Expensive Cables? I must resist!

[skeptic]

Children want to believe in Santa Claus, the tooth fairy, and the easter bunny. Audiophiles want to believe in nice looking cables. That makes the job of marketing them so much easier. Packaging is sometimes everything. Detroit used to repackage the same crappy old cars every year with a slightly different body style and the suckers just kept coming back again and again and again year after year until the Japanese offered them a quality product that didn't change and didn't fall apart after 50,000 miles either. It takes time for some people to wake up and then again, some never do.

The myth that only "high resolution" sound systems can reveal the difference between cables is one of Jon Risch's favorite arguements. Now that he doesn't post here much anymore, it's nice to see that someone else has taken up that cause. Of course nobody here would ever want to admit that he doesn't own a high resolution system whatever that means. Or that his hearing has deteriorated from age or from being exposed to loud sounds so long that a better investment would be a hearing aid. Do you need a hearing aid when you can hear things that don't exist? Maybe a straight jacket and a rubber room would be more appropriate.

Even expensive cables can fail in service. Several years ago, MikE reported that the pins on his expensive speaker cables broke off and the manufacturer (who was his friend) repaired them for free. (He was trying to tell us how wonderful they were to give this level of customer service but was a little horrified when I thanked him for letting us know which brand was so unreliable. Apparantly his friends told him not to mention their name on this board again. Hehehe.)

[E-Stat]

Detroit used to repackage the same crappy old cars every year with a slightly different body style...

Used to? Aside from trucks, they have relinquished the rest of the market to the Japanese and the Germans. I've driven Honda vehicles, both two and four wheeled, exclusively for over twenty years.

The myth that only "high resolution" sound systems can reveal the difference between cables is one of Jon Risch's favorite arguements.

Everyone has a point of reference of as to the best system they have heard. By comments you made in an earlier thread where you told us about your million dollar+ house, you stated that you could afford anything you wanted. Ok. Does your system represent the very best that you have heard?

rw

[skeptic]

Does your system represent the very best that you have heard?
rw

I'd have to say in some ways yes, in some ways no. My system incorporates both a conventional 2 channel sound system and what can loosely be termed a surround system of my own invention. I stopped seriously shopping for audio equipment many years ago when I came to some startling conclusions among which was that the then current (and still prevalent) paradymes for high end audio systems would soon be fully exploited and had far more than reached the point of diminishing returns and approached the absolute maximum which it could deliver. Depending on what your particular goals and expectations are this may be entirely satisfactory or unsatisfactory. My current best sound system as a two channel setup can fairly accurately reproduce the musical timbre of insturments on most well made recordings most of the time. As far as I am concerned, this is the most a two channel audio system can strive for. As people who have read my opinions know, I am mostly focused on classical music which I consider the only music which is sufficiently compelling to justify the cost and effort of the best technology has to offer. But they also know that I am well aware from both my personal experience and from reading expert opinions of the worlds best acousticians such as Leo Baranek and Cyril Harris (not to mention the published measurements of Amar Bose) that acoustics of concert halls play a crucial role in what is heard at a live performance contributing 80 percent or more of the total sound yet modern technology has no way to record or resynthesize this sound. I solved the physics, mathematics, and electrical engineering aspects of this problem 30 years ago this March and incorporated all of this knowledge into a patent which ran out several years ago. The second prototype version I experimented with produced a more convincing illusion than the current one but was very complicated to operate and difficult to adjust and maintain. After 11 years of on and off use and experimentation, it was dismantled 19 year ago never to see the light of day again. The current one is less satisfactory but has only been in existance about 2 years and will undergo further development. In short, there is NO equipment anyone could conceivably offer at any price which in any way resembles what is currently offered that would satisfy me any more than what I currently own. As for cables, considering the gap between what the techonlogy can produce and what I want and expect, it's just a kind of joke.

[E-Stat]

Thank you for the thoughtful comments.

I am mostly focused on classical music which I consider the only music which is sufficiently compelling to justify the cost and effort of the best technology has to offer.

Agreed. I particularly like minimally miked recordings, both old and new. Some of the three miked Mercury recordings from the 50s still hold their own in realism to me.

In short, there is NO equipment anyone could conceivably offer at any price which in any way resembles what is currently offered that would satisfy me any more than what I currently own.

While I won't debate satisfaction, you may be surprised at what is available today. My point of reference got completely recalibrated a couple of years ago when I first heard one particular system. It is so startlingly better than anything else I've ever heard. The problem is that you really cannot go to any dealer and hear such. Nor are shows particularly good sonic environments. While those experiences haven't lessened the enjoyment I get from listening to music with my gear, they have opened my eyes (er, ears) at what is possible.

rw