Musing following some cable posts...

Don't criticise what you can't understand.
(Book of Bob)

Paul

 

Is that the Book Of Sideshow Bob.

 

What an amazing thread. Sad, & vaguely noxious, but amazing.

I once did a single-blind i/c cable test, combined with an LCR measurement of each cable.

No, in the context of an unfamiliar system I couldn't hear any differences to an even vaguely statistically valid level - but ALL of the cables measured substantially different from each other in their LCR values.

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BTW - I think my Cardas voodoo wankywire woo-woo Golden Ratio cables sound great!

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Funny old world, innit !

 

Yes but could the subtle LCR differences account for the sound differences. Most (if not all) LCR differences for example alter the frequency response in the audio range, minimally. In effect the cables measure extremely well using simple, conventional theory.

I like Cardas GR cables but I DO feel embarassed when I read the 'explanation' on the web page. He makes very good cables, they are used by many audiophiles and studios but GOLDEN RATIOS. Please, nearly as bad the Coulomb Friction magnets in Virtual Dynamics cables (another favourite)

 

Errr ... I said there were no statistically valid audible differences in the blind test I took part in. But, OK, from that evidence I would tend to think that most cables DO measure differently - so maybe the differences that I don't personally doubt that I do hear in more amenable circumstances are down (at least in part) to these measurable technical differences.

And yes, the Cardas cables do sound good don't they. And yes, I too am embarassed by the pseudo-science techno-babble that accompanies them! But who cares when they sound so fab

 

They sound good compared with what, as you said you could not hear differences between cables...

 

They sound good compared to any cable I've had. Most pleased with the Cardas. (I am a Cable Believer, btw).

As it happens I didn't have the Cardas at the time of the blind test, so I have no idea if I would have picked them out as special then. My guess is that I wouldn't.

I am sure that blind tests can be valid, but they can also be misleading.

My rationalisation/reasoning (& yes, I do know the implications of the word rationalisation) for not hearing any cable differences under the blind test conditions is that a) the system the cables were used in was unfamiliar to me, and b) the system used had a significantly poorer level of resolution than I am used to - I was struggling to hear known cues from familiar recordings, especially soundstage effects (focus & depth, which I believe are two of the main benefits I hear when going to 'better' cables). Make of that what you will.

For the record, the cables I 'tested' were, if I remember right, the cheapo £10 Gotham, an oil-filled beauty from China (£35 on eBay - gorgeous to look at! - although of course I couldn't see them during the test) and a pair of red/black freebie interconnects.

Even sighted, I quite like the red/black freebies - I think they can cheer up a dull system quite nicely.

 

Not a very good choice of cables to test, all probably equally bad...

My experience is that people get tired and stop listening properly, after just a couple of changes, only the first tests can be accurate...

 

Yup, I agree in principle with both of those points. Despite my "audio nutcase" mentality I was getting quite bored after 30 minutes or so ... and the test lasted a couple of hours.

But, they were all of very different construction and (it turned out) measured quite differently LCR-wise. So that was good.

 

I've also had the Gothams and the oil filled jobs too Jerry and I'm not surprised you had a task on your hands

 

I think some of you suffer from audio Prosopagnosia... :bookworm:

 

Or, all wires sound the same. Only the speakers have a "sound". So when wires are swapped, it's the speakers that sound different... :argue:

 

That's in pretty poor taste. Prosopagnosia is a socially and personally debilitating neurological condtion, usually associated with stroke or other serious physical insult. If you can imagine not only never being able to recognise your own family or even your self, but the effect this has on them - knowing you will never be able to recognise them ever again. Not something to be flippant about.

 

Do you mean we cannot name any desease because it might upset the unfortunate people that suffer from it...