The Great Cable Debate  - A prospective, double blind, randomised control test.

Background:

The so-called audiophile mains cable has been offered to the masses, both the casual and discerning listener alike for some time now. Many claim that the benefits are awesome but equally so there are many who dismiss the idea of a piece of wire being capable of such feats.

The availability now of the great variety in audiophile cables shows that not only is there a market for them which is expanding but also that there are makers who abound, ready to offer these and much more to quench the demand.

The average Hi-fi dealer carries with him a stock of cables, which over time have taken on a persona of their own, each only adding to the sound in often-indescribable ways. These cables are in most instances offered in good faith and in many cases with a try before you buy clause, which is heartening indeed.

But alas, despite the great following there is little evidence that is purely objective to substantiate clearly any benefit with such cables.

It is true that enjoyment of music is anything but objective. Indeed many would claim that the appreciation and overall feel of a piece of music is very much like human hearing itself - non-linear, highly subjective, augmented by environmental factors, learning and memory etc and quite a complex and still incompletely understood modality.

Objective:

To ascertain and appreciate subjectively the differences caused by audiophile mains cables and to determine whether this difference is clearly beneficial to the overall perception and appreciation of music as a whole.

To determine also whether this effect is consistent and applicable to the plethora of hi-fi source equipment in use operated by the average hi-fi user.

Basis:

If one were to provide three mains cables all disguised to look the same (A - standard lead ;B - aftermarket audiophile mains lead ; C - quality mains lead built on proven principles ) and expect of the listener to identify if any, differences in their performance, and if none existed this would prove the hypothesis that "audiophile mains cables did not produce an appreciable difference in quality of music with their use".

Inclusion of another fourth lead (D- standard lead) undisguised and asking the volunteers to pick the lead most like the lead "D" from the rest "A,B and C" in performance suggests an acceptable level of ability to perceive these differences should they exist and acts as a control providing and adding credence to the observations. An inability in the majority to correctly perceive this cable's similarity with "D" would affirm the hypothesis.

Methods:

This is a prospective double blind ,non-randomised controlled test. It uses the null hypothesis with the proviso “audiophile mains cables make no difference to the perception and appreciation of music”.

Should this hypothesis be disproved the aim is to ascertain whether the difference is clearly beneficial.

For the purposes of the test volunteers were recruited  from the Hi-fi wigwam ,Zerogain  and Hi-fi choice forums. There was no selection of participants, inclusion was purely by volunteering. Volunteers were a mix of “cable believers and sceptics” and all owned mid-high end music systems with separate source components. Many had or had experienced an audiophile mains cable before but this was not an essential criteria.

Three different cables were chosen and the cables were externally doctored to mask their identity to ensure blinding.

The first cable (D) was an ordinary mains lead as supplied with purchase of most hi-fi equipment.

The second was an aftermarket Audiophile mains lead.

The third was one of my own mains leads designed on the same principles as the reference mains lead (elsewhere on this website).

A fourth lead identical to the first was also supplied which acted to establish the control(discussed later).

  The cables were mailed to every volunteer who tested them in his/her own system using it on the source component only i.e. CD  player. The testing was done both with a supplied test disc and the volunteers own collections of music for a period not exceeding 7 days. This allowed the tester to form an overall impression of the three cables tested in a real life scenario in a home environment. The completion of the test required  data entry into the supplied questionnaire which was collected remotely for analysis by an independent adjudicator.

Instructions for test - 

Thank you for taking part in this cable test.

Enclosed you will find 4 different mains cables labelled A, B, C and D.

The cable "D" is a standard mains lead.

The cables A, B and C comprise a standard mains lead, an aftermarket audiophile mains cable and another audiophile grade mains cable.

Also enclosed is a test CD with 5 different tracks from different genres of music.

Completion forms may be downloaded from - Test Form

Following completion you can mail the form back to the website above via the e-mail address on the contacts page.

The mains leads are to be used on source components only i.e. CD player.

You can try them out as many times as you want.

You can confer with others or indeed use the views of others but if so please fill out another form on their behalf as well.

Take good care of the cables and maintain their disguise.

Do not just judge/look for any one detail eg: high end or low end, try to appraise the presentation of music as a whole just as in a real life scenario.

All cables have been masked to look, weigh and feel similar. Several layers of masking has been used so cables may be a bit stiff - avoid bending them more than necessary.

In addition to the test CD you can use your own music to arrive at the conclusion.

Below is a suggested method but this should not be restrictive in any way – you are welcome to arrive at your conclusions in any other way you feel comfortable with.

The duration available to you within which to complete this test is 2 days, which may be extended, in unforeseen circumstances beyond your control. However, please remember the quicker the turn-around the sooner we have our results.

Play test CD and choose the music that you are comfortable with.

Plug lead "D" - familiarise yourself with the qualities of this lead.

Plug leads A, B and C in succession at comfortable intervals with the aim to identify the lead most like lead "D" in quality. Record your observations.

Try out leads A, B and C several times with the different tracks on the test CD as also your own favourite music and record your final observations.

You are done; now post the parcel onto the next member on the list whose address can be acquired by sending a PM on the wigwam/zerogain/hifichoice forum to the member.

Complete the form on Microsoft word and attach to your e-mail sent to "Auricles.com" above.

Also, retain a copy for your reference and to facilitate discussion later on the forums.

Cables after masking.