The "Post a silly and delusional audiophool YouTube reveiw" Thread - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: xrunner
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2017, 11:03:31 pm
content: Since there are a few audiophile threads going on, I thought I'd post a few of the silliest reviews of audiophoolery I could find. The important thing to listen for in these reviews is the use of the non-technical - almost fanciful - jargon that they use to convince themselves that the multi-hundred or thousand dollar device actually made a difference. Phrases such asMusic SignatureSpatial enhancementInner voices and layers of soundsSmoothness in the soundCumulative impactand so on ...Please feel free to find some and post here too!Enjoy the first video -https://youtu.be/WRzoRJ-ufdU

author: Zbig
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2017, 08:23:09 am
content: Quote from: xrunner on February 10, 2017, 11:03:31 pm"Inner voices"That explains it

author: voltsandjolts
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 11, 2017, 10:03:12 am
content: Wow.Sometimes you just have to admire a con-artist at work, it takes a certain amount of talent to keep the BS flowing so smoothly.

author: station240
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 11, 2017, 12:23:24 pm
content: Quote from: xrunner on February 10, 2017, 11:03:31 pmI take it all the overkill engineering also counts.Gold platedOxygen Free CopperLooks like the making of a game ofBullshit Bingoto me. They don't have an audiophool set yet.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 11, 2017, 01:20:39 pm
content: I must block this thread in case I accidentally press play and have a seizure or something

author: xrunner
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2017, 02:04:09 pm
content: Quote from: station240 on February 11, 2017, 12:23:24 pmOh that's nothin' - we got rhodium up in the next video.Quote from: EEVblog on February 11, 2017, 01:20:39 pmCome on you can take it!How about interconnects? Here we have an audiophool going on and on about some pricey wires. The D4 model he mentions is about$1500 eachdepending on the connectors - I mean, you want rhodium on them connectors don't you?All this mumbo jumbo to pass audio signals between system components.Audio signals. I don't have a coax connector patch cable anywhere near that price to pass rf up to 450 MHz between gear I work on. I guess I'd better get out my credit card.https://youtu.be/shbUAE1waUg

author: mmagin
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2017, 06:47:36 pm
content: All that and no cover plate over his outlets!

author: ModemHead
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2017, 07:24:30 pm
content: Quote from: mmagin on February 11, 2017, 06:47:36 pmHe's waiting fortheseto become available in triples.

author: hwj-d
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2017, 07:28:48 pm
content: Can't you really hear the differenz?In youtube??

author: xrunner
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2017, 07:46:47 pm
content: Quote from: ModemHead on February 11, 2017, 07:24:30 pmBwahahahaha - Audiophile outlet covers? Oh man dude you outdid me on that find!Quote

author: ModemHead
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2017, 07:57:57 pm
content: Quote from: xrunner on February 11, 2017, 07:46:47 pmSorry, I'm a bad boy. There should probably be a sort of Godwin's Law for how long it takes an audio-phoolery thread to lead to Machina Dynamica.

author: GreyWoolfe
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 11, 2017, 11:41:33 pm
content: Quote from: ModemHead on February 11, 2017, 07:24:30 pmDon't forget the unobtanium audiopfool grade screws for attaching the plates. We wouldn't want to lose the coloration of the transients would we.

author: xrunner
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2017, 01:00:20 am
content: Japanese audiophile has personal utility pole installed for his audio equipment!https://youtu.be/XJJy6VJvSCk

author: xrunner
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2017, 03:42:34 am
content: At least the Japanese gentleman is holding a Queen album. I've checked out a lot of audiophile videos and not a single one was playing anything I'd listen to, like Ozzy, AC/DC, or Pink Floyd. I guess that kind of music is poo-pooed for audiophool set-ups.

