I'm coming 'off the fence'

[Pim]

To those blaming the placebo effect or some cognitive bias, when I was a "beginner" in this hobby I couldn't hear/detect differences between cables (or certain other things like power treatment devices) while others often could. I have always been honest about that.

Nowadays, and many years later, I can often detect differences, even subtle ones between cables. Often these differences aren't clear instantaneous, it could take days before I am sure of the differences and can also use words to describe these or the impact they have on emotional impact from the music. One of the reasons DBT/ABX tests won't work for me, unless the differences are "night and day" of course.

I'd like to think that I not only have improved my system and listening room but also have trained and improved my listening skills and perhaps even my hearing (the processing part happening in the brain). Perhaps a bit like someone who becomes blind will improve his listening skills/hearing (be it though enhanced focus or whatever mechanism at play there) I can't think of any valid reasons why I would have suddenly "trained" my susceptibility to the placebo effect, not even unconscious reasons.

The reason why quick switching tests are preferred is that the duration of echoic memory is around 3-4 seconds (or possibly up to a maximum of 20 seconds if there are no distractions). Quick switching tests are therefore much more accurate than listening tests over longer durations.

You're not alone in finding longer listening sessions more congenial: I do too, and I find quick switching quite tiring. But even so it is much more accurate.

Since I got 'Get better sound' I have been amazed by how much better I could make my system sound. This was my old system, not the one I have now. Since then, when I would be home from work, I had set my chair up exactly in the middle of the room because I had set my speakers up equidistant from the walls. In the small room it is, my wife got annoyed with it being in the way and asked me to move the chair over. This meant moving my speakers too. I did (the things we do for love). As it turns out that was a good move. The music sounded fuller and less edgy. I wasn't looking for it, I just noticed it. The explanation for it is easy; I moved closer to a window on the left, where there's less reflection, and further from the right, where there's just a wall with more reflection.

This is an example of a blind test as far as I'm concerned. And no, I'm not going to move my speakers and seat back to check whether I was right or not. I noticed a difference without looking for it and that's good enough for me.

If I decide to jump off the fence on the 'cables make a difference' side, it will have to be because of such a defining moment.

My old system was a Denon PMA720 amp and B&W DM14 speakers. I had that system for over twenty five years. Now I have a Devialet 200 and Dynaudio C1, my system sounds clearer, has better imaging, better and deeper bass and it sounds much more like real music than my old system. It also doesn't go as loud as my old system did.


I'm willing to bet my new system that I can pick my new system over my old system 100% of the time in a blind test, even though I never have before. And I also bet my new system that nobody on this forum really believes that this is of the placebo effect. 

IF I'm going to say that my new cable makes a huge difference I want to be able to bet my system on that statement. Otherwise I will jump off the other side of the fence. But jump I will. My ass is getting itchy on here