@gdaddy1
Just because cable deniers refuse to acknowledge reality
What 'reality' are you talking about? I haven't seen anyone provide ANY factual reality that verfies the claims made. Wouldn't you think the manufacturers of these expensive cables be proud enough to back their grandious claims with something real? Maybe they could show how they test them and why they sound better. They don't. That's reality.
Berkeley Audio Design makes a model "Alpha DAC Series 3" reference DAC. It competes with DACs that are quadruple its price.
Reputable reviewers have sung its praises.
Where is the "provided factual reality that verfies the claims made" for that reference DAC?
How about the Aesthetix Metis pre-amp, and the Aesthetix IO Eclipse phono amp.
Where is the scientific proof of those product's reference level sound quality.
How about Vandersteen's M7-HPA reference level amps? Where is verifiable proof of those amp's stellar sound quality?
The proof is in the ears of the people that have listened to those products with their ears.
If you wired up your stereo with Shunyata Research, Omega-X signal cables, your ears would give you the proof that you are seeking.
But, instead, you are denouncing cables you never demoed.
Dealers lend out those cables to reputable customers. Shunyata Research also has review samples that they lend out. The same goes for Audioquest and others.
I never demoed those cables. But I have demoed others that are of similar quality, and the stereo system's sound quality improved, demonstrably. I will not ask for proof of each model release. My local high-end store would get me loaners, if I asked. But I will not waste their time when I am not intending to buy them.
Apply the same "proof" standards to all audio gear, that you do to cables. And when you put together a system based on lab reports, I will lay odds that that stereo will have so-so, or perhaps pretty good, sound quality. But it will not have outstanding sound quality.
When I purchased my stereo, I never asked for proof of anything. That was over a decade ago, and I still have no clue about 90% of my stereo's specifications. I do not care, because my stereo sounds fantastic, and no specifications are going to convince me differently than what my ears hear.