Have we all been duped??
 

I came across this video which allegedly debunks many of our beliefs regarding cables.

Even if the "null equation" is true, I still believe that cables can make a difference but maybe I have partaken of too much audio "Kool-Aid"! :D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyWt...CzxsL7R9bZOv-Q

Really? :boring:

How can anyone challenge what someone saw, heard, and believes.

Have we all been duped??
 

Bob Carver used the same principle when testing and comparing amplifiers. He too ruffled some feathers.

Null difference testing would be a great tool to show differences between entry level and totl cables within the range of a manufacturer. None of them does. I wonder why that is.

To claim that there is a difference when a null difference measurement shows there isn’t is like claiming 1-1=1

...but then...cables are like religion...there is no point in debating them. Everyone is free to believe what they want.

Have we all been duped??
 

It is how progress and innovation work

Greg.......To this day my ears remain the ultimate authority for what pleases my sense of hearing and my state of mind when enjoying music. I let my ears be my guide. This approach has served me well.

He makes perfect sense. I kept waiting for him to explain why cables sound different but he never did.

Darn.

Good thread. :thumbsup:

An entire industry has been created with millions spent and millions made, hence Ethan is not liked.

One thing I can't understand is why pro audio which relies on the best reproduction of their music, typically uses only well made inexpensive wires. :scratch2:

Ron

Ethan Winer challenges Paul McGowan to a public debate https://youtu.be/6rB2W0umdq0

Ron

Have we all been duped??
 

Because most of pro audio is in it to make money, not great sound, and produces compressed recordings with poor sound targeted at 256-320kbps streaming.

Good video Greg. :thumbsup:

I applaud his enthusiasm and the effort of building the equipment to prove whether there is or there is not a difference using the Null method. :applause: He seems like a very rational, knowledgeable and enthusiastic audiophile and a professional audio engineer.

Pretty sure most of us are aware that cables have never been successfully tested by any scientific instrument or method to prove once and for all they can make a difference, at least not in any way, shape or form that would actually apply to the audio band frequencies or parameters that would indicate it would be audible and relevant to our systems. :no: The Null test only confirms the fact that even if there is a difference due to resistance, capacitance or inductance of a cable, it would be way below the audible threshold of a human ear.

At the end of the day it all boils down to only one thing. If one "believes" he should be hearing a difference, a difference will be heard. :yes: It is human nature. For the same reason that there is always a "placebo" group that has spontaneous healing because they "believe" they are getting the medication and a cure for their ailment. Science is aware of that fact hence there is typically a placebo group included in trials.

When faced with the task of a blind test, no one can hear a difference and be 100% right all the time, hence the 50/50 results which are the norm and confirms statistical "guess" at best.

Now, unbox an Uber expensive cable, insert into a system and the first few moments may be those uncomfortable moments of hesitation and doubt which will quickly fade as the ears start to convince otherwise... :D Listen some more, log into your favorite audio forum and be forever convinced that your doubt about the Uber cable purchase is unwarranted. The cable needed a "settling" and a "break in" period, that John, Ed, Joe and Stewart have indeed heard a difference and it wasn't trivial. Confirmation! :banana:

So what just happened? Did science just fail us? Nope, it didn't, it is all perfectly normal, science did tell us there is such a thing as "psychoacoutic effect" as well as showing us there is no significant enough difference in cables that matters.

Let's not ignore the fact that the "imagined" difference because it is expected to be there is just as "real" to our ears and brains. :yes:

We choose to go on with the "mystical aspect" instead and the most important part as any cable manufacturer knows all too well, is the "getting the people to believe" part. Hence the fancy marketing. :yes:


So in the end, I think it is best not to try to convince each other either way. It is a personal choice after all. If folks hear a difference and believe in the difference, even if it is not measurable or confirmed by science, so be it. The cables may not hold up to scrutiny of science but they sure generate lots of interest, wonder, expectations, expenditure and satisfaction. We are human after all. :D