To my ears USB cables do make a difference.

[Jasonovich]

I did watch the one he linked to about USB cables because I never stick my fingers in my ears.
And I never disregard what anyone has to say.

I would like to ask you and Jason a question.
Feel free to dismiss it as irrelevant and not even bother to answer.
Have you ever been hypnotised?
I'm not trying to be funny, but I've had close experience watching stage hypnotists in action.
Some people could be hypnotised, made to do and say anything.
Others, no chance.
I'd definitely put Jason in the first category.
Nothing wrong with that, brains work differently.
....just my theory, I'm up for being proved wrong 👍

I'm fair game Gray. I'm intrigued from USB to Manchurian Candidate. This thread gets more bizarre each day! 😊
I know of a friend who was put under hypnosis. He was suffering acute nerves leading up to his exams.
To answer your question I have never been hypnotised.
Tinkering around inside someones head is scary, there's no way of knowing the long term affects.
I hope this helps? 😁

 

[Jasonovich]

This thread needs to go to bed, it's just boring now...

I agree, I'm going to jump over to another thread. 😊

 

[Jasonovich]

Opinions are like a***holes; my wife keeps hers to herself!

Stop it I almost pissed myself laughing!

 

[npxavar]

The transmission protocol is different, the 0 & 1s remain the same, nice try though.

Bill

The CRC is there but it is ignored because retransmission of packages is not supported in USB Audio. You can read the full edn article if you want more details.

 

[rainsoothe]

I did watch the one he linked to about USB cables because I never stick my fingers in my ears.
And I never disregard what anyone has to say.

I would like to ask you and Jason a question.
Feel free to dismiss it as irrelevant and not even bother to answer.
Have you ever been hypnotised?
I'm not trying to be funny, but I've had close experience watching stage hypnotists in action.
Some people could be hypnotised, made to do and say anything.
Others, no chance.
I'd definitely put Jason in the first category.
Nothing wrong with that, brains work differently.
....just my theory, I'm up for being proved wrong 👍

So you did watch it, but you have nothing to contradict the guy's findings, and yet you're sticking to your camp. So you say "where's evidence?", person comes with "here's evidence, sir", and then... "lalalalalalala". At least that's how I read it. Unless I missed your counter-argument to the test the guy did.

 

[WayneKerr]

It's cable threads like this that makes me wonder how on earth music ever leaves a recording studio!

 

[Gray]

So you did watch it,

Yes I did.
Like me you will have noticed how non- committal that man was.
Sensibly, very carefully avoiding ascribing his findings to how they might affect actual music which, after all, is what counts.

I'll leave you with the bottom line as far as I'm concerned 👍

Regardless of what any Youtuber comes up with:
If you, or anyone else, can reliably and consistently, BLINDLY tell any cable apart from another.....good for you.
Anything less and I (respectfully) suggest that you're fooling yourself.

(My point about hypnotism was that the power of suggestion can completely take over the brains of some people..
Add that to the very persuasive and plausible 'science' of the cable vendors.....and I really don't blame anyone for perceiving a difference from their expensive cable(s).

 

[podknocker]

I agree with this. People who say they hear a difference should be able to reliably and repeatedly show this, during blind listening tests. The 'believers' should also be able to offer a scientific explanation for this difference, so we can form a scientific consensus, to then prove how a cable can make things sound better.

They can't offer this explanation currently and I have seen no consistent reports of a cable making a difference, nor anyone showing this phenomenon to be real. I'll remain sceptical until a forum, a person, or shop can show me a cable which guarantees to make my system sound better and explain how.

 

[Deleted member 201267]

I agree with this. People who say they hear a difference should be able to reliably and repeatedly show this, during blind listening tests. The 'believers' should also be able to offer a scientific explanation for this difference, so we can form a scientific consensus, to then prove how a cable can make things sound better.

They can't offer this explanation currently and I have seen no consistent reports of a cable making a difference, nor anyone showing this phenomenon to be real. I'll remain sceptical until a forum, a person, or shop can show me a cable which guarantees to make my system sound better and explain how.

I agree with what you say but i would genuinely struggle to identify, the often subtle differences, between different source, amps and even loudspeakers in a blind test.

 

[npxavar]

This thread needs to go to bed, it's just boring now...

You probably mean put to bed.

 

[npxavar]

"Boring" or "Repetitive" is not against forum rules. Not every discussion has to be fun and engaging for the wider community. That's just bad.

 

[abacus]

I agree with what you say but i would genuinely struggle to identify, the often subtle differences, between different source, amps and even loudspeakers in a blind test.

