In the many forums that I have read, one goes away more bewildered than before reading them or entering into the discussion, because there is always those “experts” whose egos are so fragile as to fight to the end to make others see their point of view . . . and then subject themselves to their “superiors”, which in human nature rarely occurs, at least, not without a fight to the bitter end . . . and by the way, who ever actually wins?
How does one draw a conclusion that another individual’s hearing apparatus even operates the same as yours? Hearing frequencies can be tested, but starting with the shape of the external ears, which greatly differ from one individual to another, surely effects the beginning of sound production just as cupping the hands behind the ears or the wearing of earmuffs would change one’s perception.
I think there are devoted men, who are truly dedicated in the production of great products, but there are just as many unscrupulous people out to make a buck at the buyer’s expense. If you have the resources to afford the product and having a more expensive cable in your system floats your boat -- good for you, for you see, even among luxury cars, those who are loyal to one brand are going to defend the ride and performance regardless. Some things just come down to preference . . . and test results make prove a product to be superior in many ways, but if the convinced owner is convinced otherwise, you are wasting your breath to argue with them -- nobody actually wins.
For those who cannot afford to buy $39k plus for wire and would rather eat . . . the arguing is a mute point. Wear your designer clothes with the labels or logos on the outside of the garment so everyone can be impressed . . . besides, part of the fun of experimentation and the illusion produced is convincing oneself that you have made a great improvement and if others could only see and hear your choices . . . surely they too would become the enlightened ones also.
I truly believe that people hear differences, but regardless, it still comes down to what you prefer, what you can afford, and with what you can be content with as opposed to what you seemingly would prefer, but can never afford. For the tweaker, the fun is the discovery of a tweak here and a tweak there that makes them perceived great gains and therefore thinking they saved themselves a bundle and achieved the same results as someone who plunked down hundreds of thousands of dollars and is satisfied with their brand new toy.
There is always the frustration of the “seeker of the best” in this month’s magazine of experts, who often disagree among themselves from one magazine to another, much less from article to article, only to find the next month that your purchase has been reduced to number two or worse -- so, when does cost effectiveness take precedent over prestige and ego? Probably never, for a percentage of the pride of ownership lies in the quest for the “Superior Buyer of the Year Award” or becoming the recipient of the “Sucker of the Year Award” . . . do they still hand out those awards or has that too become politically incorrect?