2. misc-audio
  3. 1344491086

Do Cable Makers Know Their Own Products?

Like most of you, I have owned cables from many different manufacturers. How many of these cables are truly distinct from similar products put out by competing manufacturers? In my experience, there are some truly distinct cables out there but most fall into a gray area when they meet my system.

I was wondering if manufacturers would be able to recognize their own cables if they were put in a room with a high end system with someone conducting true A/B testing. For the sake of argument, let's say we put 5 top manufacturers in a room to test their top interconnects, speaker cables and power cords -- and their next-to-top interconnects, speaker cables and power cords. That means 5 manufacturers listening to 10 models of each cable. Before the testing begins we give them an hour to get used to the sound of this system. Would they be able to pick out their own cables?
sabai
mt10425
1,138 posts
 
Sabai, how about the description "neutral"? How can a cable (or any component) be "more neutral" than another? More or less neutral? To the right or left of neutral?
sabai OP
2,027 posts
 
Mt10425,
That is a very good question. What the heck does neutral mean?
reb1208
518 posts
 
"Neutral" in the context of audio to me always meant that a stereo system is capable of reproducing the sound of a recording without altering it. How one actually knows the sound of a recording is another story! LOL
rrog
1,958 posts
 
Sabai,
Reb1208, Do all of your recordings have a similar character or do they have their own character? Do all of your recordings tend to be on the lean side, the warm side or are they somewhere in between?
mrtennis
3,295 posts
 
it is impossible to know the sound of a component, because, it is part of a stereo system. you can't listen to a component by itself.

you can't know what a recording sounds like.

my assertions can proven by applying number theory. essentially it is about the nature of a diophantine equation.

regarding cables being colored. all components are colored. they are not perfect. they have flaws. listen to a stereo system long enough and you will observe deviations from neutrality.

the problem with experiments designed to have a listener detect differences, is the tendency for listener fatigue to set in and aural acuity will suffer. the differential threshold will increase making it more difficult to detect differences.

one has to be rigorous in the design of an experiment. there are principles of psychophysics that need to be followed.

the idea of trying to hear differences between too many objects is inadvisable.

why not listen to two cables at a time, and carry the experiment over some period of time. keep the exposure to a musical; signal relatively short, so as not to degrade auditory memory.

what has been proposed is a very complex undertaking.
More to discover