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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
dgarretson
2,592 posts
 

@jinjuku

The main problem with your test(if I understand it correctly) is that it is a multivariable experiment.  You swap cables 7-10 times at regular intervals throughout one track.  Unfortunately the music is changing on top of the cable changes-- confusing the listener by precluding direct comparisons. What you need to do is to repeat the track(or a segment of that track) with the same cable across the duration of each sample. Then all that the listener must do is to identify and appraise the deviant segment.  And the odds at 7:1 are still in favor of the house...

jinjuku's avatar
jinjuku
226 posts
 
I don’t think you are understanding the proposed in situ method. I would take a track of the claimants choosing, take a 1 minute interval of their choosing of said track. I would tack on a 15 second elevator clip of music.

This would be two rounds of 8 and changes would or wouldn’t happen during the 15 second interval. A cable will ALWAYS be unplugged/plugged in. Could be the same cable could be the other.

There could be anything from 0 to 7 changes. The order would be randomly chosen prior to each evaluation run.

Of course I encourage the claimant, prior to sitting for the sight bias controlled portion, to interact directly with the switch and they could play music and swap cabling out to their hearts content. I would hope 1 - 3 hours would be enough. As long as your streamer has 6-10 seconds worth of buffer you should be able to swap in real-time without interruption in playback.

Part of the origin this approach was me listening through the Phillips Golden Ear Challenge and seeing that it could work for other evaluation.

You are correct that the tracks I uploaded had a change made during playback as some people are fans of quick A/B.
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
 
dgarretson

@jinjuku

"The main problem with your test(if I understand it correctly) is that it is a multivariable experiment. You swap cables 7-10 times at regular intervals throughout one track. Unfortunately the music is changing on top of the cable changes-- confusing the listener by precluding direct comparisons. What you need to do is to repeat the track(or a segment of that track) with the same cable across the duration of each sample. Then all that the listener must do is to identify and appraise the deviant segment. And the odds at 7:1 are still in favor of the house..."

Not only that but the simple act of unplugging one set of cables and inserting another destroys the subtle electric mechanical interface, so in my book is a big NO NO when you’re trying to get to the bottom of things. Rome wasn’t built in a day. There’s no reason to hurry. Having the cables under test completely broken in is critical, too. Preferably on a cable cooker, not just music. In addition, to be technically correct about the test, the proper directionality of all cables involved should be predetermined. Otherwise the whole exercise would be more than a little fruitless IMHO.

dgarretson
2,592 posts
 

Gambling introduces one more variable.  While some "claimants" may be stimulated to listen closely, others may become distracted and confused by stress.  I hypothesize that the latter case characterizes most audiophiles... 

The best thing would be to record seven samples, post the files, and gather stats across a broad number of listeners to the downloads.  That's how Fremer does it on Analog Planet, which is good enough.

 

jinjuku's avatar
jinjuku
226 posts
 
Not only that but the simple act of unplugging one set of cables and inserting another destroys the subtle electric mechanical interface

Not sure what a 'subtle electric mechanical' interface is supposed to be. BUT Ethernet is intentionally designed to be hot plugged. 

Let's take this to its logical conclusion however. Cabling is really meant to be a device of least damage to the signal. The thing that is going to be better than any cable is no cable at all. 

Anyone here can test out if a generic cable is going to deteriorate SQ by starting playback and having someone remove the cable and see if SQ improves. Here's the thing: a cable can not improve SQ. It's a passive device there is nothing additive about it. 

Preferably on a cable cooker

 Anyone that has used any cabling long enough has cooked cables. What happens if they are using optical? We all have fully baked systems.

the proper directionality of all cables involved should be predetermined. Otherwise the whole exercise would be more than a little fruitless IMHO

What direction would that be? Ethernet is bidirectional. Think about how you want to answer that because it's going to take us into shielded data cabling and it's something I know a lot about since I've installed and designed countless networks from multi site office to heavy industrial (auto manufacturing and the like).

Is anyone here from the North West KY / Cincy region?
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