author: ECEdesign
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2017, 03:42:56 am
content: The Japanese guy with his own telephone pole is hilarious! He has his "own source of electricity"...connected to the grid by 10 feet of transmission line.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 30, 2017, 02:59:28 am
content: Not a review, but check out the closeups of PCB's in this $300,000 system, and note the portable soldering iron being used to solder connectionshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wX65iSZTI7E&feature=youtu.be&t=314

author: helius
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2017, 03:13:22 am
content: I like the Japanese enthusiasts. How can you not?Anyway, the private utility pole isn't a crazy idea, but it is rather extreme. The step-down transformer ("pole pig") you share with other customers will let their noise into your mains and vice-versa. It's more common to use an isolation transformer at the point of load, but his solution is better.

author: mdszy
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 30, 2017, 03:25:27 am
content: Quote from: EEVblog on May 30, 2017, 02:59:28 amThose solder joints! My eyes!

author: Sonny_Jim
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 30, 2017, 03:37:06 am
content: Holy moly, you weren't kidding:

author: mdszy
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 30, 2017, 03:38:34 am
content: Quote from: Sonny_Jim on May 30, 2017, 03:37:06 amI'm pretty sure that sort of thing would definitely NOT be allowed in any aerospace application...

author: Sonny_Jim
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 30, 2017, 03:46:16 am
content: Forgive my ignorance as a lowly pinball repair tech, but aren't you supposed to solder in the components on the BOTTOM of the board and not from the top? At first I thought he was soldering onto one of the rotary switches, which would make sense, but nope, that's a power resistor he's soldering in there. With a portable iron. On a bench.Erm.....

author: CJay
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2017, 06:51:33 am
content: Quote from: Sonny_Jim on May 30, 2017, 03:46:16 amIf I were being generous and having seen TV/Advertising being made, I'd say the director probably asked them to 'do something technical' then requested that the boards be that side up to show the interesting bits, plus the Tek scope and test gear stacked up smacks of a director looking for an image...But those solder joints and the flux left all over the place, I'd be upset if that was in a £500 system, in something that cost $300k I'd be distraught (not least because I'd fallen for it and spent that money on it)I do think that it's beautiful looking equipment though.

author: Vgkid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2017, 07:17:48 am
content: I really like those speakers.

author: xrunner
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2017, 12:13:19 pm
content: Quote from: Sonny_Jim on May 30, 2017, 03:46:16 amYea I don't know why ... In audiophoolery, looks is a big thing, but in this case I doubt the board is visible after assembly. I would guess that they don't have pre-made/measured wire looms for all the external connections so they just make it up as the go along after the board is mounted. The person just looks at the PCB label and puts the wire in the right hole, but couldn't they push it up from underneath? I dunno - it's audiophoolery and I don't understand their ways much.Check this one-https://youtu.be/dOwqyWdsWrE

author: tszaboo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2017, 12:22:57 pm
content: Quote from: hwj-d on February 11, 2017, 07:28:48 pmYou know, I could really hear a level of smoothness of the power cable. The music played from that system was really something. Although it went through the air->microphone->youtube->usb->headphone amp->crappy* sennheiser headphones it was still nice. So the power cable must be really worth it.*I have my nice sennheires headphones at home. Those make a difference. You know, like one you can quantify , like THD

author: dmills
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2017, 04:29:35 pm
content: The trouble with satirising the audiophool stuff is that you are **Almost** sure it is satire, but there is never any way to be 100% confident.I mean Machina Dynamica must be a pisstake? Surely?The one which amuses me is the tweaker end of that spectrum, I mean the guys who insist on fitting **Massive** film caps in place of the ceramics decoupling something high speed like a DAC, or replacing the jellybean electrolytics with super low ESR ones, and of course a '797' in place of a fet input opamp is "clearly an improvement" in a high Z circuit (well it makes it a better radio transmitter I guess).The scary thing is that you ALSO see spurious claims by some 'engineers' to the effect that X cannot matter because... When a little thought shows that it can matter but is usually easily pushed into the 'does not matter' orders of magnitude, you usually get this from predominantly digital guys trying to do AD or DA converter boards for the first time.73 Dan.

author: CJay
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2017, 04:49:23 pm
content: Quote from: dmills on May 30, 2017, 04:29:35 pmPfft, had one guy come into the shop (over 30 years ago) asking how much it would cost to have all the solder in his pre and power amp replaced because he had some super expensive stuff on order from America that was supposed to improve the audio quality.We told him we couldn't do it.

