Me: How do you explain the audiophile, such as myself and no doubt just about anyone who has actually tried a variety of power cords and hears differences among them (or any other component for that matter -- power cords are no different from anything else in this regard), who has had the experience of buying something that yes, they hoped would succeed and fulfill their expectations, and yes, paid good money for it, and no, their auditioning wasn't performed double-blind (of course), and yet, wound up NOT preferring the most expensive, or the newest, or the prettiest, or the best-reviewed item? This does happen not-infrequently in the real world...
Paperw8: You're effectively asking me to tell you what is going on in your head, and i can't do that. suffice it to say, and as noted earlier in this thread, this topic is a *highly* controversial one. in general, i have difficulty with stuff which seems to operate by magic. when i read comments about the presumed sonic benefits of power cords, and "tweaks" in general, my reaction is to think that these people should remember to wear their tin foil hats with the shiny side facing outward. in my mind, this stuff is no different than with other controversial topics like the loch ness monster, area 51 ufo theories, and the abominable snowman. Paperw8: I can't help but notice that you basically punted on my question. You said you couldn't know what was going in another audionphile's head, so to speak. Well of course, but I didn't ask you that: I asked what explanation you could offer for audiophile *behavior* that contravenes your assumptions about the supposedly confounding effects of presumed psychological factors. Mine was a valid question, which can't be satisfactorily sidestepped in your paradigm by refusing to consider the evidence. FYI, I am a scientifically-oriented skeptic and don't believe in any of those sorts of 'supernatural phenomena' that you equate with aftermarket power cords. I also don't believe in 'magic' or 'black box' audio tweaks with no apparent or plausible basis or explanation for their operation. But I think you make a fundamental mistake in conflating stuff like 'magic' pucks, pebbles, clocks etc. with upgraded power cords, and that it would be disingenuous to imply that the vastly greater number of audiophiles (and reviewers and manufacturers) who employ aftermarket cords are in the same camp as the much smaller number who use the typically faddish and ephemeral 'magic' tweaks. Contrary to your statement, power cords are actually not at all controversial -- not within the audiophile community, nor outside of it (since most nonaudiophiles not only have no experience with them, they don't even know such a thing exists). The much wider and more enduring acceptance among audiophiles of the efficacy of power cords vs. 'magic' tweaks should really tell you something, becuase unlike your caricature, the majority of audiophiles are in fact reasonably intelligent, scientifically aware rationalists, who aren't alien abductees or conspiracy theorists and don't wear tin hats. It's true. |
09-07-11: Zaikesman
Paperw8: I can't help but notice that you basically punted on my question. You said you couldn't know what was going in another audionphile's head, so to speak. Well of course, but I didn't ask you that: I asked what explanation you could offer for audiophile *behavior* that contravenes your assumptions about the supposedly confounding effects of presumed psychological factors. Mine was a valid question, which can't be satisfactorily sidestepped in your paradigm by refusing to consider the evidence.
what you offered were *your* opinions and *your* perceptions; both of which are the product of what is going on in your head. i will tell you that observing differences in system performances based on cable selection is not a universal phenomenon. in fact, i watched one commentary about thiel speakers in which the person raved about the speakers but said that she couldn't really tell the difference when the merchant switched cables in the system. you may also want to look at some of the articles cited in posts b rwwear... |
09-07-11: Mrtennis
i think most would agree that many statements made on the discussion forums cannot be proven, because they are opinions, not facts or knowledge.
to a certain extent, it's like trying to prove/disprove the existence of santa claus or the easter bunny. but let's think about this logically: you just spent big money on, say, a power amplifier. you would like to think that the maker put great thought into the design of *every* detail in the amplifier. but then, by a mere change of power cord you discover that they didn't spend time thinking through the detail of supplying a sufficient power cord to enable to amplifier to achieve its peak performance. in other words, you've been gypped! if the maker of that power amplifier did not even show enough care to select the right power cord, what does that suggest about the rest of the system? do you see where this is heading? |
09-07-11: Tbg
Rwwear, no one owes you proof. I doubt seriously if many audiophiles avoid trying different power cords because several people, imbued with the "laws of EE," claim they could make no difference.
let me give you a hypothetical: a person goes to an audio store, spends $50,000 to buy a power amplifier and later concludes: "i'll gladly spend another $2,500 to get a power cord that will make my amplifier sound even better!" i would think that most people hearing that hypothetical would conclude that the buyer was a fool, one who maybe had a bit too much money on his hands. you would think if the buyer discovered the undeniable sonic benefits of this alternative cable, that he would go back to the maker of the amplifier and angrily demand to know why they sold a $50,000 amplifier with a sub-standard power cord. to bring the discussion to the present discussion; if you really are so convinced of the putative benefits of power cords, then you and the rest of the "believers" in this stuff, should be calling the makers of high end audio equipment to account for shipping sub-standard products at super-standard prices. of course, if you go to the makers with these kinds of allegations, you're going to have to substantiate them, but i am not expecting you, or anyone in the "audiophile reviewer" community to initiate such a line of inquiry. the fact that there has been no such inquiry points to reasons to be suspicious of the claims of "dramatic" sonic benefits based on cable/cord selection. let's face it, cable is probably the most lucrative product line in the "audio tweaks" product category. and the thing is, when people are spending tens of thousands of dollars (or more) on audio systems, its easy to drop a few hundred (or thousand) bucks more on "tweaks" because comparatively speaking, it looks like a relatively small amount of money. |
Paperw8, why do you care? It is not your money nor your listening. It sounds like you are offended for others, why would that be? |
