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Technical and scientific discussion of amps, cables and other topics.

Some misunderstandings

First one:

Me: "The act of listening in an attempt to identify differences is a fundamentally different task than listening to music, so you have introduced another variable. Has anyone proven that the results are the same?"

You: "If you don't belive that they are, then you don't belive in the math and science which tells us how to break down complex waveforms into simpler ones so that they can be analyzed to a far greater extent than a jumbled incomprehensible squiggle on an oscilloscope"

I was referring to the differences in the processes occurring in the brain, not the signal composition. Is the brain activity identical for the two activities? My point continues to be:

The only point in transmitting music via a cable is (ultimately) to cause brain activity in a human being. We cannot (yet) non-invasively measure this acitivity easily, so we cannot eliminate the subjective reaction from the measurement framework.

And, yes, I believe in the ability to transform signals between the time and frequency domains for improved analysis.

Next:

You: "Are you saying that nobody can devise a method for correlating perceived differences and any objective electrical measurement technique?"

Of course not. I am suggesting that the blind insistence that LCR measurements are the end of the story is farcical. Progress on this is necessariliy going to be fuzzy, and it's perfectly reasonable to rely on subjective input in making progress, at least in terms of suggesting areas to investigate.

Bottom line: the audiophile cable industry takes a lot of crap for the "snake oil" perception. IMO, the marketing of cables is no worse than (or different from) the marketing of most other products. At this point, there is absolutely no proof that they do not deliver as advertised SUBJECTIVELY. Yes, most of the pseudo science claims are bogus, but we don't even know if the sonic effects are real.

How do you correlate measurements with something that may or may not exist?

Peter


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