Cable Pathways Between Audio Components Can Affect Perceived Sound Quality

[jventer]

Let's make it simple: he was trying to see if people can reliably hear differences between 2 sets of interconnects. His paper say they can.

 

The only other possible variable in the system is/was what the dac does with outputs via balanced and single ended. The author assumed / measured certain things: 

"This DAC’s total distortion (all products) at the present output level is specified at -120 dB of full scale. 10 This DAC’s absolute voltages at the left and right RCA outputs and the XLR inverted and non-inverted outputs (pins 3 and 2 relative to pin 1) are equal within a standard deviation of 0.13% (i.e., 0.011 dB). The six voltages were measured at the pins while playing a -12 dB (25.12% of full scale) 1 kHz sinusoidal tone from a 16 bit, 44.1 kHz wave file.

 

I am not experienced with this dac or qualified enough to know what other measurements should /could have been done to measure that the outputs were the same?

 

Assuming the outputs were the same, the author proved that people can hear differences in interconnects.

 

If we go off on tangents about the quaility of the interconnects, their cost, their lengths etc., which may all influence the why people heard a difference, it still does not refute the fact that the majority of the people in this experience reliably heard a difference.

 

(The paper do raise many further questions re larger sample size, measuring of noise etc., but it does point in the direction that further tests are necessary to fully understand how our ears and brains work.)