author: CatalinaWOW
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2017, 05:51:22 pm
content: It is amazing that those who are looking for audio nirvana, perfection in sound, are willing to put up with the visual hell that those lessloss cables and their supports provide.I always thought that the purpose of a great audio system was to make an appealing environment for snuggling with your favorite squeeze or trying to entice someone to be that favorite. I can promise that delivering on the audio while failing in the visual is not a winning recipe.

author: cat87
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2017, 07:14:40 pm
content: 50 seconds in into the video in the OP and man, what a bunch of bull.On the other hand, giving how much cash a set-up like that costs and that there really are people that buy that sort of stuff, I'm thinking "yeah, I'm in the wrong line of work. Damn you, conscience"And while I'm writing this, I can't but help laugh my arse off, because a few feet from me is a raspberry DAC I just finished and as expected of any prototype, it has wires coming out of it like no one's business....but it still has "balanced mid tones" and "a symphony of bass" and bla bla bla.

author: xrunner
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2017, 07:43:00 pm
content: Quote from: cat87 on May 30, 2017, 07:14:40 pmOh yea that guy is hopelessly deluded. He's never gonna recover. You'd have to send him to the equivalent of a cult de-programming center where he couldn't go home until he got rational about this.But seriously, as far as these people take this I'm really shocked at something. If you wanted to take it to the limit, take it all the way, (and why not?) it seems to me that they would construct a "clean room" environment for all the equipment. An absolutely clean room with dust, temperature, and humidity control, RF shielding, gold plated power lines and whatever the f*ck else gets them off, that no one but the owner could enter. Then what comes out of that room or closet is the speaker wiring to the speakers in your living room. I mean that's the logical end-game isn't it?Hey wait a second - I just got an idea for a new company!

author: helius
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2017, 07:50:53 pm
content: Even in an anechoic chamber, there are poles and resonance effects in the speaker cabinet, the driver, and the crossover if one is used. You can't get to perfection that way. Besides, the absolute lack of reverberation in such a chamber is very disturbing to some people.

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 30, 2017, 08:26:14 pm
content: Quote from: CJay on May 30, 2017, 04:49:23 pmAt least you guys were honest. You could have just as easily quoted him $1000 for absolutely nothing and he still would have "heard the difference".

author: Groucho2005
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2017, 08:33:23 pm
content: Quote from: EEVblog on May 30, 2017, 02:59:28 amAt around 4:00 the guy starts talking about the type of wood they use for their speaker enclosures and how "tonally great" it is. He also mentions that the same woods are used by a guitar company. Anyone with basic knowledge of physics knows that the material of a speaker enclosure should be as "dead" as possible, absorb the energy that the speaker chassis create and certainly shouldn't have a "tone". The requirements are the exact opposite of those for a guitar body. What an idiot.

author: grumpydoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2017, 09:33:02 pm
content: Quote from: helius on May 30, 2017, 07:50:53 pmDefine perfection, as applied to audio reproduction, anyway.You might say that you want to hear the "original performance", well most recorded music is produced by laying down individual tracks and then mixing them, entirely electronically (or digitally). There was never a single "original performance " to reproduce.Maybe, just maybe, if we talk about a live event ideally with musicians playing unamplified instruments (say, an orchestra) we could define it as reproducing the sound that you would get at some point in an auditorium and, with binaural recording and minimal pissing around with the signal chain you could achieve that. You could, at least, start to think about measuring the signal at source and again when reproduced to show that the reproduction is accurate.As far as I know no review or comparison of audio equipment has ever set out to define what the reproductionshouldsound like and compare reality with that "ideal".After that it's all a question of my distortion sounds more pleasing to me than your distortion.Edit: Actually that brings to mind a spoof article, possibly in Everyday Electronics in about 1979 or 1980, which lauded the new "octophonic" playback system which was capable of reproducing the exact sound experienced by some one in seat ZZ18 in the Albert hall (or wherever, I forget). It then went on to describe how each channel was devoted, in turn, to the sound of someone in the audience coughing, or rustling a bag of crisps etc until, finally, the 8th channel was devoted to the concert - but very quietly as seat ZZ18 was way at the back!

