Some observations from a former skeptic - and a question

@mgrif104 I have the Nordost QB8 v2 and Nordost power cables and had the exact same experience as you.

Dont be put off that your cables now cost x multiples more than the rest of the system. Cable ancillaries have the highest markup so they tend to cost so much, but it’s needed to get the performance. If you did not discover this you could be on the usual speaker/amp merry go round, where an audiophile keeps chasing an elusive sound not realising the veil and lack of clarity/realism is caused by lack of power filtering and poor signal transfer. No new speaker or amp is going to give you what you want in this situation. But once done, even a modest priced system can go to the moon on performance when it’s fed a clear signal.

Also dismiss the expectation bias nonsense. I cannot tell you how many time I have purchased a new more expensive audio item and WANTED it to be better and had to finally admit it was not. Shouldn’t the brain bias fool me into liking the new toy better? Similarly I have purchased what I hoped were GIANT KILLER items, hoping at 1/5th the cost they would be better or at least compete with the higher priced item so I could sell it off. But no, again had to admit sometimes the higher priced was better. Trust your ears, do the a/b swaps in quick time, like a few minutes, so your audio memory is fresh.

And last advice, get a Nordost QKore 1 to connect to the ground post of the QB8. It’s such an important upgrade, huge, more so than any particular power cable upgrade I did.

Precisely, therefore this:

I am more interested in reading data

…. And raging in the Internet audio forums is my guess.
 

How old are you?

@thyname - if you really wanted to have an adult conversation, you might want to avoid quoting out of context when what I said was:

I am more interested in reading data, facts and experiences and find the flaming counterproductive

Misquoting just to make me look unreasonable doesn't shine a very good light on you.  My request is for respect and an open minded discussion.  That's apparently not what you want.  I guess I'd rather run into you in a forum than on a highway...

Remember the "Pepsi Challenge" and "New Coke"? That was the product of blind testing.

Just as a side comment, I am not as much of a proponent of blind testing as many of the science-side guys.  I believe that one might be able to detect and prove a difference with blind testing, but I don't believe it always or even usually works to determine which is "better."

The sample size is necessarily small for blind testing so that A-B works.  But that small sample size thus doesn't take into account the fatigue that over-bright sound, for example, can create, or many other audio gremlins that only become apparent with longer term listening.  

Long-term listening is a better gauge of what sounds good.  But of course that let's out A-B or any blind testing.  

Thus, the slippery nature of this debate.  I don't mind the ardent opinions, but the lack of respect and civility is just depressing.  I guess we need to be invaded by audio aliens before we come together. 

the cable subject always bring out the best of us 🙂