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[ViPER1313]

You're both wrong.

The blind test link is a laughably small sample, so much so that I'd have to say its irrelevant. That would be like asking ten average people which car handles better out of two. Some people would say that the one that soaks up bumps best handles better and of course those people would be wrong. And there are A LOT more statistical errors that could come from such a small sample size.

However saying that the "extra special cost" wires are going to be appreciably better than Home Despot wire is just about as suspect. Signal degradation and signal interference are real phenomenons but they are also quantifiable. Until someone shows up with some empirical data for these variables the jury is out.

Of course if you use gold cables with super-shielding you're going to get a better signal, that's not debateable. What is debateable is whether the difference leads to significant and appreciable differences in end product sound quality. Then the next question is whether the difference is worth the price premium.

The test does not try to show which sounds "better," it is to show if there is any perceivable difference. If a person can tell the difference between two sources 7 out of 7 times, there is less than a 1 percent chance that they are guessing correctly. Even though the sample was lacking the almost 50% split between correct and incorrect guesses shows there was no apparent difference.

The car example is not valid at all, and the results are statistically valid. A valid analogy would be to ask 10 average people to get behind the wheel of a BMW 330i and an M3, alternating between the two for 7 trials with a blindfold on, and ask them which car they were driving each time. That's all I'm trying to say, there is no perceivable difference, thus 10 cent a foot wire is as good as $100 a foot wire.

Many times, these special "oxygen free" copper wires, cryo frozen wires, etc, have more resistance than a regular piece of 14ga wire and alter high end frequencies in a weird way.