Ultimate Head2Head Audio Cable Challenge!
And You Thought The Great Cable Debate Couldn’t Get Even More Insane…
A couple of months ago we posed the question: Are High Priced Cables Worth The Money? to determine if there was a significant difference in audio quality based on price. We pitted Monoprice’s inexpensive cables against the mid-priced XtremeMac and the high-priced Monster in a cable shootout. Our conclusion? We performed several preliminary tests using 6 foot RCA cables from each manufacturer and found no significant differences in audio quality between the three to warrant the premium price. However…
Pear Cable, makers of the insanely-priced $7250 pair of 12 foot audio cables (That’s not a misprint. —Ed.) has responded to a challenge by James Randi who has promised $1 million if anyone could prove the difference between Pear cables and their Monster Cable equivalent. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves, let’s get you up to speed on the backstory…
Pear Cable Corporation, a manufacturer of high fidelity audio cables, ramped up a public relations (PR) campaign recently by claiming that their new ANJOU Speaker Cable, priced at $5,250 for an 8-foot pair, made a significant difference in fidelity over other cables. In fact, they paid got Dave Clark, Editor of audio review publication Positive Feedback Online, to describe the ANJOU performance as being “… way better than anything I have heard…Simply put these are very danceable cables. Music playing through them results in the proverbial foot-tapping scene with the need or desire to get up and move. Great swing and pace–these cables smack that right on the nose big time.” “Danceable cables??” Danceable cables??? Who do you think you’re kidding…
Well not James Randi, who publicly declared Pear’s claim to be bullsh!t by putting his money where his mouth is…
Randi’s Educational Foundation) promised $1 million if anyone could tell the difference between Pear cables and their Monster Cable equivalent in a listening test.
Pear Audio CEO Adam Blake then responded with some saber-rattling of his own by declaring that Randi’s $1 million bet was a hoax.
Randi fired back that Blake’s chest-pounding was the real bluff, and he should put up or shut up.
Now Pear’s Blake has retorted, bring it on, beee-atch!
Pear issued this statement:
$1 Million Speaker Cable Challenge Accepted — Audiophile Reviewer Michael Fremer Agrees to Double-Blind Loudspeaker Cable Test
Responding to accusations that the high-fidelity Pear Cable Anjou loudspeaker cables could not be differentiated from typical equivalent Monster Cable, Michael Fremer, writer for Stereophile Magazine, has agreed to double-blind listening tests to prove that cables can be differentiated sonically. Accuser James Randi has claimed to offer a $1 million dollar prize if the high-fidelity cables can be detected.
While Pear Cable remains highly skeptical that the challenge is genuine, full support for Michael Fremer’s effort has been offered. Although the cables to be used in the test have not yet been selected, Pear Cable has offered to loan Mr. Fremer any Pear cables necessary to conduct the test if he desires to use them.
To date, James Randi has provided no scientific evidence of any kind to support his accusations. No test protocol for the challenge was stipulated in the original accusation, however James Randi reserves the right to change test protocol in any way he personally desires.
Official rules for the James Randi Educational Foundation challenge state that $1 Million will be paid to “any person who can demonstrate any psychic, supernatural or paranormal ability.” Michael Fremer has expressly stated as a condition of his challenge acceptance that he does not possess any psychic, supernatural, or paranormal abilities, and that he does not believe he has above average hearing. Fremer has also asked that interconnects be tested in addition to loudspeaker cables unless James Randi will concede that they affect sound quality.
