I see the issue with ABX blind testing

I was just saying much of what audiophiles actually hear is this bias.

@botrytis  And much of it is not.  So what?  Do you eat blindfolded?  In the end we buy what we like most all things considered, so who cares?  While biases may be at play to some extent (and probably varies greatly by person BTW) they don’t necessarily undermine or overwhelm what we hear and do not invalidate the purchasing decision process.  Saying people are biased seems pointless much like in the way those who say there are no differences between cables because they’re not proven with measurements, and both are useless and tiresome IMHO.

@soix I have eaten blindfolded before. My wife took me once to a restaurant that specialized in blindfolded dining. It was to say an eye-opening experience. I didn't appreciate it at the time, but on reflection should have appreciated the lesson taught there.

I have a friend in France, who knows a blind audiophile and HIS take on musicality and equipment is interesting to hear. People should be open to the idea of blind testing. It doesn't take away anything, but it might save people money and the charlatans in the audio field, wouldn't survive (and there are plenty of them out there).

The point being, sighted listening, IS BIASED listening. Say what you will, there is a reason it is the gold standard for testing w/o biases.

We can agree to disagree, but my point is valid and based on science.

botrytis: Don’t fear it, embrace it. We learn through failures and mistakes. If you get taken- lesson learned. But to miss opportunities because you fear it could be a ruse is a real shame. Audio is to be enjoyed- it’s all about the music. Either you like the sound of something or you don’t. It’s just like a song- you either like it or you don’t. And even then a song I didn’t like before I like now and sometimes a song I liked before I no longer like now. The same thing might happen with your stereo. You like how it sounds today but one day in the future you might want a different sound. That doesn’t mean you failed to do proper ABX testing. It means tastes change.

I can’t imagine how you can enjoy anything if you have to analyze and ABX test everything. I’d hate to go grocery shopping with you.

As for eating in a restaurant blindfolded- kudos for your bravery.  I wouldn‘t do it.  Strangers feeding me food I can‘t see?  No way.  I‘ve been in some countries where I would definitely not want to do that.

When properly carried out I can't imagine why anyone would be against blind testing. 

I remember a while back when Kevin Deal performed a blind tests on, too lazy to look it up, either integrateds or power amps.  As memory serves, all attending thought the exercise was excellent.

I know that the only real way to get to know a component is to live with it, but if someone else is willing to go thought the effort of performing the test why not consider it one more pertinent data point?

It seems that most people on both sides of the cable debate accept the fact that the placebo effect is real... if someone is in pain & a doctor gives you a placebo & tells you that it will cure your pain, you may find pain relief. If a sighted test of cables produces a wonderous ability to hear differences in those cables, the way it did earlier on this thread with the YT video showing 4 different power cables, would you want to pay for the more expensive cable  if you knew that it was merely a placebo, and that your inability to see the cables made that difference recognition disappear? IMO I don't  want to pay for the  placebo, whether we're talking about medicine or audio gear. With medicine the underlying  problem causing the  pain still exists & hasn't been treated. With my audio system I  don't  want to stitch my audio equipment together with very, very expensive bits of magic that my brain has been fooled into believing make a difference. 

So these discussions happen & will continue to happen because there is real medicine that actually solves problems and those that believe in the underlying science of medicine are trying to convince people not to spend thousands of $$$ on the placebo.