old mic cables, and mud—and found listeners could hardly distinguish the results from expensive speaker cables, with only 6 of 43 guesses correct. Analysis suggests the material conducting the signal matters little beyond DC resistance and shielding; copper works, while banana or mud mainly cause level and frequency issues. This challenges the value of very costly cables for most setups.