Regarding double blind testing, I would wager to the cable skeptics that they could not identify their personal favorite piece of gear, assuming it is functioning correctly, under this scenario either. Assuming that these posters own the 105, and appreciate its virtues, I am certain they could not reliably identify it in the short listening sessions, and unusual listening required by the methodology of the testing, yet they happily purchased the Oppos. In my system, I can definitely hear differences between different, fully functional, up to USB 2.0 standards USB cables, running from my Mac to either the 105 or the Metrum Hex. Yes, just 1's and 0's, but there is more to it than that. As to the placebo effect, well, of course it CAN occur, but the fact that it CAN does not mean that it always DOES. I have had some very surprising results in cable testing, totally unexpected. That is, I expected the opposite of what I heard. But hey, if you can't hear the difference, it saves you some money, so congratulations. Not everyones hearing is the same, or equipment, or environment, etc. But the cable industry is huge, so maybe it's possible that others can hear differences that some cannot? Would you say that if you cannot see something at a distance that no one else can either??
Just my thoughts, ymmv