author: Zero999
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2017, 10:21:48 pm
content: Quote from: mdszy on May 30, 2017, 03:38:34 amYuck, look at that nasty, noisy, carbon composition resistor.

author: helius
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2017, 10:31:59 pm
content: Quote from: grumpydoc on May 30, 2017, 09:33:02 pmYou've just described an audio distortion measurement. Distortion is the most widely tested and reported measure of performance (as THD and IMD) for reproduction equipment. The fact that it appears in the specifications of amplifiers but not of loudspeakers should be a clue as to where most of it is coming from.Distortion as heard is more complicated than one-dimensional THD but not as easily measured. Quantifying it more fully is the only path to improved fidelity of the audio reproduction chain.Quote from: grumpydoc on May 30, 2017, 09:33:02 pmhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superposition_principleThis objection flies in the face of physics. The sum of several isolated instruments in a multitrack studio is heard as a single performance containing all of them together. This is just a consequence of the wave equation and you can't do or say anything about it.

author: grumpydoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2017, 10:48:27 pm
content: Quote from: helius on May 30, 2017, 10:31:59 pmYes, of course - distortion is well defined; for individual components. But it's rarely (never?) done for the whole chain.My point is from where do you pick your reference in the first place.QuoteAgreed but, again, the point is about picking a reference from which to define "fidelity". Which is where audiophoolery breaks down (IMO, of course); perfection is being sought with no way of knowing when that perfection has been achieved. Perhaps the reference point is the sound heard by the mixing engineer on the studio monitors, which will involve some distortion and colouration of the "pure" performance in the mixing desk caused by the amplifier, loudspeakers and how they interact with the volume of air in the studio.How can we know that we have matched all of that. Is that indeed what we should be attempting to match.As I said it all rather boils down to I likemydistortions and colourations of the sound more that I likeyourdistortions and colourations. But neither is objectively closer to the "truth" (whatever that is).

author: helius
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2017, 10:58:24 pm
content: Quote from: grumpydoc on May 30, 2017, 10:48:27 pmI think the idea that the studio monitors are the "reference" stems from a misunderstanding of what the mix engineer is doing. They are not mangling the sound as much as possible until they hear some artifact and then backing off slightly, taking the monitors to be the touchstone of what is an acceptable manipulation. The monitors are used to compare levels of different channels to achieve the desired balance and tonal character to make a good mix. The kinds of processing that are used do not depend on every detail being revealed in the monitors.The studio monitors do not need to be totally transparent, and in fact for economic reasons it is better if they are mediocre, since most of the paying public will not be using the best available equipment. It is better for the bottom line if everyone experiences the recording as good, than if only a select few experience it as perfect and the rest are nonplussed.

author: X
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2017, 12:47:07 am
content: Quote from: Sonny_Jim on May 30, 2017, 03:46:16 amNever mind that the messy wiring and total lack of shielding will have increased parasitic capacitance and inductance and introduce cross-talk, and the EI-core transformer will emit some EMI which can be picked up by the messy wiring and components. At least they made the amp case out of guitar wood.

author: Muxr
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2017, 02:47:03 am
content: Those $300K speakers did look cool. A lot of audio gear actually looks cool. But man that industry is full of snake oil salesmen. That amp though with flux left all over the place. Like they are all nice big components too, there is no excuse for such shoddy work.Some audio stuff is cool, like I never knew headphones had to have this really weird response curve to reproduce the sound accurately. I always though flat response curve was the best. But it has to do with how our ears interpret sound from close sources and headphones have to compensate for it... to name one.

author: Sonny_Jim
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 31, 2017, 02:54:34 am
content: Quote from: helius on May 30, 2017, 10:58:24 pmIf you look in the background when people are doing interviews in studios, more often than not mingling with the $100k+ reference speakers, you'll see a pair of Yamaha NS10s. The story I was told was that everybody knows how crap they are, but if you can get the mix to sound good on them, it'll sound good on consumer gear.http://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/yamaha-ns10-story

author: Keicar
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2017, 03:02:22 am
content: Quote from: Sonny_Jim on May 31, 2017, 02:54:34 amIndeed. Before the NS10 there was the Auratone (aka 'Horrortone'), which was even more craptastic.Karl.

