a great take on big$ cables

All I can say is if you agree with everything said by Mr. Russell there is no reason for you to continue visiting Audiogon. This goes against everything audiophiles strive for. I can't definitively prove he's wrong, but there are an awful large number of deluded people if he is correct! I should add that the same folks (Stereo Review and the AES) who said there is no difference in wire also said years ago there is no difference in electronics. Interesting that Mr. Russell didn't address that, of course McIntosh wouldn't still be in business if everything sounded the same, would they? Recall they are a high end company, with some very expensive components (at least to the average Joe on the street) so his opinion of anything above zip cord is suspect. I also think he takes it a little too far with the Audioquest cables he thinks are an absolute waste of $58,000. I would agree with that only because I will never have that kind of money to throw around! What I found most interesting is the short section on age related hearing loss. A 35 year old male has typically lost 11dB at 8000 Hz! That's pretty bad. I wonder if that is true for most Audiogoner's? Might explain why some folks like bright speakers!

At least 90% of that article is true. I have heard high $$$ cables that sounded terrible (but did make a difference). That being said, I have yet to hear a cable that made such a marked improvement as to warrant spending similar $$$ for the marginal improvement. Big fat cheap OFC (yes I do think I can hear the crud in non-OFC)does it for me.

Physiologically men do loose their hearing to a larger degree than women and at a relatively faster and more constant pace. Even those who take care not to expose themselves to damaging SPL's will gradually and irreparably loose some of their hearing in the upper frequencies. Those who depend on their auditory acuity to perform specific tasks on a regular basis (ex-A.J. van den Hul) will suffer this to a much smaller degree. Also, these are often people who started at a higher mark on the hearing scale continuum therefore reducing the effective functional degredation regardless of the quantitative loss.

Are we all going to be the Jack Lalaine of the auditory world? Probably not. We can expect to get a reasonably good reproduction of the music that makes us happy for some 30 to 50 years before having to tip the trebble knob and turn the volume up enough to cause complaints.

Happy listening!

Bigjoe, you use to have to spend a lot of money to get that last 10% of performance but not anyone! http://www.realitycables.com And to improve things even more try some dakiom 203 series feedback stabilizer http://www.dakiom.com and QuickSilver contact enhancer http://www.xtremecables.com

As an over-50 year old male, I'd have to say that, even though I notice my hearing deteriorates with time, I NEVER have any trouble telling that it's my equipment playing a Beethoven quartet and not the Emerson Q somehow getting into my listening room just to fool me. They know enough not to even try.

Referencing anything Stereo Review printed regarding sound is not a plus IMO. In fact, putting that out there potentially removes credibility from the poster. I leaned first hand (not via heresay or in a magazine) that the reviewer at Stereo Review was either 1 - lying, 2 - had substantial hearing loss, or 3 - his setup was so convoluted that the sonic differences between Bose 601s and Wilson Sohias would be inaudible. Stereo Review was a joke, and a likely token for the various manufacturers, not a source for any real, credible information.