[TheSonicTruth]

I went to an audio equipment store looking for cables. i needed a 6.35mm to female mini 3pin xlr and the guy at the counter was trying to push on me cables that cost around 200$ - 1,000$. he was like "here try them with these headphones and see if you can tell the difference." as i put the headphones on, i could tell right away he started to adujst the sound settings on the amp. he put the 200$ cables in and put the gain to high so that it made terrible hissing noises when no audio played and made it sound kinda poop. then when he plugged in the 800$ cables he turned the gain to low and proceeded to tell me "see, doesnt it sound cleaner with no hissing, it "filters" the sound much better between the headphones and sound system." to his dismay im not an idiot so i asked if he could replug the 200$ cable again and turn the gain to low so i could hear it again. he then tried to say "oh but for these cables you need high gain otherwise it will sound terrible." . . . :/ i know audio cables make very little to almost no difference in sound quality. if i would spend a lot of money on cables it would be either a) for durability and build quality to last between and including connectors. or b) length. high end quality audio cables are a bunch of bollocks and if you spend a lot on them thinking it will make your sound "more pure" then you deserve to get your money taken away from you because you're unwise with it.

OMG! You mean he was changing the settings right in front of you during the comparison? What an IDIOT.

 

[Tsukuyomi]

OMG! You mean he was changing the settings right in front of you during the comparison? What an IDIOT.

I think he assumed because im "young" (31) that i didnt really know anything about audio and was a sucker and wanted to sell me over priced insulated copper wire. :/

 

[Whazzzup]

What bogus amp was that? High gain popped and hissed? I’m more concerned about the name of the amp then I’m concerned about the cables. Granted I have my own positive impressions of the cables I have tested but that’s just me...

 

[Tsukuyomi]

What bogus amp was that? High gain popped and hissed? I’m more concerned about the name of the amp then I’m concerned about the cables. Granted I have my own positive impressions of the cables I have tested but that’s just me...

was a Cayin iDAC-6 and iHA-6 combo.

 

[Whazzzup]

was a Cayin iDAC-6 and iHA-6 combo.

avoid!

 

[bigshot]

to his dismay im not an idiot so i asked if he could replug the 200$ cable again and turn the gain to low so i could hear it again.

I was in the market for speakers and I went to a high end stereo store to audition some. I had a yellow pad with me and I was going through the various models and comparing and taking notes. I noticed that my notes were inconsistent across multiple comparisons, so I went back to the one that was inconsistent and asked the salesman to play it again. I kept and eye on him and I noticed that he stood with his back to the amp with both hands behind his back. His shoulders made a little movement and the sound changed. I stood up and said "excuse me" and motioned for him to step aside. The bass control was no longer at the detent. I told him that if he was going to keep readjusting the tone controls, it would take me all day to do my comparisons. He got all pissy and marched out of the room. I did my own switching from then on and no salesman came near me.

 

[Tsukuyomi]

I was in the market for speakers and I went to a high end stereo store to audition some. I had a yellow pad with me and I was going through the various models and comparing and taking notes. I noticed that my notes were inconsistent across multiple comparisons, so I went back to the one that was inconsistent and asked the salesman to play it again. I kept and eye on him and I noticed that he stood with his back to the amp with both hands behind his back. His shoulders made a little movement and the sound changed. I stood up and said "excuse me" and motioned for him to step aside. The bass control was no longer at the detent. I told him that if he was going to keep readjusting the tone controls, it would take me all day to do my comparisons. He got all pissy and marched out of the room. I did my own switching from then on and no salesman came near me.

Exactly, i hate it when salesmen/woman try to fiddle with devices thinking i wont notice. most people do research on products before going to the store as to gain some groundwork before looking at the product in person. i can understand they want to sell the best products they can as to get a larger cut from a sale. but common, we're ending up with the products in the long run, we wanna make sure its worth it.
i've yet to return to that store i've mentioned and since then i found a new store that might suit me better because the people are nicer and dont fiddle with stuff when im demoing them.

