buddhabreath Wrote: > Of course DB testing discriminates between "different"! It is a basic > scientific procedure to ensure perceptive bias does not enter into a > result. "better" is in the mind of the receiver - but often times that > "better" goes away under DB conditions.
BB, The point I was trying to make is exactly what I wrote... that DB testing does not discriminate between "better" and "different" - not that it doesn't discriminate between "different" and "identical"! "different" vs "better" is all in the mind (regardless of the methodology of the comparison). As for hearing mechanisms...actually the ear is an astonishingly sophisticated transducer coupled to an analogue computer of (so far) indescribable complexity. Other than in quite broad terms we all perceive the world differently (thank goodness). So in other words, ANY kind of third-party testing/comparison/evaluation is inherently flawed and you should only buy things that make YOU happy or satisfied, no matter what anyone else says or measures. There is NO science or religion that can replace your own ear/brain and how it evaluates something within your personal frame of reference. Unfortunately, we live in a world of external irrational influences that prey on our minds and continually threaten to undermine our independant judgement. I would only use reviews or bench testing as a guide to something being really bad/faulty/unreliable. If you don't believe that cables (or, more significantly, the design, quality of materials and topology used in the active components of a system) can possibly make any difference to what you hear that's fine. Although, logically that would imply that the first amplifier ever made was good enough... Your gasoline analogy is not correct. If the pipe is too wide/narrow, kinked or if the inner surface is not formed properly, turbulent flow and irregular pressure can result that may affect the performance of the downstream engine components - and ultimately the car itself. It's not that the nature of gasoline is changing. You are describing a mechanical system not an electrical one. In an electrical system there are other factors to take into account that can indeed "change the nature of the gasoline" - RFI, EMI etc etc can all interact with and thus change the actual waveform. So unfortunately, as any second year EE student would know and any AV professional does know, it's not just about LCR. The materials, quality of construction and efficiency of shielding all play a part in preserving the integrity of the complex signals passing through the cable. Any cable has the potential to degrade the signals - the trick is to minimise the degradation. Alternatively, you can design cables with a suitable LCR to act as a crude tone control...you'll certainly hear the difference with those! As usual, YMMV. Richidoo - looks like you better treasure those SACD's you've got coz I can't see a massive release program on the horizon. It looks like hi-res consumer audio formats are turning into a dead duck from the industry's point of view (IMHO). I guess the problem is twofold...actually 16/44.1 can be "pretty good" and whilst SACD/DVD-A are clearly capable of more accurate reproduction, do we really care? - a silver disc is just a silver disc and we've already got them. The general perception is simply "ho-hum, a better mousetrap". Really a radically different physical format with better ergonomics and a different cost base was required to make the world sit up and take notice ... oh, and what's all this MP3/iPod stuff anyway? -- Phil Leigh ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Phil Leigh's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=85 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=23948 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
