Directionality Explained

"Do all ICs sound alike? Do all speaker cables sound alike?"

Can there be a waiver for the number tested? There must be hudreds and hindreds of combinations. Not practical.

Some IC and  speaker cables are specifically made to have a sound like a tone control. I would say all IC and speaker cable that measure very close would sound the same. 

I guess you could say imagination playing tricks, or our biases confirming what we believe. I have a bias that cables that measure similar sound the same. In a sighted test even if the cables have been altered to obviously sound different I would think they sound the same in an unsighted test I might be able to hear differences. It's just the way humans are wired,  all of us.

As much as I like some of you and really and truly appreciate your insights on most things audio, I must say you've got to stop implying that those who hear a difference are, to put it simply, insane.

No matter how your sugar coat or frame it, it sounds like a last ditch attempt when you've run out of excuses that don't hold up.

How in the hell can two differently made cables sound the same? How can two different recipes for you favorite dish taste the same? 

You seem to be stuck on the concept that we're at the apex of our ability to measure everything, which is pure hubris. Any well made cable will measure differently from another. Just look at the specs for L, C and R, which many are so fond of referring to. Compare them for yourselves and you'll see they vary. Sometimes, a lot.

Yet, they all run within the range of what is considered acceptable but they sure as hell don't sound the same. It's right about here and now when it'll be said that the differences are too small to make a difference and that's where you part company with the reality you've woven, completing a circle.

All the best,
Nonoise