Food for thought for all us audiophiles

While I think this article hits ONE nail on the head, I think there are many more nails holding this hobby together. I can think of a few reasons why someone might buy a $7,200 pair of speaker cables: 1) Some people just have more money than they know what to do with. To them, buying this cable, like any other luxury item ($1,000 purse, $20,000 watch, $1,500 shoes, etc.), makes a statement; that I've arrived and by buying this cable I've accomplished something. 2) Some people just want the best. Even if the best means paying for a companies R&D costs that find a way to squeeze one more [insert measurement here]. Willing to pay $100,000 for a pair speakers whose measrurements are just marginally better than a pair of $20,000 may be worth it. Same reason people buy $500k Ferrari's when no speed limits are higher than 70 MPH in this country. Further, $7,200 cables probably do sound great. Could I tell the difference between them and pair of Kimber 8TC? Maybe. Maybe not. If I made $750k a year would I buy them and enjoy them? Maybe. Maybe not.

I agree with much of what is said. I believe if company truly believes in their product, double blind tests should be a welcome test. They are not welcomed. I would like to point out that for me aesthetics, joy of touching/operating are important. I don't want to look at a pair of monster cables. Besides, if you listen at my house, you will notice my cables taste like sandal wood with a slight hint of tobacco.

Although there is clearly SOME validity to what's being said, I'm still left to wonder: If there's such a tendency for "convergence" among audiophiles' opinions, then why do so many people argue vehemently for diametrically opposed viewpoints on this site and many others? That phenomenon would seem to "diverge" from the convergence assertion of the article.

The only "convergence" I can discern is that most audiophiles believe that some things sound better than others. That "convergence" starts to disappear when the discussion turns to "what" sounds better and "why". If there's someone out there that thinks all audiophiles agree, they've got a screw loose!
As we all know, audiophile opinions are quite diverse!

Mdhoover. Great point. Seems like folks here can't agree on anything.