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Are cable recommendations worth anything?

I am a Denafrips dac owner. I use the Denafrips Facebook site for the same reasons I use this site.

Discourse, basic information and hopefully some enlightenment.
Recently one of the contributors asked the default question of "Can you recommend RCA cable brands that match well with Denafrips from dac to amplifier?"

Am I the only person that is confused when someone asks an open-ended question like this about cables?The sheer variety of "highly recommended" cables, lends me to believe that the cables are much less important to the sound than the component itself. Recommendations ran the gamut from the Tellurium Q Black Diamond cables at $1,100 CDN per metre, to the Blue Jeans cables at about $50 CDN per metre.

How does that make sense and how can this possibly help the poor slob that asked the question?
tony1954
hilde45's avatar
hilde45
5,380 posts
 
I am not sure on the issue, personally. But I know this is not a simple, open and shut case in favor of double-blind. At the very least, it's complicated:
https://audiophilereview.com/audiophile-news/why-double-blind-testing-cant-work-for-audio.html
https://www.stereophile.com/content/highs-lows-double-blind-testing-page-5
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/limitations-of-blind-testing-procedures.1...
audio2design
1,351 posts
 
There is no open-and shut on double blind, as that door was shut ages and ages ago. Double blind works. If you don't eliminate bias (which double blind does), then the results of any subjective test are suspect. The only definitive aspect of a double blind test is the "tester" has no idea at any time, either directly or through inadvertent suggestion (hence double blind) what particular product they are testing. Take 30 second to test, take 30 minutes, take 30 days. It can still be double blind. Any reviewer who claims immunity to bias is lying.
hilde45's avatar
hilde45
5,380 posts
 
Ok, well, I admit I'm new to the issue and without any expertise. I just saw that many still debate it and seemed to have decent arguments. But you seem very confident that all those debates are empty -- motivated by bias of one kind or another.  

I will need to think about what you're saying and if it ends the debate for me, that's a win. Typically, when I have tried to test things, I will ask family members to switch things around without telling me. I know that's not double blind, but it did help me rule out buying a power cord I didn't need.
nonoise's avatar
nonoise
11,187 posts
 
Double blind tests are nothing more than a parlor trick, right up there with seances. You can take something 100% provable and subject people to a DB "test" and come back with 50-50 results. All it proves is that uncertainty increases under the guise of testing. Bias is never eliminated but skewed for all the wrong, unanticipated reasons.

Also, I never heard of doing any type of DB test involving more than a few seconds between samples. Even the Amazing Randy knew that if  enough time were to elapse, most would be able to suss out the correct cable and he'd have to pay out that $1million. It's long term listening that audiophiles do to figure things out so he kept the time frame short between takes.

All the best,
Nonoise
mitch2
4,281 posts
 
@tony1054
Am I the only person that is confused
Six different posters so far, six different opinions, so nope....no confusion.
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