Nonoise: "Do you think that your appeals to authority, name dropping and your credentials intimidate in any way, shape or form? "
Your name is ironic, since you’re adding things I never said (called "noise"). Oh, I did mention "Aerosmith", so I guess I did name-drop.
I posted no credentials, so I’m sorry if you felt intimidated. Let me fix that. I spent ten weeks learning at the USN Anti Submarine Warfare training center in San Diego. You might imagine that acoustics were a topic of discussion there. I was also employed as a senior engineer with Boeing Defense System (you may have heard of them) for seven years working on projects I cannot discuss, but their alignment is relevant to this discussion. I have a BS in math and an MS in Computer Science. Enough said, and I’m sure there are those here with much more impressive CV’s than mine.
All us doubters are saying is "prove it". I don’t know how else you can prove it without a measurement. Most engineers embrace the addage "In God We Trust, all others bring data".
You know what causes changes in how you hear your system? Everything (but probably not the layer of copper molecules adjacent the molecules in your dielectric). Is it getting warmer outside? Is it getting warmer inside? Any change in Barometric Pressure? Did you invite a friend over to listen? Are you standing in a different spot? Did your friend just recline in his chair? Both of you are reflecting some sound energy frequencies and absorbing others. You have changed the room dynamics measurably. Been in the room for several minutes? You’ve probably raised the temperature and the humidity in there, not to mention altered the air volume of the room. Are you worried about the testing? Worried about whether our not your "friend" is going to like your system? Even small amounts of stress and blood pressure change how our ears perform. How loud was it before you walked into your listening room? All of these factors are infinitely more measurable than the alignment of molecules in your cable.
But what it really boils down to is this: are you happier? If "yes", then who gives a crap why? Our minds play tricks on us all the time, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. If your kid isn’t going to college because you spent the money on cables, that’s a different issue, but not one I think likely here.
Let me offer some unsolicited advice. Listen to your music and not your system. If you’re fretting over how much better that violin or sax could sound if those unruly little molecules would stay in line, then you are missing the entire point, and cheating yourself out of the enjoyment you’ve paid a lot of money for. As an early HTPC pioneer, I lived that mistake (IRT video quality) for far too long.
azbrd: I would certainly hope so. Just remember that the retirement home isn’t going to allow your Maggies in, so you may need to adapt some day :-) (I know, I know, better dead than Bose...)
