MattHooper
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I found it interesting that Stereophile recently published a short review of some audio cables - written by Herb Reichert.
Cable reviews at one point became very rare at Stereophile and I've long wondered why. First of all cables were never accompanied by measurements as there were for DACs, Amps, Phono Stages, Speakers. When I put that together with the general lack of cable reviews in the magazine, my suspicion was that John Atkinson generally didn't think that measuring cables was worthwhile, and that cable reviews weren't really something they wanted to concentrate on.
So it was interesting to see a cable review pop up, and also see the response in the comment section. Archimago brought his skeptical take, but also JA gave a detailed reply suggesting that there were a number of at least technically plausible ways cables could sound different.
I'm just not knowledgeable enough to vet all the claims, and I consider myself a cable skeptic (unless more evidence arises justifying some of the high end audio claims).
But I did appreciate a reply from JA that doesn't mirror the classic subjectivist/golden ear response of "if you can't hear it, you are deaf or you need a more resolving system."
Right or wrong in the claims, JA had the right approach to the challenging Archimago's post, IMO.
My point is not to simply dangling this cable review as read meat for ASR (though of course the claims will be critiqued). Part of this post is meant as some appreciation for JA, and also just musing on the magazine's relationship to reviewing cables (and why). I still enjoy Stereophile, I enjoy Herb's reviews (speakers mostly), and I have huge respect for JA (and I think he's a valuable member here too) even if I don't agree fully with him on everything.
Gramophone Dreams #82: IKIGAI Kangai-level cables, dCS Lina headphone amplifier
Decades ago, when I was peddling million-dollar sound systems, an astute potential customer asked me: "If I buy your very expensive system, what will I get that I'm not getting with my less expensive system?" Smiling my best fatherly smile, I whispered to his ear, "Goosebumps, tears, and...
www.stereophile.com
Cable reviews at one point became very rare at Stereophile and I've long wondered why. First of all cables were never accompanied by measurements as there were for DACs, Amps, Phono Stages, Speakers. When I put that together with the general lack of cable reviews in the magazine, my suspicion was that John Atkinson generally didn't think that measuring cables was worthwhile, and that cable reviews weren't really something they wanted to concentrate on.
So it was interesting to see a cable review pop up, and also see the response in the comment section. Archimago brought his skeptical take, but also JA gave a detailed reply suggesting that there were a number of at least technically plausible ways cables could sound different.
I'm just not knowledgeable enough to vet all the claims, and I consider myself a cable skeptic (unless more evidence arises justifying some of the high end audio claims).
But I did appreciate a reply from JA that doesn't mirror the classic subjectivist/golden ear response of "if you can't hear it, you are deaf or you need a more resolving system."
Right or wrong in the claims, JA had the right approach to the challenging Archimago's post, IMO.
My point is not to simply dangling this cable review as read meat for ASR (though of course the claims will be critiqued). Part of this post is meant as some appreciation for JA, and also just musing on the magazine's relationship to reviewing cables (and why). I still enjoy Stereophile, I enjoy Herb's reviews (speakers mostly), and I have huge respect for JA (and I think he's a valuable member here too) even if I don't agree fully with him on everything.