Blind and double-blind is a way, as we all know, to attempt to remove the subjectivity from what is hoped to be an objective evaluation. It's great for testing some things in which there is a clear hierarchy of "poor" to "excellent." Eyes, ears, and taste buds, however, don't conform to objectivity. Try a blind wine-tasting to see how many diverse opinions are being swished around the tongue and spat out into the bucket.
I tried a blind (but not deaf!) test last night, as it so happens, of some Vampire vs. Nordost vs. van den Hul interconnects.
It's REALLY hard to change cables with one's eyes shut! I knocked my turntable onto the floor, stepped onto the open try of my CD player, connected the phono stage to the tape deck, smashed my 180gm Dylan LP, and shoved my index finger through the cone of my Cabasse.
After all that, all the cables sounded like s**t. In truth, the van den Hul bested them all, followed (at some distance) by the other two. The $15 Vampire sounded no different than the $150 Nordost.
Blind testing is fun, as Twl notes, but very difficult to implement in real life.
I tried a blind (but not deaf!) test last night, as it so happens, of some Vampire vs. Nordost vs. van den Hul interconnects.
It's REALLY hard to change cables with one's eyes shut! I knocked my turntable onto the floor, stepped onto the open try of my CD player, connected the phono stage to the tape deck, smashed my 180gm Dylan LP, and shoved my index finger through the cone of my Cabasse.
After all that, all the cables sounded like s**t. In truth, the van den Hul bested them all, followed (at some distance) by the other two. The $15 Vampire sounded no different than the $150 Nordost.
Blind testing is fun, as Twl notes, but very difficult to implement in real life.