2. cables
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7500 for USED cables? Are they joking?

I've been out of high-end audio for about 8 years, and the thing I am most struck by on my return is the apparent acceptance of power cables, interconnects and speaker cables that cost as much or more than heavy-duty high-end components.

As a now-outsider of sorts, this really looks like the Emperor's New Clothes big-time. Especially power cords, considering the Romex that delivers the A/C to the outlet isn't exactly audiophile quality.

Are people really paying $500 and up for wire? Is this foolishness of the highest order, or is this what people now believe it takes to extract the last percent or two of definition from their components?

What happened? Even buyers of what are now considered "modestly priced" cables would be laughed out of the professional audio world, so why do audiophiles think they need something better than was used to make the original recording? MOST professional recording engineers scoff at the difference between microphone cables that cost $19.95 vs. those that cost $49.95 -- most anything higher is rarely considered at all (the most expensive microphone cable might be $125 for a 20 foot run, and it's laughed at by most of the pros).

I'm not criticizing -- I'm too stunned to draw any conclusions -- I just wondered if anyone has given this much thought.

(At least I understand the home theater revolution -- thank heavens something came along to save the high end manufacturers, although it makes me chuckle to think of someone spending $30,000 to watch the Terminator. It's OK with me.)

Thank you for your consideration,

Mark Hubbard
Eureka, CA
Ag insider logo xs@2xmark_hubbard
bishopwill
369 posts
 
Since I replaced the lead sinkers on my fishing line with high quality ferrites I've caught more fish and bigger fish. More importantly, they taste fresher, without any haze or glare to obscure the fine nuances of flavor. Overall grain and harshness are reduced, as well. Where I used to reach for the tartar sauce, I now use only a spritz of lemon.

And don't tell me to ABX them, either. I know what my taste buds can taste!

Happy cabling!

Will (who uses good but not terribly expensive cables)
marakanetz's avatar
marakanetz
5,473 posts
 
I would lookup into US history rather than critisize such absurd with the cables.

It is all come from here where the all freedom marketing and business begins. Understand me right that marketing business advances and it's all about how to sell. You might manufacture or buy somewhere(in most cases) a piece of $hit product, invest money into the advertising and sell or re-sell it as a greatest stuff in the world -- just have a guts to skillfully describe it, place it in the nice box use the right colours etc...! People learned in US to sell promises and hopes that initially cost nothing(no building materials used or spent). This is the country where the real business was born.

In our addiction environment believe it or not wires are the most profitable components if skillfully sold on the market. It's done by psychologically convinsing people that they improve the sound and/or it's done in terms of fasion.

As to HT Someday I would want to get a cut from that business since to my knowledge rich folks spending arround 5K to the specialist just to assemble components that cost far more than $30k. It's kind of a fasion right now rather than someone's addiction(fasion by definition is the first derivative of market) to assemble a $100k HT system in the new house's dedicated room.

For those who likes math:

d/dy(market) = fasion

So folks if you spend $10k for a wire, it's OK because it's a fasion just like you buy Armani suit, BMW and it's cool!:)

Mara
marakanetz's avatar
marakanetz
5,473 posts
 
...and DD adict guy -- this isn't a VOODOO it's quite real to me.
garfish
1,840 posts
 
Sean; you can't say "nuts" on Audiogon-- well, it depends on context maybe-- perhaps "family jewels"?. However it's much safer than saying "wires".

Doc; your fishing line analogy, observations and comments are great.

........gotta' love these "wire" threads. Cheers. Craig
paulwp
585 posts
 
Just out of curiosity, beyond poorly designed cables that clearly do something wrong, what part of a recording not captured by a $19.95 mic cable or any of the plain vanilla cheap copper cables used by recording engineers is re-created by those designer cables?

What part of the signal now realized through the Valhalla was left out by those cheap cables used by recording engineers in the "Golden Age of Stereo" before they knew any better?

Of course they're joking.
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