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First, let me say that I really dislike vitriolic threads regarding blind testing, and this is not an attempt to start one. But we're all trying to make our way through the crazy world of high-end audio/home theater, and most of us have to decide at some point what we're going to spend on cables/power conditioners/ac cables.
I come from a skeptical mindset ("prove it"), but I also keep an open mind because, like any other HT/Audio nut, I want to improve my system any way I can. So, I have a few "boutique" cables in my system (some on "open" loan from audio pals). I love my tube amps. I have some isolation devices under my CD player etc. I've also performed quite a few blind and double blind tests on some cables/speakers/amps/cd players. I have no problem whatsoever with blind tests, as I enjoy learning and even having my pre-conceptions over-turned.
To that end, here's one experience I had a while back with some pricey, well-regarded Power cables. I'm curious what others on this forum would have done in my place. The power cables will go un-named for reasons I'll get to.
I receive three levels of power cable, made by a very highly touted company that specializes in such devices. They were (are) truly the cable de jour. Raves were posted on the audio forums about the amazing transformations rendered by these AC cables.
1st cable was around $100. 2nd cost about $250. Third over $500.
I demoed the cables sighted, against a $15 military-grade AC cord. Cable 1 and 2 did not produce any audible difference that I could discern (and, as a picky audiophile, I am very used to finding tiny audible differences). The expensive cable #3, which had never failed to produce "Wows" from anyone who wrote about it, was more elaborated in design.
When I put #3 into the system, I felt I heard a change in the sound. The system sounded a bit darker, more lush, but also a bit more transparent, and the soundstage "expanded" a bit. The most obvious trait, to my perception, was the change or darkening of the upper frequencies (maybe it's just taken away some of the hash up there, I wondered).
I left Cable #3 in my system for a couple weeks. After one week, I realized that I wasn't sure my system actually sounded any different than what I've always heard. The system didn't really sound rolled off to me anymore.
Was I just used to the new sound now? Or had the cable finally changed it's sound by breaking in, as the manufacturer suggested? Or, did the cable never change the sound to begin with?
I call an audio buddy. We blind test the big cable #3 against that $15 cable. In sited tests before my friend showed up, I still thought I might be hearing a difference between the cheap and the expensive cable, but not as decisively as I'd originally perceived. In the blind test, my friend swapped the cables instead of me, without letting me know which he'd used (we did a pre-test to see if I could determine which AC cord he'd swapped simply by listening to his actions, and I could not).
Result: Utterly random. As hard as I tried, I could not tell the expensive cable from the cheap cable. Sometimes when I heard the cheap cable I thought it was the expensive one, and visa versa. My guesses were completely random, and I could find no sonic signature to identify one from the other.
So, dear forum members, I'm curious: What would you do, given this experience? Would you rely on the previous subjective experience, saying "Screw the blind test, I think this cable improves my system and 'm buying it!" Or, would you look at the blind test results as an indicator that it was not really worth your money, and you were probably mistaken in your subjective evaluation?
To let you know what I did: I sent the cords back. I could not justify spending big money on something that I could not reliably tell apart from what I already owned. (Whereas, I HAVE identified my high-end CD player against cheaper ones in double blind tests).
What do you think?
Rich H.
BTW, I won't name the product because I don't want to thank those who lent me the cables by publicly slagging them in any way.
I come from a skeptical mindset ("prove it"), but I also keep an open mind because, like any other HT/Audio nut, I want to improve my system any way I can. So, I have a few "boutique" cables in my system (some on "open" loan from audio pals). I love my tube amps. I have some isolation devices under my CD player etc. I've also performed quite a few blind and double blind tests on some cables/speakers/amps/cd players. I have no problem whatsoever with blind tests, as I enjoy learning and even having my pre-conceptions over-turned.
To that end, here's one experience I had a while back with some pricey, well-regarded Power cables. I'm curious what others on this forum would have done in my place. The power cables will go un-named for reasons I'll get to.
I receive three levels of power cable, made by a very highly touted company that specializes in such devices. They were (are) truly the cable de jour. Raves were posted on the audio forums about the amazing transformations rendered by these AC cables.
1st cable was around $100. 2nd cost about $250. Third over $500.
I demoed the cables sighted, against a $15 military-grade AC cord. Cable 1 and 2 did not produce any audible difference that I could discern (and, as a picky audiophile, I am very used to finding tiny audible differences). The expensive cable #3, which had never failed to produce "Wows" from anyone who wrote about it, was more elaborated in design.
When I put #3 into the system, I felt I heard a change in the sound. The system sounded a bit darker, more lush, but also a bit more transparent, and the soundstage "expanded" a bit. The most obvious trait, to my perception, was the change or darkening of the upper frequencies (maybe it's just taken away some of the hash up there, I wondered).
I left Cable #3 in my system for a couple weeks. After one week, I realized that I wasn't sure my system actually sounded any different than what I've always heard. The system didn't really sound rolled off to me anymore.
Was I just used to the new sound now? Or had the cable finally changed it's sound by breaking in, as the manufacturer suggested? Or, did the cable never change the sound to begin with?
I call an audio buddy. We blind test the big cable #3 against that $15 cable. In sited tests before my friend showed up, I still thought I might be hearing a difference between the cheap and the expensive cable, but not as decisively as I'd originally perceived. In the blind test, my friend swapped the cables instead of me, without letting me know which he'd used (we did a pre-test to see if I could determine which AC cord he'd swapped simply by listening to his actions, and I could not).
Result: Utterly random. As hard as I tried, I could not tell the expensive cable from the cheap cable. Sometimes when I heard the cheap cable I thought it was the expensive one, and visa versa. My guesses were completely random, and I could find no sonic signature to identify one from the other.
So, dear forum members, I'm curious: What would you do, given this experience? Would you rely on the previous subjective experience, saying "Screw the blind test, I think this cable improves my system and 'm buying it!" Or, would you look at the blind test results as an indicator that it was not really worth your money, and you were probably mistaken in your subjective evaluation?
To let you know what I did: I sent the cords back. I could not justify spending big money on something that I could not reliably tell apart from what I already owned. (Whereas, I HAVE identified my high-end CD player against cheaper ones in double blind tests).
What do you think?
Rich H.
BTW, I won't name the product because I don't want to thank those who lent me the cables by publicly slagging them in any way.