Cable curmudgeon


I'm not an 'audiophile" but I like to think I have a good ear having been a professional musician (principal wind player in major symphony orchestras) for 50 years. A number of years ago going into an excellent audio equipment store I talked with, what seemed, a knowledgeable salesman.  Being a musician experienced in audio systems but not expert on all the equipment out there I had some questions concerning high (over-priced?) end cables. The salesman assured there was an audible differencet in a demo room switching back and forth etc.  After a few minutes I noticed the sound coming out of only one channel.  He complemented me on my "good ear."  Hmmm? A few years later when setting up my home system I investigated speaker cables. Two sets of Monster, stranded standard cable, solid core copper (used for alarm system) attached with like connecters. There was a difference.  However, not in terms of better or worse: bass and treble were acceptable as was clarity loud and soft.  Differences were esthetic- like asking "whose the best tenor" (I like Plácido).  Now I know as a musician used to live (i.e. un-amplified) music that all I hear coming out of a loud speaker is perforce ersatz.  But most everything today comes out of a loud speaker whether a rock concert or a hi-fi system so perhaps my opinion is curmudgeonly. But, for me, spending oodles of money on hyped cables, well... I  liked the solid core for my alarm system- still do.

 

exflute

I knew the moment I saw the OP where this was going. The OP and the usual names who jumped on the opportunity. These folks are very predictable:

 

These “contrarians” who poo-poo the efficacy of expensive cables often appear in many other forums, threads, audio groups, questioning the merits of expensive audio products.  They are either disgruntled with their lot in life (e.g. a spouse who wears the proverbial pants, a wallet that squeaks so loud they hate to open it, etc.) or their skills of self-persuasion require constant exercising with selfish expectations of indulgence on our part. 

 

Not having a fact-based opinion because it's foreclosed by those circumstances, however, doesn't prevent them from expressing their frustration-based comments.

 

It's not about whether they can or cannot afford to pay more.  Hobbyists who operate within a prescribed budget are quite content with value-based high performance systems and work diligently to accomplish that end. They bear no grudge against those who chose to spend more. 

@rodman99999 

Do you think the more rational approach of the professional industry to cable could be something to do with the fact their professional experience and ears tell they they would be shafted?

At the level of some misguided audiophiles, can you really imagine a business, even this one, paying $2m or so, in scale, to re-cable their studio?

The poster listened to two sets of not very good cables and didn't find much difference. That's hardly surprising.

The experience of being a musician is not necessarily very beneficial in judging differences in sound reproduction - though it has many other benefits in terms of the appreciation of music.

The former is the reason we have recording engineers.

@bruce19 -

B.) I am not aware of cables being overly significant in other mission critical electronics such as in the medical field or aeronautics or telecommunications. There is a justification in all of these areas for a well built, properly specked wire, but none of the hocus pocus that only seems prevalent among us audio hobbyists. 

      Just another for-instance (click on, "Letter From NASA"):

                        https://homeaudio.analysis.plus/knowledge-base/