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How are you hearing no difference?

In my experience, I've never heard two pre-amps that sound exactly the same, nor two DACs that sound the same, nor two amps...etc. Yet, occasionally someone will claim that they heard no difference between Product A and Product B in their system.  I find it difficult to believe.
128x1284hannons
rbstehno
1,491 posts
 
I have witnessed a person with .99 cent cables with a pioneer receiver and swears he can’t hear a difference between cables. He compares $49 cartridges to more expensive 1’s and can’t hear a difference. 
Your system has to be of some decent quality before you can take advantage of better products. Your system will only sound as good as your weakest component. 
n80
2,133 posts
 
inna said:

"Like garbage probably not, like not much to keep talking about probably yes."

Which could probably be said of most of the systems represented here, right?

big_greg
6,674 posts
 
Everything I've switched up in my systems has sounded different in some way, the exception perhaps being cables.  Sources, amps, preamps, turntables, cartridges, DACs, etc. have all sounded different in some way.  Speakers of course have the most obvious effect on sound.

I'm not saying cables don't make a difference, because I have sat while someone swapped out cables in rapid succession and also switched between identical systems with different cables and heard differences. 

I've noticed differences in sound with some of the cables in my system, but mostly when I've replaced really cheap cables.  I have spent a fair amount of money on power cords and interconnects, but have not bought any megabucks cables.  If there are differences in sound quality for the most part they have been to subtle to notice.  Maybe the rest of my system isn't resolving enough for it to matter or my hearing isn't that sensitive.
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
Some days are diamonds some are stones. You can’t fool Mother Nature. Or Mothra.
guidocorona
4,298 posts
 

Listening with just your ears does eliminate the effect of psychoacoustics quite plenty if you are totally blind, and you ask the in-store consultant not to tell you which one of the several amps, or preamps, or players, or cables, etc...   in the lineup you are listening to... Particularly if the evaluation and results are repeated with consistency.


I found there can be significant differences in performance between components of same price ranging from freeby earpieces given out by airlines in flight or 50C RCA wires supplied with old boomboxes and cassette recorders, all the way upto multi thousand $$$ wiring and high end speakers... Same thing for other components in the audio chain.


While this has usually been the case, it has not been universally so... There have been some less than common cases where I have perceived little or no difference.

G.


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