“The only thing I bring to this site is my opinion. My opinion is worthless without a certain measure of credibility”. Quite possibly the reason that you WERE approached in the 1st place is for the reasons you yourself stated above, it is recognized. Trelja you have made some very interesting observations in your question that I for one recognize in well-reproduced audio. I have personally noted that there is a great tendency to exaggerate miniscule differences in components, particularly cables. I am not an equipment jockey and have moved, as you, ever so slowly over the years. I like to savor changes in my system. It is the only way to truly recognize whether or not a product is going to work in the long run. I would also like to acknowledge the response from Richard of vantageaudio concerning the synergy factor of any given component in a particular system, there is no BEST though there is too much hype in that direction. So to you I say go for it but always be true to yourself and DO NOT ever be influenced by anything other than what you hear.
Interconnect integrity question
I come to all of my audio compatriots with a question I hope you all can help me with. I have been asked to do some beta testing of interconnects. At first glance, I thought it might be a good idea. I'd be testing(comparing) cables of different wire gauges, trying to provide an input in the very thin gauge versus thicker(22) guage wire argument. This whole thing has emerged on the scene VERY fast, literally in the past two weeks. I don't recall much discourse in this subject previous to this month. It seems a lot of people out here have come out of nowhere preaching the merits of miniscule wire gauge. I have previously tried very thin wire in two VERY limited auditions. I try to stay away from flavor of the month audio, relying instead on good equipment I can live with for a LONG(5 years, MINIMUM!) time. Upon further thought of this offer, I became a bit more apprehensive. The only thing I bring to this site is my opinion. My opinion is worthless without a certain measure of credibility. I feel that perhaps in entering into a relationship with a manufacturer, I lose that credibility(as some others have, at least in my mind). I have NEVER allied myself with ANY company. I do however voice support of companies I feel offer excellent sound and/or value for money. My question to all of you good people is that should I accept this offer? I may buy the cable(I am not in need of it), and give an objective critique. But I am interested in the opinions of as many of our members as possible. I am not saying, I will go with "majority rules", although your opinions will be one of the determining factors(weighing heavily) in my decision. Thank you all for your consideration.