[HiWire]

It would be nice to have the "numbers" just so there is some quantitative measurement to back up what people are saying. For example, Stereophile has a number of tables, charts, and analyses with the qualifier that what you hear is most important.

 

[meat01]

All you have to do is have your friend/SO change out the cables without you knowing which one is in and tell them which sounds better. They can even pretend to swap them out and use the same cables twice. You can listen for as long as you want.

I don't know why everyone is afraid of blind tests. If you are going to shell out a lot of dough for cables, wouldn't you want to know if they really sound better or it is just the placebo effect?

It seems most people here would rather spend an ass load of money to get a warm fuzzy feeling that it sounds better, rather than a true test. I guess a lot of people don't want to be embarrassed. I am glad Bangraman came forward and admitted it. Lets have more people do the test and post their true results.

If someone came over to your house and swapped out your cables with ****ty ones without your knowledge, would you notice and say "Hey what happend to my sound?" I think not.

 

[eric343]

Quote:

Originally Posted by meat01 If someone came over to your house and swapped out your cables with ****ty ones without your knowledge, would you notice and say "Hey what happend to my sound?" I think not.

Actually, something like that has happened to me... though it was in the course of unpacking my system that I accidentally used a different power cord than I usually did. And boy did I notice and say "What happened to my system?!"

 

[NotoriousBIG_PJ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by meat01 If someone came over to your house and swapped out your cables with ****ty ones without your knowledge, would you notice and say "Hey what happend to my sound?" I think not.

Yes I was tinkering with my diy ic's and put the stock ic's back in my system. 2 days later I forgot all about this and was listening and thought 'why the heck does my system sound so grainy, I wonder if the powers real bad right now or something...'. Then I looked at my rig and noticed I still had the stock ic's connected. So I plugged back in my diy ones and the smoothness I had become accustomed to was restored.

Biggie.

 

[PinkFloyd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NotoriousBIG_PJ Yes I was tinkering with my diy ic's and put the stock ic's back in my system. 2 days later I forgot all about this and was listening and thought 'why the heck does my system sound so grainy, I wonder if the powers real bad right now or something...'. Then I looked at my rig and noticed I still had the stock ic's connected. So I plugged back in my diy ones and the smoothness I had become accustomed to was restored. Biggie.

pure placebo.

 

[Edwood]

Wanna try a Blind Cable Taste Test?

http://www5.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=72890

-Ed

 

[HiWire]

I'll go by pretty jacket colors... and popular opinion, when the time comes. Oehlbachs sure are reasonably priced in comparison...

 

[halcyon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomek lreally, even if there are differences, they are so subtle. people can do a lot of other tweaks that cost nothing or next to nothing that provide substantial differences.

Regardless of whether one hears differences in cables and/or believes in them, I think the point Tomek makes is _really_ important.

For speakers the number one place to improve the sound after a good speaker is room acoustics treatment. Everything else comes after that and cables at a distant Nth (after source, amps, placement/orientation, etc).

For headphones the question is a little bit more difficult imho, as a reasonably priced / good quality headphone amp can go a long way, if it's impedance matched with the headphones (many headphones are not impedance linear).

IMHO a good source is probably the next place after that.

This is not to say that people couldn't personally achieve good results with cables.

It's just that I also agree that fixing other, more important places (if needed) first is much wiser.

 

[tomek]

it's true. people make me feel like i have tin ears because i can't hear the difference between silver and copper interconnects, but the difference when i change the toe in of my speakers by 20 degrees is unmistakable.

i recently had a friend come by and we experimented with covering some of the walls with a blanket while the other had his eyes closed and i was actually surprised that neither of us could hear the difference.

people get hung up on cables because they are so easy to fixate on. they look nice, they have reputations, and the advertised changes they make to the sound are the standard audio nirvana we all pursue. extended lows, better seperation...blah blah blah.


like pinkie has said in the rainbow foil thread, people need to start taking their focus off the gear, and into themselves and the room.

 

[Edwood]

Now if everyone's cables looked and feeled exactly the same, how many people would be able to hear the difference?

Of course many cables are really stiff compared to others. Heheh.

-Ed

 

[v_1matst]

Here is a link to an article explaining some of the science behind signal carrying. The article deals with component video cables however a lot of the information is still applicable.

http://audioholics.com/techtips/audi...ideoCables.php

I personally cannot spend over $100 for a cable. There just comes a point where the microscopic difference an expensice cable will bring just isn't worth it. The human ear might not even be able to hear the changes they bring but they -may- show up on an oscilloscope.

For an experiment to those of you with oscilloscopes, try measuring the signal degradation with cheapo cables and your most expensive cables and post the difference. I'd be interested in seeing the cold hard facts instead of perceived differences with listening tests. I don't buy the whole 'even if it's all in your mind go for it' argument. Buy decent cables instead of the overpriced 'audiophile quality' ones and if it makes you feel better, give the balance of what you would have spent to me

 

[Yikes]

“it's true. people make me feel like i have tin ears because i can't hear the difference between silver and copper interconnects, but the difference when i change the toe in of my speakers by 20 degrees is unmistakable.”

20 degrees is a huge change. When fine tuning speakers I shift in 1-3 degree increments. I know when it is correct for me. An audiophile myth is that there is one correct position for any given speaker. Different positions will have different characteristics. Which is correct is a matter of taste.

Most blankets are not thick enough to make a significant difference. Try using a thick comforter or sleeping bag. Sit in your prime listening position and have a friend move a mirror around flat on the wall. The point where you can see the tweeter on the speaker is the point of first reflection. Put the comforter there.

Also try throwing that same heavy comforter over that big TV between the speakers.

 

[bangraman]

I added the Siltech FTM-4 Sg to my cable line-up.


Did the tests.


I'm going to be buying Profigolds from now on.


[size=xx-small]Also maybe Fiddler's interconnects too... The "dielectric biasing" fascinates me.[/size]

 

[Dane]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bangraman I added the Siltech FTM-4 Sg to my cable line-up. Did the tests. I'm going to be buying Profigolds from now on.

Have you tried the experiment on a speaker system? I feel that something is lost on headphones. I would for example have much more difficulty telling the difference between two sources on my headphones compared to the speaker system.

I haven't re-read the thread, so you might already have done this. In that case, forget it.

 

[tomek]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bangraman I added the Siltech FTM-4 Sg to my cable line-up. Did the tests. I'm going to be buying Profigolds from now on. [size=xx-small]Also maybe Fiddler's interconnects too... The "dielectric biasing" fascinates me.[/size]

Congratulations. Now you have money for other gear.

Can I ask you? Prior to this quick switch test, how convinced were you that cables made a difference? In non-blind situations I've sometimes heard what I thought was a dramatic difference. From very grainy to smooth, from harsh to mellow. But in blind situations I've noticed that they sound identical.