2. cables
  3. 1133143087

a great take on big$ cables

i was talkin to a friend about cables & wire's & no matter how hard i try to tell him its not needed he wont budge because he has heard that big buck wires are the way to go,i even showed him this web page & after reading it his response was this "if they didnt work then why would they sell them" after talking for hours i gave up & gave him a demo,he heard no difference & neither did i but he still believe's.

there isnt alot of info published on wires except by manufacturer's so i thought i'd post this so every body could enjoy it.

this is a link to roger russell's web site where he gives his thought's on wire's & cable's & reports on blind testing that was done,if your not familuar with him he was a audio engineer for many years & from some of the gear i own that he designed i'd say a damm fine engineer too.

if you are of the belief that big buck cable's are not worth using you may get a chuckle but if your a firm believer then you might be bummed out,anyway's here's the link if you care to read about wire's.

{http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm}
128x128bigjoe
serus
93 posts
 
Snofun3: I tried zipcord and didn't like it, so what should I do? Listen to it anyway?! Please solve my dillema for me!
My solution is to listen long term. In the end, you get a good feel of the character of sound. Obviously that is not something you can judge in minutes.
Do the same "test" on fine wines, any gourmet food, fragrance, whatever. Short tests like that consistently fail to reveal any statistical conclusion.
So, what does it mean?
Either that we should all just buy the cheapest XYZ everything or that the test is faulty. I say the test is faulty and you say it ain't. Please offer a scientific way to resolve this shouting match... Good Luck...
snofun3
601 posts
 
OK Boa, I'll do it slow -

Serus - Long litany on why DBT is worthless, particularly when you can only remember sound criteria for about 5-10 seconds. If a $99 boombox is allegedly going to sound as good as a he-man rig as he assets, then cables / cords should be a infintessimally small change.

Evita's wife is a power and I/C critic - "Try making that argument fly with my wife. Claims to hear significant differences between cables and cords. What a fool, huh?"

OK, if you can only remember what something sounds like for 5-10 seconds, and can be fooled by a $99 boombox, then the way you can tell significant differences in cables and cords is??? So why not use DBT to prove to yourself at least that what you're hearing is a figment of your imagination.
boa2's avatar
boa2
1,551 posts
 
So why not use DBT to prove to yourself at least that what you're hearing is a figment of your imagination.
Because DBT's are not my standard for satisfaction. Listening is. And if I'm pleased with the results of a tube change, a cable upgrade, or driving a car that rides a little rougher than you prefer, why on earth should you care? If my happiness is delusional, so be it.
whoaru99
98 posts
 
Snofun I agree. If cables make as much difference as some people claim, it should be easy to pass a DBT or ABX test, right?

DBT and ABX are standard methods applied in many fields. Why is it in audio that the tests and methodology are deemed flawed if shown that differences can't be detected?

DBT/ABX IS the proof, but it has always disproven as far as I know.

It always ends up that something in the chain "wasn't good enough to reveal the differences", if only the power was conditioned, if only the speakers were better, if only the room acoustics were just right, if only the planets were aligned...if, if, if...
serus
93 posts
 
Snofun3: My claim is very simple. Since the method proposed (i.e. DBT) is worthless (and there is lots of scientific data that says that is true) for determining audible differences (whether they exist or not) then my proposal is to make a judgement based on long-term listening. The goal is to enjoy the music, so test equipment is marginally relevant (how do you test joy?!)
So, at least I have a proposal, rather than say it's all BS, even though many of us believe they have more joy with certain components.
You can say that you don't agree, and instruments are the only thing that counts, despite their faults. Then you'll say NO and I'll say YES and we'll go on (theoretically) forever. In that case it becomes a "religious" discussion rather than a logical one.
The other option is for you to have an alternative proposal, so we can discuss it.
Or just buy a boombox. They're fine for making noise in the street, but I still say that you (and I) won't tell the difference between that boombox and a Krell with Wilson speakers - not in a DBT...
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