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If the difference is subtle, then yes this can be useful. Just one of the tools in the toolbox.
In our <A HREF="http://forum.stereophile.com/forum/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=64883">foru..., reader Ethan Winer brings up the concept of "listening blind when assessing audio quality." Do you perform blind listening tests when evaluating audio equipment?
Though my audio shop's very accommodating, I feel uncomfortable monopolizing their time. While the power of suggestion shouldn't be underestimated, it's convenient (and quicker) to have something to focus on rather than listening blind.
I actually performed a truly blind test once, not even knowing that I was doing so. When I was lo0oking for a new DAC back in the early nineties, the Theta Pro Basic was one of the models that I was considering. I had auditioned it once, comparing it to a couple of other models, and I went back for a cesond listen. Well, by that time, the Basic was updated to Basic II, and the salesman didn't tell me. Guess what? I could tell the difference a good month later. The Pro Basic II served me well for nearly a decade.
Yeah, I tried that once. Auditioning speaker cable. Can I tell the difference between the $4 a foot and the $2,500 a meter? Had the audio consultant put on a '68 live Grateful Dead CD, closed my eyes. Next thing I know it's two hours later and I find myself wandering the city. Don't know how I got there. Still having an acid flashback. Now I only do home auditions. Bought the $4 cables.