Well, if numeric was not numeric (and it was sort of like analog) we would be screwed up at this age of Internet where everybody transfer and copy stuff all the time.
If you plug a USB drive to the end of a usb cable, and copie a music file back and forth a couple of time, I hope nobody will believe that the file will change. But if you stream that same file to a DAC, now the story change, why? Probably because it would sound foolish to report no change after spending that much on a cable. Also notice that the more expensive is the cable, the better it sound. An other funny fact, it's that it always improve the sound, it never do worst then the cheap $2 cable. Also when you read the technical specs of those expensive cable, it's really interesting to see how they can use complicated word to express simple stuff as plastic.
For those who really hear a difference, it's because there is actually one. Well, not physically, but in your head yes. It's what we call placebo effect, and that effect is fully recognized by the science. That's why the pharmaceutical industry must do comparison to placebo. When we expect something to happen, there is chance that it will happen. So those who say, not it's really there, yes it is. Lot of people get cured that way, so could it simply improve the sound, sure.There is an interesting article here
http://www.nytimes.com/.. Basically they show that he placebo effect doesn't apply just to pills, but to surgery intervention as well.
Now why I'm concern about those cable sounding better thing, well, if an expensive cable sound better, then there is high chance that a more expensive amp may be perceived wrongly in some case to sound better as well simply because it's more expensive. So the placebo effect probably have effect on amp, headphone and other stuff. So at the end of the day it's hard to make a good decision based only on what people report.
Maybe it would be cool to create profile category on head-fi. You ask a couple of simple questions, like do you think cable change the sound in your setup. Then you sort those people in a category where you identify them as being more influenced by the placebo effect. Other who don't, you put them in an other category. So that way we could maybe create a scale of subjectiveness and objectiveness depending of the type of person you are. Then people reading post here could trust more a review from someone who have a "subjectivity" profile similar to them. That way everybody would be happy and at the end people would probably buy equipment that are better for their taste and those cable lover will continue to enjoy their great sound.
.
