The mains cable poll

[Joe Hutch]

Bet that elephant was killed by an illegal immigrant.

And the boyfriend was only following the latest faddish diet.

 

[darrylfunk]

So what is your exact stance on this Ultrawomble?

Is it

a) No but I know for certain that changing a mains cable could not possibly make a difference

or

b) Changing a mains cable can make a difference but only if the equipment powered via it is not designed properly

?

Your position is either one or the other as the two are mutually exclusive and yet oddly, both are frequently expressed by the same individuals. Perhaps I should have included b) above in one of the poll choices.

steven, maybe you will have to live with the uncertainty.....


i'm awaiting the conclusions of the poll with interest....


the thing with mains is starting to look like a naim problem as other brands don't seem to suffer from these astounding mains differences.....glad i jumped off the naim ship.....good to see the flat earth mafia alive and well after all these years still spouting their religious hi fi shop saturday boy expertise on the subject of cables.....

maybe a fifth poll answer could be 'do you think bad inaccurate hi fi could be mains dependent'

 

[Steven Toy]

There is some merit in the 5th poll answer but I think I would word it slightly differently.

Some equipment is perhaps more susceptible than others but less susceptible doesn't necessarily mean more "accurate."

My valve amps seem to be quite susceptible to mains cables but they don't seem to insist on high price-tag options.

I can live with the uncertainty of Ultrawomble's, er, two positions but wonder if he can.

 

[whatsnext]

Well I have tried it but heard no difference, cable still in place in case it jumps a BIG surprise on me. It feeds an AVI Lab series Integrated, I believe AVI recommend just use bog standard stuff and my findings confirm that. Sorry for all you with questionable kit who are hearing things.

I am open minded in fact the more Steve and co preach the more curious I am and if without too much effort I can try and hear something I am willing to say yes I heard the cuckoo. Wait a minute I've already done that with my MCRU No 14.

Enjoy your heard differences.

For those who do hear something another poll - the magnitude of difference. I have a sneaking suspicion there are hair splitters out there, yes I heard something but miniscule. Difference that is noticable and worth the effort or just an academic difference.

Another poll for those who do hear - what amount of physics, technical background do you have?

For those creaming themselves over a Naim demo of Powerline - anyone who believes a demo should seek advice as to why it is not a good idea.

I hope the result bring you joy Steve

 

[Ashley James]

In my opinion it's hard enough to sort out a good sound by picking bits of a system that do make a difference without trying hear ones that can't possibly exist. You just end up confused.

 

[Steven Toy]

Ashley, you simply take the time to eliminate the issues one-by-one.

 

[fraser.]

Other ideas for polls might include:

was your head in the exact same position each time?

have you spent more time/money on cable puffery than on room treatment?

have you tried a mains regenerator instead of a few metres of cable?

If you put a couch in front of a speaker can you hear the difference?

 

[sq225917]

I heard a small difference at Steven's house, but it was in no way a blind test and as such pointless in terms of divining truth.

We need another test.

1. Have you ever been able to statistically identify mains cables making a difference in a controlled double blind test?

Any other question is simply pointless and frankly 'proves' SFA.

 

[Steven Toy]

Other ideas for polls might include: <snip>

Knock yourself out! Instructions are provided.

If I remove the sofas my room will resemble the AVI dem room at Bristol '08.

 

[Steven Toy]

I heard a small difference at Steven's house, but it was in no way a blind test and as such pointless in terms of diving truth.

We need another test.

1. Have you ever been able to statistically identify mains cables making a difference in a controlled double blind test?

Any other question is simply pointless and frankly 'proves' SFA.

SQ, the purpose of the poll was not to seek any proof.

I acknowledge that you used single inverted commas around the word.

 

[whatsnext]

You might want to look at the poll results so far - over 60% of all respondents at the time of writing this voted for the fourth option, i.e. they have heard differences between mains cables. Surrounded by so many mad people, perhaps it is you who....

