a great take on big$ cables

You guys act like it's all real, as though facts and truth are the same thing. Rocks are hard, that's a fact (yes, yes, I know that not all rocks are hard, but let's pick nits later). But truth is a concept, like beauty. Its really all in your heads. Are we really what we seem? Or could be we be artifacts living in something like the Matrix? Or just the dream of a sleeping god? Ultimately there is no way to know; one can obsess about it and either go nuts or found a religion, or one can just get on with having the experience. If it feels real, treat it like its real. Our brains use data from all our senses together. Close your eyes, hold your nose and taste a lemon; it'll taste different, but it's still a lemon. The fact that your senses act synergystically does not invalidate the experience. And not knowing why also does not invalidate the experience. You don't need to know why a rock is hard to get bashed in the head.

I'm an engineer, and there have been many times in the past that I've confused facts with truth, it's an occupational hazard. When someone refers to the studies like those on Mr. Russell's website, they are bringing just as much preconceived baggage into their experience as anyone else, under the illusion that they hold The Truth. So what if copper1 is the same as copper2? Duh! What does that have to do with cables that are made by people in different ways to acheive specific effects, and just happen to use conductors? Are all cars the same because they are made of metal and plastic?

Double blind testing is needed when there are subtle differences, and remember that "subtle" will vary: a trained perfume maker would not need double blind testing where a pig farmer might.

These different cables whack me right in the ear, I don't need to close my eyes to be sure I'm not being swayed by pretty colors or esoteric theories (although I bet scientific studies would show that things sound better if you're happy!).

Whew! Sorry for the rampage, I just drank some coffee (and actually I have done double blind tests to see if premium coffee is any different). Come to think of it, I've done a lots testing of beer too. It's all different, but that's OK with me. Savor the experience.

But I do know why it sounds different. It sounds different because you don't even bother to level-match before you do comparisons. Or it "sounds" different because you imagine it to sound different. That's the science you don't know. Go learn it.

Pabelson:

But I do know why it sounds different.

No, you mean you ASSUME. Based on what? Absolute self-appointed authority?

It sounds different because you don't even bother to level-match before you do comparisons. Or it "sounds" different because you imagine it to sound different. That's the science you don't know. Go learn it.

I'll let you level match the boombox to the main system. I'll bring my own sig gen, scope and distortion analyzer for you to do a better job. If you want, I'll calculate the Fourier transform for you on paper, how about that?
Still think I don't know what I'm saying?
A scientific approach is based on observations, forming a theory and then showing that the theory predicts correctly other events, not forming the "super theory" and sticking to it no matter what.
Trouble is that with all that engineering knowledge I cannot ignore obvious OBSERVATIONS and you do. That's the only scientific difference, having an inquiring mind or dismissing what does not "fit our theory" based on "assumptions" like the quoted post (in its entirety - no editing).

Serus: You're the one who's ignoring observations. You're ignoring all the cases where people have claimed to hear differences where there really were none to be heard (like where the switch wasn't flipped). Ignoring half the data is not the way to good science, my friend.

Cables that have larger capacitive or inductive characteristics than plain old speaker wire could act as filters on the audio signal, shifting it's tonal balance.

If you've ever messed around putting caps and resistors in a phono stage to match a cartridge, its likely you've heard the difference these reactive circuit elements can make, for example moving the perceived depth of someone's voice forward or backward in the soundstage.

I think this is a physical effect, not imaginary.