Do you consider yourself an audiophile?

[Orang Utan]

do the people who sell this stuff really believe in it or are they just cynical snake oil merchants?

 

[ViolentPanda]

do the people who sell this stuff really believe in it or are they just cynical snake oil merchants?

Most of the inventors are snake oil merchants, but a lot of "audiophile" hi-fi shop employees seem to buy into some of the stuff regarding cables, at least, so they're believers rather than cynics. I've heard the "directionality" spiel at several supposedly respectable retailers over the last 20 years or so, as well as the "our 100% oxygen-free copper cable coated in space-age polymer* is a lot better than your non OFC cable" spiel.

* usually PTFE or similar, Yes, it is "space age", if you mean "the original polymer was invented for NASA's use 40 or so years ago".

 

[fractionMan]

do the people who sell this stuff really believe in it or are they just cynical snake oil merchants?

I'm pretty sure this guy believes everything he writes.

 

[Orang Utan]

HOLY SHIT WILL YOU LOOK AT THIS:
http://www.lessloss.com/blackbody-p-200.html

 

[Crispy]

Oh lord.

 

[fishfinger]

HOLY SHIT WILL YOU LOOK AT THIS:
http://www.lessloss.com/blackbody-p-200.html

I didn't even read it. I just saw all those pretty pictures and ordered a dozen units

 

[john x]

I know people are shitting off cables on this thread but the most noticeable difference I found with my stereo is when I bought a £45 50cm. Phono/Phono cable to go between my CD player and the amp.

john x

 

[joustmaster]

I know people are shitting off cables on this thread but the most noticeable difference I found with my stereo is when I bought a £45 50cm. Phono/Phono cable to go between my CD player and the amp.

john x

an i'm sure if i had spent that much, i'd make sure i told my self the same

 

[Shippou-Sensei]

HOLY SHIT WILL YOU LOOK AT THIS:
http://www.lessloss.com/blackbody-p-200.html

It's like, how much more black could this be? and the answer is none. None more black. (seriously this is a real selling point?)

 

[gentlegreen]

an i'm sure if i had spent that much, i'd make sure i told my self the same

Indeed, what was it compared with, and in a double blind ?

 

[gentlegreen]

I assume that people that obsessed already live right out in the sticks and have custom-made listening rooms - and have probably killed all the noisy wildlife ...

 

[Meltingpot]

I know people are shitting off cables on this thread but the most noticeable difference I found with my stereo is when I bought a £45 50cm. Phono/Phono cable to go between my CD player and the amp.

john x

Maybe, but you can't deny there's a LOT of snake oil in the hi-fi business.

 

[Meltingpot]

Still not proper audiophile kit I'm, but blown away by how much better a £20 sound card is compared to on-board sound through an old 2 channel amp. All the hisses are gone.

It's got a headphone amp, but not had a chance to test it yet.

Thanks (notes for future reference).

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

I know people are shitting off cables on this thread but the most noticeable difference I found with my stereo is when I bought a £45 50cm. Phono/Phono cable to go between my CD player and the amp.

john x

The only difference was in your wallet.

 

[john x]

The only difference was in your wallet.

Obviously your ears aren't as good as mine!

john x

 

[Apathy]

This thread; Its just always going to be funny

 

[Meltingpot]

Yeah; it's not funny when people are convinced that they need to spend a lot of money they don't need to though.

 

[Apathy]

Its hardly old ladies being talked into paying for house maintenance they don't need at extortionate prices by some cowboy conman. These people willingly pay up for overpriced audio toys. Ive no problem with seeing them mocked tbh

 

[john x]

Maybe, but you can't deny there's a LOT of snake oil in the hi-fi business.

Not exactly sure about snake oil, certainly not where basic components are concerned.

Most proper hi-fi shops I've been to have always been brutally honest about the fact that there is no point in buying £ xxx speaker cables unless you have a £ yyyy amp and £ zzzz speakers. Audio, as with a lot of things is defined by the weakest link in the chain, and as we don't live in a perfectly balanced world, there will always be that weakest link. When that link is replaced by something better then something else becomes the weakest link. Which is why there is no limit to what you can spend on hi-fi.

But it is a game of diminishing returns. A pair of £400 speakers probably does sound twice as good as a pair of £200 speakers but a £400,000 amp will probably only sound less than 1% better than a £200,000 amp and that is only if everything else in the system is of comparable quality.

The problem about the crazier, more specialist end of the market is that although a lot of the claims make sense scientifically in terms of signal processing, wave propagation and aural perception, the differences are unlikely to be heard by most people.

So, not so much snake oil as a bit of a waste of money.

john x

 

[Meltingpot]

Its hardly old ladies being talked into paying for house maintenance they don't need at extortionate prices by some cowboy conman. These people willingly pay up for overpriced audio toys. Ive no problem with seeing them mocked tbh

I have, if it's people on limited incomes who also happen to enjoy music who are getting fleeced. Fair enough, if you can afford a set of Audio Research or Krell kit you take your own chances, but most home audio customers aren't in that bracket.

 

[Corax]

Only just seen this thread, but it's reassuring. I always thought it all sounded a load of woo, but wondered if I was missing something. Or had fewer ears than most people or something.

 

[Crispy]

there is no point in buying £ xxx speaker cables

correct

unless you have a £ yyyy amp and £ zzzz speakers.

incorrect

Open up a pair of £zzzz speakers and see what sort of wire runs from the connectors to the crossover to the drivers. It's just plain old copper wire.

 

[john x]

correct

incorrect

Open up a pair of £zzzz speakers and see what sort of wire runs from the connectors to the crossover to the drivers. It's just plain old copper wire.

Yes, and only a couple of inches long!

john x

 

[8115]

For me, being an audiophile just means understanding that sometimes music sounds shit, and sometimes it sounds good, and that can have a lot to do with what it's being played on, or where it's being played.

 

[john x]

For me, being an audiophile just means understanding that sometimes music sounds shit, and sometimes it sounds good, and that can have a lot to do with what it's being played on, or where it's being played.

...and being able to tell the difference!

john x

 

[Orang Utan]

You can certainly tell the difference between a £3 cable and a £3000 cable, if you use your imagination.
rob x

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

the differences are unlikely to be heard by most people.

There isn't a difference. Wire is wire. It makes no difference, ever.

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

Oh my god is there another one?

 

[john x]

There isn't a difference. Wire is wire. It makes no difference, ever.

Is that why you have a pic of a Soundcraft Vi as your profile pic?

john x

 

[stuff_it]

It's like, how much more black could this be? and the answer is none. None more black. (seriously this is a real selling point?)

So are you meant to rub it on your records or place it at a 35 degree angle to your stereo? I'm confused now, does this mean I need to buy two?