Steve

Beware of construing things from the large I hear result. If you look at how many people hear roll up to say they do hear far fewer none hearers bother. I suspect the number of non hears is massive in comparison. Unless Tony makes the Poll mandatory we will not know. Chance yourself on the High Street, how many people there do you suppose would hear a difference.

The high hearers result reflects the positive interest people have to preach the good word, why would they stay silent.

 

[jimi]

steven, maybe you will have to live with the uncertainty.....


i'm awaiting the conclusions of the poll with interest....


the thing with mains is starting to look like a naim problem as other brands don't seem to suffer from these astounding mains differences.....glad i jumped off the naim ship.....good to see the flat earth mafia alive and well after all these years still spouting their religious hi fi shop saturday boy expertise on the subject of cables.....

maybe a fifth poll answer could be 'do you think bad inaccurate hi fi could be mains dependent'

The Rega mains leads that I use make a noticable improvement to my Dynavector amps, but the Musicworks leads that I tried on my old Naim amps were bobbins.

 

[Nic P]

Steve

Beware of construing things from the large I hear result. If you look at how many people hear roll up to say they do hear far fewer none hearers bother. I suspect the number of non hears is massive in comparison. Unless Tony makes the Poll mandatory we will not know. Chance yourself on the High Street, how many people there do you suppose would hear a difference.

The high hearers result reflects the positive interest people have to preach the good word, why would they stay silent.

My suspicion is that many people (myself included) just avoid most cable threads because the views are polarised, posts can be quite offensive, and little new insight is posted. I think there is a large silent majority, both those who think they make a difference, and those who don't, who will be flushed out by this poll. I think the results will be a reasonable reflection of the views of the silent majority.

Nic P

 

[avole]

What a silly poll. Look how loaded the options are. This is just pandering to Steven Troll's ego!

Seriously, why bother? Who cares?

Since I confidently expect this thread to go the way of all cable threads, with troll-man versus science and the rest of the world, I'll bow out now.

 

[darrylfunk]

The Rega mains leads that I use make a noticable improvement to my Dynavector amps, but the Musicworks leads that I tried on my old Naim amps were bobbins.

i chat regularly to someone who works for rega (not mr darwin or mr bateman ) as i see him at gigs in essex and he says that the mains leads are just better in component quality terms but don't sound any different.

 

[whatsnext]

My suspicion is that many people (myself included) just avoid most cable threads because the views are polarised, posts can be quite offensive, and little new insight is posted. I think there is a large silent majority, both those who think they make a difference, and those who don't, who will be flushed out by this poll. I think the results will be a reasonable reflection of the views of the silent majority.

Nic P

Nic P

How do you come to that conclusion? IF there is a large silent majority believing mains cables make a difference why isn't it reflected in sales (allowing for salesman punt, and curiosity of recently reviewed products)
I believe all sorts but try to support those beliefs

 

[Steven Toy]

What a silly poll. Look how loaded the options are. This is just pandering to Steven Troll's ego!

Seriously, why bother? Who cares?

Since I confidently expect this thread to go the way of all cable threads, with troll-man versus science and the rest of the world, I'll bow out now.

Any suggestions as to the wording of the options so that they are not loaded?

Out of 4 possible choices only one says "Yes I have heard differences...."

 

[DaveKen]

I think there is a large silent majority, both those who think they make a difference, and those who don't,Nic P

Just how can you have a majority of any size on both sides? Does make it difficult to take the 'science' of this seriously.

 

[Muttley2]

The trolls and thread crappers over cables need to chill out. The aggression some put into negative comments about cables I think spoils this forum. Quite frankly I don't give a monkeys chuff about their vitriolic rants.
By the way Tellurium Q have a new mains cable, expensive, but should be rather good if their speaker cable is anything to go by. Am I tempted? You bet

 

[Joe Hutch]

Any suggestions as to the wording of the options so that they are not loaded?

Out of 4 possible choices only one says "Yes I have heard differences...."

The first question reads a bit weird: 'Yes and they made no difference and I therefore believe that they make no difference as expected' isn't actually a proper sentence; it sounds like something Vicky Pollard would say.

How about:

'Yes and they made no difference' to replace questions 1 and 2?