What were your own blind cable test results?


Did you ever conduct a blind speaker cable test yourself? Please share your experiences, results, and the gear level associated with your test. For example, test conducted with cable types: DIY, Lo/Mid/High end, Components: Lo-Fi, Mid-Fi, High End-Fi. Feel free to elaborate on your gears if you like.

Please note that this is not a debate on whether DIY, or cheaper cable makes a big difference with high end cables. Nor about snake oils, etc.

I'll start first, a buddy of mine and I did a recent test on our Mid-Fi system with 5 cables, 1 Home Depot, 1 DIY, 3 Mid End cables from various cable Co. After 2 hours of listening and swapping cables, our results - it was very difficult to tell. The longer you listen, the more fused the music becomes, perhaps of listening fatigue. However, we were able to pick out one branded cable consistently as it has a 'flattening' effect on the music in our system, funny that this cable contains the most high-tech approach. As far as the other four cables, it was very difficult to discern the difference. This exercise helped us to weed out the one that we dislike the most, and enjoy the music with the others.
springowl

Showing 3 responses by heyitsmedusty

I disagree that sighted testing won't skew results. I think if you were to take two cables, one with a very slick-looking outer sleeving and one with a dirty old nylong sleeving but both with the exact same materials, geometry, and terminations, a sighted test would "prove" that the nicer-looking cables sound better.

If marketing didn't work, companies wouldn't do it.

-Dusty
I'm talking about equal cables (thus, sounding the same) with different cosmetics.
Drubin: as your prescribed test is, it does not consider the performance of an interconnect between two specific components

I think that's exactly Zaikesman's point; when you're testing an intereconnect's performance between two specific components, you're introducing more variables into your test. The only way to objectively measure the performance of the *cable* is to isolate the cable as the only added variable in the equation of your system. He's not addressing the cable in relation to other components, because then your test ceases to address the cable by itself.