HA! Made you look! I KNEW you couldn't resist!

Wow, this argument has been going on as long as I've been a member of this forum (granted, that's not all that long), but….

Why don't we put the topic to bed and all get together in the Spring at some Midwest-central location (Kansas City, for example), ask that a couple of people who are close by bring their Axioms and whatever receiver/amps they own, someone else brings a black curtain and a RS meter for volume leveling, and we'll have a blind listening test in some $75/day Holiday Inn meeting room. After, we'll golf, go out for steaks, get drunk and all stumble into a Borders to try to find SACD and DVD Audio discs. When asked to leave, we'll hail a ride to the nearest Best Buy and re-educate the staff about Monster.

The next day, when appropriately hung over, we'll test the cables as well.

Other weekend events: We'll break-in speakers, put M-60s right up against walls, show claymation films with M2s and M3s fighting it out in the ring, sacrifice a Bose system in the hotel courtyard, have a sub shoot-out with the loser going off the hotel pools' diving board in a gasoline-soaked inferno and much applause..

Hell, sign me up...

I nominate Mark for President, or court jester or something else important and befitting of his whimsical talents.

Thanks for making me laugh, Mark. I needed that.

Denver is a better hub than KC, but who wants to go to either place, really? How about Texas instead?

And wouldn't we need some NEW speakers in addition to the broken-in ones?

Couldn't we somehow combine the gasoline-soaked inferno and Best Buy components?

Other than your appalling lack of deference to beer, I'm in.

heck, i'm in too.. i am always up for a road-trip!! but shouldnt we at least have a visit to a tiddy-bar?

i can bring the old school M1ti's to compare with the M2's and M3's.

bigjohn

Sounds like a great time.
Mark
Your in charge!

I'll come if Tom supplies the beer.

Forgive me for re-posting my reply from the Onkyo NR801 thread, but this topic directly addresses my point:

Many people claim certain abilities which often evaporate under scientific scrutiny.

The NRC testing clearly showed people can reliably identify speakers in carefully controlled double blind tests. There is no doubt about that.

However similar tests for amplifiers show people CANNOT reliably identify them. This has been tested many times.

At the Los Angeles AES (Audio Engineering Society) show in the late 80's over a 3 day period over 200 professional audio engineers participated in a double blind amplifier test. Everyone was confident they could easily pass it (reliably identify one amp vs another). The final results were 49/51, the same as random chance.

They also tested exotic Monster wire against solid 12ga THHN house wiring. Results were 49/50 as well.

Richard Clark, a columnist for Carsound.com will pay $10,000 if someone can reliably identify one amp vs another in a double blind test. It started as a car audio test, but has since been extended to home audio.

So far thousands of people have taken Clark's test and NOT ONE has passed it.

You can see the contest rules by searching Google on "AMPLIFIER CHALLENGE RULES". They are posted many places.

Check out the rules -- they give good guidance on how best to conduct your own tests.

umm.....I think you missed the point of the thread.....

Well let me rekindle that superfluous flame Mark lit. I will be happy to come, but ONLY if we have at least 6 different amps so we can test them, use them to open up the speakers and make the sound warmer. Another day should be spent on tube amps. Hmmm, should we bring musical subs or subs that are good for movies? Hell, we'll let Subway decide.

On a more serious note, I'm wondering if Ian and the gang could be induced to sponsor/participate/join some semblance of an Axiomite get together?

thanks for the laugh mark the other weekend events part had me laughing pretty hard and the other people in my office were looking at me funny.