Why can't we all just get along? Why does people who don't believe in cables always want to prove to us that we are wrong? And all these analytical studies and scientific explanations. Do you think that will convince me that I am wrong about what I hear?

I want to just focus on the sound quality a cable can make for just a minute. We'll talk about price and burn-in in a few minutes. About a month ago, a friend and I did an A/B test between the Cardas Quadlink-Five C and Kimber Cable's PBJ. FYI, the Cardas is about $200 for a 1 meter pair RCA terminated and the PBJ is about $84 a meter pair. Both of these cables are fairly well regarded in the HiFi world. Not bank breakers but good for an entry level HiFi or MidFi system. We tested these cables on my friend's system which consist of the following components:

CD: Arcam CD72
Speaker: Sonas Fabor Concertino
Preamp: Marantz SR-880 MKII
Amp: B&K ST-2140
Speaker Cables: Monster Z2 Biwire cable

I know you won't believe me and may think I am nuts, but the difference between the Cardas and Kimber was night and day. The Cardas was layback and warm while Kimber was forward and precise. The difference was so obvious even my wife notice it and she couldn't care less about the whole thing. But despite the difference in sound, it wasn't like there was a sure winner in which was the better cable. My friend prefer the Cardas, saying that it sounded more natural to him while I much prefer the PBJ for it's clarity and air.

When it comes to burn-in and stuff like that I am kind of on the fence on this issue. Yes, I do think my speakers and cables sounds better after playing them for a while. Usually at least a couple of days if not more. My Paradigm Reference speakers took a lot longer to really sound good to me and I do believe some of which is psychological. Therefore I cannot offer any scientific evidence on this and I think we'll just have to let each person make up his/her own mind about burn-in.

Just because I believe that cables make a difference does not mean I think cable prices are reasonable. Some manufacturers way over charges for their products. It's all part of salesmanship. You charge what you can get. Each industry has it's own business models. And the premium audio cable business, which is very low volume need that higher markup in order to be profitable. Not often do you get a company like Outlaw that breaks the traditional business model and succeed.

I am happy for those of you who do not hear a difference in cables because that means you do not have to spend a lot of time and money on finding that perfect cable for your system. I wished that I had never A/B compared my first HT speaker system, JBL NSP1 to Paradigm Monitor 3's and discover the world of HiFi. Ever since that day, it's almost as if I am on a mission to find that perfect sound in my listening room. But I sure don't need anyone to tell me that I my crazy for "hearing" things that are not suppose to be there b/c of the laws of electricity and physics says that the cable couldn't make a difference to the sound. It does to me. Pure and simple. So this gets me back to my first statement, why can't we all just get along? Don't pick on me and my kind and I won't think that you're tone-deaf, o.k.? Deal?

[This message has been edited by mxy15 (edited December 06, 2001).]