In defense of quantum products.

Mapman, I agree that the price tag that accompanies many of these products is high. Since many people are able to audition products before buying (Synergistic Research has a program for this) there is virtually no risk in auditioning to see if their "nebulous principles" translate into nebulous products.

I believe that some of the explanations are nebulous -- not the principles -- because I have heard what some of these products can do. And what they can do is often very impressive in my system, and in others' as well.

Yes, it is always possible that similar results may be obtained less expensively. I think the best way to go about this is to wait till the heat is off and they bring out Mark II and Mark III. Then the earlier versions can often be had at a reasonable price. And if you have already auditioned what you are looking for you can do well.

Manufacturers' explanations never deter me. I really don't care what they say. Every manufacturer touts their own products. I am buying sound, not explanations. I look for sonic results. That's all that matters to me.

If all the high priced tweeks out there really worked why don't companies just take a 10.00 non refundable deposit, let the customer try it out, and send it back if it doesn't really work. People that pay lots of money for something will never admit to themselves that they were taken. Either you have a good system, or you don't. Why pay more for wires and tweeks than your entire system costs?

Just because a product has quantum in its name doesn't mean its design has anything remotely to do with quantum theory. It's a term anyone can appropriate for marketing impact, like Extreme or Ultra or Turbo. Personally, whenever I see quantum -- or better yet, Tesla -- invoked in high-end audio, my BS detector goes off.

I don't see any resolution to this argument. As so often on Audiogon and other forums, it comes down to one opinion over another. You can legitimately argue as to the scientific validity of a companies claims and I certainly am not qualified to comment on the validity. I have a tenuous, non scientific understanding of Quantum mechanics, string theory etc and I suspect that is true for most of us.

Whether the "science" seems Kosher, is certainly relevant to whether it works or not, but not a deal breaker. I believe the Nordost QB4 works in my system and 2 works better than one. To my ears, the benefit is instantly recognisable and worth the cost. The cost to me was half price, second hand. I think it worth that, not the current full price, which seems far to high for the material content of the product. You can argue I am fooling myself, but it's all rather futile. The only way is to get a loaner or by second hand, so you can sell on, hopefully at no loss and try yourself

I searched and read a few thing on the Nordost and Synergistic sites as some homework in response to this thread.

The word quantum comes up many times when you run a search on the word, but I did not see a concise explanation of exactly what it meant in the context of the site ( I thought I did see some clear things that made some sense a while back on the Synergistic site when some of their power related products caught my interest but not this time). The term appears to be used mainly as a principle and/or tool in testing as part of their R&D process as best I could tell and is mentioned in the context of many products. I could have missed some things. SInce it was so frequently used but an explanation not obvious I did not spend too much time digging. I gathered that they are applying a technique that originated in the medical field back in the 90's but a quick Google search turned up nothing on other sites explaining further.

Whatever. I have no doubt these products sound good or they would not be in business for long. If the customers are happy with the products that's all that matters. I could easily live with them I am sure but doubt I would be willing to make the investment required.

I expect all expensive audio products to "sound really really good" though of course we all will tend to like some more than others. I can count on one hand probably the expensive audio gear I have heard around that did not sound good at all to me and I suspect that was because of problems with specific units and/or the setup.

I agree in the end that customer satisfaction is all that matters.