Have we all been duped??

[mulveling]

Ethan Winer is one of the worst people for this hobby. Endlessly starts fights on audio groups, especially the Facebook groups. Pretends to be protecting us poor uninformed consumers from "evil" snake oil salesmen, but then endlessly shills his expensive ugly panels literally everywhere on the internet, for the last 15+ years. Plus he's just a really weird guy.

Have any of you seen the picture of his system? It looks like 95% of the budget went towards his panels, with 5% for the rest of his gear - absolutely nothing recognizable as a quality component. As usual, the overly vocal & pushy objectivity has a trash system, hmm...I wouldn't be surprised if the output from his null tester results in a more exiting listen than music on his actual system.

[Masterlu]

Originally Posted by PHC1

Clap, Clap, Clap, Clap but the Emperor still has no clothes... https://www.nationalgeographic.com/s...-and-new-ones/

Where do you find this stuff?

[jimtranr]

Does the null test explain the expansion of, among others, Manhattan Center, the St. George Hotel, and Boston Symphony Hall this dupe hears (as does, incidentally, his non-audiophile but better-eared partner) with his latest power cord swap? Similarly, the improved parsing (let alone the layering) of vocal and instrumental choirs? We're not talking subtle, you-have-to-put-your-ear-to-the-speaker differences here.

Does confirmation bias work both ways--i.e., is someone who lives by the oscilloscope unlikely to hear differences that for whatever reason don't reveal themselves in the waveform (perhaps--and I know this is a cheap shot--because the cord feeding AC to the 'scope lets in a lot of piggybacking power-grid crap)?

Might it be that what we listen to and what we listen for (to say nothing of where we listen) are, to some degree at least, drivers of the positions we take in this beaten-to-death-several-times-over argument?

I know--answering the OP's question with a lot more of them. LIke the curmudgeon I am.

[PHC1]

Originally Posted by Masterlu

Where do you find this stuff?

A team led by the French acoustics researcher Claudia Fritz published a study showing that blindfolded professional violinists could not tell the difference between a so-called Old Italian violin (they tested instruments made by both Stradivari and Guarneri) and a new violin.

[PHC1]

So not only have the professional players been unable to identify a Strad, it turns out Players favor new violins over old in largest ever blind testing experiment.

Five years after the 2012 blind test of old Italian and new violins in Paris and New York, fresh analysis has found that new instruments "project" more effectively


The soloists taking part in the study were: Yi-Jia Susanne Hou (Canada), Ilya Kaler (pictured, Russia), Elmar Oliveira (US), Tatsuki Narita (France), Solenne Païdassi (France), Marie-Annick Nicolas (France) and Giora Schmidt (US).

The PNAS report concludes: 'The results are unambiguous: listeners found that new violins projected better than those by Stradivari....Moreover, listeners generally preferred the new instruments. Though the listeners came from various professional backgrounds (and included musicians, violin-makers, and acousticians), very similar results were obtained from all backgrounds. We find a strong correlation between projection with and without orchestra. This seems fortunate for both players and researchers in that an orchestra is evidently not required to meaningfully test projection.'

Yeah, I'd say a human perception of price and expected performance has MUCH to do with cables as well.

[jdandy]

[jdandy]

[IMG][/IMG]

[damacman]

If nothing else, this thread has definitely provided some levity!

[prepress]

This thread is interesting and frustrating and fun. I read the comments, but haven't watched the video yet, and to be frank, I'm not sure what it has to tell me that will be helpful. I am not a full-blown hobbyist as many here are and my technical knowledge is slight. Nevertheless, I will toss this in, and from that perspective.

Much of what I've read reminds me of the science vs. God debate; by strict empirical means one cannot prove the existence of God, yet there is indirect evidence that points to His existence. People debate that all the time. There are many things that science can't explain, and the more atheistic/agnostic among them will not acknowledge a transcendent explanation for said things as a possibility because their worldview doesn't allow for it. I wonder if it isn't the same for the "cables make/don't make a difference" debate.

I didn't come to the cable thing with any particular expectations one way or another. I did believe (with more than a little naiveté perhaps) that well made, heavier gauge cables were better for signal transfer. I don't know if power cords or speaker cables were part of the video and missed any references that might have been made in the conversation thus far, but I have noticed real differences in sound with power cords and speaker cables much more so than interconnects. I've documented my experience with swapping out a WW Electra power cord for a Transparent HPPC and being blown away by the difference; I wasn't expecting ANY sonic changes, as I swapped out the WW because I wanted a more secure IEC connection, as the WW would droop and lose connection sometimes. The two cords are both 12AWG, so gauge isn't a factor; materials and construction are the main difference, probably. A pair of Transparent Premiums replaced the HPPCs on my power amps (10AWG vs. 12AWG on the HPPC) and I heard some improvement in the lower frequencies, though nothing earth-shaking. I remember swapping out some Linn speaker cables for Tara Labs RSC way back when and being blown away.

As for interconnects, I swapped out a pair of Kimber Hero for Transparent Plus on my SACD player and the sound was quite similar, with the Plus a bit smoother on top. I was listening specifically to the top end because of bright-sounding CDs and was experimenting with this change. If I remember correctly, some AQ King Cobra sounded about the same as the Plus, though I did no direct comparisons. I got a pair of Transparent Super to replace the MusicLink Plus pair connecting my preamp and power amps, but don't recall hearing anything that different. I have not experimented with swapping the Super with the Plus on my SACD player to see if there's a difference. The Super has a heavier-gauge conductor and may make a difference; I don't know.

I have very good ears and know what to listen for in terms of what I like, and roll my eyes at the extremely expensive cables out there, having a hard time believing they make that much difference past a certain point. My take overall is that cables can make a real difference, but don't always necessarily.

Time for breakfast.

[prepress]

Originally Posted by jdandy

This is funny! Rodriguez's cartoons were my favorite part of Stereo Review back in the day.