FAITH

Before George Michael's song, before Faith Hill, there were nuns who told impressionable little kids to accept things based completely on another kind of Faith. Religious things. Things beyond human kid comprehension. Skeptic kids were told to accept it all on faith. Losing your faith was whispered doom.

"But how can an all-loving, all merciful God sentence souls to burn in hell for eternity - which we can't even comprehend - for sin?" Have faith.

That never seemed all merciful to me. That seemed all vengeful.

So I find myself many years later having just FedExed a batch of expensive cables (and generic ones) to Phoenix, to be cryogenically treated. This is said to change the molecular alignment to a more electron-friendly flow. Cryogenics is used for ice skate blades, engine blocks, chisels, drills, golf clubs, seemen, and even audio equipment. It involves a computer controlled decent (and, later, ascent) via liquid nitrogen, to -320 degrees where it feels like Minnesota in February. And it's said that you can't get things just a little colder than in the 'frig to receive the benefits of darn near stopping the molecules and rearranging the crystal lattices of metals. MINUS 320 is cold. Colder than a loan shark's heart. You gotta send your stuff away for treatment. Like Walt Disney.

What other business involves sending something away which returns looking EXACTLY as it did, with zero trace of the process involved (except to maybe a handy electron microscope?) Enter faith.

Faith to me was a hopeful belief without hard evidence.

I will report back on the results - will I hear the placebo effect (and if so, is that bad?) or will the cables provide a smoother sound?

Some say power cables can't possibly change the sound of audio gear, but I know this is untrue... I've got some cables that just destroy beauty. Others that mute details.

Don't believe me - Take it on faith.

If ever there was an industry ready for The Scam, this is it.