author: Zero999
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2017, 10:13:25 am
content: Quote from: helius on May 30, 2017, 10:31:59 pmYes, the audio amplifier is a problem which has been technically solved for decades: for a long time, it's been very cheap to design a transparent amplifier. The only recent improvements centre around efficiency, with the increased popularity of class D amplifiers which is now give lower distortion than any speaker and DSP for effects in guitar amplifiers.The trouble with specifying distortion in speakers is it can vary, depending on where the mic. is and the room acoustics.

author: Harb
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2017, 10:32:15 am
content: I wonder why these Audiophiles are so gullible.......Having said that, what a easy way to make a lot of money......just come up with some new BS , describe it with made up unpronounceable words , and every wishful thinker that has a placebo leaning personality will be opening their cheque book at lightspeed.......just awesome.

author: xrunner
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2017, 11:44:14 am
content: These guys have it down. This is the best marketing video. Don't even say anything - don't even try to explain the BS, just present the beautiful audiophile products. Have a glass of wine while watching, look at the beautiful wooden box they come in, with a DVD too which presents the proper way to gently plug it all in. The box is worth more than any of the poor trash you have in your home. If you have to ask the price you can't afford it, you poor shmucks.Watch this anddesirethe product!https://youtu.be/aAB9YL68h-Y

author: X
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2017, 11:59:35 am
content: Check out these Ethernet cables which come with a variety of connectors:And these, which apparently cost $10000.

author: R005T3r
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2017, 01:53:50 pm
content: Quote from: Zbig on February 11, 2017, 08:23:09 am"sound textures"Also, the video just above, made me screw the repair I was doing..

author: Zbig
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2017, 02:08:59 pm
content: When I was at the local audio store to get an LP cleaning kit, the guy was trying to upsell me an "LP stabilizer". Basically, a round weight you're supposed to put on top center of the record being played on a turntable. When describing the alleged benefits of using one of these to me, he said something along the lines of the "soundstage" becoming more "weighed down" and "widened". When saying this, he was making gestures with his hands as if he was imaging this mythical "soundstage" as some kind of a ball of clay that gets flatter and wider as it's being squashed from the top. He seemed to genuinely believe it works that way. I have politely promised to take that under consideration and rushed towards the exit with my LP brush kit.

author: Muxr
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2017, 03:12:40 pm
content: Quote from: Zbig on May 31, 2017, 02:08:59 pmObviously that guy is ridiculous because he was giving you a bunch of bull, but some of those terms do have use in audiophile vernacular. I mean "soundstage" is a made up term but it isn't without merit. It is much easier explaining to someone soundstage than explaining phase and frequency response. Phase and frequency response can alter the perception of spatial sound. For instance try a set of closed headphones like ATH-M50x and compare them to say SHP9500 open headphones.. the difference is quite noticeable.ATH-M50x sound like they are playing inside your head. While SHP9500 give you the illusion of things happening at a distance. This is simply because SHP9500's have a different measurable frequency and phase response but explaining it in simple terms like soundstage might be useful to someone who doesn't understand those concepts.Then you give these terms to sales people and the next thing.. they start using it to describe every single thing in their shop, down to cables and "LP stabilizers". Like in the example you gave.

author: CatalinaWOW
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2017, 03:33:57 pm
content: Quote from: Zbig on May 31, 2017, 02:08:59 pmToo bad he tried to sell this with BS. The product has a real use and benefit. It can make a warped LP playable by flattening it against the turntable. Sometimes the resulting playback will even be quality sound, though wow and flutter from high order bends often survive these weights.Much audiophoolery is the result of something like this. A basically sound idea gets modified in the transmission from person to person. Then someone down the transmission chain "invents" something based on the really flawed understanding. The process continues.

