Are audiophiles still out of their minds?

dracule1 wrote,

"All jokes aside, from what I recall there have been several published blinded AB tests to test differences in sound between cables and even between amps. But as we know, the results are always the same and not in the favor of cable manufacturers. But that’s another whole can of worms."

Surprise, surprise. I figured it wouldn’t be too long before blind testing raised its ugly head. If you recall several published blinded AB tests that showed there are no differences among cables would it be asking too much to provide links to those published tests? I'm not exactly sure why but naysayers frequently claim there are some blind tests out there somewhere, who knows where, that prove that such and such controversial audiophile product is a scam. :-)

Dracule1 also wrote,

"Einstein and his refusal to accept quantum mechanics. You have a point there, but he was right about so many other things like gravity waves, space-time, black holes, photo-electric effect, etc. Who knows in the future some genius will turn quantum mechanics upside down and prove Einstein was right. 😏"

Exactly! Einstein was right about many things but not everything. And because some legendary audio designers made outstanding electronics or speakers doesn’t mean they’re correct on every subject. So using them as proof or even evidence that cables are a scam is an illogical argument.

From a logic standpoint, even if quantum mechanics is turned on it’s head at some far distant time, which is rather unlikely, you know, given that it has survived scrutiny for a hundred years, that would not be evidence or proof that cables are a scam.

cheere,

geoff kait
machina dynamica

to get back to your original question. I think the people who buy $10k cables are the people who buy $100k amps, $100k digital gear, $100k analog, $100k speakers. my guess is very few $100k cables systems are ever sold. little time to worry about the expenditures of the ultra wealthy...

jl35
1,015 posts
06-12-2016 7:45am
"to get back to your original question. I think the people who buy $10k cables are the people who buy $100k amps, $100k digital gear, $100k analog, $100k speakers. my guess is very few $100k cables systems are ever sold. little time to worry about the expenditures of the ultra wealthy..."

Actually, that’s probably true. Dracule1 just happens to be an exception to the rule since he has, according to him, some very expensive equipment. It’s just expensive cables he has heartburn with.

Geoffkait 6-11-2016 6:04 pm EDT
Lots of notable people don’t believe in things like high end cables, or say wire directionality or aftermarket fuses or fuse directionality and other things that have been around like forever. But that in itself doesn’t mean they’re not true. That’s what we in the biz refer to as an Appeal to Authority, which as you probably know is a logical fallacy.

While there are those who would consider an Appeal to Authority to be a logical fallacy, as I see it such an appeal is not at all illogical. Rather, it is simply less than conclusive, to SOME degree. The degree to which it is less than conclusive, and the persuasiveness of the appeal, comes down to a matter of judgment, taking into account the credibility and relevant background of the particular authority, the persuasiveness of conflicting evidence that may be available, the nature of the particular subject, and perhaps other factors. And as always, the judgments of different individuals will frequently differ.

Regards,
-- Al