Andrew Ducker
Link Post: Comparison of $4,000 boutique audio cable to $7 Amazon Basics cable shows audiophiles waste a lot of money https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/sound-cards/comparison-of-usd4-000-boutique-audio-cable-to-usd7-amazon-basics-cable-shows-audiophiles-waste-a-lot-of-money-scientific-audio-equipment-analysis-with-analyzer-shows-no-difference-in-quality
Mar 29 at 9:47pmWeb
Show threadStefan SchmidtMar 29
@andrewducker Also worth a look if shopping for audio products IMO: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?pages/Reviews/
Master Audio Review Index

Audio Science Review (ASR) Forum
Show threadFlipper 🐬🏳️‍🌈Mar 29

@andrewducker I don't know why these tests keep coming back. Isn't it better to just let people enjoy their hobbies?

I'm a bit of a cable freak - I find cheaper cables, especially speaker cables, to be very fatiguing to listen to. Do I buy $4000 cables? No. But I do buy $200 ones, which I find I prefer. Do I do signal analysis on them? No. Do I still enjoy them? Yes.

Do some people spend way too much on cabling and way too much time on laying it just so? I guess that depends on how much subjective enjoyment they get. Music is, after all, hugely subjective.

/2c

Show threadJonMar 29
@andrewducker OBVIOUSLY the virtues of the boutique cables only become apparent when used with a turntable / lacquer record combo and tube-powered amps. Sheesh.
Show threadCadbury MooseMar 29

@andrewducker

Turned hardwood strain reliefs on the XLR connectors would be an instant "Nope!" for this moose even if they were offered free of charge.

Show threadRobrabMar 29
@andrewducker Many years back the New Scientist mag had a brief note in the back about being at a hifi fair. At the Denon stand he saw some bright orange cables. The guy at the stand said they'd forgot their usual cables, saw a UK DIY store and got some nice thick copper cables.
Show threadJernej Simončič �Mar 29
@andrewducker They should do power cords next :)
Nordost Odin 2 UK Mains Power Cable

Nordost's Odin 2 range is the 'Supreme Reference' for top-of-the-range audiophile equipment. Each component of the Odin 2 range is meticulously crafted to ensure the most performance out of your system. The Odin 2 Mains Power cable opens up your system to a new level of performance with excellent depth by eliminating your system's noise floor. This is achieved through the combination of Odin 2's conductors and their construction.

Future Shop Ltd.
Show threadPeter BrettMar 29
@andrewducker I swear I've been reading this article in various forms on a ~annual basis since the mid 1990s
Show threadKen MilmoreMar 29
@andrewducker They were selling premium audiophile SATA cables a while back. I mean, seriously...
Show threadDźwiedziuMar 30

@kbm0
…Ethernet cables…

@andrewducker

Show threadBłażej KowalczykMar 30
@dzwiedziu @kbm0 @andrewducker and golden AC cables to power the amplifier
Show threadMoe LassusMar 29
@andrewducker Fancy audio cables are simply HiFi jewelry. If you can afford to spend 50k+ on your audio gear, you don’t want ugly lamp cord running across the floor. 😆
Show threadZerotimeMar 29
@andrewducker Forget the seven dollar cables - you can get the exact same experience with a couple of coathangers. https://www.soundguys.com/cable-myths-reviving-the-coathanger-test-23553/
Cable myths: reviving the coathanger test

Today, in our speaker cable blind test we're going to try to prove one way or another whether or not high-end speaker cables make a difference for your equipment.

SoundGuys
Show threadVery Human RobotMar 30

@andrewducker

I used to think that, too! I was super vocal online about such snake oil.

But what an "audiophile" if that sort is buying, is the placebo effect.
They are paying for fooling their brain into enjoyment.
It's not about sound quality, it's about brain experience.

Who am I to yuck their yum, if they can afford it?

Show threadTed JohnsonMar 30
@andrewducker I'd stop making and listening music if it meant I had to shop on Amazon. No matter how cheap or good the gear. But, yeah, audiophiles pay a lot for placebo gear.
Show threadPoul-Henning KampMar 30

@andrewducker

Wasting money is the whole point: Audiohomoepathy is all and only about showing how much money you have.

I know people who cater to that segment, there are audiohomoepaths out there, who will pay you lots of money, to be able to tell a tall tale about how they got the only prototype in the entire world, provided you give them the right "story".

Show threadWenMar 30
@andrewducker Ahh - but were they bidirectional cables or had they forgotten to orient them the correct way round? 🤣
Show threadMartin RundkvistMar 30
@andrewducker
There were magazine features about this very thing in the 80s!
Show threadUtarg of Utarg 🔬🇪🇺🇸🇪🇬🇧🇺🇦Mar 30
@andrewducker The late, great James Randy did a live demo years ago that showed the same. I see the grift continues.
Show threadLord Tom Klopf of CZ Mar 30
@andrewducker and there's the 1000 EUR Ethernet cable :D but that's a 50% sale! https://www.audionirvana.cz/en/e-shop/ethernet-cables/audioquest-diamond-rj-e-220/?var=3.0m#tab-1
Audioquest Diamond RJ/E | Audio Nirvána

We offer 650 meters of cables in free length in 35 types. We sell 250 set cables from 10 manufacturers for immediate collection and more than 1000 top connectors for your needs from branded manufacturers.

Show thread🇺🇦 haxadecimal 🚫👑Apr 1
@andrewducker
The misspelled "audiophools."