my take on blind tests

"Bottom line is, if you hear the difference when you see which cable is on and hear no difference when you cannot see, let it be. We pay for the whole experience, not sound waves alone."

Absolutely right. Some amps sound better to me, I suspect, b/c they look better. And the whole idea of tubes really gets to me. But my question is in connection with cables: why are some folks willing to shell out 2k for what is essentially a placebo effect? I'm not doubting the placebo effect in the least, but I do wonder how manufacturers got people to pay so much for it. Imagine an aspirin manufacturer that charged $1000 per bottle b/c some people actually felt better when they took, and thought of themselves taking, very expensive aspirin.

As I noted earlier, blind testing serves a useful function in audio as well as other sciences, but is hardly a mandatory requirement for an individual buying a piece of stereo equipment. People should buy what makes them happy, whether the underlying reasons are based on emotion, cold clinical analysis or some combination thereof.

That said, I think the people who completely pooh pooh blind testing on a wholesale basis are being short sighted. They are discarding an important tool that has been helpful in challenging old ways of thinking and developing new ones.

With any science it is always important to put existing beliefs under the magnifying glass. That's the way we can begin to separate the "old wives tales" from the traditions that have serious fundamentals underpinning them. Of course, any time a cherished belief is questioned, there will always be those who discount any results that conflict with their existing views.

The audio world is a tough case as it is at the intersection of electronics, art, psychology, the biology of hearing and chemistry of the brain. In general there are simply a zillion variables to track.

So, sure, you don't need a DBT setup the next time you component shop, but to belittle the usefulness of the practice at the levels of design and research is like throwing away your hammer and thinking all you need is a screwdriver and saw to build a house. You just end up cheating yourself.

The whole thing has been debated for so long. I hear the new breed of audio equipment is being designed as I write by chimps on a strictly emotional basis.

Goodnight Nyquist.

Ray Charles used to swear by DBT.

Hell, my whole system can sound bad to me one week and a few days later it sounds great. So much is due to my mood, my ears, my work week, my Amex bill, the weather. Who knows? I think one's ears are so much more subjective than one's eyes.

that said, I have not done double blind testing but I have heard differences in cables that were immediately apparent; this was in speaker cables mostly and IC cables to a lesser extent, not power cords. I think power cord differences are extremely subtle if they exist at all. But do I buy the aftermarket powercords? You bet. why not it's fun.

One last story, I put new Siltech speaker cables into my system a couple of years ago and put on the first CD to listen. My wife came into the listening room and said "Wow that sounds so much better." I was floored; in all previous upgrades she had never had a strong point of view or was somewhat cynical.