When I was a kid, my dad built a lie detector out of a Heathkit. He tested it on me and my sisters, certain one of us was pilfering quarters from his dresser. I had been. But I varnished my hands to fool the sweat sensor and beat the machine. My poor sister Bobbi took the fall.
It wasn’t my proudest moment.
I sometimes think about that story when someone asks me if this cable, or that tweak, or some small upgrade really makes a difference. They want a machine to tell them. A number. A chart. But what they’re really asking is: “Am I being fooled?”
Maybe. It depends on your system, your room, your setup—on how much resolving power you’ve actually got. On my reference rig? Absolutely. Or I wouldn’t have said so.
But on yours? That’s not something I can know from here. That’s something only you can hear (or not).
The only test that matters is the one your music gives you.
