I see the issue with ABX blind testing

@dwcda 

I'm with audphile1 on this one. Start improving the room before you mess with the cables. Sub in front center between speakers can't be good. If it's temporary and you don't use it, move it out. Dual subs on opposite walls outside of speakers would be where to start. The rubber floor would seem to me to be way too absorbing. With all the absorbing material you already got, you would benefit greatly by adding a lot of diffusing, specially on first reflection points and rear wall. Your front diffuser between the speakers produce very little diffusing. People usually place it there for something to look at. It does very little for audio. Once you get more clarity and better soundstage with the appropriate amount of diffusing, you will be able to tell the difference between cables much better. And I am not talking about diffusers/absorbers like the front ones, but pure diffusers.I am only speaking from my personal experience as I learned a lot about acoustic treatment in my house of stereo. I always appreciate audiophiles who pay attention to the room so I applaud you. However you have quite a ways to go yet. It took me over two years to get it right. Enjoy the journey.

@soix your arguments are falling on deaf ears. 

I agree that ABX testing sounds good on the surface but is not very practical. Thanks in part to @soix , I followed a similar path, starting with Zen speaker cables. My system is now at a level where I can hear the difference in a new cable immediately, but they also change over a period of days such that a quick ABX test is not sufficient to get a true feel for the cable. 
 

FWIW, I had the exact same speaker cables you have, they are okay, but with a system like yours, throw some Satori’s in there and see. And move the sub, but that is a separate issue. 

I am sorry that blind testing is so hard. I mean, that is how drugs, etc. are tested. Yes, it would take some planning but can be done. After all the Boston Audio Society did it with amplifiers in the 1980's. It can be done.

Just remember, our brains only a small amount of heard information, when doing comparisons.

This is why most dealers, tell you what you are hearing, play it the piece, tell you again, and then play it again. They are reinforcing that information in your brain.

I think it would help if you knew what the cable did to the signal, in technical terms. If you could measure that, it may be possible to derive a test signal that accentuates the difference. I know this won’t tell you if you actually like the sound better or not on real music, but it will allow you to determine at least that you can actually hear a difference. I know they can do this for absolute polarity. A properly made test signal will make the difference quickly apparent for most listeners, while with regular music it can be very difficult for most of us to tell. It’s a nice thing that our hearing is generally quite forgiving of small differences. I call it subconscious auto correct. 

I’ll now offer an anecdotal tale. I had a customer measure the clarity of his bass after he made some adjustments to his room and system. I analyzed a bunch of his measurements and they all were very good, with one setup being slightly better than the rest. He then told me that a DIY power cord he’d made for his subwoofers seemed to improve clarity, so I asked him to make comparison measurements with and without the new power cord. Guess what? The clarity measured higher! Now it could be just a random result. We’d have to control all factors very carefully to be sure the change was a result of the power cord. But it does suggest that measurements can demonstrate these differences if someone is willing to take them.