mark maloof wrote:I believe the "chokes" you are talking about are ferrites (ferrous metal), and these can act as a filter for high frequency hash when used in power cables, interconnects, etc. I tried some on a pair of interconnects, they did indeed have an effect, but I did not like them. They diminished the extreme highs a bit, which made things sound "richer", but at the expense of top end.
Yeah, these chokes are particularly useful on the low voltage side of switched mode power supplies (like laptops) and for VGA and RGBHV video cables, which must pass 25.5 MHz (for 1024x768 @ 75 Hz) to 120 MHz (for 2048x1536 @ 75 Hz) square waves with minimal attenuation, ripple, overshoot, and harmonics. HF noise can be destructive when present in either of these situations.
I have not noticed much difference with audio, since these ferrites provide minimal effect at audio frequencies. If you can perceive it though...what the hell, sure...why not!