In article , Iain Churches
wrote:

"Jim Lesurf" wrote in message
...
[snip]
Jim. When I wantd to organise some evaluation tests here in
Scandinavia, I approached a broadcasting company and also a magazine.
Between them, they laid on the facilities and the equipment.

The problem is that people make the claim, but then refuse to
engage in the test...

I had no difficulty in finding candidates for the component
evaluation panel with which I was involved. It was not necessary to
add any financial incentive as Mr Pinkerton has done, but the word
"challenge" was never used either:-)

Can you say where the details of the test systems/protocols/results
are published? I would be interested in reading them.

They are not published at the moment, as they are to be part of a series
of tests. I am told there is a very good possibility that they will be
carried by an English language magazine, but if not, I will ensure that
you get a copy plus a translation.

In order for them to have any value for anyone outwith the immediate
participants, the details should be openly published. This is to allow the
scrutiny and assessment which is a normal part of the scientific method.
Until this is done, the results can't be reliably judged by anyone, so have
no value until such time.

I would certainly welcome a personal copy if the details/results are not
published in a magazine/journal. However I think that they should then be
published, say, on the web. Otherwise any comments I made in public would
also be worthless as others would have no way to decide if the comments I
made were well-founded or not.

I was grateful to you for your interest and suggestions regarding the
protocols, when we discussed this matter earlier.

Happy to help. :-) As you know, I have a genuine interest in such matters,
and in particular, an interest in seeing if there are any 'new' ideas here
which can shed light on the relevant physics/physiology/etc...

[snip]


Since this thread is actually titled "Power Cable Challenge" I should
add that I also know of no such tests that have shown differences for
power cables.

Are you surprised? As I mentioned previously, I would have thought
with your industry connections, you would have been able to get a test
organised with the help of a magazine and a studio or broadcaster.

You might think so. :-) However when in the past I have invited those in
the industry to participate in such a test they have shown zero interest.
The attitude tends to be variations on the theme of, "We already know they
sound different, so can't be bothered to run tests which might not show
'useful' sic results.'

Afraid I have no contacts with studios or broadcasters. Just with some
magazines and some individuals in the domestic audio areas. Although given
my academic background I do have access to a lot of test/measurement kit.
:-)

I would like to engage in such 'listening' tests. Alas, I am less young and
fit than I used to be [1], so am not really up to organising ones that
would involve other people. And I doubt that my personal inability to tell
one mains cable from another would mean much. :-) Ideally, such a test
should involve a number of test participants to be of real use.

Also, when I have approached them in the past, the makers and sellers of
cables have not been willing to co-operate. This means it would involve
buying (or borrowing) some cables, for which I would then have no real use.
In principle, I could get some money back for an article, but TBH audio
mags do not exactly pay vast sums per page. :-) Magazine reviews tend to
depend on the makers/sellers loaning/giving the items to the magazine or
reviewer.

I suspect my main use in such tests nowdays would be in the way you mention
above. Partly to assess proposed test protocols/methods to advise and help
avoid flaws. Partly to examine and assess the results to see what light
they may shed on the proposed hypotheses, and check their level of
statistical reliability. I could certainly do some basic measurements on
cables and check responses, etc, as that is relatively simple.

Slainte,

Jim

[1] As I have re-confirmed to myself in recent weeks, when working on
fixing an intermittent fault in my main power amp. I simply can't see as
well as I used to, nor are my fingers as nimble/steady. I'm also
slower-minded. Hence something I would have sorted in a day or two 20 years
ago has taken me ages. :-/ This was complete with mistaking a 0R22 load
resistor for a 22R one! Thus blowing the fuses in the amp when I tested it
at one point. :-) Couldn't read the expletive numbers on the resistor
clearly enough! Fortunately, I'd designed the amp to survive such
encounters...

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