Most Beneficial Cable Upgrade

some very well made arguments here. i once went 100 mph in a vega automobile and later went 100 in a porsche. psychologiclly the vega ride scared the hell out of me and the porsche seemed like i was going 42mph. maybe my analogy isn,t perfect but better stuff seems to just work better. ha

last week i took my morrow sp3s out and put my kimber 8tcs in. for the next 2-3 hours it was pretty rough to say the least. i let the system play all night and the next day it was nice and smooth and musical. so for those keeping score,,,ha!!! the murrows sound great too btw.
1. i am certain i can hear a difference between cables
2. i have experienced sound getting better when they "settle in".
3. i too have experienced placeabo effect and other psychoacoustic phemonena
4. my stereo sounds better when i am in a good relaxed mood.
5. my stereo sounds better at 3am.
this may turn into one of those long threads. peace

Hotmailjbc,
Your porch reponded better (better steering, better shocks, better tires, better acceleration, better transmission, better shift, better seats, etc); it performed better at 100 MPH than the Vega(and an any other velocity) than the Vega. So, of course you liked it better.
Your stereo will sound better with the lights dimmed or with the lights out (more musical, better 3d sound staging, better base, smoother and sweeter treble, better low level detail).Try it out tonight. Isn't that amazing! Is it real or is it placebo? It is a psycho-acoustic effect, and it affects all of us. Reviewers/magazines never discuss these issues.

i totally agree. but the bass gets better with upgraded ac cords!

If you haven't tested the cable change blindly, how do you know for sure?

I am not saying cable changes have no effect on the sound, I have never tested cables, so I am still uncertain. But, there is a significant psychological component which can be eliminated only with blind testing.

Let's focus on power cables for now to simplify the discussion. We all have to purchase interconnects and speaker cable since these items do not come with the audio gear. I think anyone who buys high end equipment (probably everyone on Audiogon) will purchase brand name well regarded interconnects and speaker cable. No one is going to buy fine expensive electronics and install lamp cord. Whether or not we are certain of how the cable effects the sound, I believe most of us, probably all of us, including myself, will purchase decent brand name cable with our valued gear (just in case it makes a difference). However, all electronic gear comes with power cable. Buying an expensive after market power cable is elective and not required. Some of these beautiful brand name power cables cost thousands of dollars (Esoteric Mexcel, Krell for example).

Question: Which of the two changes imporoves the sound of your system more:

1)Changing your stock power cables to an expensive high end after market power cable

2)Using the stock power cable and turning out the lights

I bet turning out the lights improves the sound just as much if not more than changing the power cables. Turning out the lights does nothing to the performance of your system, it is a psycho-acoustic effect.

How do you know that the improved sound that you perceive by installing the beautifully crafted, expensive, highly regarded after market brand name power cable is not psychological (placebo) unless you can identify it blindly?

I find testing/comparing speaker cable a pain in the neck. Lots of disconnecting, reconnecting, moving things, it is an effort. Testing power cables is less work, much easier to switch. I will do some testing within the next couple of weeks.

Just food for thought.