Cables that measure the same but (seem?) to sound different


I have been having an extended dialogue with a certain objectivist who continues to insist to me that if two wires measure the same, in a stable acoustic environment, they must sound the same.

In response, I have told him that while I am not an engineer or in audio, I have heard differences in wires while keeping the acoustic environment static. I have told him that Robert Harley, podcasters, YouTuber's such as Tarun, Duncan Hunter and Darren Myers, Hans Beekhuyzen, Paul McGowan have all testified to extensive listening experiments where differences were palpable. My interlocutor has said that either it is the placebo effect, they're shilling for gear or clicks, or they're just deluded.

I've also pointed out that to understand listening experience, we need more than a few measurement; we also need to understand the physiology and psychological of perceptual experience, as well as the interpretation involved. Until those elements are well understood, we cannot even know what, exactly, to measure for. I've also pointed out that for this many people to be shills or delusionaries is a remote chance at best.

QUESTION: Who would you name as among the most learned people in audio, psychoacoustics, engineering, and psychology who argue for the real differences made by interconnects, etc.?
hilde45

Showing 1 response by clearthinker

The sound that gets to the brain and is 'heard' is different to that entering the ears.  Because there is a brain in between.  The brain is like an AD converter.  It adds and subtracts artifacts.  Indeed it is much less compliant than an AD converter since it adds emotion (aka placebo effect).  Psycho issues beset those who report differences.

They don't like it but only consistent differences found in double blind ABX tests carry any validity at all.  All other results are nulled by non sound-related brain activity.

Yes @rudyb it does 'all become more difficult in a blind test'.
Many report that emotional and nervous issues reduce their discriminatory ability.  This is just a cover-up because they do not 'hear' the differences in a correctly implemented scientific test.  There should be minimum delay between presentations of A B and X.

I repeat: reports in circumstances where I listen to my system, spend 5 or 10 minutes changing wires, and then listen again 15 minutes later and report differences CARRY NO VALIDITY AT ALL.