Do powercords make a difference in sound?

Tbg,

I don't think anyone is questioning his purchasing decision but just the FLAWED test that lead to the decision. It's his $$ and system ... This is a discussion forum after all.

I've stated many times, this is the internet with unfiltered data. We don't know who is behind the display and on the keyboard so CAVEAT EMPTOR. This applies to both amateur and pro comments/reviews but over time, you do know who to trust and not to trust.

Sometimes I feel for companies (Synergistic) where customers are not using the product as designed and report issues as if it's a problem.

Internet is powerful but also dangerous.

Knghifi, having taught research design for 40 plus years, I can tell you that flawed tests are very common. We know from old research that most people have "opinion leaders" whose advice they accept. For most there are NO tests at all. As I said this is not a science, it is just a buying decision. If people are amused to argue about it, I guess I would be better to just ignore it.

" I always wonder why any of the Scam police ever buy anything new."

Are you saying everything is a scam? :^)

I buy lots of things and spend a decent amount of money, but my scam radar is always on, especially on a site like this where expensive items and money is bandied about in a manner relatively loosely compared to the norm.

A scammer or con artist might perceive as fertile ground upon which to help relieve people of their hard earned money, especially when nonsense or unsubstantiated claims go unchallenged. Those who ask questions or seek validation of claims based on anything concrete should be welcomed, as long as it is done respectfully. AN open mind is a good thing as well. Everyone should be free to read, attempt to discriminate between fact and fiction, and get on with it as they see fit.

Whenever facts are asserted loosely, a red light should go off in each person's mind. Is this a truth, lie, or misconception? All are possibilities. Knowledge is everyone's best friend. Misinformation, whether deliberate or not, should always be considered a bad thing.

Tbg & Richard, why are we all here? Most fundamentally, as I see it, and as I believe most of us see it, we are here to share information, ideas, and experiences, which hopefully will be mutually beneficial as we try to guide our investments of time and money in directions that stand the greatest chance of being rewarding.

When someone starts a thread proclaiming that "I am stunned .... I can finally say that I am a skeptic no longer with respect to biwiring," and it is only upon VERY careful reading of the post that it becomes apparent that this conclusion was reached by comparing a biwired connection of a speaker in his room, with his system, vs. a single wired connection of that speaker in a dealer's showroom, with a completely different system, shouldn't that statement be challenged?

And if, as you say, all that matters is that the poster is satisfied, what is the point to his post, and indeed to the forum itself?

Frankly, and with all due respect, I am dumbfounded at your positions on this issue.

Regards,
-- Al

11-20-12: Almarg
...we are here to share information, ideas, and experiences, which hopefully will be mutually beneficial as we try to guide our investments of time and money in directions that stand the greatest chance of being rewarding.

I for one agree completely with this statement.

Audio is a hobby and people are entitled to approach it however they please, whether it's scientifically or impressionistically. Having said that, many opinions that might be mistaken for scientific are in fact impressionistic. It seems to me that Al was pointing out such an opinion.

Of course this hobby is not a science. But many of the methods and values characteristic of science can be brought to bear on the pursuit of satisfaction in this hobby... methods like controlling confounding variables, careful attributions of causes, explicit and precise definitions of concepts, repeatability as a standard for the validity of conclusions, and so on.

It's also worth pointing out that many conversations that take place daily on A'gon raise issues with strong parallels in the philosophy of science... issues like the role of perception in knowledge, the various forms of explanation, the nature of truth, controversies about how beliefs should be justified, the relation between speculative theories and more established bodies of knowledge, interlevel relations in complex systems, reductionism, emergence, and so on.

For some people, myself included, the "scientific" approach to this hobby enhances their enjoyment of it. It's not only the enjoyment of having a system that is more suited to your preferences, but also the enjoyment of the PROCESS that the "scientific" approach encourages - a process of both discovery and understanding.

Bryon