Who says cables don't make a difference?

More to the point, one of the building blocks of the scientific method is empirical evidence, you know, like listening results. All of this subjective vs objective debate really concerns evidence, not proof. A single blind test or any test fro that matter is not really evidence of anything. It’s the preponderance of the evidence resulting from many tests that has some meaning. But not one test. Even though pseudo skeptics would have you believe controlled double blind tests separate the hoaxes from the non hoaxes. It’s the same jibber jabber it always was.

If a frog 🐸 had wings he wouldn’t bump his butt so much. - Elvira Madigan 

joecasey424 posts07-03-2020 1:53pmEVERYTHING is equally important in my system. I neglect NOTHING!

Shouting this louder will never make it true, no matter how distorted modern audiophilia has become. The combination of speakers and room is still by far the most important, and primary what you "hear". It defines the vast majority of your frequency response, sound-stage, and imaging.  There are always caveats like the interaction of a low damping factor amplifier with speakers, or a poorly setup cartridge with high cross-talk killing soundstage/imaging, but otherwise that statement is true. Yes you can "break" your system with really cheap cables, but half-way competent cables are not going to "break" your system.

Unless you listen exclusively and closely near-field and you have a highly damped room, I will take a great set of speaker and a great room with relatively inexpensive electronics and half-decent cables, over lesser speakers and a poorly treated room, with price is no object electronics and cables. It would not even be close.

The electrical grid of the house is very important also in my experience.....

And passive room treatment only are not sufficient to gives wings to the audio system most of the times....ACTIVE room tretament is necessary for that unbeknownst to most....  :)

@mahgister, objective proof does not have to have hard numbers, though it can, but critically it must isolate what is being tested, and the test must be repeatable. Saying "I changed this cable and I think it now sounds better", is subjective proof. At a stretch, you may even want to call it evidence.  Having someone else change the cable 10 times and not tell you what cable is in the system and you being able to reliably pick the one you claimed "sounded better". That is now objective proof.  There is no reducing consciousness to numbers. It is just a matter of reliable identification ... using nothing, absolutely nothing but your ears and brain. The only measurement that may occur is external to ensure levels are matched.

An objective proof in matter of cable is nearly impossible because of all factors implicated and also because it is impossible to reduce experiencing consciousness to numbers dials in principle....And the experiencing of cable difference is most of the time easy to test ourself by replacing one, for sure that is not a proof only an experience.... :)

Shouting this louder will never make it true, no matter how distorted modern audiophilia has become ...

From my experience, everything is equally important.  Your experience may differ which is perfectly fine with me.