Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems Better Meridian Cables/than factory

Yeah, and this is why, lack of marketing aside, DVD-A and SACD were probably doomed from the start. Us audiophiles are a tiny cadre.

Speaking of weddings, Dave's True Story, a band w/a couple of great sounding Chesky releases played at mine. Anything but MP3.

That must have been awesome!

Users familiar with Stereophile magazine recognize this debate from that publication. There was in fact an earnest attempt made by Stereo Review magazine, some 25 years ago (when it was good), to confirm/refute audible differences in cables. They used extremes of lamp cord and esoteric mega-buck cables. A-B-X blind format as I recall. All participants, from professional reviewers to neophytes, essentially agreed, prior to the tests, that the conditions were very well established and should produce reliable results. Result- only a single participant (out of 30+) could differentiate on any of the comparisons in any way that was even slightly statistically significant. And that result was likely itself a simple chance event.

What did the "believers" respond with? Attacked the test and testers, of course. Reminds me of a certain government administration that believes gut instinct over substantial objective evidence. But I digress...

Some editors at Stereophile, generally a quality publication IMHO, are now attacking the entire premise of double-blind tests. They use a very clever little approach that in any subjective matter the test necessarily measures the participant only and not the matter at hand. This is both specious and intellectually dishonest coming from some very bright people.

How, do you suppose, is the effectiveness of pain medication determined for various ailments? It is necessarily an entirely subjective test. Stereophile would say that you can only measure the tolerance and perception of the patient, and not the efficacy of any drug, which is absurd on its face. Individual variation among test subjects in both contexts are managed through SAMPLING SIZE. Repeat the same test under controlled conditions enought times and the personal differences wash-out.

If the believers were honest in their approach, and truly believed in the differences, they would be demanding the initiation of a large and rigorous double-blind study to prove themselves right. But, beware what you wish for. The French wine industry took-on the up-start Califorinians in the early 70's with such a test and the results caused many of their own heads to roll.

Sadly, I would bet the beleivers will stick to their mantra and continue to grope for rationalizations for their prejudices. The problem is that so much of their ego is now vested in that position ("I was not duped by marketing, I was not duped by marketing, I was not...") that they are unable to approach the question objectively.

They were. Catch them if they're playing in your area; a guaranteed good time.

Hi guys,

I love the cable discussion - gauranteed to stoke the fires of even the most mild mannered 'hiker!

When I was at university studying electrical engineering we were given an example of the amazing signal processing power of the brain. A frequency spectra was display which clearly showed no discernable peaks, troughs or patterns of any description. However when the same frequency spectra was transformed into the time domain (via my ears) a distinct rising and falling tone was heard. The point here is that it wasn't possible to measure the frequency or power in the signal (which just measured as noise) and come a conclusion regarding what the signal contained. The whole in this case, most definitely added up to more than the sum of the parts.


Stu

Without seeing the frequency spectra that you are referring too I can not comment on your experience.

Many times you will see frequency spectra and separately you will see the strength of the signal, often above or below the spectra. This is useful information but you need to understand that you are missing information; you are not getting the strength of the particular frequencies and of the phase. There are ways of charting this but they are more involved.

I pretty much agree with sedluk and the others. I don't believe there is much, if any, difference- especially for digital. And I have tried various "high end" cables which produced no noticeable results over the Radio Shack cables I swapped in for them. But- if getting into the exotic cables gives someone pleasure then who am I to judge.

Best regards,
Jerry