@prof
I enjoyed reading your well-founded comments and considerations.
While I am a strong advocate of premium cables (I didn’t just drink the KoolAide, I chugged the entire pitcher), I can support your argument that highly satisfying musical results can be achieved with "good quality" cables. If all the stars line up -- excellent gear, well-recorded sources, correctly designed acoustical treatments, etc., the results can be quite impressive -- even to "audiophile" ears. Would certainly beat expensive cables in a small and reflective room.
Coming from the perspective of speaker designer/nerd and one who is currently involved in audio performance upgrades, I’ve come to identify a couple of performance factors: Errors of commission. And, errors of ommission. The first involves the phenomena where something in the audio chain is generating sounds that shouldn’t be there. This can be sutle to sledgehammer, but usually audible (and, measurable). The second is simply where a component acts as a "filter" where certain sounds, as well as spacial queques, etc are attenuated, or missing all together. In this sense, it’s possible to introduce a component in the audio stream that "doesn’t sound bad" but merely missing information. In many cases, the listener is not aware what is missing, because there is no reference. I would inject here, that the "right" premium cables WILL provide an additional level of detail and transparency to your system.
I understand your position with Nordost. They do some things well, but not everything. If your opinion of "high end" cables is with this reference, I’d suggest you try something else. Audioquest has never let me down. fyi- my first experience with pizza was one my dad made with Limberger cheese. I thought ALL pizza smelled and tasted like this. It took, me years to give pizza another try. Now, it its a weekly staple to our "diet."
If I recall correctly, I believe it was Geffen who rewired their studio with "audiophile-grade" cables and made something of a big deal about it.
I’ve wondered for years: "If Dark Side of the Moon was recorded in a studio using audiophile cables, would the enhancement in sound quality result in more, or less, mood-altering drugs being used to enjoy it?"
