2. cables
  3. 136769-457

DO CABLES REALLY MATTER?

Yes they do.  I’m not here to advocate for any particular brand but I’ve heard a lot and they do matter. High Fidelity reveal cables, Kubala Sosna Elation and Clarity Cable Natural. I’m having a listening session where all of them is doing a great job. I’ve had cables that were cheaper in my system but a nicely priced cable that matches your system is a must.  I’m not here to argue what I’m not hearing because I have a pretty good ear.  I’m enjoying these three brands today and each is presenting the music differently but very nicely. Those who say cables don’t matter. Get your ears checked.  I have a system that’s worth about 30 to 35k retail.  Now all of these brands are above 1k and up but they really are performing! What are your thoughts. 
calvinj
calvinj OP
2,317 posts
 
I can tell the difference in cables by treble extension. How open the midrange is. How deep the bass is.  Does the music sound forward or pushed back. There are some of the same differences in equipment. Speaker cables are made all different ways with different materials and shielding etc. To say that we can hear the difference is foolish!
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
Apparently the old saw is true, you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. 
calvinj OP
2,317 posts
 
Yup and you can’t teach a new dog old tricks. Lol. 
david_ten
5,480 posts
 
And Kool Kats?
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
The stress placed on the test subject in blind tests or any tests depends on the pressure applied. For example The Amazing Randi applied lots of pressure on potential test subjects, even when the device that was the device under was an audio cable or tweak. Fremer was the victim in the Randi Million Dollar Challenge to hear the difference between super expensive cables and some generic cable. A customer of mine was the victim of the Intelligent Chip Million Dollar Challenge.

What are the negotiations involved for Randi’s blind tests? The negotiations themselves produce stress. Choice of test system. The number of test participants. Test protocol, usually involved the requirement for ten consecutive positive test results. Also, the choice of test software, choice of location of the test. Gentle readers, are these requirements or negotiations not cause for great stress when $1 million and or reputation is at stake?

Yeah, prof, I’m the one muddying the waters? Give me a break! That’s exactly what pseudo skeptics charge when someone challenges their dogmatic beliefs.

prof has scrupulously avoided responding to my main point - that negative results of  blind test cannot be generalized. You cannot say that because a blind test result is negative that means the device under test doesn’t work or that there are no audible differences between any two cables, or between two fuses, whatever, being compared. A test is only one data point. If there were ten tests by ten different people or groups in ten different systems and most of the results were negative then you might have something to talk about. 
More to discover