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ESP MusicCord

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#1,002
JimmyM said:
Well, as this thread nears its 1000th post, I think it's time we see the writing on the wall. Those of us who respect science are never going to see the value in spending any more than $10 for a power cable, and those who bought these cords are never going to be convinced that science could ever trump their ears.

I feel bad for them, though, because not only do I believe that science trumps your ears every single time (hey, I love my 810 and B-15 cabs but just like science tells you, they beam high end like crazy), I also believe engineers on the whole have way better ears than most of us, since their jobs depend on it. The idea that engineers like Bob and Bill sit on the computer interpreting data and not listening to the products they sell is absolutely insane.

So I say let's use these few remaining posts in this thread to share what we've learned. Here's what I've learned...some people have a deep-seated mistrust of science and a little too much confidence in what their ears tell them. And as long as those people exist (and they always will), ESP and Nordost and whoever will play right into their hands.

But again, just as a parting thought, I will ask you who believe the ESP cord works one question I've asked and never got an answer...if they do work, how come the amp companies aren't clamoring to develop their own versions or recommend their usage with their amps? Surely if they worked as advertised, amp manufacturers would be totally on board with them, right? They'd be stupid not to. Think about it.
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I like your critique and I'm not a snake oil defender. What I see could be added to these discussions is the idea that Science goes in and out of it's own dark ages. The Avante Garde are hounded until their new discoveries are accepted then the middle group having adopted the new concept refuse to hear about the next new law or condition that alters the accepted facts.
IE: curve balls, bumble bees can't fly, can't drive faster than 60mph., can't fly faster than speed of sound etc.
The human is susceptible to emotion and disception. Yet the scientist is a human who designed the machines that measure these things so well. The musician is a human who can take these elements and make booties shake.
 
#1,006
cybersnyder said:
You asked, but I know that no matter what I said it would be dismissed.
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I don't know why you're getting so angry, Rich. You've already said you refuse to do a blind test and have accepted your conclusion that the ESP cable sounds better without doing a blind test, even though you admit it's probably a placebo. And then the only amp builder you named who believes the ESP cord works also believed that the Accugroove Accuswitch worked as described, even though Accugroove dropped it and had to admit that it didn't really work (totally forgot about that, thanks for reminding us, Mark). This leads me to believe that Dave Funk may know how to assemble a good sounding amp, but that's about as far as it goes.
 
#1,012
JimmyM said:
Why? Are you against exposing BS artists?
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There are much worse BS artists than ESP. No one is really getting hoodwinked here. It is perhaps one more example of questionable marketing and false claims, but in a world filled with them, ESP is not even a blip on the radar. If you hear a difference, use them, if you don't, don't use them. If you know they don't help, don't try one, if you are curious, try one and see what you think you hear and play bass.

If nothing else, $150 buys the biggest and baddest looking power cord money can buy.
 
#1,013
Well, I'm going to close this, if for no other reason than it has passed TB's forum wide usual limit of 1,000 posts. If anyone would like to start part 2, then go right ahead as long as the discussion stays reasonably civil (if spirited) and doesn't descend into personal insults (which, in the main, it has not).

Personally, I would prefer to wait until someone has had the time and patience to record some high quality tracks (ideally in a lossless format like flac) using the MusicCord and a standard cord and with other variables very tightly controlled. My own personal view is that it would actually be physically impossible for the two signals to be sufficently dissimilar to make any audible diifference that would consistently and repeatably enable anyone to reliably distinguish one cord from the other. But I would still be interested in the outcome as I think this is the only way the discussion could possibly move forward constructively, rather than retreading the rather entrenched ground covered in this thread and in many others.

Maybe someone could record a bass track of high quality straight into a good interface, then re-amp the track(s) through a decent rig and record the results (DI or mic?) using the two different power cables? Just a thought. Anyway, I'm sure this topic will be revisited at some stage... probably in about 3 minutes... :rolleyes:
 
#1,014
Oh, and please feel free to PM anyone but me if you'd like to discuss this at length. :D


Just kidding.

folks.jpg
 
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