Cable curmudgeon

asvjerry

Weezer solved the mystery. Laughing...

Happy Listening!

The greater the cost the more influence confirmation bias is a factor. This applies to all components. Someone buying a $600 power cord is naturally going to hear it as "better" than a $6 cord. Blind testing between these should be done but rarely is! Instead we have poetic descriptions by the manufacturers and the golden ear crowd touting their favorite cables.

rsf507:

"@exflute sounds like you have great 👂"

Not if he thinks Domingo is the greatest tenor.

Oh and exflute, if you think all concert halls allow you to distinguish between the various instruments of an orchestra, then all I can say is that you may not have toured in all that many countries. There are halls that are dead and others where the acoustics are totally alive. In the latter category I would place Die Wiener Staatsoper and Das Festspielhaus in Bayreuth.

@carlsbad ....*G* Well, you've either described a beautiful lounge while preoccupied by a very interesting red wine....or a cable that should be used 'elsewhere', where I'll leave up to you... ;)

On the other hand, I'm not going to be a party to lit the fire under yet another 'wire war' that can go on like a bad redux of War and Pieces....

*sigh*(channeling

....of the audiodefiled variety...)

"I want to reach a higher plane

where things will never be the same....'

Respectfully, J 

Well you ruffled some feathers there.  But I checked and you live in the US so you actually have a right to your opinion.  In my cables I like lots of fragrant tobacco, rich soil, white flowers, smashed minerals and metal. Medium-bodied and saucy but racy acidity.  Most cables I find boring.--Jerry

I often wonder how many times a fine component is auditioned with mismatched cables and discarded as [pick your poison]?

@exflute I sat on the other side of glass and mated cables to microphone to preamp. As you heard, they differ. Better? In what context?

You may as well walk around with a transistor radio if it doesn't really matter. When you've made up your mind you are incapable of learning anything more.

Bell wire? I'd rather go with Bell Labs or Western Electric.

audiophiliac Steve G did a video a while back on cables, and said something like "if you see free wire in a garbage can, try it".  "If it sounds good to you, good for you."  

Well my Audioquest non- overpriced cables use solid copper conductors, they sound terrific. They do not seem to add or omit anything. A clear bargain in hifi. 

I could compile quite a long list of "bargain" hifi....you don't necessarily have to spend a fortune to achieve great sound. 

Given the limited choice I would go for the Bell wire every time (in 12' or shorter lengths).

DeKay

Works for you flute dude just don’t put people down for spending their cash how they see fit.

I have a few musician friends but they certainly not audiophiles, not in the least.  Two of my friends think the sound from their guitar amp is as good as any expensive system.  As they are good friends, I choose not to talk about it with them. 

You're right to be judging sonic qualities by listening to acoustic music. Large-scale classical, chamber, quartets, jazz can present proper tonal qualities, dynamics, and nuances not found in electric or amplified music. I listen to mainly classical music and also attend live concerts which helps confirm realistic sound from my home system.

But you need to audition different types of cables and components to know what is possible in sound reproduction. Regarding cables; speaker, interconnects, and power cables will influence sonics. There are online dealers who offer 30 or 60 day return policies allowing you to audition cables.

Well, what a hornet's nest.  I didn't know that relating my personal experience could be taken for telling anyone what to do. But SOIX, for me the music comes first, last and always and not the gadgetry. I fail to see the point of spending gobs of cash to listen to slob-art junk. And you totally miss the point of live (I.E. UN-AMPLIFIED) music.  If you go to a concert the sound comes from individuals in as many points as there are musicians.  The human ear is incredible in discerning this directionality and the panoply of sound cannot be transmitted by a few speakers- therefore my comment about its ersatz character.  Even if you go to rock concert the individuality is destroyed by amplification.  Same with recorded music and hi-fi, oh- excuse me- Audio systems.  Now they may be performing wonderful tricks of electronic legerdemain but what this has to do with music- pffft. 

But, for me, spending oodles of money on hyped cables, well...

I don't know your experience with hi-fi or your system details but if it is pleasing to you, you are doing a good job. But don't discount that other people may have highly resolving systems and have spent a lot of money getting them that way. This hobby has room for everybody, enjoy. 

Having a good ear and being a musician won’t get you very far in terms of being able to identify and discern differences between audio components, and that includes cables.  An analogy to your situation would be a very experienced driver who drives a mid-level sedan.  That person will likely have good driving skills gained through years of real-world driving experience, but this person is still in no position to discern the finer differences between two high-performance sports cars because they just don’t have the experience nor the perspective to be able to make those judgements.  It’s just a different world that is loosely related but still hugely different such that one has little to do with the other.

Its the same with high-end audio where you need considerable time and experience listening to lots of high-end gear to begin to be able to know what you like and how to identify the finer differences that are very important in the context of better audio systems.  That you can’t hear such differences and you’re happy with alarm system wire is fine, but you’re still driving an economy car and simply don’t have the experience or perspective to appreciate what better cables bring to the table.  But just because you don’t understand something doesn’t make it invalid, and there are tons of true audiophiles with years of extensive listening experience who use relatively more expensive cables not because they cost more or want to waste $$$ but because they actually sound better to their ears in the context of their systems.  But, if you’re more comfortable living in ignorance and assuming more expensive cables are just hype, so be it.   Leave your head buried in the sand where it’s apparently most comfortable, don’t strive to learn anything new, and live happily ever after with your alarm system wire.  To each his own.

Maybe I missed something: were you asking a question, or just sharing how you have already figured this out? For you AND for all of us

Well, it looks like you know everything already, so there's nothing much to say.

Have a great day.

@exflute sounds like you have great 👂