We would have to separate the headphone cables, from the interconnect cables, from the speaker cables, from the USB cables, from the Data Cat7 cables, from the "XYZ" (etc.) cables, because due to this broad spectrum, any past tests are just too ambiguous to apply to a specific purpose other than that which they were applied...
No, that is completely incorrect. Past tests are not even the slightest bit ambiguous. In fact, past tests are so numerous, so conclusive and so UN-ambiguous that science can actually accurately predict the performance of cables before they're even manufactured and has been able to do so for well over a century! When some new standard/protocol is developed, say 25 or 40 Gigabit ethernet for example, that requires a new signal, 2GHz instead of the previous 500MHz (for 10Gbit ethernet), a new specification of cable is also required (Cat 8), the construction of which is predicted (by science). Then of course, the proposed ethernet standard, including the cable performance, is thoroughly tested before it's submitted for ratification and thoroughly tested again by some of the countries responsible for ratification. Once ratified, compliant products become available and are installed in commercial/industrial applications by certified network engineers who yet again thoroughly test performance and then of course, the system is actually used on a daily basis and the performance is demonstrated to work as predicted. And finally, some time later, products which implement the new standard become available to the public. "Past tests" just don't get any less ambiguous than that!
The above is only true for digital data transfer protocols and is not applicable to analogue audio because the signal specification for analogue audio signals have never changed!
[1] Still ambiguous so not convincing both sides.
We can try.
[2] We need to decribe what is this debatable condition, where users "believe" there is a change..
[3] specify what exactly is the sonic trait that is "said" to be the most detected.
[4] Or, also what is the brain mechanism wherebye a person feels a wire can sound different, while measuring no change??
[4a] Is there any explanation to this phenomena, besides some form of placibo, or mental bias?
[4b] Mayne we can speculate some possible ideas. I am thinking: **mental alertness, **Room brightness **Time of day **External influences.
[5] But what about the wire itself? Why does it "have" to be mental?
[6] In headphone cable, I feel the wire differences have the largest chance to make any difference.
[7] What do the manufacturers say? Why hasn't this thread approached the explanations that manufacturers say? Because they would be the obvious ones to ask..
1. Not if you accept the science/simple facts that have been proven for over a century and demonstrated in practice by millions ever since. Also, there really isn't a "both sides", there are numerous "sides", for example: There's the scientific side, there's the electrical engineering side, the pro-audio side, the sound engineer side, the music engineer side, the network engineer side, etc. The ONLY "side" who think it's "still ambiguous and not so convincing" is a tiny number of audiophiles!
2. Again, it's not a rationally "debatable condition", it's only debated by a tiny number of audiophiles and even then, is not a rational debate!
3. Generally, the perceived "sonic trait" matches the perceived visual trait. So copper is a redder/warmer colour than silver and therefore is perceived by some to sound warmer relative to the brighter/whiter appearance of silver.
4. The process by which our brains' create a perception is extremely complex and not entirely understood or predictable. However, many aspects of it are extremely well demonstrated, even if they're not fully explained.
4a. Some form of placebo or mental bias is required in order to even experience music in the first place, so there can't be a rational argument that audiophiles are not subject to such mental biases. To more directly answer your question, "No", there is no other rational explanation. Which is why all the alternative audiophile explanations are irrational, they ultimately depend on some form of magic and/or super-human ability.
4b. All of those can (but might not) affect perception but they're obviously not constant, whereas audiophile claims of audible cable differences are.
5. If you mean "metal", because metals have relatively high conductivity.
6. Actually it's exactly the opposite, headphone or speaker cable have the least chance to make any difference! For example, the cable from say your DAC to your amplifier carries a signal at a much lower level, so any differences the cable makes will be amplified (by your amplifier), whereas the signal in your headphone or speaker cable will not be further amplified and therefore neither will any differences the cable makes. The wire with the "
largest chance of making a difference" is at the exact opposite end of the chain, microphone cables: They're typically 10m or more in length, the tiny microphone output signal typically has to be amplified by 10-1000 times before you can even start using it for anything, then during the mixing and mastering process it's likely to be amplified by another 2-10 times and then of course when you play it back, your amplifier will amplify it yet again!
7. Sorry but again that's pretty much the exact opposite, manufacturers would be pretty much the last ones to ask! Even if you don't believe it, assume for a moment that audiophile cable manufacturers are selling snake oil by making up marketing BS: Obviously you're not going to be given any information that contradicts their marketing. Even if the wire is manufactured by some third party in say China, they're not going to give you an honest answer or probably any answer at all because they're either contractually obligated not to and/or don't want to loose their client. The obvious ones to ask are independant scientists/metallurgists and those who professionally use and measure cable performance.
Blind testing with headphone cable is extremely hard, as you have to physically swap the cable. No switcher for that.
I know this good for other cable. Headphone would be hard. Have you tried with headphone cables?
Well yes, double blind testing is often extremely difficult to get right and even expensive scientific double blind tests with a large sample size are not 100% conclusive (though some get reasonably close) and this is why double blind testing is a last resort. The first resort is to measure the difference, which is relatively cheap, easy and inherently devoid of human biases. All you need is a decent (but not expensive) ADC and some free software, although in the case of headphone cables you'd also need an adapter to connect the HP cable output to the input of the ADC.
G
. Silver is a little better than copper as a conductor and can certainly do a very good job if used properly. I'm just against jumping to conclusion and making up facts.
