Cable curmudgeon


I'm not an 'audiophile" but I like to think I have a good ear having been a professional musician (principal wind player in major symphony orchestras) for 50 years. A number of years ago going into an excellent audio equipment store I talked with, what seemed, a knowledgeable salesman.  Being a musician experienced in audio systems but not expert on all the equipment out there I had some questions concerning high (over-priced?) end cables. The salesman assured there was an audible differencet in a demo room switching back and forth etc.  After a few minutes I noticed the sound coming out of only one channel.  He complemented me on my "good ear."  Hmmm? A few years later when setting up my home system I investigated speaker cables. Two sets of Monster, stranded standard cable, solid core copper (used for alarm system) attached with like connecters. There was a difference.  However, not in terms of better or worse: bass and treble were acceptable as was clarity loud and soft.  Differences were esthetic- like asking "whose the best tenor" (I like Plácido).  Now I know as a musician used to live (i.e. un-amplified) music that all I hear coming out of a loud speaker is perforce ersatz.  But most everything today comes out of a loud speaker whether a rock concert or a hi-fi system so perhaps my opinion is curmudgeonly. But, for me, spending oodles of money on hyped cables, well... I  liked the solid core for my alarm system- still do.

 

exflute

Just a general angry note:

"Hundreds if not thousands of discoveries in just the last few years" (neural research) This one is about how a memory is formed in what amounts to, in the experiments and measurement methodology..one hundred and seventeen different locations, in just a rat brain.

So, someone is gonna come along, spouting crap about measurement methodology from 100 years ago like it is some sort of permanent dogmatic bible of truth....... and tell me how I hear --- and how well I hear?

The reality is that science is moving so fast that the peak specialists in a given field cannot hope to ever keep up with the new discoveries in their own field.

To re-iterate, the fastest moving, most intelligent, most published, most up to date, hardest working people in a given high science, cannot and are not keeping up with the pace of discovery and change ----in their own fields.

Where... someone, some jackass on a forum...wants to tell me how I hear and that 100 year old methods of measurement, connected to this situation in cables and hearing, is somehow relevant..core..and utterly decisive and correct.. and disarms and dismisses what hundreds of thousands of audiophiles, if not MILLIONS (over the years) say about the sound of cables.

That such hair brained illiteracy can project itself in this world only speaks well of kind human tolerance.

@exflute 

Sorry for many of the responses you're getting. This forum has deteriorated over the years, and civility here as elsewhere seems to be optional. What a disgusting situation.

 

The measurement-only people are looking for a number first from a limited  mechanical device before they will allow themselves to listen for a difference.

@terry9 +++

It seems that, on this forum, those who have an opinion based on their experience as a musician, recording engineer, equipment technician or otherwise professionally involved in music or it’s production, receive the most amount of ire and insults from the golden ear crowd who place little to no value on anyone’s professional opinion........Jim