Most Important, Unloved Cable...


Ethernet. I used to say the power cord was the most unloved, but important cable. Now, I update that assessment to the Ethernet cable. Review work forthcoming. 

I can't wait to invite my newer friend who is an engineer who was involved with the construction of Fermilab, the National Accelerator Lab, to hear this! Previously he was an overt mocker; no longer. He decided to try comparing cables and had his mind changed. That's not uncommon, as many of you former skeptics know. :)

I had my biggest doubts about the Ethernet cable. But, I was wrong - SO wrong! I'm so happy I made the decision years ago that I would try things rather than simply flip a coin mentally and decide without experience. It has made all the difference in quality of systems and my enjoyment of them. Reminder; I settled the matter of efficacy of cables years before becoming a reviewer and with my own money, so my enthusiasm for them does not spring from reviewing. Reviewing has allowed me to more fully explore their potential.  

I find fascinating the cognitive dissonance that exists between the skeptical mind in regard to cables and the real world results which can be obtained with them. I'm still shaking my head at this result... profoundly unexpected results way beyond expectation. Anyone who would need an ABX for this should exit the hobby and take up gun shooting, because your hearing would be for crap.  
douglas_schroeder
"It comes down to this there are more than double blind testing for discrimination elimination."

As a person with a studied familiarity with established and validated scientific testing protocols I am not familiar with the term discrimnation elimination? Would you please for the benefit of those you have engaged in this discussion define this term and how it applies to this discussion seeking to verify the audibility of differences if any among and between ethernet cables.

It is a common error made by those lacking in scientific discipline to underestimate and oversimplify the requirements needed to conduct statistically valid scientific testing irregardless of the discipline under consideration in this case the components that comprise a Music Reproduction System. While It may sound funny for me to assert this the simple truth is that any test itself must be independently verified as scientific and this must be done in advance of any testing of a hypothesis because otherwise the results are not valid.

As a professor of mine would oft-repeat a scientifically flawed or invalid test or a test conducted without the rigor necessary to insure its integrity is actually worse than no test at all and can lead to invalid conclusions and/or results that are not repeatable which by definition is an invalid test. There is a lot of literature in the scientific community and I encourage you to avail yourself of that literature so as to inform yourself what requirements you would need to test your hypothesis about cables. Also note that until such a test is conducted, reviewed, analyzed and studied your vocal assertion about ethernet cable is just a hypothesis and no more irregardless of your staunch convictions as to there verity of your beliefs.


As a person with a studied familiarity with established and validated scientific testing protocols I am not familiar with the term discrimnation elimination?
I meant bias elimination (that of sighted input).

It is a common error made by those lacking in scientific discipline to underestimate and oversimplify the requirements needed to conduct statistically valid scientific testing irregardless of the discipline under consideration in this case the components that comprise a Music Reproduction System.
And anyone that is a subject matter expert is more than free to weigh in. My proposed method will either stand or modify based on input.

Please also understand that I’m not out to find general norms per-se. I’m testing individual claims. If there are a group of people making the same claims then the N simply increases.

Again if some one says they can jump 20 feet straight up, the bar to jump over isn’t being evaluated, it’s the claim of covering 20 vertical feet.

verity of your beliefs.

I don’t have a ’verity of beliefs’. I have data that leads me to a conclusion that:

1. I can’t hear the difference between 315 foot of generic CAT5 and 12 foot of boutique CAT8
2. Three other people that have tried the ADC’d tracks can’t tell when 315 foot or 12 foot of cabling was in play
3. No one has debunked my DA/AD setup is of inadequate resolution
4. So far I’ve interacted with 12 audiophiles that believe in the audibility of a data cable but I can’t give $2000 away.

Even in this thread no one that has DL’d the tracks has hazarded a guess.

My head hurts! I just know these cables can sound different in a least one instance.....my home, my system, and three sets of different ears listening in my home and on my system. This actual experience was and still  is real and real proof. The rest of this is interesting, but no more than that.
Once again, AudiogoN members have exemplified the adverb, "ad nauseam". Or, (to be more colloquial) managed to, "beat another dead horse".  KUDOS!