Just a question. Have you never heard a difference between digital cables and switches? I ask that in earnest because it’s hard to fathom such a mass delusion. I’m not talking about assuming one cable or switch ‘sounds better’ because it’s more expensive or it looks fancier or has better add copy. I’m talking about just sitting at home and changing things around and hearing differences. Presumably this does happen. Presumably there are difference. I am honestly interested in where those differences come from. I have heard those differences but it didn’t result in any purchases or justifications for things already purchased. I just auditioned a bunch of stuff to see what it was all about. And there were differences. I guess I would have to ship you guys everything I auditioned for you to measure and explain why there are differences in sound. The conundrum is when there are differences in sound but no differences in measurements. What do we do then? Your guys’ answer is to say the hearing is wrong. What if the machines aren’t the right machines? I’m not trying to be provocative. Asking honestly as I try to decide on digital equipment. Oh and by the way I have no idea who Andre is? Do I sound like him or something?
Let's go over this one by one.
ask that in earnest because it’s hard to fathom such a mass delusion. I’m not talking about assuming one cable or switch ‘sounds better’ because it’s more expensive or it looks fancier or has better add copy. I’m talking about just sitting at home and changing things around and hearing differences. Presumably this does happen. Presumably there are difference. I am honestly interested in where those differences come from.
Yes it's very easy not only fathom, but outright claim it's simply a delusion, but if not delusion, then a simply case of placebo, and/or sighted bias.
I have heard those differences but it didn’t result in any purchases or justifications for things already purchased. I just auditioned a bunch of stuff to see what it was all about. And there were differences. I guess I would have to ship you guys everything I auditioned for you to measure and explain why there are differences in sound.
No evidence to the contrary have been presented to dissuade us as this being anything than simple psychological bias.
The conundrum is when there are differences in sound but no differences in measurements. What do we do then? Your guys’ answer is to say the hearing is wrong. What if the machines aren’t the right machines? I’m not trying to be provocative. Asking honestly as I try to decide on digital equipment
What then? Oh this is super easy to answer. When people proclaim to observe a phenomena, a phenomena that is evading all forms of detection, the natural question for folks thus then becomes: does it even exist in that case? Let's say we assume it exists, but we want to test it just to be sure it does exist. We then set up human trials. Anyone making proclamations affirming they hear something that evades the rest of science shall be brought to demonstrate this ability in double, or even the most rigorous triple blind tests. If these folks (heck even one person) confirms with his performance he is able to detect this difference we can't see. Then indeed we have now a whole new field of science that is birthed that will be working to discover this unknown factor and why it evades us.
The reason most here are skeptical as I am, is because I don't know when such a case occurred in audio in the recent past. It's fine to doubt measurements, as the tests can be conducted with various errors and such. But you have audiophiles who also doubt themselves being when being tested, but were very boastful prior to being called to prove their claims. Coming up with excuses like "oh I couldn't do the test properly because I felt pressured" or "I was too hungry that day" or "I was sick" or "my Chakra and zodiac sign wasn't in alignment".
These type of people don't understand the simple fact that, the more excuses you present toward unfulfilling a claim or requirement asked of you - the worse the probability of the claim being true in the first place. For example:
If I tell you personally, that I have a German Shepard right now over this forum. You and most other people would assume I do, and even may wonder about his traits of when I got him, or how old, and from whom in case you also were interested in a dog.
But if I told you I have 20 billion worth of US Treasury Bonds in my mailbox.. You would instantly roll your eyes, and instantly demand proof of such an extraordinary claim. And if I kept saying "I'll show you some other day", or "sorry my camera was busted, so I couldn't text you the image", and then another time "sorry they're not in the mailbox anymore, they're in a P.O. Box at the local post office", and then some other time "sorry I sent them to a Swiss safety deposit box for safe keeping". Your mind automatically believes me less and less with each excuse I conjure.
The only difference between these two scenario's is the prior probability, and the magnitude of the claim. Prior probability is calculated automatically in your mind "hmm many people have dogs, no need to ask for insane proof that this guy has a dog". While the second scenario "never has a case in history occurred where someone with that much money would ever tell a random stranger on the internet, and then have it in his mailbox, and then make up all those excuses of why he couldn't show me at all those times, and yet in the end that was all the truth".
Audiophools fall into this latter category, making claims of which there is essentially no prior historical precedent, and always coming up with excuses of even when the electronic analyzers are put away, and their own ears are asked to demonstrate the difference exists (never mind actually quantifying the difference, out of them we can't even prove the phenomena even exists sadly). Totally unware each excuse they pile on, contributes to their claims actually proving to be false more than true in terms of probability.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So there you go, and for anyone else wondering: "what now, I hear a difference, and the 10's of thousands of dollars worth of analyzers don't, where do we go from here". Well you can start by proving your claim, and then we'll worry about the level of difference our analyzers are incapable of measuring.