Interconnects and non-believers

Prof - Maybe I’ve been unfair to you, as your last post makes much more sense than your original reply to me

To refresh your memory, my suggestion was to let people make up their own minds. Now, it seems like you’re agreeing with that.

I agree 100% with you that NEITHER side of the cable debate should ’crusade’. So, yes, when you turn my quote around it is EQUALLY valid.

I went back and re-read the OP, and I can see your point. Honestly, he sounded to me like someone who just now realized that cables can make a difference and wanted to share. (That last line about "dogma or delusion" was 100% unnecessary.)

Sorry about this long post, but I’d like to clarify a few things...

I think each person should determine for themselves whether they hear differences in cables, how any such differences present themselves and whether they are worth the price of the cable (or indeed, if they are an improvement).

I personally DO think cables affect sound, and I think there are scientific explanations as to why they do. Some of these are known, and some we have yet to discover.

I also believe that when you observe a difference that you cannot measure, ’science’ means to look for new measurements, rather than assuming you already know everything there is to know about the physical universe.

The reason I believe that cables affect sound is that I’ve HEARD it many many times, not due to any ’dogma’. I do believe in blind tests, and these differences do show up blind or otherwise. In fact, they are often so evident that no blind test is really needed. Though I still use blind tests to decide on preference, if that is not clear (or to confirm it). I also like to get a few other sets of ears in the room to see if they hear what I do,

MOST IMPORTANT...

1. There ARE newbies on these forums who will accept your (or someone’s) opinion as a "more experienced audiophile" rather than listening for themselves. It may be impossible for them to audition for themselves... or they may just be lazy. But I KNOW it happens, because I have people tell me "what [they] read on Audiogon.

So it IS important that we not close any minds here while expressing our opinions & experiences.

2. The other thing that drives me crazy, and IMHO ruins threads like these are these ’flame wars’ between certain posters (you know who you are) that serve no purpose for the rest of us. Guys, exchange e-mails and go at it. We’re trying to have a discussion here.

Any time you're telling somebody they are "wrong", or throwing shade & snark, or comparing the size of your "credentials", you’re wasting everybody else’s time and ruining the thread. This is about audio, not you.

BTW, thanks to the posters who endorsed my common-sense solution of letting everybody figure this out for themselves. Thanks for being open-minded, and

Happy Listening to Everyone! (Prof, Peace!)

Prof - I understand your skepticism about burn-in.  All I can tell you is that I've heard it's effects by testing identical interconnects after one set spent 48 hrs. on a cable-cooker.  There were 5 or 6 people there.  We all clearly hard the difference and could identify the 'cooked' cable.  And only one of us knew which cable was which. 

We did that test specifically due to skepticism (like yours) that maybe you just "get used" to components & cables, rather than any real burn-in.

But Prof, speakers??  You've got to be kidding.  They're essentially motors with moving parts, and there WILL be physical break-in, always.

If you know a dealer, this is an easy blind test too.  Have him set up two pair of the same spkrs - his broken-in demos and a pair straight out of the box.  I'll be very surprised if they sound the same to you.

Now, I'll agree with you that for most applications, wires do not need break-in.  They conduct electricity very well 'out of the box'.  But there's something different (more!) going on when they're used in audio. 

We're probably (IMHO 'clearly') dealing with things that a heart monitor or a computer don't 'care' about.

At least that is what I've heard many times over many years.