Jays Audio yt Channel takes on AB testing of cables.

I think it all comes down to system matching. Wham I had my Fritz speakers, I couldn’t hear a difference between 10 gauge Blue Jeans and some expensive wire and I told myself it was all BS. When I hooked up a pair of Harbeth P3s, they sounded horrible with the BJ cables and I wanted to sell them. But when I changed the cables, the speakers were transformed. In Jay’s setup, the cheap wire may well have been the better match. Or possibly, his setup is not sensitive to speaker cable changes. But if anything, it’s a good lesson to always start with a good cheap cable like BJ or Worlds Best and then compare them with something more expensive later on, if you’re so inclined to spend money on cables. 

Although I’ve listened a lot, I’ve never been able to hear much, if any, difference between speaker cables. I think the main area of importance is to have good connectors and sufficiently stout enough wire for the rated system/run length. I’ve been making my own cables using rhodium plated banana plugs that can be tightened in the sockets, along with 99.9% pure OFC copper wire in 10 or 12 gauge. These cables work well and are inexpensive. 
 

I watched the A-B comparison video Jay made and was amused when he tried to justify a difference because the expensive cable was not “broken in”! Was the cheap cable broken in? Laughable!  
 

I’ve seen and listened to expensive cables that use batteries, capacitors and other snake oil equivalents that supposedly “work miracles “. IMHO, these can only add a coloration to the signal, acting like a de facto tone control altering the pristine output from your amplifier!  Perhaps that was a possible takeaway from Jay’s test, the expensive cable altered the signal and degraded the clarity. 
 

That said, I’m a firm believer that it’s great that we have choices, and to each his own!  If spending $10k+ on cables makes you happy, why not. For me, my made up sets that cost about $70 sound as good as anything else I’ve heard, so I’ll stick with them. 

If I am understanding the results correctly, they chose the cheaper cable on every track.  If so, Glen's comment is the correct interpretation here.  The proper conclusion from this is that cables do indeed make a difference, but that price does not always correlate with the "preferred sound". 

Just to be clear, they were able to differentiate the cables 100% of the time.

Both testers associated the more detailed cable with the more expensive one, which was wrong every time. But they were very consistent in hearing the difference.

This is what led to Jay starting the break-in discussion.

glen

Two seasoned audiophiles couldn't tell the cheap from the expensive cable! What more proof does anyone need!

@westcoastaudiophile ​​​​​​: Lettuce is best fresh!

+1 @sns 

Oh maan @shtinkydog  the Acronym for such Shopping Syndrome is definitely BIG or even HUGE.

Much ado about nothing. I was a participant in many double blind audio component and cable comparisons back in the day, always came away more confused than sure I had really preferred one component or cable over another. Listening to unfamiliar systems in what can be stressful environments to short snippets of tracks is not the way I listen to music.

In the particular case of this video, I'd never chose the tracks they chose, all were highly processed recordings, doesn't tell you a thing about timbre.

Long term listening in your own system is the only true measure of equipment, this stuff for the ASR crowd.

@jasonbourne71 +1 

cables degrade very slow, fresh cable is best performing one 

Wire burn-in/settling is another myth! Since wire has been in use since the telegraph days (1830's) such a phenomenon would have been noted and tests/measurements devised.

 Jay stated at the end that the two cables sound different despite the testers being unable to tell them apart. So much for being willing to accept the results! 

My mistake! Not the MIT's but the Gryphon Vanta speaker cables. The two testers couldn't tell the two cables apart! Then Jay steps in and says the testers liked the cheap cable better because it was "warmer". Both testers  thought the Gryphon  cable was the cheaper one!

@czarivey what is the acronym for that syndrome?  

I have got to agree--I have never heard any difference is cabling. I have tried all sorts and they all sound the same to me.

I buy more expensive cables because the more money I spend the better it makes me feel. 

It's called American Shopping Syndrome.

cable talk like this scares would be audiophiles away from this hobby better than a  rattlesnake in the CD rack

A $27 cable vs a $20,000 cable. They actually seemed to prefer the $27 cable. 

If you notice, Jay takes over and begins to interpret for the listeners and tell them why they thought the cheap cables were preferred over the expensive cables. It seemed he was trying to justify their decisions for them.  Then he appeared to makes excuses why the expensive cable failed... needed to break in???

Shows, once again, how basic cable is perfectly fine.  Both testers said either way the difference was very small. 

Broken-in cables? oO