Chesseroo said,
"Is it possible that all these music audiophiles just have more amazing ears than the rest of the human population?"
Much like a wine tester may possess extraordinary olfactory senses, so do some audiophiles (I stress a very small number). Much like your average wine tester and average audiophile there is a certain amount of training which provides a level of acuity. Level of acuity is not to be confused with amazing hearing. I still recall being trained to recognize a "C" note. A magical moment indeed. The "C" note was always there but it took training to recognize it. I do not poses amazing hearing nor am I a good musician. But you begin to notice subtle differences with training and critical listening. The point is listening critically to music and audio gear is a combination of hearing and training to hear.
My two cents. I have yet to notice any "improved" sound from exotic cables but I'm always available for listening tests!
On bi-wiring/bi-amping. Bi-wiring seems a waste of cable to me for all the reasons you've probably seen before. I see the dble binding posts as a mechanism by which one can add a particularly good tube amp for the mids and highs while using the solid state amp for the low end. All part of the fun of playing with our gear.
You also have to trust your instincts and ignore the price tag. Are Wilson Watt Puppy's worth $17,000US? Not to my ears! not by a long shot.... but I'd sure love to own a pair of Waveform Mach 17's.
Cheers,
Dan
