Power Cord Challenge


I've got a couple of weeks off before starting a new job. As I clearly fall into the camp of those who suspect no purely audible differences exist (except in pathologic cases of too-small cords or RFI interference), here's a challenge:

If you live in the San Jose, CA area, let's get together and put this to the test. Your system, your choice of music, I supply a stock power cord to test against your exotic. We play both cords blind (identified as A and B) for a reasonable amout of time; I then play one of the two (randomly chosen through a coin flip) for a reasonable amount of time and you identify it as either A or B. We'll do 10 trials for some statistical significance.

Given that some claim drastic and easily heard differences ("blacker background", "music is more alive", etc., etc., etc.), it should be trivial to get right and shouldn't take more than 5-10 minutes per trial. The kicker: you get 9 or 10 right and I'll give you $500! The downside: 8 or less correct and you donate $250 to the Red Cross. Hey, I'm even giving you 2 for 1 odds!

Regardless of the outcome, we post the results to this site. Any takers?

Cheers,
JHunter
jhunter
Hi Jhunter, to my place from LAX is about a 45 minute drive depending on traffic. You are welcome anytime. Just give me a few days notice. You can pick up Dekay on your way down from the airport. We'll have a good old time.
Jhunter, Ventura is 1 1/2 hours from El Segundo on a good day. And picking up Dekay would take another 2 hours with traffic.
Great idea... this topic is never ending on this forum. :) I like the fact that there is money riding on it. I'd love to send a cable for the test. I will say this...9/10 is a pretty tough goal. My audio memory is like 3 seconds at best so I wouldn't put my money up. I think if you could do 7/10 on several different occasions on some kind of regular basis it would say more about the validity.
jhunter - I like this. I will contribute another $500 to the first person that can pick an exotic line cord from a stock one. This brings the odds to 4 to 1. It would be worth 500 bucks to find out that people can really do this. It's only the taste of crow that would be unpleasant.
Brulee, and Jhunter too; I admire you guys style-- and best of luck to both. Cheers. Craig