I think blind testing can be fun, though it’s by no means the only way I go about things. I’ve often done the same thing with the love of my life and her son. I will try and see if I have some not-burned-in cable somewhere I can compare to a burned in equivalent when I’m better.
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I have found some pre-owned switches, are there any of the following that I should avoid? Most are the blue versions.
I think that’s overstating it. It’s only done that once for me, but one system was all the rage at the time (direct drive TT with superb test specs, very low friction, S arm, very low compliance cartridge with lowest tracking force of the time on test LPs with amp having lots of power and very low THD and ID vs stuff that seemed weird by comparison and offered lousy specs including a cartridge tracking at 2g which was considered outrageous) and I had never before heard either of them before. It certainly made me revaluate the hi-fi press of the time.
It was more common to do A/B blind tests at dealers back in the seventies and early eighties and they could be great mischief and great fun. But they were, everyone realised, no substitute for listening to the same piece of music twice and getting involved in the performance in different ways, without comparators interfering with the performance. Of course it can be done without comparators, but most then couldn’t be bothered with the fuss.
And however blind the test, different people will have different preferences. Some people like their classical soft, luscious, liquid and smooth. Some will tell them that’s nothing like the sound of the instruments in real life. As they say up north: you pay your money and you take your choice.
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Violins are very difficult to evaluate since they sound so different for the player vs the audience. Strads are sometimes criticised for their thin and raucous sound compared to the best modern violins, but this can also make them extraordinarily expressive in the right hands.
What I was getting at in that post was that while a house has to be the right size, in the right place, the right price and that you know any issues (hence the survey), it also has to feel right, and you can imagine living there. This is the emotional bit, the subjective bit if you like. Hifi is no different; it has to work technically and be affordable, but it also should stir your soul. That’s why a buying a Statement should be bought. Of course quite a few of the purchasers aren’t really music lovers and just buy it because it’s expensive and to make a statement.
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Indeed - and I don’t blind test everything, either - like Dave to me was so startlingly better it didn’t need it, though when I was agonising over whether the difference was worth the cost, my wife’s blind observation clinched it. (She called from the other room after multiple swapping and re-playing: “for goodness sake, that’s the best one, just buy it!”, completely blind and ignorant as to what it was I was comparing with what.) And trivial cost things that simply make sense I just do without a second thought.
However, I’m a bit bemused by the idea of blind testing a woman…
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Mike blind tested her well, as she is really lovely.
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In my case the BJC 6a was the final touch, especially the bass now sounds fuller compared to the ‘thinner sounding’ AudioQuest and Atlas ethernet cables I tried before. I had them in my (well run in) system for several weeks each and kept coming back to the BJC. So I believe you CAN use ethernet cables to tune your system. 
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OK no problem, I have found cables that I prefer over others, so maybe we’re talking about the same thing.
The thing I have trouble with is the consistency (variability) of the sonic effects of ethernet on different systems, I found this a number of times between Naim, Linn & Cyrus streamers. Whereas we’ve found the changes to be more or less the same with IC & speaker cables.
I have replaced my blue 2960 with two white 2960C 8PC-L switches and I got a small uplift in SQ (lower noise floor).
I have linked the switches between floors with OM1 LC-LC fibre optic cable and a suitable SFP modules at each end switch- this is cheaper for long runs than high-quality Cat6a from BJC, Designacable etc
Some of the forum members have the ‘PD’ version of the 2960 which uses an external power supply - more opportunity for upgrading.
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Blind testing?..my thoughts are this: if blind testing is required to consistently determine a preference, then it is likely that the difference is small. When I put my AQ Vodka back in my system (t had been to the Netherlands for repair)…my brief flirtation with a 6a cable (Amazon sourced) was over immediately. No long listening session was needed. Made me think…don’t pursue improvements…pursue dramatic or very obvious improvements instead.
I have just replaced a generic retailer Cat 7 cable with a Designacable “Premium Belden 1303E CATSNAKE Cat6a Ethernet Network Cable. Flexible S/FTP”. This to link my roon Core & home-office Intel NUC into the upstairs switch in the loft.
There is a definite improvement already with ‘just’ the MusoQb2 (linked with BJC cat5e into the same switch), playing tracks from Qobuz via roon. The Qb2 has never sounded so good to my cloth ears. A brief listen to the main system downstairs also confirms an improvement.
I went with Designacable over BJC for this order just because of convenience and P&P costs. BJC P&P mounts up if you have to return items to Seattle.
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I think it may be an attempt to prevent the cable form catching the coronavirus, but unfortunately it was doomed because vodka doesn’t have sufficient alcohol content to destroy the virus.
(emoticon for Peder)
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Bonus point there for using the word destroy rather than…
What’s needed is RK Vodka
“Distilled in the heart of England, RK provides an exclusively smooth boutique vodka with character”
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I’m a biologist!
That made me laugh out loud! Thank you.
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I agree - measurement vs listening arguments are silly; when given a choice do both. Kit from Naim, Linn & Chord Electronics measures well & sounds great - all you need worry about is which you like best or if you have loads of money then buy the lot and agonise for the next 20 years over which sounds best.
If I based decisions on manufacturers’ demos then I wouldn’t buy the latest kit from Naim or Chord - fortunately I could try before I bought. Shame I couldn’t when buying a cottage: still I was lucky with that choice.
I totally disagree, in my opinion there are not much better cables than the bluejean and designer cable cat6a and I have tried many. It’s really unfair that people inform people this, it creates uncertainty for the people asking advise.
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Totally agree…boils down to the same old answer…forget the specifications, just listen.