Cables Are Crazy, what do you think?

Very nice response Redkiwi.

I think the cable industry in general has started to accept that the dielectric (insulation) can have as much of an effect on the quality of a cable as the metal conductor can.

EE's should have a basic understanding of dielectrics and the reason why surrounding conductors with PVC vs. polyethylene vs. teflon vs. air vs. a vacuum would affect sonic performance. They also know that conductor metal, purity, gauge and geometry all have consequences. Termination quality is also important as is connector quality. You put all of these variables together and it makes perfect sense that cables can sound very different from each other.

Still, anyone who has actually spent any real time listening to various cables on a good stereo knows that they make a difference and that's really all that matters.

As for blind testing, it simply puts the listener in an unnatural stressful state where the anxiety of the test serves to block the listeners ability to hear things that are obvious during casual listening. It proves the limitations of the testing methodology more than anything else.

I have always believed that long term blind testing would remove most of the anxiety associated with standard blind A/B testing and result in more meaningful and interesting results. Admittedly, it would be harder to do though.

EEs will acknowledge that many things have an impact on how a signal travels through a wire, but the point I am making above is that their training encourages them to dismiss these things as inaudible.

Just do what I did. I know cables can make a difference. Last night, I was curious. I played Steely Dan's Goucho album, then I swapped the stock cable from the MMF-7.1 with a Kimber Hero cable. Played the same side of the album, same volume setting. My girlfriend was blown away by how much of a difference the sound was. The soundstage just opened up, bass was more extended and tighter. Everything sounded much better. And she wasn't even sitting for a critical listening. It was night and day. So, I'm looking for another cable..... Preferrably a .5 meter

My search for the IC, Speaker cables, PC etc. Ended long time ago.
I still buy/try some cables, but more out of curiosity then anything else.
My opinion on this is solid. Cables are different, but the differences are chosen by manufacturer and characterized by the choice of the materials used in the design. Reference standards are low or non existent. Cables are way overpriced. Audiophiles attitude about the importance of cables made the cable companies bolder in their selling tactics. If one can sell a phone call for $20 or $30 that claims to improve your system then how hard would be to sell a wire in very nice jacket for hundreds if not thousands.
You must have noticed that these kind of threads get a lot of attention while .... let say , acoustics, proper setup, components evaluation, etc.
It is funny that a cable manufacturer can charge as much for a "wire" as a respected, known and talented designer of electronics, analog or speakers.
To me.....it is just amazing.
But like everything else, it is a personal choice.
This is only my personal opinion and I absolutly understand that it might and
probably is different then most here.

Cheers