Interconnects

[stebbo]

Originally posted by PeteH


Now, what would be interesting for all concerned would be if WM were to try to identify cables in a blind test run by stebbo I'd pay money to watch that

You dirty pervert!!

I would like to hear a difference by spending only say 200 pounds on cables rather 2000 pounds for a new pair of speakers.

That is good economics. But I want to be convinced that I am not just lining someones pockets.

 

[wadia-miester]

Originally posted by PeteH
I'm sure stebbo would be the first to agree with me though that he's not necessarily any more able to make a dispassionate judgement than anyone else - everyone, like it or not, has their own pre-conceived ideas they bring to anything perceptual, and it'd inevitably be too easy for many to conclude that when stebbo hears no difference it's because he's refusing to.

Now, what would be interesting for all concerned would be if WM were to try to identify cables in a blind test run by stebbo I'd pay money to watch that

I'd take a go at it, providing the system is transparent, and you limit the cable choice to 8 i/c's over a , we have about 45 different pairs of I/c's all makes & prices (excluding our own), I haven't yet anyone yet who can tell exactly which is in every time, although a lot of cables have a unique trait, due to material composition or contrustion, even treatments used, would be nice to see how many I could get right, any bets ?????
Back to the crux for a moment, the bottom line is differenices not preferenices, what is better???? a huge spectrum of opinion veils this, all different for all people, however, if the theorists are right, then one piece of wire however different in construction/make up should sound no different from another piece however similar or different.
I'll be up for test to show how human falability shows up, but I won't be replacing my cables with anything else at moment unless, it gives me something that I all ready haven't got. which at the moment is a big if. Wm

 

[tones]

Originally posted by bottleneck
aah, WM - I dont think that would prove much - other than if the chap likes/doesnt like your cables.

A double blind test the article was correct is still the only way to achieve objectiveness - mind you - I bet no-one on this forum (me included!!) bought one single bit of hifi following a double blind test!!

I havent - what about u tones?

Guilty as charged, m'Lud. I bought it because I liked the noise it made. But then, when testing boxes, there actually was a difference to be heard (in my case, between Arcam, Quad and Linn). If I'd heard any one of them in isolation, I would have bought it, because they all sounded just fine. With three, it came down to a matter of preference. So, double blind testing wasn't necessary.

However, with cables, where differences are often small verging on imperceptible (if they exist at all), I think that the proneness to be affected psychologically by appearances and expectations is much higher, and proper testing is more important. Of course, the answer always remains, if it pleases you and you personally like it, that's the one for you, no matter what the reason or what the rest of the planet thinks - they don't have to live with it, you do.

There's another nice test story somewhere about a group of cable enthusiasts who were treated to various cables, which they could see, and in which they were told, "Now, here's this one." They all heard big differences - problem was, the guy who was allegedly changing the cables actually changed nothing - all the different results were obtained with the same set of cables!