Bob,
> There have been a few tests where cable changes were tested via headphones. <
Sure, and I was careful to point out in my article that not
all perceived differences are due to comb filtering! There's also the frailty of human perception, and of course placebo effect. Before I will accept that swapping one competent cable with another is audible, I'd need to see results from a true double-blind test. Especially an AC power cable. More to the point, any change that is audible can be measured. So the first step when someone reports a change in sound is to measure the frequency response, distortion, and maybe even the noise floor. Do this with both cables and you have your answer - no listening required. And if they measure the same, and a proper blind test still shows a repeatable trend, then - and only then! - will there be a basic for believing there's more to cables than is now known.
Also, headphones do change their sound quite a lot depending on how well seated they are. If you lean forward and back it's possible the headphones could have slipped down a bit or whatever. This is why multiple double-blind tests are needed with multiple listeners.
> Given the comb affects ... I would expect the audio experience to change by the minute. <
It really does.
As proven by my test results.
> Given that, how can anyone truly define the sound of their system? <
Trends and averages. For example, if one loudspeaker rolls off sharply above 12 KHz and another does not, that rolloff is evident regardless of the additional influence of comb filtering.
> I think there's more to it than comb filtering. <
Such as?
--Ethan
