I see the issue with ABX blind testing

But from what I can see the benefit, if there is one, will be most noticeable system wide. In other words, just switching one power cable the way I did before won’t be sufficient for you to tell a difference... again, assuming there is one. So I need my friend to swap power cables for my amp/preamp & streamer, XLR cables from my streamer to my preamp, preamp to amp & speakers cables. That takes a good 5-10 minutes. There is no way my brain is retaining what I previously heard and then comparing it to what I currently hear.

 

@dwcda

Why the hell would i pain someone to swap every cable in the rig?? We do one cable at a time. For example, i passed the swaps 25/25 times between a SVS speaker cable and the AQ Thunderbird (not too long ago), both of which i own, etc.

@nonoise

You’re a hard grader. People are bombed based on "Confident" as there’s no way to be absolutely certain unless you can see the person you want to bomb.

Who said passing blindtests was easy? I only run blindtests on specific material i know very well. I subject to being the guinea pig with a couple of violin pieces i know very well. I am a hobbyist violin player of 40+ years and I don’t attempt blind tests on other material.

My friend’s a sax player (professional musician). I test him on his material that’s embedded all inside of him! The third guy’s an African artist (golden ear bat/professional musician) and there’s specific material he goes with, when he’s the subject. It’s only the 3 of us, we live close to each other and I don’t do it with others. These 2 cats have passed their respective tests with flying colors.

Having said that, I am fairly certain that the 3 of us might be pulling teeth on some tests, if the treatments in my room were taken away. Having a high resolution room is critical. The rigor and training a test subject may have went through in life (a specific instrument/sound) can matter a lot because these can be very subtle changes.

The cable denying hardliners (ASR types) may dismiss these 2 guys and myself as anomalies (treat us as datapoints that can be discarded), if we are 3 out of 50 test subjects, i suppose. If that’s the case, so be it...I don’t need to convince anyone of anything. All is well in the world.

@deep_333 Good to hear you only use material you're intimately familiar with.  Most other ABXers I've encountered on this site, online and in mags don't feel that way.  

I, too, primarily use music I know inside and out from repeated listening when swapping cables, listening for the cues I know to exist. Only on unfamiliar or casually listened to music can I be tempted to like something when trying out some of my lessor cables. I'll leave them in for a while only to have that sense of missing something and swap back in my references cables and presto, change-o, everything is right with the world. What I viewed as romantic and full was smeared and undefined. 

For me, the patently obvious changes are not to be dismissed, discarded, or passed off as some fancy of my imagination. Yes, all is well in the world. 

All the best,
Nonoise

When we consider whether audiophiles have analytical ears and/or can remember sound qualities for lengthy periods of time (i.e. much more than a few seconds), let's consider two professions whose skill with sound is undeniable: (1) musicians, and (2) instrument makers.

Musicians will tell you that producing a good sound is primarily about having a good ear. There's a misconception that producing a good sound is primarily about muscle control or something like that. But it's the ear that guides the production of sound. 

I used to work for NASA in the spacecraft navigation section, as a programmer of software tools. Our job was to get the robotic spacecraft to the right place on the right planet (say a particular crater on Mars). The biggest, most important part of the job was figuring out "where is this spacecraft right now?" We used Doppler shift and range, inferred from the radio signal, to get a handle on that. If you don't know where you are, you can't go where you want.

Likewise a musician has to perceive what their sound is like in *this moment*. Furthermore, they have to perceive how it varies from prior moments. It requires a good memory for sound, and in particular for small changes in sound. That's because to get where you want to go, you get there by small changes. To navigate you must have a good sense of where you are, today, and how that compares to yesterday.

Same with instrument builders who are prized for the sound of their instruments.

I regard the fact that we have great musicians and great instruments, going back centuries (before the days of recordings) as proof that aural memory is long-lasting in a trained person.

You are perfectly right in my book...

The feeling emotional (unconscious) memory is very powerful too...

Those who think otherwise that auditory memory is very poor and short lived confuse exact sound memory conscious retrieval with feeling/body memory which is long and guide musicians and maestro gestures.

I regard the fact that we have great musicians and great instruments, going back centuries (before the days of recordings) as proof that aural memory is long-lasting in a trained person.

I am a believer in listening for an extended period of time (for me two weeks minimum) so the sound of the change is somewhat "baked" into your brain and then switch back to the previous item. And it minimizes the frailty of auditory memory. There was an early post about system sound changing because of your mood, etc. and that is consistent with my personal experience over the last four decades. And you should listen to different music types. You will have a more informed perspective in deciding if you prefer the "new" versus the "previous" item under consideration. Never been a fan of one and done. Too many variables involved. You may initially like the new but may find it flawed once you listen to it long term. Do the one month audition. You won’t regret the extra time spent in determining your preference.

Regarding the best method the OP should use. Many options but it is pretty simple. The one that allows you to make the best "informed" decision with no long term regrets.