hddg - Hearing the difference between cables may not come easy to some members and often comes only after many hours of listening.
Some people believe they should be able to hear a difference immediately, which is often not the case.
I've lost count of the number of posts where a member has not heard what they expected from a cable after only a couple of hours of listening.
Many of the cables I have reviewed require over 100 hours of operation just for them to get over a significant dip in their performance, after which their true abilities are revealed
My own personal journey involved many hundreds of hours or listening and making mental notes as to what a cables reveals about a single track played over and over.
I now have a playlist of around 40 tracks that I turn to when evaluating any piece of the audio chain. each track has been listened too over 100 times - so I know them intimately
They each have their own specialised "audio signature" - like
- dynamics and control
- image and space
- details and clarity
Also, I can see why people do not hear differences, as often they are listening only for one thing - e.g. perhaps they have read a cable will enhance bass depth. If that is not "heard" then the cable had no impact on them, even thought the improved clarity in the upper register was superior.
People tend to talk of the benefits of a new cable, when in fact it is the short comings of the cable that they replaced that is responsible for the improvements encountered
But it is through threads like this one where people take the time to explain what they are hearing, that others will learn what to listen for and what to expect when we talk about things like allowing cables to burn in.
That is how I learned what to listen for - reading the many informative posts here and then going to my system and listening for those traits.
You mentione that perhaps they do not have a decent system - i can easily demonstrate what power cables can do with my $300 mini system. So I believe no system is beyond good cables - you just have to get the right cables.
However, I do agree that the listener has to be willing to accept that there will be a difference and be prepared to listen more intently to the entire spectrum of audio in order to discern what those differences are - whether they be good or bad.
As for the "trolls" - I tend to ignore those that post negative comments about the effectiveness of cables - I am quite happy to let them live in their own ignorance.
As for the rest of us - we can learn so much from each other so that's who I focus on.
Anyway - I'm glad you are with us on the "enlightened path".
Most of my comments in this post are actually for the benefit of those members that are straddling that "Troll Fence" and are thinking about coming out.
Regards - Steve
