@prof
Ok DONE!!
So here it is for what its worth. Here is the short of it.
Comparing the MA cable with the AQ cable where the MA cable has been burn in for 400+ hours:
We did 8 samples of the same record blind folded and leaving the room while my Son swapped between the 2 cables. He also said that he left the same cable on once during the session. The sample that the cable was not swapped was on the 6th session. Since you guys questioned our criteria for the tape test we agreed we would simply pick which one we felt sounded better for whatever reason, and not discuss it until after the test was complete.
Below are the highlights.
Me: I picked the AQ cable 8 out of 8 times for the cable that sounded better. Also the AQ cable is the cable that was left connected twice in a row. The difference to me was the AQ cable had slightly better highs and mids, and the ghost image was right were I thought it should be. Overall the music seemed to just sound more pleasing. More clear, and natrual. The MA cable sounded good but had heavier bass to me. The music overall just sounded heavier if that makes sense. Still subjective because i you like a heavier feel to your music then you may have picked that cable to sound better, but to me the AQ cable had the edge. Not very different than my initial comparison however then I felt that the MA cable had slightly better imaging. The MA cable did produce a decent sound stage but in a blind test the AQ did a better job with.
My Friend:
Also selected the AQ cable 8 out of the 8 times He felt that the MA cable sounded good, but just overall the AQ cable sounded a tab bit more clear. He also agreed that it was a little bass heavy that simply colored the music just a little to much. His suggestion was to turn the subs down and re-test until I explained to him the the subs were actually off. His comment was " it felt like there was just something missing" I tend to agree. MA claims you will hear things in your music that you never heard before. That was not the case in this comparison but just the opposite.
My wife:
Gave up after 2nd swap. I think she was simply tired of the whole thing honestly.
The boy was swapping and had no vote.
So what does it all mean? Not much different than my original findings. My conclusion is still that the MA cable did come up after burn in. The A/B on tape showed it. The very fact that the MA cable sounded very very close post burn in to my existing cable is also proof enough to me to say that burn in made a difference. Thats all I am trying to prove with this. The cable now sounds good enough to actually use but not good enough to spend the money on it to just switch cables. If you want to question my method Im sure some will do and thats ok. There is no way to do this in a vacuum, but it still does not make it less valid. I am not saying that the cable blows me away by any means, but it does sound better after the 400 hours and that should be a feather in MA's cap. I feel they are telling the truth about the need for the break in.
Cheers and Happy New Year everyone
Ok DONE!!
So here it is for what its worth. Here is the short of it.
Comparing the MA cable with the AQ cable where the MA cable has been burn in for 400+ hours:
We did 8 samples of the same record blind folded and leaving the room while my Son swapped between the 2 cables. He also said that he left the same cable on once during the session. The sample that the cable was not swapped was on the 6th session. Since you guys questioned our criteria for the tape test we agreed we would simply pick which one we felt sounded better for whatever reason, and not discuss it until after the test was complete.
Below are the highlights.
Me: I picked the AQ cable 8 out of 8 times for the cable that sounded better. Also the AQ cable is the cable that was left connected twice in a row. The difference to me was the AQ cable had slightly better highs and mids, and the ghost image was right were I thought it should be. Overall the music seemed to just sound more pleasing. More clear, and natrual. The MA cable sounded good but had heavier bass to me. The music overall just sounded heavier if that makes sense. Still subjective because i you like a heavier feel to your music then you may have picked that cable to sound better, but to me the AQ cable had the edge. Not very different than my initial comparison however then I felt that the MA cable had slightly better imaging. The MA cable did produce a decent sound stage but in a blind test the AQ did a better job with.
My Friend:
Also selected the AQ cable 8 out of the 8 times He felt that the MA cable sounded good, but just overall the AQ cable sounded a tab bit more clear. He also agreed that it was a little bass heavy that simply colored the music just a little to much. His suggestion was to turn the subs down and re-test until I explained to him the the subs were actually off. His comment was " it felt like there was just something missing" I tend to agree. MA claims you will hear things in your music that you never heard before. That was not the case in this comparison but just the opposite.
My wife:
Gave up after 2nd swap. I think she was simply tired of the whole thing honestly.
The boy was swapping and had no vote.
So what does it all mean? Not much different than my original findings. My conclusion is still that the MA cable did come up after burn in. The A/B on tape showed it. The very fact that the MA cable sounded very very close post burn in to my existing cable is also proof enough to me to say that burn in made a difference. Thats all I am trying to prove with this. The cable now sounds good enough to actually use but not good enough to spend the money on it to just switch cables. If you want to question my method Im sure some will do and thats ok. There is no way to do this in a vacuum, but it still does not make it less valid. I am not saying that the cable blows me away by any means, but it does sound better after the 400 hours and that should be a feather in MA's cap. I feel they are telling the truth about the need for the break in.
Cheers and Happy New Year everyone