Wire differences explained common sense

Schubert, as rare as unicorns! I like that. You will very seldom, if ever, hear a scientist say something just makes common sense.

However, I do trust my ears. Using an alloy like mu metal, the High Fidelity cables have higher resistance and encourage conductivity with magnets. The sonic character of these cables is unique and to me exceptional.

I used to be a poor graduate student and made Dyna and Heath kits but then as an associate professor, I heard the Infinity ServoStatics and ARC electronic. I heard what I heard and had to buy both. I still do hypothesis testing in audio. This is otherwise known as A/B comparisons. Audio is not the world of common sense, nor is it of science. We just do not know enough to assess what would sound best. Trial and error are the real name of the game.

Amen Tbg, and we probally never will know enough.

Very smart?

Human psychology is a curious little maze of twists and turns, corkscrews and loops. Hand someone a warm beverage in a warm cup, and they'll have a completely different take on the next person they meet, without having any idea that the beverage in their hand is having a huge influence on their impression. Wine decanted from a clear bottle will, across the board, get poorer grades than the same wine decanted from a dark green bottle, and so on. Eyewitness testimony given by good, honest people on matters that would seem to be relatively clear--5'7" or 6', blue car or brown?--on matters of life and death is notoriously unreliable.

I love my tube amps. Am I positive that my perception of their "warmth" and their sounding "open" and "alive" isn't as much as anything else a matter of my seeing their warm orange--and sometimes blue--glow inside a glass bottle (like a soul inside a body), and that my perception of the deadness of solid state isn't just a matter of my not seeing any glow, not seeing any space between filaments and glass, but on the contrary, seeing plain old "solid" transistors, with no space, no air--you know, like a corpse?

Like the original poster, I think copper sounds richer too. But of course copper is a richer color than silver, which is bright, and in some lights, even harsh.

Stewie, you stand above the crowd in admitting that some of your listening choices could have a bias based on other factors. That is a seriously self-aware and mature viewpoint, the admission of which would have most folk on a forum like this feel emasculated. My guess is that knowing the potential bias makes you a better, more neutral listener than most.