 

[TheSonicTruth]

I think he assumed because im "young" (31) that i didnt really know anything about audio and was a sucker and wanted to sell me over priced insulated copper wire. :/

Whether I'm demoing or comparing gear - at work or at home - I'm up front and honest: All EQ/tone controls, enhancers stay FLAT, enhancers switched OFF. I wouldn't jive you the way that guy did!

 

[Kyndcookie]

Hmmm, 75 pages. Not going to read the whole thing, but I'm curious why the OP and cable naysayers feel the need to convince people of anything. I did read the first couple of pages. This stuff is nothing new. People want what they want for myriad reasons, not all of which are scientific. I suggest moving on and not worrying about it. Me? I'm going to go listen to some music using a bunch of way overpriced, snake-oil dripping cables that look great, sound great and make me happy!

 

[TheSonicTruth]

Hmmm, 75 pages. Not going to read the whole thing, but I'm curious why the OP and cable naysayers feel the need to convince people of anything. I did read the first couple of pages. This stuff is nothing new. People want what they want for myriad reasons, not all of which are scientific. I suggest moving on and not worrying about it. Me? I'm going to go listen to some music using a bunch of way overpriced, snake-oil dripping cables that look great, sound great and make me happy!

It's your money - you are free to flush it down the toilet as you see fit!

 

[sonitus mirus]

Hmmm, 75 pages. Not going to read the whole thing, but I'm curious why the OP and cable naysayers feel the need to convince people of anything. I did read the first couple of pages. This stuff is nothing new. People want what they want for myriad reasons, not all of which are scientific. I suggest moving on and not worrying about it. Me? I'm going to go listen to some music using a bunch of way overpriced, snake-oil dripping cables that look great, sound great and make me happy!

I suggest moving on and stop worrying about it.

 

[Kyndcookie]

I suggest moving on and stop worrying about it.

Exactly.

 

[Kyndcookie]

It's your money - you are free to flush it down the toilet as you see fit!

That’s why opinions are like ___holes! Everybody has one.

 

[moriez]

I'm curious why the OP and cable naysayers feel the need to convince people of anything.

Honestly, for me it's also still hard to see it differently but it's actually more the other way around. In this thread believers are invited to convince the naysayers by naming examples of different sounding cables, or by coming up with measurements or with documented properly carried out blind tests. So the story goes on and on. The what I call default deny mindset applied here is a strange one and takes getting used to. To me there's also genuine good to be extracted from this cold place :lol: The multi-posters are very knowledgeable and kind of confront you to be rational or objective, which works well not only in my audio situation but it also makes a useful appearance from time to time outside the hobby. True story

 

[71 dB]

1. Hmmm, 75 pages.
2. Not going to read the whole thing, but I'm curious why the OP and cable naysayers feel the need to convince people of anything.
3. I did read the first couple of pages. This stuff is nothing new. People want what they want for myriad reasons, not all of which are scientific.
4. I suggest moving on and not worrying about it. Me? I'm going to go listen to some music using a bunch of way overpriced, snake-oil dripping cables that look great, sound great and make me happy!

1. That's nothing. That's commonplace.
2. The more people believe in snakeoil the more there are snakeoil sellers. Unless you are very rich, you have better use for your money than snakeoil cables. The benefits of for example acoustic treatment are real and still people invest more money into snakeoil cables.
3. Well if you want snakeoil cables for whatever myriad reason and are willing to pay for them then be my guest, but don't tell others you got them for better sound. You got them for myriad reasons, period.
4. We naysayers are not debunking your happiness*. We are debunking the sonic superiority of snakeoil cables. That's the scientific part of this all. The signal doesn't know the price of the cable. The signal doesn't care if the cable was sold by a snakeoil seller. All it cares about is the electromagnetic properties of the cable and proper affordable cables fulfill those requirements, and at audio frequencies 0-20 kHz those requirements aren't that challenging. That's why you can be happy using cheap (but technically proper) cables.

* This is off topic here, but since you mentioned happiness as a reason for owning snakeoil cables I say this: Materialism isn't generally the best way to reach happiness. It's a way to fool yourself into thinking you are happy, an easy way to have short happy periods in life. Real, continuous happiness is more difficult and comes from unexpected sources such as helping other people and intellectual enrichment.