ASR claims that if SINAD is sufficiently high, or if the measurements are far below what one could reasonably expect a human to hear, it is unlikely that one can hear differences . The logical conclusion is therefore that there can be no audible sound differences and thus no sound signature.
Professor Kunchur measures local differences at high frequencies, impulses, and noise, and unsurprisingly finds that cables made from poor, impure materials perform worse than those made from pure, quality materials. However, he lacks a blind test that shows the same correlation with listening. Alpha Audio has measured similar things and claims to hear sound differences that correlate with their measurements.
I have participated in "shoot outs" where the first cables to be eliminated were the bad ones; the cheap cables with poor materials, while the expensive cables with better materials remained to compete for the win.
Ethan Winer refutes the above by comparing a $3 cable with a $700 cable in this test
. He shows that down to -100 dB, there is no difference in signal transmission between the two cables. ASR has demonstrated the same in several forum threads. There is no reason to question the measurements of ASR, Ethan Winer, Kunchur, or Alpha Audio; they are all correct, as far as I can assess.
The disagreement lies in that ASR and others believe there is no more to discuss. If people hear a difference in sound, it is either placebo or a flaw in the test procedure or equipment failure. Kunchur and Alpha Audio would not do all this work if they did not believe there were sound differences. They have likely gained their conviction through blind tests and general listening experience, like millions of other hi-fi enthusiasts.
People without technical knowledge typically take it for granted that there are sound differences between cables, unlike many enthusiasts with technical knowledge who can see the problem: what they hear should not be possible. But what should they do? They hear it, even in blind tests. I belong to this group and it took me a long time to accept these unmeasurable sound differences. Only after confirmation from reputable manufacturers and Diy people who had the same experiences as me was I convinced.
How do we evaluate hi-fi? We hear, among other things, noise, uncontrolled bass, and other factors that can typically be measured and fixed. Yes, these should be in order before a serious assessment can begin, and these measurable problems should constitute a very small part of the sound. The vast majority of the evaluation of sound is unfortunately based on parameters that cannot be immediately measured, such as soundstage/image, timbre, rhythm, and fidelity of the sound.
I dare say that a AP analyzers do not tell much about the sound but everything about the unit's electrical performance, which is necessary to ensure high and consistent quality in production. Plus, it is a good tool to connect listening experiences and measurements.
Go to a hi-fi exhibition and listen to the diversity in sound, then try to connect it with data and measurements. No, we should not reintroduce DIN 45500 as a definition of hi-fi. We need to find measurements that actually tell how something sounds. Easier said than done, except apparently for ASR and their followers.
Those of us who hear sound differences and have technical insight don't have bulletproof electrical explanations. We are more or less working in the dark. The only thing that is certain for me personally is that material selection and high-frequency properties seem to give a sound signature that seems independent of current and voltage, application, data and to some extent construction. If an interconnect cable and a speaker cable or power cable are made of the same materials, they will have the same recognizable sound signature, regardless of length.
That was my answer to the thread question. As I said, I have no solid technical explanations, only hypotheses and listening experiences. There is no doubt that the ASR segment holds the good cards, which I recognize 100%. I've talked a lot about cables, but the problem, the riddle/mystery if you will, includes all passive including PCB and chassis and active components. Passive components may be considered virtually flawless for audio signals, yet I and many others hear significant differences in e.g. capacitors and resistors. For active components, the unmeasurable problem is a subset of the resulting sound.
Ps. I am not a troll and believe I am sticking to the topic of the thread, I am only trying to give insight into how other experiences can change one's opinion and question what theory and measurement can show about what we experience in front of the hifi system, no doubt that measurement is indispensable to ensure high and consistent
electrical quality.
