Does raising speaker cables off the floor really make a big difference?

I can't match prof word for word, since he already retires but I still have to earn money, so anyway, to save time, I plagiarize ... errrrr ... I mean paraphrase from a book.

In this book, there was a "real" story about a get together, or a convention, of a large group of well known scientists, or to be specific, a group of physicists specialized in the field of quantum physics.  Being a bit bored, they came up with a game that we all have one time or another played.  Basically, it's a game in which you can only get to ask "yes or no" question, and at the end you have to guess what it is.

Usually, for this game, everybody would agree first on an "object" so that people know to answer "yes or no" to the question being asked.  But being smart $$$ as they are, they want to make a slight change to the game to make it a bit interesting.  The change was at first, nobody would agree on any specific object, but whatever answer to the question asked thereafter has to be consistent with the previous answer.  So the second answer has to be consistent with the first answer, and the third answer has to be consistent with the second answer and so on.  So it goes that the first unlucky contestant after asking question after question, he noticed that it would take unusually longer and longer for the "yes or no" answer to come (as it would obviously since it gets harder and harder to be consistent after awhile), and also he could see some small laughter as if he was the object of a joke.  At the end, he was able to guess what the "object" was to the loud laughter of the entire room and of course he was let in on the joke finally.

Anyway, what does it have to do with cable risers?

I think prof already got me beat.  Maybe he can tell what that is.   

I keep telling you guys, any riser made of any material (ceramic, acrylic, wood, plastic, paper, etc.) that touches the floor, whether it's carpet, wood, tile, concrete, whatever, is not going to be as effective as suspending the cables from the ceiling.  It's the only way to go.  And a thin enough monofilament is virtually invisible.

prof
I love the sound of my CJ tube amplification and always go back to it after trying solid state. Never done a "blind test." Even when some "objectivists" think tube amps are silly. I swoon over the sound of my "crazy expensive" (to the average joe), cartridge etc. No talk of blind testing, all subjective.

>>>>Gosh, don’t go out on a limb or anything.

prof
I ALSO am aware of the general features of, and rational for, the scientific empirical method. And I can’t just pretend that audio is magically excepted from the complexities that bedevil any other careful empirical inquiry - especially the unreliability built in to human subjectivity.(And this is something the "blind test naysayers" seem to routinely misunderstand: accepting that human subjectivity is unreliable doesn’t mean "a subjective impression is wrong and due to bias" or "what you think you heard wasn’t real." It only means that in many cases it *could* be error, so it can be hard to unravel the objective facts from the subjective impressions).

>>>>Oh, geez, just when you were doing so well. Blind tests don’t mean anything. You were on the right track with complexities, but then you went off the rails with your usual bind test hornswoggle. It’s the inability of humans to control all the physical variables. Or know all the variables, for that matter. It has virtually nothing to do with psychological issues. No, it’s not hard to unravel the objective facts from the subjective hornswoggle.

@prof ,

Yes, I've gone out of my "bubble" many a time. It helps to keep perspective. One mustn't stop learning.

I did so when it comes to fuses. After my experience with different brands on my previous integrated, it was apparent that they made a difference. With my latest integrated, I went in "knowing" it would and much to my surprise, they didn't. In fact, the one that came with it sounded the best.

As for raising cables, as I've already stated, I've never heard that big a difference, if any, all those years ago. It was only from reading this thread that I thought I'd try it and the difference was plainly evident, and much for the better.

Lowering them to the floor validated my findings. Simple enough thing to do, and repeatable. Now, do I need to have people over to witness it? That would be a silly thing to do and those that know me would end up seeing me in a less favorable light. 😄

As for the tangental, metaphysical argument of do I really hear what I think I'm hearing malarkey, don't go there. I've seen you do this to others as of late which I found a bit distasteful and led me to contribute less as a result. 

To see a topic of discussion devolve into a brow beating of sorts on someone who's syntax was in error or who didn't fully communicate thoughts (due to the nature of this format) as well as others (yet the meaning was there for anyone to comprehend) left a bad taste. 

Can't have that. 

All the best,
Nonoise

@prof   OK so initially you were happy in your subjective beliefs but some of your friends convinced you that you shouldn't believe what you did so you left your happy bubble in order to prove that being happy was wrong ?  And by golly you proved it ?  So what was the point ?  That truth is the goal regardless of how miserable it makes you ?  I came from the other direction--first believing solely in the empirical method and naysaying anyone who held solely subjectivist beliefs--and then i heard something i shouldn't have heard--and it was not measurable--but it made me happy--so, bubble burst i entered the world of voodoo gladly and happily but with restraint on the wallet--like i'm about to try with the tweak of this thread.  Given that all audio perception is subjective--i hear things you don't and vice versa i'm much happier just listening and enjoying the music without someone telling me i shouldn't or can't possibly enjoy it unless i've first determined if it's actually real...
Merry Christmas to all--my son is home and i'm happy and i sure can't measure that...