If you cant tell the difference between speakers in a blind test, or amplifiers (In how they interact with the speakers) then I would suggest you see your doctor, as your hearing is below par.
As to the rest (Apart from the source) then of course you wont, as it doesn't exist, except in the mind when external cues are added, this is why all biological life forms are easily fooled.
BTW: While a lot of technical details on manufactures sites are correct, most of them do not affect audio frequency's, and are put there to purely con the layperson into believing that they do.

Bill

 

[Deleted member 201267]

If you cant tell the difference between speakers in a blind test, or amplifiers (In how they interact with the speakers) then I would suggest you see your doctor, as your hearing is below par.
As to the rest (Apart from the source) then of course you wont, as it doesn't exist, except in the mind when external cues are added, this is why all biological life forms are easily fooled.
BTW: While a lot of technical details on manufactures sites are correct, most of them do not affect audio frequency's, and are put there to purely con the layperson into believing that they do.

Bill

Somebody on this forum years ago stated that all solid state amplifiers, when level matched, were indistinguishable in a blind test.

I believe has was an ex hi-fi dealer of nearly 30 years experience.

There is even a test / challenge, with a huge money prize, for anybody that can actually do this.

As far as i'm aware nobody has taken up this offer...

 

[Friesiansam]

There is even a test / challenge, with a huge money prize, for anybody that can actually do this.

As far as i'm aware nobody has taken up this offer...

I'd better go to the quack and get my ears syringed...

 

[podknocker]

I bought a Denon DVD2900 player years ago and I instantly heard details I'd not heard on my Rotel CD player. Disc players do have distinct tonal qualities. I compared a Technics CD player and a Sony CD player, many years ago at John Lewis and the Technics was clean and dry, with bags of top end detail and the Sony was bass heavy and leaden, with a very laboured and dull sound.

I had a NAD amp and that sounded different to my other amp. I also had a Quad Vena 2 amp and this also had a different sound. All I have now is my Audiolab Omnia and it again sounds different to my previous kit. My speakers are QA3030i and sound great, with the foam bungs in. My last pair of speakers were Wharfedale Diamond 230 and the upper bass honk and drone was unbearable.

I think loudspeakers have very different sound profiles. Most of the changes in sound quality can be found with speakers. The relationship between the drive unit/baffle and the mass of air being vibrated offers the biggest difference in sound, in my experience anyway. I would win huge prize money, if I was asked to choose between my current and previous speakers. I can also hear the change, when I unplug and replug the foam bungs on my QAs.

Off topic, sorry, but I won £20 years ago, by SMELLING Pepsi Cola and Coca Cola and choosing my favourite, Pepsi Cola.

Back to cables and I've had a few. I don't think they add anything to the sound of a system. So long as they are built OK, it will be fine.

 

[npxavar]

What fuels this thread is that the title reads like a thesis, begging to be challenged. If it was something like "The Chord Shawline USB Cable is Terrific", this thread would probably look less like a battle to be won.

Maybe general statements on cables should be disallowed as thread titles. New forum rule!

 

[Deleted member 201267]

I bought a Denon DVD2900 player years ago and I instantly heard details I'd not heard on my Rotel CD player. Disc players do have distinct tonal qualities. I compared a Technics CD player and a Sony CD player, many years ago at John Lewis and the Technics was clean and dry, with bags of top end detail and the Sony was bass heavy and leaden, with a very laboured and dull sound.

I had a NAD amp and that sounded different to my other amp. I also had a Quad Vena 2 amp and this also had a different sound. All I have now is my Audiolab Omnia and it again sounds different to my previous kit. My speakers are QA3030i and sound great, with the foam bungs in. My last pair of speakers were Wharfedale Diamond 230 and the upper bass honk and drone was unbearable.

I think loudspeakers have very different sound profiles. Most of the changes in sound quality can be found with speakers. The relationship between the drive unit/baffle and the mass of air being vibrated offers the biggest difference in sound, in my experience anyway. I would win huge prize money, if I was asked to choose between my current and previous speakers. I can also hear the change, when I unplug and replug the foam bungs on my QAs.

Off topic, sorry, but I won £20 years ago, by SMELLING Pepsi Cola and Coca Cola and choosing my favourite, Pepsi Cola.

Back to cables and I've had a few. I don't think they add anything to the sound of a system. So long as they are built OK, it will be fine.

I have found the differences to be subtle between source components and amplifiers when played into the same loudspeakers.

Maybe if i compared a £300 CD player / Amp combo against a £13,000 CD player / Amp combo, into the same loudspeakers, the differences would be huge ???

Loudspeakers, yes, bigger differences but still not the "night and day" crap touted by some...
(of course comparing small standmounts to large floorstanders would be another story...).

That was my point and in a blind test these differences would probably be smaller.

 

[npxavar]

I have found the differences to be subtle between source components and amplifiers when played into the same loudspeakers.

