What do we hear when we change the direction of a wire?


Douglas Self wrote a devastating article about audio anomalies back in 1988. With all the necessary knowledge and measuring tools, he did not detect any supposedly audible changes in the electrical signal. Self and his colleagues were sure that they had proved the absence of anomalies in audio, but over the past 30 years, audio anomalies have not disappeared anywhere, at the same time the authority of science in the field of audio has increasingly become questioned. It's hard to believe, but science still cannot clearly answer the question of what electricity is and what sound is! (see article by A.J.Essien).

For your information: to make sure that no potentially audible changes in the electrical signal occur when we apply any "audio magic" to our gear, no super equipment is needed. The smallest step-change in amplitude that can be detected by ear is about 0.3dB for a pure tone. In more realistic situations it is 0.5 to 1.0dB'". This is about a 10% change. (Harris J.D.). At medium volume, the voltage amplitude at the output of the amplifier is approximately 10 volts, which means that the smallest audible difference in sound will be noticeable when the output voltage changes to 1 volt. Such an error is impossible not to notice even using a conventional voltmeter, but Self and his colleagues performed much more accurate measurements, including ones made directly on the music signal using Baxandall subtraction technique - they found no error even at this highest level.

As a result, we are faced with an apparently unsolvable problem: those of us who do not hear the sound of wires, relying on the authority of scientists, claim that audio anomalies are BS. However, people who confidently perceive this component of sound are forced to make another, the only possible conclusion in this situation: the electrical and acoustic signals contain some additional signal(s) that are still unknown to science, and which we perceive with a certain sixth sense.

If there are no electrical changes in the signal, then there are no acoustic changes, respectively, hearing does not participate in the perception of anomalies. What other options can there be?

Regards.
anton_stepichev
There is a reason drug testing is done double blind, for some reason, I fail to understand, audiophiles can not seem to grasp this.
The methodology for blind test is STATISTICAL... It work with big numbers like in drug testing not with few individuals tested...

Second the borderline audible change may benefit for their attestation from a "small group" blindtest testing process but this process of testing in "one shot" cannot invalidate once and for all the non-existence of the effects because of this singular test conditions ... Bias are not always also something to be eliminated...A selection of trained subject is necessary...Then the test ask for the elimination of certain bias but the selection of some other bias called "abilities"...

Blindtest is a complex matter and almost all people FAIL to understand what is at stake and how.... Then accusing audiophiles means something about you more than about the audiophiles by the way....


Clearly, regardless of the scientific advancement, our sensory systems are still better than the best instruments.
No they are not. It's not even debatable.
As an engineer I can tell you don’t always rely on instrument measurements to decipher human experience.

Do you use an EKG to measure love?
No, you use an fMRI. Love is in the brain not the heart why would anyone think of using an EKG?
Clearly, regardless of the scientific advancement, our sensory systems are still better than the best instruments.
No they are not. It’s not even debatable.
the concept of "accuracy" has 2 meanings at least:

Accuracy means exactitude by the numbers and when we speak of this "accuracy" we speak about a measure executed in SOME selected dimension with SOME selected parameters...NOT for all dimensions and ALL parameters...

Accuracy means also the correlation and controls by human thinking process and perception above and around the selected dimension and the chosen parameters....

A microphone DO NOT replace human ears perception....It is a tool that complement it at best....

Then your affirmation is plain non sense or confusion between the 2 meanings of "accuracy".... Choose one....