Originally Posted by
Mr. Widget
While I have heard "differences" in cables, I have remained a cable skeptic. I don't disagree that in some cases there can be synergistic relationships between certain components and certain cables, but if the cables are anything other than textbook, there is an equal likelihood of the cable doing harm so experimenting with cables can be a perilous journey.
With that in mind, many years ago Rusty sent me a couple of sets of his gossamer MapleShade unbalanced interconnects. I'm not sure how long he had been using them at the time, but he was certain that they were a superior sounding cable and he generously offered to let me try them out. When the box arrived and I opened it I found very carefully packaged and very fragile looking (unique and odd also come to mind) cables that I expected to go one way or the other as they were far from being a traditional design.
At this point I do not remember what components were in my system or even what speakers I was using at the time, but I inserted his cables into my system and was shocked to hear no difference at all. It is possible that my system wasn't resolving enough or my bias too strong, but these were rather odd cables and I wouldn't have been surprised if they sounded "different"... but during the few hours of comparisons I made in that system at that time, I heard no change over what ever I was using then.
As far as incredible improvements to systems with very subtle and likely unmeasurable changes, over the years I have experienced this quite a lot in group and demo settings. One theory I have is that if the presenter really believes in his product or the tweak it can affect the listening experience of the group. I've seen this phenomenon at CES and at friend's homes and it can be quite compelling. Last year there was a fellow transmitting low level RF in his CES room claiming that it recreated the "quiet" of late night listening. Really? There was no way that there was a measureable change to the system when he turned on or off the RF source, yet there did seem to be differences.
Alternatively, maybe Rusty is on to something and his collection of cables is the ticket. I really can't say, but it is certainly a very interesting topic to me.
Because these cables are so odd, I thought I'd post a pic.
Widget
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