dyna--the scam isn't their price or their existence. some folks buy them for status/show. some have megasystems and want cabling to match. some like how they look and feel. some actually find changes/improvements, real or imagined. bling or durability, etc. etc. for whatever value folks place on the above, a "waste" is entirely subjective to them. and to completely trash the existence must rely on the idea that the sole purpose of the cable is to transmit the signal. one might say something similar about automobiles--get from point a to point b. your bimmer might be considered a waste by some when a Toyota does the same--assuming similar size, safety, etc. maybe that bimmer sure feels good to drive, impresses your friends, or looks pretty, though, subjectively. or maybe you just like it. all good. no judgment, here.
the scam comes when the sellers, reviewers, and cable-junkies, with a straight-face claim--
'changing out your perfectly functioning and spec'd power cable on your ancillary device will change your life. we swapped one out. when we flipped on the power, the angels sang. it was as if they opened the Ark and freed all the trapped souls of the entire history of music and audiophilia. a glorious light shown on our speakers as these souls danced a beautiful aerial ballet and unleashed previously unknown and unheard tight powerful bass, warm involving mids, and airy highs. all traces of sibilance and extraneous noise disappeared. when we cranked the volume, our previously lower midfi system was so amazing, our faces melted off. in the midst of the magnificently broadened and deepened soundstage, we could 'see' God shed a tear of joy, with incredible air and separation around that tear as it fell to the floor, ten feet behind the front wall of the room. with each passing hour as the cable settled and burned in, another tear would fall. by the time the cable reached its peak performance at 20,000 hours, we were bathed in the holiest of holy waters, and we were healed. every atheist who listens, leaves a believer. buy this cable that costs more than your amp(s). if you can't hear the incredible improvement, you are either a stupid, stone-eared freak that just needs to buy a wave radio and listen to your iPhone earbuds or you are a communist.'
some might just call it a little puffery, though.
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Would the use of "testimonials" count as "use[] in marketing?" |
no opinion, here, but, to avoid picking that nit, substitute wheels for tires. pretty sure "they" make 15k wheels.
no idea on the dog collar, but I suppose there is likely some inherent cost and value to the diamonds with some kind of proportion to the cost of the collar, no comment on whether there might have been blood shed for the diamonds. and I don’t suspect any marketing, review, or testimonial on the dog collar suggests that putting the collar on a dog does anything more than feed the ego and provide some aesthetic "improvement." they probably don’t say it makes your dog live longer, run faster, have better house training, etc. although, our crystal proponents might disagree. put that dog collar on your DAC for marked improvement!
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putting those carbon fiber wheels on a $40k bimmer doesn't turn the bimmer into a Ferrari, if they'd even fit. they might shave a few pounds off, decrease the rolling and shave a few feet off the stopping distance or avoid some of a corresponding "need" to also get bigger rotors, etc. they might look super cool or be a conversation piece. they might also require different tires, which are likely to be wider bubble gum soft summer tires that also help with cornering. but they might also decrease gas mileage and lead to a harsher ride. most of it probably measurable. the "value" is up to the buyer.
yes, I recognize that there is no point to what i just said, that it's apples to oranges, and i've wasted two minutes of my time and ten seconds of yours. but, at least we're not talking about unicorns. :) |
Geoff--that's funny. haven't seen one of those in ages.
so, one of the problems, in your opinion, is folks just trying to put lipstick on a pig? |
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'changing out your perfectly functioning and spec'd power cable on your ancillary device will change your life. we swapped one out. when we flipped on the power, the angels sang. it was as if they opened the Ark and freed all the trapped souls of the entire history of music and audiophilia. a glorious light shown on our speakers as these souls danced a beautiful aerial ballet and unleashed previously unknown and unheard tight powerful bass, warm involving mids, and airy highs. all traces of sibilance and extraneous noise disappeared. when we cranked the volume, our previously lower midfi system was so amazing, our faces melted off. in the midst of the magnificently broadened and deepened soundstage, we could 'see' God shed a tear of joy, with incredible air and separation around that tear as it fell to the floor, ten feet behind the front wall of the room. with each passing hour as the cable settled and burned in, another tear would fall. by the time the cable reached its peak performance at 20,000 hours, we were bathed in the holiest of holy waters, and we were healed. every atheist who listens, leaves a believer. buy this cable that costs more than your amp(s). if you can't hear the incredible improvement, you are either a stupid, stone-eared freak that just needs to buy a wave radio and listen to your iPhone earbuds, [] you are a communist, [or your equipment and implementation are so awful that you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between playing a telarc cd or a slice of bologna].' --edits in brackets.
dyna and OP, see the other posts? you are apparently stone-eared communists with crappy equipment.
FF:
"The audiophile with a $500K system will already have worked on the room and all the other things you discuss so a cable change is often one of the best ways of adjusting the sound if needed. Achieving the same changes via swapping the speakers or amps would cost much more, and you may well like other things the amps and speakers do just as well and not want to change them." Sure, at that level. or just for that peace of mind that could be bought for a small percentage of that $500k that the $500k investment is not being compromised by cheap, but objectively perfectly good, cables, whether audible or not. Or, maybe that owner just wants to avoid listening to some cable junky visitors say "you put BJCs with THAT super-duper-awesome amp--are you impaired?"
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Ct--"They make a difference, but often taking the cost and upgrading a component makes a larger difference."
Agreed. I'm not a complete cable denier, just a skeptic. Yes, I've heard cables make a difference (also heard them not do so). Never heard an improvement/change in my or anyone else's system that came even close to some of the wild-assed claims folks often make, though (when the existing cables were proper and not malfunctioning).
If one is "there" with everything else and needs a tweak or to wrench the last bit of "goodness." Never been there, myself--where the $5-10k for a set of fairly awesome cables wouldn't be better spent upgrading an amp, DAC, speakers, finishing a third system, etc. Priorities, I guess.
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Recently switched 10 gauge stranded copper Emotiva X series speaker cables to Audioquest bi-wire Gibraltar. There was a very subtle and slight change, which, for me, was an improvement.
Could the money have led to a bigger improvement elsewhere? probably. Is the difference drastic enough that I could accurately guess 18 out of 20 times in a single-blind test? doubtful. Could the difference be attributable to a million subjective or objective factors? Sure. Perhaps removing the Cardas jumpers helped. Perhaps there is something to the dbs thingy. Maybe bi-wire on these speakers and amp actually do something. Perhaps it's all in my head. Maybe there is a better connection with the AQ bananas. Maybe they do better since I don't use lifters. Maybe there is no difference and, even a skeptic, can experience bias. Maybe the difference is actually YUGE, and I'm subconsciously minimizing it.
Anyway, seems like they took an ever-so-slight edge off. A hair smoother.
Always fun.
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