Maybe if i compared a £300 CD player / Amp combo against a £13,000 CD player / Amp combo, into the same loudspeakers, the differences would be huge ???

Loudspeakers, yes, bigger differences but still not the "night and day" crap touted by some...
(of course comparing small standmounts to large floorstanders would be another story...).

That was my point and in a blind test these differences would probably be smaller.

If you weren't hearing differences you wouldn't be into Hi-Fi. Loudspeakers make the most difference because unlike maybe everything else in the audio chain they cannot produce a flat frequency response (That is within +/-0.5db with no frequency averaging).

 

[podknocker]

One thing I find confusing is the WHF reviews of cables. There seems to be a contradiction here and do WHF reviews of cables actually give a true representation of the cable?

WHF seem to find differences, under review conditions, but most people, including myself, can't actually hear any difference. I've listened to many lengths of copper and silver in my speakers and found no change at all.

 

[Deleted member 201267]

If you weren't hearing differences you wouldn't be into Hi-Fi. Loudspeakers make the most difference because unlike maybe everything else in the audio chain they cannot produce a flat frequency response (That is within +/-0.5db with no frequency averaging).

I'm not "into" HI-FI i'm into listening to music.
Its why my cd collection costs more than my "HI-FI" system...

 

[npxavar]

I'm not "into" HI-FI i'm into listening to music.
Its why my cd collection costs more than my "HI-FI" system...

Most vinyl enthusiasts' vinyl collection too.

 

[Jasonovich]

Yes I did.
Like me you will have noticed how non- committal that man was.
Sensibly, very carefully avoiding ascribing his findings to how they might affect actual music which, after all, is what counts.

I'll leave you with the bottom line as far as I'm concerned 👍

Regardless of what any Youtuber comes up with:
If you, or anyone else, can reliably and consistently, BLINDLY tell any cable apart from another.....good for you.
Anything less and I (respectfully) suggest that you're fooling yourself.

(My point about hypnotism was that the power of suggestion can completely take over the brains of some people..
Add that to the very persuasive and plausible 'science' of the cable vendors.....and I really don't blame anyone for perceiving a difference from their expensive cable(s).

If we go into the psychosis and I feel I need to provide some context, I always liked to tweak things, 'Make it Better'. Also, I needed an anchor to pin down my excessive creative urges.......sorry I'm on the couch......my Art teacher always told me, I will make a fine graphic artist but I never lived up to my calling, I'm now into financing, procuring energy (utilities) for the local council. Being creative with numbers isn't so bad!

Anyway I hope you don't mind me sharing, one common trait with people, they can talk endlessly about themselves, people do this possibly for self validation, they're bored, lonely? You can't have one shoe size (prognosis) for everyone, we're all different. Please, move to the next thread if this becomes too indulgent

In the 80's I had grown a real passion for Hi-Fi. In the 90's my love extended to PC's, I began to learn quickly how to put together my rig. Customisation wasn't the thing then. Remember the floppy disks and those beige vanilla deskstops? I built rigs for family and friends, something that grew was the tinkering; things like quality PSU, six layer motherboards, (and a bit like the USB cable debate we're having now), the PC tribalism Intel v AMD (I sit with the Red Boys!) or Nvidia v AMD (I'm with the Green team on this one).

Something I borrowed from modding (PC modders), is good cabling, quality components, linear ATX power supply with no switching power circuits, discrete GPUs. A lot of things I tried to attain from PCs have crossed over to HI-Fi . I was using discrete PCI sound cards to get the very best sound quality from my PC. I later moved onto external DACs and this was the 360 degrees, that brought me back into Hi-Fi.

See below my customised rig, courtesy of Lian Li fish tank case, AIB cpu water cooling, glorious RGB's and the FAERIES!!!!.......I can explain the f......No I can't where's the shrink!

Also note, on the PC I built into the case, the extended legs, these are solid brass wardrobe door knobs I got from Homebase. I did this to improve the airflow in my case, the temp on the CPU when idle, averages 37c in winter and 46c in the summer. The correlation I'm trying to make between PC modding and Hi-Fi are the same, for some people not all, we tweak our Hi-Fi to get the best sound for the least amount of money.
Granted I did pay £120 for the Chord Shawline cable but that was my personal choice and I'm glad I did.

 

[Deleted member 201267]

Most vinyl enthusiasts' vinyl collection too.

CD's are cheaper than vinyl.

 

[npxavar]

CD's are cheaper than vinyl.

And that is why the term "audiophile" is mostly reserved for those who play predominantly vinyl on their system.

Now, I didn't call you that, did I?

 

[Deleted member 201267]

And that is why the term "audiophile" is mostly reserved for those who play predominantly vinyl on their system.

Now, I didn't call you that, did I?

Who says the term "audiophile" is mostly reserved for those who play predominantly vinyl on their system ?