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  #46  
Old 09-29-2020, 02:17 PM
Br1ck Br1ck is offline
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Originally Posted by TeleBluesMan View Post
I thought interconnects didn't make a difference until I compared some side-by-side. I'm convinced they matter a lot. YMMV.
(Cary 308T CD player, Synthesis Shine integrated amplifier, B&W DM1800 speakers)
A friend brought four sets of mid fi interconnects we tried between my pre amp and power amp. By mid fi I mean $200 to $400 for a meter pair. A friend taught me how to make some with $25 worth of quality silver plated wire, plastic tubing, an shielding. We ended liking those the best. The more expensive ones were harsh. Too much high end. And yes, all this is a bunch of bs when you have 70 year old ears. LOL.

When it comes to guitars, change is change. Better to you, worse to me. Like single malt that tastes like burnt dirt? Me too.
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  #47  
Old 09-29-2020, 02:44 PM
TeleBluesMan TeleBluesMan is offline
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Originally Posted by Br1ck View Post
A friend brought four sets of mid fi interconnects we tried between my pre amp and power amp. By mid fi I mean $200 to $400 for a meter pair. A friend taught me how to make some with $25 worth of quality silver plated wire, plastic tubing, an shielding. We ended liking those the best. The more expensive ones were harsh. Too much high end. And yes, all this is a bunch of bs when you have 70 year old ears. LOL.

When it comes to guitars, change is change. Better to you, worse to me. Like single malt that tastes like burnt dirt? Me too.
Yes. Change is change. I didn't think I would hear a noticeable difference, but I did. Evidently you did, too.
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  #48  
Old 09-29-2020, 03:19 PM
DukeX DukeX is offline
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I invest in quality guitars that sound and play they way I want them to.

I mostly use Elixir strings because I like the way they sound over a long period of time.

I use Dunlop .68 Tortex picks.

I'll experiment a "little" bit with strings and picks, but not much.

I purchased my electric guitars and amps for the sound they already have.

Done.
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  #49  
Old 09-30-2020, 09:56 AM
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Mr. Jelly Mr. Jelly is offline
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I had a young friend years ago who was into the audiofile thing. It was at a time when I was doing live shows and learning recording engineering and mixing etc. We had allot of time to waste together at our job and I ended up talking him out of the audiofile obsession. A recording is a fantasy like a movie. Bands don't sound that way on stage and no matter what an audiofiles wire connections are made of it won't change the mics and connection materials of the wires used to record the band. I could go on. It's a fine hobby and I'm an eternal skeptic.
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  #50  
Old 09-30-2020, 10:30 AM
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It's a fine hobby and I'm an eternal skeptic.
I agree. Unless you get conclusive results from a double-blind ABX test, it can be wishful thinking and confirmation bias. Most folks don't even do a single blind AB but convince themselves they can hear the difference anyway.
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  #51  
Old 09-30-2020, 10:43 AM
phcorrigan phcorrigan is offline
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Originally Posted by Chipotle View Post
I agree. Unless you get conclusive results from a double-blind ABX test, it can be wishful thinking and confirmation bias. Most folks don't even do a single blind AB but convince themselves they can hear the difference anyway.
Ethan Winer debunks a lot of this stuff. This is one of my favorites:

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  #52  
Old 09-30-2020, 11:42 AM
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Ethan Winer debunks a lot of this stuff. This is one of my favorites:
I have watched that, and believe Ethan.

But folks who don't then start claiming "there are things you can hear but can't measure... this test doesn't tell the whole story." Personally, I think they are fooling only themselves.
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  #53  
Old 09-30-2020, 12:08 PM
phcorrigan phcorrigan is offline
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Originally Posted by Chipotle View Post
I have watched that, and believe Ethan.

But folks who don't then start claiming "there are things you can hear but can't measure... this test doesn't tell the whole story." Personally, I think they are fooling only themselves.
"I spent $150 for this cable, so it must sound better!"
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  #54  
Old 09-30-2020, 12:23 PM
Martin_F Martin_F is offline
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If someone believes that "improvements" have helped in their guitar, guitar playing, or in their audio equipment, or whatever, then it might be worth the money if that "improvement" leads to more enjoyment and more playing time! I have had plenty of nice guitars over the years and some of them have been great and others just not my style, but for the ones I believed to be improvements, I think they started to inspire me and make me better. Is it the placebo effect? Maybe.. You could say that. But, the effect is still there and is tangible. Perhaps the cause is made up, but the effect maintains an aura of reality that we can't dismiss. The cause - the "improved" guitar and the effect - getting better. Maybe the guitar was NOT better. But the effect of making me a better player could still be very real.

In this way, "improvements" might just be what we need to do something that we might not have done otherwise. Is that bad? It could be... On the other hand...

Do whatever it takes to make you enjoy whatever you do in life (as long as it doesn't bankrupt you in the process)!! There are likely tons of psychological studies on this in the marketing literature.

I could play the same songs on any of my guitars, but I still buy new guitars and they always get me thinking things like "hey, I could try that different style as this guitar would be perfect for it"!

My opinion..

Martin
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  #55  
Old 09-30-2020, 02:55 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by phcorrigan View Post
Ethan Winer debunks a lot of this stuff. This is one of my favorites:

Thanks for this. Ethan always amazes me.
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  #56  
Old 09-30-2020, 03:06 PM
Br1ck Br1ck is offline
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I like tube gear of all kinds. Especially like 50s jazz recordings. I think records made with tube gear, and mixed for tube gear, sound better on tube gear. The ear likes the pleasing harmonic distortion natural to tubes. Some don't, hence the endless debate.

My uncle worked for the National Institute of Health. He told me in proven studies, the human ear can not hear distortion of 2% or less. Any hi fi amplifier since 1955 or more probably 1948, can meet those specs.

It is the nature of business to need to create demand, so everyone needs to have new fresh products. Fender needed to make the Blackface amp to replace the tweed. Then they needed to replace that with silverface. How many would say that was an improvement today.

In the acoustic guitar world, we see Gibson feeling the need to call a rosewood slope a J 45. Absurd. You may like these or not. Sometimes change is necessary to survive, like the mid 60s into the 70s era of the robust build. They had to stop the warranty nightmare from customers not knowing how to properly care for their guitars. Some change can be said to be better, like clean air, but most products are subject to subjective opinion. Any guitar company needs to create desire. They would go broke selling you a lifetime guitar.
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  #57  
Old 09-30-2020, 03:11 PM
phcorrigan phcorrigan is offline
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Originally Posted by DukeX View Post
Thanks for this. Ethan always amazes me.
My takeaway is this:
1. If a cable meets specs it should work.
2. A more expensive cable won't make things sound better, but a defective cable, or one that doesn't meet specs, can make things sound worse.
3. Better cables may include higher-quality connectors, better shielding, better outer insulation to resist cuts, scrapes, etc., but they won't make things sound better.
4. Over-priced miracle cables are likely a scam.
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  #58  
Old 09-30-2020, 03:42 PM
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David Eastwood David Eastwood is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by phcorrigan View Post
My takeaway is this:
1. If a cable meets specs it should work.
2. A more expensive cable won't make things sound better, but a defective cable, or one that doesn't meet specs, can make things sound worse.
3. Better cables may include higher-quality connectors, better shielding, better outer insulation to resist cuts, scrapes, etc., but they won't make things sound better.
4. Over-priced miracle cables are likely a scam.
Couldn't agree more.

But once you call them 'interconnects', all bets are off
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