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Cables that measure the same but (seem?) to sound different

I have been having an extended dialogue with a certain objectivist who continues to insist to me that if two wires measure the same, in a stable acoustic environment, they must sound the same.

In response, I have told him that while I am not an engineer or in audio, I have heard differences in wires while keeping the acoustic environment static. I have told him that Robert Harley, podcasters, YouTuber's such as Tarun, Duncan Hunter and Darren Myers, Hans Beekhuyzen, Paul McGowan have all testified to extensive listening experiments where differences were palpable. My interlocutor has said that either it is the placebo effect, they're shilling for gear or clicks, or they're just deluded.

I've also pointed out that to understand listening experience, we need more than a few measurement; we also need to understand the physiology and psychological of perceptual experience, as well as the interpretation involved. Until those elements are well understood, we cannot even know what, exactly, to measure for. I've also pointed out that for this many people to be shills or delusionaries is a remote chance at best.

QUESTION: Who would you name as among the most learned people in audio, psychoacoustics, engineering, and psychology who argue for the real differences made by interconnects, etc.?
128x128hilde45
p05129
488 posts
 
Why would I want to listen to somebody else for something I can listen and hear for myself so I can make a decision on a cable I like better? I wouldn’t, and I don’t.
As for measurements for cables, what a waste of time. Do you go to a Porsche dealer looking for a car that is multiple times the price of a cable, with a compression tester or dynamometer? Do you think a 400hp Porsche is going to drive the same as a 400hp Toyota? Hell no.
There is almost always going to be a difference in sound of a cable, not necessarily a better sound, but only you can decide that

hilde45's avatar
hilde45 OP
4,974 posts
 
@p05129 Glad you've landed on such firm opinions. Fist pump! Doesn't answer my OP in the slightest, but hey, free country.
dgluke
100 posts
 
Define: "measures the same." Cables don’t measure the same. That is not the argument. The argument is that you can’t hear the differences. That’s Gene’s argument at Audiochokerholics and they are the leading BS artists in the debunking game. 
henry53's avatar
henry53
280 posts
 
There are obviously, at least, 2 diverse opinions here, and various attempts at subjective and objective evidence.  On the one hand people 'say' they can hear differences but most often when tested this appears not to be the case. Expert listeners rarely do better than chance in double blind tests. On the other hand we have an assumption that if two things when tested measure the same they must sound the same, this assumes that the test or tests actually measures everything we can hear. Is this true, for instance if I blind test soup with a thermometer then both tomato and chicken can measure the same however they sure as hell won't taste the same. 
dgluke
100 posts
 
It’s up to you to stand up for the facts: 
Different cables measure differently. People unwilling to pay for better cables, prey upon those that will allow themselves to bullied by misrepresenting the facts, to cover up the fact that they are poor cheapskates or skinflints. It’s not that they’re feeling great about "their knowledge" on the subject, they’re trying to cover up their knowledge at your expense and using "the best defense is a good offense" method of intellectual dishonesty (that’s taught in cults like Scientology). Keep allowing them to shove their BS your way and you’ll soon be asking others to join you for a bite, or at least drop by the little safe place you made on the Internet to discuss it. 
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