Cables that measure the same but (seem?) to sound different

We measure what we measure. When we don't measure or at least account for the difference in what many people hear, does that make a difference? You look at an apple, quantum physics says there is more than just an apple.. What we see is not what is really there.

Measured sound is as limited as what we measure for..

We are as limited as the information we have access to. Just because it isn't measured doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Limited information is just that... Limited..

I'll never forget the first time I heard aluminum with copper clad and plastic vinyl (something) ICs, speaker cables and power cables. It was in a car and the guy paid 4k or something.. Man was it loud.

I change one speaker cable from one amp to copper and one RCA to copper on the left side, just like I always do..

Someone removed the BLANKET from the way they were, to the way they are.  HUGE cables ALL worthless.. The installer with his messed up hearing could hear a big change in just one side.. The cost of copper was actually LESS. I recommended SOOW 99.999 OFC 4/4 for power and 4/12 for speaker cables.. 50.00 max.. RCAs Good copper or silver clad weaves now.. less than 40.00 each.

Measure all you want... This guy was deaf..

Regards

@artemus_5 

What I find interesting in your post, if I am understanding you correctly, is that you acknowledge that things that measure the same would sound the same to a calibrated robot, but not to humans because we are not calibrated.  It seems that what you're saying is that things that measure the same don't necessarily sound the same because of external forces that apply to humans.  There's a big difference between thing sounding the same and humans not being able to hear them consistently.  Our inability to hear things the same doesn't means that the sound coming out of the speakers isn't the same.  Room acoustics are very dynamic and shifting the position of your ears will result in a different listening experience, so you'd have to be able to consistently differentiate between the expected differences in listening experiences from the unavoidable forces and what might be there from whatever physical change was made to the system.

I'm almost certain that I've heard Paul from PS Audio say that he's heard differences in speaker wires that were clear, but not in interconnects.  I find this statement quite curious as their website includes "Paul's Picks" that include increasingly expensive interconnects to match the price point of the gear in the package.  What criteria did he use to pick them?  The most likely scenario is that they are just using his name.

I think that it's entirely possible that things like cables and such can make a difference in a system of high enough quality, but I've not personally had the opportunity to be convinced.  

I hesitate to wander into this treacherous country again but here goes.  Measurements, e.g., resistance, inductance, capacitance, are, these days, easily made , recorded and compared but are gross and crude compared to the kinds of phenomena which may be discerned by the human ear and brain such as, say, timbre.  The simple measurements aren’t going to help us predict how a device (cable) will contribute to SQ.  So the only practical way I can think of in measuring the higher phenomena for comparison purposes is to recruit panels of experienced observers (listeners/audiophiles).  Ideally, if possible, observers would be blind and a placebo control could be utilized if a certain device (cheap cable?) could be agreed upon as the placebo type.  Hasn’t this kind of evaluation been done before in audio?

If you believe in science(and I do) then if two items measure the same, they are the same. But that assumes you have measured everything that matters. And you don't know if some factor is missing from your measurements until you discover all the measurements. We usually discover new measurements when our observations are no longer predictable by our current measurements.

@denverfred,

Exactomundo 😎
I just finished rereading Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds. 
This is not to say that people who like particular cable more than another or deluded.