Have we all been duped??

[PHC1]

Originally Posted by Poppyhome

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

Ron

Interesting, thanks for sharing Ron.

[damacman]

Grab a freebie RCA from the parts bin and any enthusiast (myself included) will arrive at the conclusion - If I'm serious about my craft, and I am, this has no place in any of my audio systems.

Grab a finely crafted RCA from the likes of Tara, Kimber, AQ, WW, etc - especially one terminated with esoteric ends like from WBT - and one arrives at the exact opposite conclusion - Now this is a cable.

Bias is simply unavoidable and is a factor that plays to perception. And perception is reality.

FWIW, I agree with Ethan and others who have gone out of their way to disprove wild performance claims pertaining to cables. However, I also own cables from Kimber and WW, in addition to those that I've painstakingly made myself with very high quality parts. And once upon a time in the '90s, I was the sales rep for Audioquest in Central Texas. Does that make me a hypocrite? Maybe. But, like Sarge, I've settled somewhere in the middle choosing well made components over cheaply made ones.

[Poppyhome]

Originally Posted by Antonmb

The major recording studios that target most commercial pop use the equipment that is most suitable and practical for their sonic and commercial goals. They are not focused on sound quality, and could care less if cables make a difference or not. There are also of course many smaller studios that are focused on sound quality that use more high-end equipment and cables. Reference Recordings is an example. This is an old argument that performance cables must not make a difference because the pros don’t use them. It’s irrelevant: the pros are trying to do something quite different from what a home audio system is trying to achieve. It’s like saying performance cars must not make a difference because professional taxi drivers don’t use them.

Your point being they don't care about sound quality and my point is I can't imagine a studio not caring and skimping on a miniscule fixed expense such as a wire, if it really made a difference.

If two studios were equal in all areas except for one — sound quality, an artist would surely choose that one.

Ron

[Antonmb]

Originally Posted by Poppyhome

Your point being they don't care about sound quality and my point is I can't imagine a studio not caring and skimping on a miniscule fixed expense such as a wire, if it really made a difference.



If two studios were equal in all areas except for one — sound quality, an artist would surely choose that one.



Ron

Ron, not that they don’t care about sound quality, but that they often prioritize commercial objectives over sound quality. And many artists will gladly choose the potential for commercial success over sound quality. Why else would there be so many compressed recordings? Remember the Beatles choosing to make their early recordings more transistor radio friendly? Recording studios (most) simply have different priorities. Many of the smaller boutique studios that prioritize sound quality do, in fact, use better cables. Years ago I was in a small studio in Nashville, and they had Cardas cables everywhere because they heard a difference. I have no problem with your disbelief in high-end cables, I also think there’s a lot of snake oil in this field, but I also believe some cables, such as Shunyata, do make a difference and provide real value. I also think it’s difficult to make the correlation between what enthusiasts use vs what professionals use, in this and many other fields of endeavor.

[Poppyhome]

It was actually quite pleasurable when I sold all my expensive cables for about the same I paid and in some instances made money.

Ron

[Poppyhome]

Example of good quality finely crafted inexpensive speaker cable.



Ron

[Masterlu]

Originally Posted by PHC1

Dan, as I have already mentioned in response to Ivan, I found the golden middle ground works for me. So whatever posts you may be referring to, may have been due to my own internal skepticism but unwillingness to let the idea go that cables may actually make a difference. If I haven't myself experimented with cables over the 30 plus years, I would have been sitting squarely in one camp or the other. Alas, I find myself a skeptic but not willing to use a lamp cord in my system either.

I do remain agnostic, I can neither disprove nor prove the advantage of Uber cables. What my imagination or ears tell me I may be hearing because I "expect" to hear something different is also not exactly proof of anything unfortunately. So all we are left with is, believe in what you want to believe when it comes to cables.

As far as getting a rise out of our members, that is not my intention although I do understand that perhaps English being my second language and some cultural differences, it may very well come across that way. If that is the case, my apologies as that is not my intention. I would hate to think that members get a serious rise out of a cable discussion. That would just be sad!

Not for nothing but I think my posts often do inspire some "deeper" thinking into the subject at hand? As long as things remain civil and with respect towards one another, I think it adds an element of interest at the expense of occasional ruffled feathers when our views oppose each other. At the end of the day, I love to hear other folks opinions on each and every subject we cover at AA and that's what makes this forum great.

So, assume for a moment that money was of absolutely no concern; you just won the Powerball.

Would your cables change then? Just trying to understand, and not be a troll on my own Forum.

[Puma Cat]

Originally Posted by Poppyhome

Good thread.

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.

Ron

Some professional customers (recording studios, mastering engineers, orchestras) do, some don't.

By way of example, Skywalker Ranch, Crest National Studios, Sony Music Studios, Sony Music Japan, Look Out Studios, James Guthrie, Rick Rubin, Doug Sax, Peter McGrath, the New Jersey Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Reference Recording Studio, et. al., use Shunyata Research cabling and power distribution products. As well as Meridian-America, VTL, BAT, Wilson Audio, Constellation Audio, etc.

My hypothesis is, as professionals, they have clear reasons for doing so.

[crwilli]

Originally Posted by jdandy

Serge.......... I occasionally think you might simply be playing devil's advocate for the sake of creating a rise and enjoying the conflicts that follow. At the very least whatever controversy being advanced by your posts, even the ones I disagree with, they are generally always entertaining. I'll give you that.

Well said Dan. I have been equally delighted and frustrated by many of Serge’s threads and posts but am always entertained.

Keep it up Serge!

[Puma Cat]

Originally Posted by Antonmb

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.

That's for sure, Tony.

And...everything is equally loud, with poor dynamic range. See attachments below a track in Roon by Aimee Mann, where everything is equally loud, vs. the track by Diana Krall, Live in Paris, where there is actually dynamic range.