author: @rt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2017, 04:52:10 pm
content: Just a random example of many of these:https://youtu.be/9EJvrf22Hx8(Search for SCPH1002 Audiophile).At some stage, someone wrote a poem about the sound of the first model Sony Playstation CDDA hardware, and it caught on.As far as I'm aware there's no difference in the DAC between any of the five or so variants of the Playstation 1.Also funny that often they just leave the stick switch mode PSU which no high end CD player would have,Although some do seperate it when the main PCB was already shielded.It would have made an interesting debunking video back in the day.Comparing with real equipment to other PlayStation 1 models, or other high end players.

author: schmitt trigger
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2017, 06:13:38 pm
content: Anyone remembers the Tice Clock?https://www.stereophile.com/artdudleylistening/listening_85/

author: John B
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2017, 09:11:52 pm
content: Getting the right EQ and mix for consumer grade audio can be frustrating. "Consumer grade" need not mean poor quality, but its a specific problem with consumer audio manufacturers where they create visually novel designs, eg a sub along with 20 tiny speakers to create the mid to high frequency bands.Every time I have tried a mix on them, they seem to have a very big scoop in the mid frequencies, and most annoying, they create a sense of "big bass" by putting a hump in the bass response around the 100-250Hz region.So, a mix that sounded well balanced on a set of Yamaha HS80M studio monitors now sounds far too mid scooped and has "woofy" moments when there is a peak in the upper end of the bass frequency band.

author: karoru
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2017, 03:59:44 am
content: Quote from: xrunner on May 31, 2017, 11:44:14 amOne would think with that price they could afford something better than inkjet label on their demo CD (either that or they used cheapest Shenzhen manufacturer)

author: basinstreetdesign
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2017, 04:10:36 am
content: Quote from: wilfred on February 10, 2017, 11:45:06 pm+1

author: Electro Detective
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2017, 09:09:38 am
content: If you think Audioflies and golfers are a worry, wait till you come across elitist pushbike SNOBS,whom I suspect are also closet Audiophool golfers and or Audiophool sellers with Bachelor of BS diplomas.They jack entire roads and ride like the fashion police are on their tail (and so they should be!)These terra based 'Tron' wannabees that closely resemble bugs from Starship Troopers carry on like no one else is on the ROAD..roads designed for CARS, buses, motorbikes, and TRUCKS!The 1980s Audiophool virus has morphed into an all out EPIDEMIC!

author: alexanderbrevig
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2017, 09:22:00 am
content: I'm just replying so I get updates in my "Show new replies to your posts" feed. I really should not though, these are so aggravating to me. Somehow though, extremely entertaining.Almost a morbid curiosity.The most annoying thing is that when they say it sounds better (implicit;to them) they're right. Fuck you brain. Fuck you.

author: CJay
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2017, 09:52:05 am
content: Quote from: Electro Detective on June 01, 2017, 09:09:38 amOh I know a couple of those, regarding any bicycle under £2500 as unworthy of their attention and merely a 'bicycle shaped object'.One of my neighbours has tens of thousands of pounds worth of carbon fibre, kevlar, ultra this, extreme that, aerospace the other bike bits and is constantly 'upgrading' his bike, he has carbon fibre, teardrop shaped headgear and shaves his legs to gain aerodynamic advantage.Bloody weirdos.

author: Electro Detective
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2017, 10:13:46 am
content: Quote from: CJay on June 01, 2017, 09:52:05 amHopefully when the zombie apocalypse begins, they get targeted first

author: schmitt trigger
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2017, 01:33:57 pm
content: The snoobery is prevalent among many hobbies: Fishing rods. Wine. Coffee. Automobiles. Cameras. You name it.It may be related to the placebo effect. If one truly, truly believes that an ultra-expensive fishing rod will catch more fish, then your perception will become the reality.

author: rdl
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2017, 03:11:03 pm
content: Quote from: schmitt trigger on June 01, 2017, 01:33:57 pmProbably exists to a degree even in electronics, more digits, more channels, more memory, more MHz, etc.

