$10k Speaker Cables??????????????

For people who like scientific data to help make their buying and listening experience better I say to each his own.
For people who like scientific testing to help make their buying and listening experience better I say to each his own.
For people who trust their own ears to help make their buying and listening experience better I say to each his own.
It comes down to an individual preference. And when buying Uber expensive audio (or anything really) I say to each his own...
Who am I to say that is a crime?

For a lot of folks listening to every component they wish to consider is simply not an option. Particularly not in the room and with other components they wish to test. That's kind of why reviews and reviewers exist. And reviews are certainly popular, right?

Have you ever really stepped back and read many audio reviews? They all sound the same. They read more like reviews of high end wines than technical equipment.

I don't think anyone here is suggesting that tests, studies, or measurbating are THE prime criteria for deciding what is worth the money and what isn't.

The problem is that there is so very little actual data to use in order to narrow down your choices. Most of what we consume is either the opinions of paid reviewers with obvious conflicts of interest or the views of internet forum members. I'm not knocking any of that. I'm just saying why not have it all?

In the photography world where cameras and lenses often exceed $30K it would be perfectly unheard of for reviews and opinions to come with absolutely zero objective data. Why is it different in the audiophile world?

Further, in the photography world it is not uncommon for a Sigma lens to outperform a Nikon or even a Zeiss at half the price. I suspect the audiophile world is the same......but who would know?

My guess is that a lot of the stuff wouldn't live up to the hype. That might be totally off base but there isn't any good data to suggest otherwise. Just opinion. 

geoffkait,

n80 seems to have a calm clue about what he talked about in the last few posts. Save yourself some embarrassment and, what you like to dismiss, authority claims. I know you get kicks out of being a smart one against everyone clueless, but change the topic. You are a bit weak on logic of this one. It is not doing good even to your favorite jester personality image.

Does anyone actually read reviews carefully? They are really all the same. "Punches way above its price range", etc. I feel that some of them are honest to some extent and one of the reasons they are the same is that it is hard to find a truly bad-sounding piece of equipment these days. Of course, provided some basic level. Not Bluetooth speaker but things mentioned here. I look at reviews to see how items look like but at that, for example, Stereophile has some strange angles so it is not good for that either.

When it comes to blind, or not blind, testing and especially these ruminations about fuses, cables, or other smaller parts of a system, I am puzzled how small differences can be discussed without mentioning important factors in the play. Ok, fuse may sound different, better, worse, different, anything you desire, but at what loudness did you hear it? That variable is never (at least I have never noticed it) mentioned and it may be the single most influencing variable that there is at the level of "minuscule differences are obvious". It is not even discussion about the fuse, or anything else, audio performance or some very detailed testing condition. It is very very basic and it is not mentioned. It is about perception of the sound by a biological material and it is heavily influenced by loudness.