We all know how controversial DBT protocol has become, and it is even banned for discussion in some audio groups (guess which one ). So lets say we come up with a new method of cable evaluation that does not involve any type of DBT, and it can be done sighted. And to make things simple, this method will be used to see if two cables of similar length, gauge and construction sound different.

This method would be to setup a room with a good audio system, and then invite few cable savvies and give each participant some times (this can be couple of hours or days) to spend alone in that room evaluating couple of cables and make note of each cable signature (ie..whether it improve the bass, treble, soundstage, etc).

The main objective here will be to see how different each participant's notes are on each cables. If the notes and comments taken from each participant are all different and don't match up, then we will all know that palacebo effect is definitely at work here since the system and room acoustic has remained the same. If a cable DOES sound different, then the notes and comments taken from each person should match up.

I believe this method of testing will be good way to find out if two cables do indeed sound different. If each person take on cables are different -for example one person said that it improved the bass and another said the treble-then we will know for sure that there are other factors involved such as own perception when evaluating cables.