author: CJay
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2017, 03:46:23 pm
content: Quote from: rdl on June 01, 2017, 03:11:03 pmDefinitely exists in electronics, fortunately we can justify and make the case for precision, plus it's good to 'know' what you're measuring is measured accurately, it's not a subjective thing.With food, as with audio, 'better' is subjective and brand snobbery is a very real marketing tool, things must be better because they look nicer/cost more, have more 'back story' etc.If I had more free time I'd research the roots of some of the audiophool myths, I have a feeling there may well be a grain of something in some of them that's been exaggerated beyond the point of ridicule or just a complete misapplication of valid science.I haven't got references any more but some of the audiophool myths were actually practical jokes that got out of hand (I'm thinking of a wonder patch sold back in the early 90s that was to be placed under one of the feet of a turntable, ISTR it was a square of refuse bag)

author: rdl
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2017, 04:39:45 pm
content: Yes, audiophool myths, like using green markers on the edge of CDs. I agree however, that there's a difference between "snoobery" and "phoolery".

author: Gregg
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 02, 2017, 02:19:06 am
content: It exists everywhere, because it has no relationship to the technical paraphernalia or pastime someone is involved in. It is in the nature of the individual. People do it to reinfroce their self esteem, because they want to show they can afford it or to cement feelings of membership or status in a tribe.Even animals do it, like a dog that won't give up a ball or Frisbee. It is the "Look what I have that you don't have" mentality (or lack thereof).

author: Electro Detective
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 02, 2017, 09:16:45 am
content: Does anyone have an Ebay auction link to a $1000 IEC power cable/kettle cord, with starting bid at 99c ?My last one has gone missing, and now I can't fire up my Fluke 8050A,the calibration will be miles out by 0.00000006 % if I use anything else

author: Miyuki
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 02, 2017, 10:44:55 am
content: And I thought cable for UPS was overpriced when it cost 300€ for 5 metersBut now I think I will try to sell them as audio cables, it must improve sound because they are 3x16mm2 (It will be good for headphones also ú

author: karoru
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 02, 2017, 09:58:36 pm
content: When you are connecting industrial consumer you have x meters of wire on the project, you get 1.1*x supplied, then difference between wire used and wire supplied is treated as a "bonus" for the crew. Some of these look similar to ultra high-end audiofool grade interconnects, maybe it's a bad idea to sell them for scrap copper/aluminium, we should buy wooden cases and sell these as audio gear:))

author: Electro Detective
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 02, 2017, 10:27:58 pm
content: Audiophile quality at Audiophool prices!Sign me up for exclusive Australia distribution, 50/50 on the profits

author: ed_reardon
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 04, 2017, 08:06:25 pm
content: Remember, there is an even more bizarre subset of these types, the automotive audiophools.In my youth I was really in to cars, I mean I was an absolute car nut and was not adverse to shoe-horning an entirely inappropriate engine in to a £500 car. Along the way I met several 'automotive audiophiles', not theSPLtype hooligans, no people I personally know who spent tens-of-thousands of pounds on audio amps, speakers and interconnects to get the absolute best sound reproduction they could manage: in a car.Seemingly dealing with noisy power, wind and road noise, and the fixed seating positions did little to sway them. These were the sort of people who spent hundreds of pounds re-upholstering their vehicles with special sound compliant fabric.To listen to a CD whistling down the M1 in the driving hail at 80mph.Ho hum.

author: schmitt trigger
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 05, 2017, 01:35:22 pm
content: The SPL hoolingans. What a proper nickname.I knew one such person.I told him -only half joking, that his woofers should be facing rearward for added thrust, and his tweeters forward as some sort of Doppler Radar.

author: ed_reardon
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 05, 2017, 07:11:14 pm
content: Quote from: schmitt trigger on May 31, 2017, 06:13:38 pmHa! I must admit I hadn't heard of this one.A brief Google search shows a worrying number who bought in to it and swear that the special 'treatment' applied to these products DOES make a difference!

author: R005T3r
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 11, 2017, 10:38:43 am
content: Quote from: ed_reardon on June 04, 2017, 08:06:25 pmDOh! I totally forgot them...