I wholeheartedly agree with your post.
In regards to the topic of hearing, mine is limited to about 12kHz.
I have a lot of aftermarket power cords and interconnects, but I have never experienced a single instance where there's been a noticeable before and after difference when I've done these "upgrades".
There have been a couple of instances where I used some cheap cables and could tell they didn't sound very good and were not letting all the music through. I did notice an improvement after taking them out of the system, but I don't usually discern differences between good and better cables.
I've sat through a couple of demonstrations of replacing interconnects and digital cables where someone else quickly made the change and I could detect noticeable differences in those situations.
I have never done that kind of quick swapping with my own equipment and perhaps if I did, I would notice the difference.
I take more of a "do no harm" approach and buy cables that are "better" (better construction, better connectors, better materials, better shielding, etc.) than the stock cables, but I don't really consider them to be "upgrades" because I can't tell much difference if any to my listening experience after I do it.
I can hear significant differences between amps, preamps, speakers, cartridges, DACs, CD players, etc. which leads me to question if the cable "upgrades" are real at all, or if it's that what's left of my hearing just isn't good enough to detect those more subtle changes.
I have no way of knowing if others hear a more significant difference than I do. When I read professional reviews where they review a number of different interconnects within a manufacturers line and detail the differences they hear from one to the next, I'm always impressed by their descriptions, but wonder why I can't detect those differences.
I don't question others spending more than I'm willing to on certain aspects of their equipment if it helps them reach whatever goals they have for their system. First of all, it's really none of my business and their hearing may be more acute than mine. It may make a more substantial difference in sound quality to them than it does to me.
I tend to dismiss posters that are always speaking in absolutes, whether it's that one approach to bass management is the "best", or that certain brands are the "best", or that some components either have no effect or have a huge dramatic effect and that you're either wasting money or that the rest of your system is crap because you didn't spend enough money on _____.
It's not just our aural perception, but it's also taste and perspective. One person may really enjoy a system that I find compromised and someone else might find the system I enjoy to be underwhelming. My system sounds amazing to me until I hear someone else's that does _________ better than mine does, and once I hear that difference, I can't help but notice how my system is lacking in that aspect.
I think the key is to use your own brain and your own ears and use both to filter out all of the various opinions expressed on forums like these and find the best way to enjoy the hobby for yourself based on your budget, hearing, and taste.
In regards to the topic of hearing, mine is limited to about 12kHz.
I have a lot of aftermarket power cords and interconnects, but I have never experienced a single instance where there's been a noticeable before and after difference when I've done these "upgrades".
There have been a couple of instances where I used some cheap cables and could tell they didn't sound very good and were not letting all the music through. I did notice an improvement after taking them out of the system, but I don't usually discern differences between good and better cables.
I've sat through a couple of demonstrations of replacing interconnects and digital cables where someone else quickly made the change and I could detect noticeable differences in those situations.
I have never done that kind of quick swapping with my own equipment and perhaps if I did, I would notice the difference.
I take more of a "do no harm" approach and buy cables that are "better" (better construction, better connectors, better materials, better shielding, etc.) than the stock cables, but I don't really consider them to be "upgrades" because I can't tell much difference if any to my listening experience after I do it.
I can hear significant differences between amps, preamps, speakers, cartridges, DACs, CD players, etc. which leads me to question if the cable "upgrades" are real at all, or if it's that what's left of my hearing just isn't good enough to detect those more subtle changes.
I have no way of knowing if others hear a more significant difference than I do. When I read professional reviews where they review a number of different interconnects within a manufacturers line and detail the differences they hear from one to the next, I'm always impressed by their descriptions, but wonder why I can't detect those differences.
I don't question others spending more than I'm willing to on certain aspects of their equipment if it helps them reach whatever goals they have for their system. First of all, it's really none of my business and their hearing may be more acute than mine. It may make a more substantial difference in sound quality to them than it does to me.
I tend to dismiss posters that are always speaking in absolutes, whether it's that one approach to bass management is the "best", or that certain brands are the "best", or that some components either have no effect or have a huge dramatic effect and that you're either wasting money or that the rest of your system is crap because you didn't spend enough money on _____.
It's not just our aural perception, but it's also taste and perspective. One person may really enjoy a system that I find compromised and someone else might find the system I enjoy to be underwhelming. My system sounds amazing to me until I hear someone else's that does _________ better than mine does, and once I hear that difference, I can't help but notice how my system is lacking in that aspect.
I think the key is to use your own brain and your own ears and use both to filter out all of the various opinions expressed on forums like these and find the best way to enjoy the hobby for yourself based on your budget, hearing, and taste.