USB Cable Poll: Redux

[darrenyeats]

Assuming we're talking async USB ... there is the unlikely possibility that there is a physical mechanism for this difference, for which no hard evidence has been found so far.

I am open to the possibility, even though presently I don't believe it.

 

[Purité Audio]

I am impressed you have a listening panel.
Keith

 

[Alan Sircom]

I am impressed you have a listening panel.
Keith

I rarely rely on panels, but extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.

 

[Purité Audio]

I enjoy your writing,when you start an online magazine, free from the current baggage I will subscribe .
Keith.

 

[Paul R]

I get that you accept some dropouts can be audible, but your statements are still mutually exclusive.

They're not both my statements.

Paul

 

[Paul R]

Except when playing glitch music.
Ha!

The best sort.

Or is that lift music? I get so confused.

Paul

 

[Joe]

One person saying 'it makes things sound large'

As big as a grapefruit?

or a small dog?

or a pink and yellow striped pony? ( that one foe Fox )

or an elephant?

or the area of two football pitches?

or the size of Wales?

Be specific man! how large can something sound? the public needs to know.

 

[ItemAudio]

I enjoy your writing,when you start an online magazine, free from the current baggage I will subscribe .
Keith.

By 'baggage', do you mean advertising?

 

[merlin]

So... are you calling me dishonest?

Alan I just happened to stumble upon a review of yours of Cardas mains cables.

You describe the sonic qualities of the Cardas "Clear" range as transparency, smoothness and refinement, these improvements increasing markedly as you go up through the range/pay more.

Would you feel confident that you could identify these qualities under controlled conditions?

 

[Alan Sircom]

As big as a grapefruit?

or a small dog?

or a pink and yellow striped pony? ( that one foe Fox )

or an elephant?

or the area of two football pitches?

or the size of Wales?

Be specific man! how large can something sound? the public needs to know.

It's always the size of Wales. There's a part of the internet the size of Wales that just fell into the sea. No-one's talking about it, though.

 

[Alan Sircom]

Alan I just happened to stumble upon a review of yours of Cardas mains cables.

You describe the sonic qualities of the Cardas "Clear" range as transparency, smoothness and refinement, these improvements increasing markedly as you go up through the range/pay more.

Would you feel confident that you could identify these qualities under controlled conditions?

It depends what you mean by 'controlled conditions'? If you mean under such conditions where I couldn't tell the Beatles from Beethoven, then no. If you mean the same conditions people use to buy things, then it's far more likely.

 

[merlin]

The press has barely paid any attention to audio USB cables. The market for them - although growing - is still small. The buying readership in the UK is not digital-literate enough to be interested: it doesn't sell copies. There isn't much advertising revenue attached to it. Cable reviews of any sort are a turn-off and will be interpreted by part of the audience as 'foo' - digital doubly so. It's very different in Japan . . .

You replied:

“How? Do you have links to any Stereo Sound cable reviews? . . . Still waiting for those Stereo Sound review links Item. Incredible how many requests for any form of verification you seem to miss.”

Exactly. You inferred that digital cable reviews were rife in Japanese HiFi magazines. Anyone with half a grasp of the English language would pick up on that from your quote above.

I subsequently asked you for some evidence and you responded by showing a Japanese PC Audio magazine which features reviews of headphones, Dacs, software, servers and loudspeakers. But no USB cables.

Now I'm not sure if you are genuinely simply confused as you appear, or whether you think you are being smart. Whichever, could you please stop posting unsubstantiated waffle unless you are at least prepared to offer up something to support it? Is that too much to ask?

 

[merlin]

It depends what you mean by 'controlled conditions'? If you mean under such conditions where I couldn't tell the Beatles from Beethoven, then no. If you mean the same conditions people use to buy things, then it's far more likely.

I mean without being aware of which cable is being used. That's all Alan.

You see I struggle with the whole "obvious (yet unmeasurable) differences disappear under blind conditions therefore the conditions are to blame" from a credibility POV. You are, after all, supposed to be an expert in the field giving advice and guidance to the readers are you not?

 

[maxflinn]

I mean without being aware of which cable is being used. That's all Alan.

That sounds extremely stressful

 

[ItemAudio]

Exactly. You inferred that digital cable reviews were rife in Japanese HiFi magazines. Anyone with half a grasp of the English language would pick up on that from your quote above.

I subsequently asked you for some evidence and you responded by showing a Japanese PC Audio magazine which features reviews of headphones, Dacs, software, servers and loudspeakers. But no USB cables.

Now I'm not sure if you are genuinely simply confused as you appear, or whether you think you are being smart. Whichever, could you please stop posting unsubstantiated waffle unless you are at least prepared to offer up something to support it? Is that too much to ask?

Before I leave you to your furious little crusade, I'll reiterate the simple observation: the Japanese market is more evolved than the UK with respect to all aspects of digital audio - including USB cables. The plethora of flourishing specialist publications is indicative.

 

[merlin]

Have you been to Akihabara at all Item or is Google about as far as you travel?

 

[Alan Sircom]

I mean without being aware of which cable is being used. That's all Alan.

Between the three different strains of Clear, probably not. Between the appropriate Clear for the device and kettle flex, again probably. It depends on how much close-listening you've done at the time. I know people who spend their lives listening to capacitors and can hear things you are supposedly unable to hear, but do it consistently and reliably. Make them take a week's holiday and they lose that skill for several days upon their return.

It's why the Japanese are so hard-core in this. They take it really seriously and do spend hours and hours and hours just listening back and forth as an endless series of AB tests. Which is why they command so much respect, I guess.

Do this kind of listening test cold and you are unlikely to hear the difference between anything. Even loudspeakers if you have been away from critical listening for long enough. Spend eight hours a day for a week doing critical listening for amplifier differences and you get pretty good at it. Same with cables.

 

[maxflinn]

Alan, the only thing a decent mains cable might do is eradicate a clearly audible hum that was present while using a faulty one.

 

[Alan Sircom]

I mean without being aware of which cable is being used. That's all Alan.

You see I struggle with the whole "obvious (yet unmeasurable) differences disappear under blind conditions therefore the conditions are to blame" from a credibility POV. You are, after all, supposed to be an expert in the field giving advice and guidance to the readers are you not?

I've performed blind listening tests on cables in the past. The differences aren't that hard to hear if you apply yourself to the task in hand. You do have to work at it, though.

 

[h.g.]

Stepping back from the cynical, have you considered the possibility that the person writing the review is also an enthusiast? If the reader is an enthusiastic believer in the sound of audiophile USB cables, then why can't the same thing apply to the person writing the review?

The rogue:nutter ratio for those that review audiophile snake oil is rarely clear. When challenged with the science nutters tend to walk into things which rogues avoid but this is not a particularly strong test. If the reviewer is found to have cut a long review cable into short lengths and flogged them it is a bit clearer.

But how come there are a whole bunch of no-thanks letters attached to USB cables being sent back?

If someone is comparing a few cables then most will be sent back.

More importantly, how can people independently report the same criticisms levelled at the same cable under blind conditions? One person saying 'it makes things sound large' would be an outlier. But six saying the same specific thing independently (some saying it in a positive sense, some a negative)? How does that work?

To answer this question requires a close look at what is going on.

So... are you calling me dishonest?

I lack the information to say. I will say that you are giving an impression of being dishonest if you are claiming to have identified USB cables in blind tests. Can you please clarify this? There is no problem hearing differences in blind tests but there is in being able to identify which cable is which. If you believe you can identify USB cables blind then your status as a magazine editor is likely to get you accepted for the JREF million dollar challenge. Should be enough to make up for that missed payola and fix the shed.