2. cables
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The Science of Cables

It seems to me that there is too little scientific, objective evidence for why cables sound the way they do. When I see discussions on cables, physical attributes are discussed; things like shielding, gauge, material, geometry, etc. and rarely are things like resistance, impedance, inductance, capacitance, etc. Why is this? Why aren’t cables discussed in terms of physical measurements very often?

Seems to me like that would increase the customer base. I know several “objectivist” that won’t accept any of your claims unless you have measurements and blind tests. If there were measurements that correlated to what you hear, I think more people would be interested in cables. 

I know cables are often system dependent but there are still many generalizations that can be made.
128x128mkgus
taras22
412 posts
 
@isochronism 

 
I was making a joke about cable elevators proving gravity.


Sorry if the response took the shape of a lecture but was in a rush this morning and just threw out what was in essence a rough draft that I didn't get back to edit ( the time limit on edits on this site is a bit on the tight side...and the dog ate my homework too.... ) Was hoping to have some fun with that by responding in kind ( to a nicely delivered funny ) but failed miserably. Again, much sorries.
brucenitroxpro
23 posts
 
Since I have taught Experimental Psychology, Statistics, and have worked in electronic design... I can say with certainty that the reason there are so few articles on cables is... that MOST articles are so poorly researched that the questions they answer are not usually applicable to audiophiles who often don't even respect a scholarly approach. You simply can't question most audiophiles whose most important quality is their totally complete knowledge of what they THINK they know. In other words, "forget about it!"
taras22
412 posts
 
@ brucenitroxpro

Speaking of evidence based research and academic rigour would be nice if you could provide a link to the study that your assertions made above are based on.

Thanks in advance.
iasi
115 posts
 
taras22, thanx for your postings...finally someone talking about real science...i'm surprised the pebbles-magic clock-guy didn't chime in yet...
cd318
2,636 posts
 
If this keeps up it may be time for another straightened coat hanger v mystery X ($$$$$) cable blind listening test.

So far all the conclusions point to a lack of consensus with the only regular perceived sonic differences being in the listener's own head. And even then, not consistently. One day A might be better, the next B, and so on and so on.

All cables claiming to be better than basic OFC simply must be sold with a money back guarantee. Especially when there isn't a shred of scientific evidence to support this claim. Even the sellers dare not say why and how their cables are better, instead they merely suggest it to avoid any potentially ruinous legal challenges.

If they are obviously better sonically then surely there's no need for dealers to take the money and run, is there?

Apart from charity on the behalf of the consumer of course. 


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