Do your ears deceive you?

asctim

... When people start giving untested and unlikely explanations for why, that's when people rightfully start questioning, and that's when the ones making the claim needs to prove their explanation in a rigorous manner. 

Nonsense. This isn't a scientific forum. No one here owes you any "rigorous" explanation or any other kind of proof, although of course you're free to conduct your own experiments and share the results. If the empirical evidence described by users here is insufficient for you, perhaps you are in the wrong place.

We don't typically listen under blind conditions.  If an improvement is perceived, and it is unshakable under normal listening conditions, then it works for you.

So you'd be ok owning expensive cables if you knew that if you were blindfolded you couldn't discern a difference between them and inexpensive cables? That would be ok because when you could see the cables (normal listening conditions) they sound better? I know the answer is that you wouldn't know that because you wouldn't test that. I figure that's the reason most cable lovers bend over backwards to justify not testing their sighted conclusions.

Long ago a friend went crazy over a couple speakers designed by a Professor of Engineering.  The Prof claimed to have found the magic enclosure dimensions and configuration for flat 20-20K response from a single 4 inch driver.  Also claimed a perfect stereo image regardless of placement.  The friend was dead serious believing the claims.  Actually sounded like what you would expect from a 4 inch driver in an enclosure about the size of 2 cigar boxes.

In another discussion a person referenced a speaker cable blind test conducted by "experts" as proof blind tests are the only valid method to identify if differences exist.  Two cables at very different price points were evaluated.  Listeners heard a difference.  Therefore because it was a blind test the results must be valid and statistically significant.  Only problem, 3 music tracks, 3 listeners, 2 cables of large cost disparity.  A poorly constructed test that proved nothing.     

The tendency to believe those with knowledge, authority, or the badge of "expert" is very strong.  Those factors contribute heavily to individually held bias. 

Cable skeptics have an obsession with cost over synergy which is the key with cables. Dedicated lines also help with subtle nuances, what % of skeptics have dedicated lines? 

For those audiophiles following this thread and are still on the fence as to what to believe, there is no easy-to-grasp one answer fits all. Some cables in fact do not make a difference, regardless of their cost; some do, but in very small degrees of improvement; others degrade the signal, to audible effect; some are good enough to hear the jump in sound quality enough not to want o live without; some listeners, as with the way they see, listen very very well, while just as many others are not as able to catch or observe things they see or hear; most cables cannot be spoken of in isolation of the systems they sit in, together with the impedances that come before or after, as they are part of a profound relationship of the entire signal chain; the rare few do perform at such a high level, the entire signal chain may matter less. 

The first vital thing in all this, is that the effect of all cables, however impactful one may feel their improvement to sound in their system, is often considerably smaller and subtle in relation to everything else to be considered in a system. The second vital thing is, commonly, regardless of how small the difference may be, its specific nuance of difference to sound realism can be so great, it cannot be unheard if one has sufficiently developed listening ability to discern that difference.

The last vital thing is in being very honest knowing what kind of a listener you are, and if developing better listening skills while putting effort to understanding the specific signal chain making up your entire system, is worth the time and passion in your quest for hearing the sheer realism of reproduced sound in playback equipment. If indeed it is not worth your time and money, it would be obviously silly to put money into equipment, cables or anything one does not hear the benefit of. Sit back, calm down, and don’t waste your time trying to persuade others to be like you - it is perfectly ok not to driven by the pursuit of the highest levels of sound realism.

But if your passion drives your chase of the dragons tail in this crazy and wonderful hobby of ours, know it will be a very very difficult journey, fraught with countless demos, experiments, frustrating moments, and wasteful decisions, as there as so many variables and relationships in any signal chain to consider. There is no easy road here. Just know the journey will be absolutely worth its while.

In friendship - kevin