Im going to do that, and will keep hands behind back..no contact with cables. Waiting for repair return. Yes, I know about other forum....interested here because of reasonable skepticism of what strikes me as absurd. Modest interconnect claims do not seem too far fetched to me.
It could....this is better. Obsolete with newer and more costly DACS.
Why, you have some experience in metallurgy or dielectrics or something to determine cable characteristics? Do you know the electrical characteristics of the cables you're using? Also, there is a headphone forum here for you to peruse as well https://forums.audioholics.com/forums/audio/headphones-and-earphones.48/
Each device has the ability to add noise/detract from signal...that's all. Not a usb guy myself.
No, I do not know dialectrics or metallurgy, but I think I know what I hear and will attempt a fair test. I am not a cork sniffing wine drinker, but if I tell you there is a hint of lemmongrass, and you dont get it, and it cant be measured....does that mean that those who do are experiencing suggestion or mass hypnosis? Not necessarily. Cable break in, power conditioners, solid state warm up....maybe not!
You know that sniffing a cork is generally useless, right? You want to feel it between your fingers for degradation...altho if it smells horrible that's probably good enough reason to return it. Audiophilia takes a lot of cues from the wine industry as to flowery review language. Lots of expectation bias going on there, too. Ever see the hilarious water experiment that Penn & Teller did?
Thank you! I know there is a headphone area, but I am satisfied with my gear in that area, and am looking to learn and get some perspectives on the cable issue, from those not interested in selling me something. I saw a cable advertised for $30,000....not $3000.....and asked myself how is such a thing possible?
The answer is simple....it's possible (and there are more expensive than $30k) but not worth it unless you just like throwing money at a non-issue.
A few other items to consider:
So, you are running an extra conversion step that really isn't necessary, that is just another opportunity to degrade the signal and add noise to your signal chain.
Thank you for your advice, I will look into making some changes. This whole thread began because out of necessity I replaced a headphone cable...and a different material was used (solid silver). I thought is sounded noticeably better than the original...so down the rabbit hole re the interconnect question.
By the way, price in this case did not color my objectivity ...as described in the interesting wine/price taste experiment ....the silver new headphone cables cost less than replacement Audeze ones would have (which I had repaired later as spare set)....and I had no bias or knowledge re silver vs copper. The suggestion and opportunity was just there to get them instead of stock replacement. So when comparing them, although aware of which was which, I prefered the silver. Will next week do my best to set up a blind test and report back. I really have no agenda promoting one over the other...just that it is pissible to distinguish.
No, it is not possible. Human perception has limits and has been tested. Do you ask the audiologist what wires he is using or headphones?
LOL actually have an appointment Thursday...and was going to check out the gear
Have never been to one. I am talking about subtilties, not "do you hear it now" testing. If that is the nature of of the test, I would think the measuring equipment would be straightforward. Can characteristics such as soundstage and instrument separation be scientifically measured in music reproduction?LOL actually have an appointment Thursday...and was going to check out the gear
First you'd have to determine the soundstage/separation as created by the recording/mixing engineer (since it's not a real thing that's being recorded generally) and see how faithfully you're reproducing it...so you'd basically need the engineer's room and speakers?
Just another facet...when I was speaking with a Cable Guy today and mentioned I had an old cable...he said they can wear out. Hmm...possibly the sheathing if subjected to constant moving around? Mine hasnt moved in ten years. But the core?? Ahh, if there is a "break in" period, should I accept that there is a worn out stage?
