Sedond: If I told you what I use, I wouldn't have the fun of seeing a bunch of people telling me what _they_ think it is. ;-)
Albertporter: Obviously what? You make a lot of assumptions on things you know nothing about, Albert. Maybe that's why you disapprove of blind listening tests? To me, valid tests require that assumptions and biases be eliminated and that they be maximally sensitive. That means double-blind testing, especially ABX. Non-blind listening tests are so easily fudged that they aren't worth a bucket of warm spit except to the person making a sale.
Brulee: When I put in something new, I don't expect a change in sound unless I purposely alter something that will obviously change the signal; I wait to listen to see if there actually is a change. Expecting a change is an assumption, an article of faith, a baseless and premature decision. To be open minded, you have to first prove that there is a change; then you can decide if it's a change for the better or not. I don't expect a change with PCs because in my experience, any design engineer halfway competent or better is going to make his power supply robust enough to handle AC that varies over some range, and a change in the AC wires to the outlet just isn't going to make a detectable difference unless the wires are actually damaged. I'd like to try some of the fancy PCs some time in a proper double-blind test with a bunch of different listeners who are sharp and then publish the results. It's not a priority, though, just because I've got a lot of other stuff on my plate already, and those that pay the bills get first dibs. Some people whose opinion and audio knowledge I respect have done numerous blind tests of all sorts of cables and found that within certain parameters (for example, comparing a 12 gauge speaker cable, whether it's zip cord or something fancy, to a 24 gauge wire would be an absurd thing), they don't affect the sound because their electrical effects are minimal enough. OTOH, I've yet to find or read about anyone who actually knows audio and electronics (and I don't mean just knowing the buzzwords or how to sell) who genuinely believes in fancy special cables AND can prove that they're better.
Albertporter: Obviously what? You make a lot of assumptions on things you know nothing about, Albert. Maybe that's why you disapprove of blind listening tests? To me, valid tests require that assumptions and biases be eliminated and that they be maximally sensitive. That means double-blind testing, especially ABX. Non-blind listening tests are so easily fudged that they aren't worth a bucket of warm spit except to the person making a sale.
Brulee: When I put in something new, I don't expect a change in sound unless I purposely alter something that will obviously change the signal; I wait to listen to see if there actually is a change. Expecting a change is an assumption, an article of faith, a baseless and premature decision. To be open minded, you have to first prove that there is a change; then you can decide if it's a change for the better or not. I don't expect a change with PCs because in my experience, any design engineer halfway competent or better is going to make his power supply robust enough to handle AC that varies over some range, and a change in the AC wires to the outlet just isn't going to make a detectable difference unless the wires are actually damaged. I'd like to try some of the fancy PCs some time in a proper double-blind test with a bunch of different listeners who are sharp and then publish the results. It's not a priority, though, just because I've got a lot of other stuff on my plate already, and those that pay the bills get first dibs. Some people whose opinion and audio knowledge I respect have done numerous blind tests of all sorts of cables and found that within certain parameters (for example, comparing a 12 gauge speaker cable, whether it's zip cord or something fancy, to a 24 gauge wire would be an absurd thing), they don't affect the sound because their electrical effects are minimal enough. OTOH, I've yet to find or read about anyone who actually knows audio and electronics (and I don't mean just knowing the buzzwords or how to sell) who genuinely believes in fancy special cables AND can prove that they're better.