Tweet
Steve wrote; "As has been said, the music technology industry is made of baseless fantasies," I feel it's more that aspirations are made of baseless fantasies, just like in most industries & markets, nevertheless some product will perform better than others...just as in other industries & markets. Success in any industry is based on a healthy mark up & sales figures, sell cheap & buy even cheaper ...it doesn't go hand in hand with idealistic design & quality perceptions, however clever, or noble. Once price/quality/distribution put you outside the entry level/baseline market you have to accept smaller sales, less buying power & higher prices. Sometimes this equates to a better quality/functioning product, sometimes not. If you want total control of your design you typicaly have to follow the latter path, if you're happy with a regular salary, anonymity & to see every other teenager in the market place use your gear, then you'll be happy to be a little cog in a big machine.
Sometimes, the artisanal product is worth the extra money, sometimes the big manufacturers get right at an acceptable price...we can speculate & commentate on our perceptions of what fits which bracket all day long, but getting to the bottom of it starts with actually posessing/trying the product in question. The truth is that the OP feels the cable in question sounds better than the comparison product (no details, spec, or info on the comparison) and that most, if not all the other posters on this thread (myself included) simply DON'T KNOW for sure if that is, or is not the case (for all the allusions to "science", it's ironic to note that scientists often "don't know" and aren't afraid to say so). We don't have either sample to evaluate at any level. Ergo, the assertions that the OPs perceptions are true or otherwise, are just as foundless, we can all speculate as to why there is/isn't/shouldn't be any difference (whilst, let's face it, we are all aware of differering manufacturing methods & tolerances), or we can take the OP with a pinch of salt & maybe try the product IF given the opportunity, or we can buy 100 different cables, assemble thousands of players and start the laborious process of double blind comparison, sensory testing...given the market penetration, that should only take 3 or 4 months of solid work and cost 50-100K, then add whatever you like for scientific analysis to back up/disprove the results. ;-)
In short, the doubters are just as evangelical & irrational as the believers, but no one is getting off their backsides...everyone expects to be believed.
Do I believe that 2 cables can sound different (in the context of connecting a familiar instrument to a familar amplifier)? Yes. Does one cable have mystical properties? No, it probably works as intended & considerably more examples simply don't. Will a cable that merely functions get me through a gig? Yes. Perhaps a cable that I perceive is doing a better job will give me a higher degree of comfort & let me stretch out a bit more. Maybe it really does, maybe that's just positive reinforcement at work. Definitely, no one in the audience will know or care about the cable, they will enjoy a reasonable/good/exemplary performance (some will just be stunned that the artist has got the front to stand on stage). Whatever the science & design merits, many muscians are a superstitious & irrational bunch with no interest in the physics.
Sometimes, the artisanal product is worth the extra money, sometimes the big manufacturers get right at an acceptable price...we can speculate & commentate on our perceptions of what fits which bracket all day long, but getting to the bottom of it starts with actually posessing/trying the product in question. The truth is that the OP feels the cable in question sounds better than the comparison product (no details, spec, or info on the comparison) and that most, if not all the other posters on this thread (myself included) simply DON'T KNOW for sure if that is, or is not the case (for all the allusions to "science", it's ironic to note that scientists often "don't know" and aren't afraid to say so). We don't have either sample to evaluate at any level. Ergo, the assertions that the OPs perceptions are true or otherwise, are just as foundless, we can all speculate as to why there is/isn't/shouldn't be any difference (whilst, let's face it, we are all aware of differering manufacturing methods & tolerances), or we can take the OP with a pinch of salt & maybe try the product IF given the opportunity, or we can buy 100 different cables, assemble thousands of players and start the laborious process of double blind comparison, sensory testing...given the market penetration, that should only take 3 or 4 months of solid work and cost 50-100K, then add whatever you like for scientific analysis to back up/disprove the results. ;-)
In short, the doubters are just as evangelical & irrational as the believers, but no one is getting off their backsides...everyone expects to be believed.
Do I believe that 2 cables can sound different (in the context of connecting a familiar instrument to a familar amplifier)? Yes. Does one cable have mystical properties? No, it probably works as intended & considerably more examples simply don't. Will a cable that merely functions get me through a gig? Yes. Perhaps a cable that I perceive is doing a better job will give me a higher degree of comfort & let me stretch out a bit more. Maybe it really does, maybe that's just positive reinforcement at work. Definitely, no one in the audience will know or care about the cable, they will enjoy a reasonable/good/exemplary performance (some will just be stunned that the artist has got the front to stand on stage). Whatever the science & design merits, many muscians are a superstitious & irrational bunch with no interest in the physics.
Comment