Extreme Snake Oil

[ahofer]

Fat busting pilla that are effective do exist. But they are extremelly dangerous and risky.

Remember the Olestra warning label? “Wear dark-colored trousers”?

 

[Vacceo]

Remember the Olestra warning label? “Wear dark-colored trousers”?

If only sweating massively was the worst issue...

 

[MattHooper]

Remember the Olestra warning label? “Wear dark-colored trousers”?

And the classic diarrhea-inducing gummy bears phenomenon:

Amazon.ca

 

[preload]

Consider the average audiophile who buys $$ cables and other snake oil products. That person likely doesn’t care as much as we do whether there is an audible difference present under blind listening conditions. And for those that do care, it’s not enough for them to conduct their own controlled listening tests or spend time fishing through science oriented audio forums learning which devices/cables/etc are likely to make an audible difference and which do not. Many science professionals have better things to do than research audio experiments. For most people, audio is a hobby where they simply want to enjoy the music, not prove to themselves whether a $200 cable was worth it or not.

Think about how much research you honestly do when making other, non-audio purchases. When you bought your car, how much time did you spend researching data that wasn’t immediately available, like wet weather stopping distance?When you wanted to know about safety, did you just assume the car was safe? Or did you look up the number of stars from govt crash tests? Or did you actually pull the govt crash test data report that shows the amount of g’s applied to each body part during a controlled crash?

 

[ahofer]

So back on the subject. I do always find myself WANTING the high end stuff to work. I want scrappy engineers who innovate and make better stuff (March Audio is an attractive story WITH good measurements). I want the incredible solidity of appearance in that Threshold amplifier to produce better sound. I want the huge speakers to impose a concert hall experience on me. I want to put a cable in and have veils lifted.

I WANT it. I also want all my investments to double and my impressions of the CEO and market growth to always be right.

 

[Sokel]

It's not only about sound.
I for example would pick up a nice looking device with 100 SINAD over another one not so nice looking with 120 SINAD every single time (my DIY stuff excluded,these are Frankensteins) specially when I know that parts are sourced by well proved companies even at 4X the price.
Quality cannot be cheap,we see that every day.
Makes me feel safe to play without care and that is priceless to me.

 

[ehabheikal]

Consider the average audiophile who buys $$ cables and other snake oil products. That person likely doesn’t care as much as we do whether there is an audible difference present under blind listening conditions. And for those that do care, it’s not enough for them to conduct their own controlled listening tests or spend time fishing through science oriented audio forums learning which devices/cables/etc are likely to make an audible difference and which do not. Many science professionals have better things to do than research audio experiments. For most people, audio is a hobby where they simply want to enjoy the music, not prove to themselves whether a $200 cable was worth it or not.

Think about how much research you honestly do when making other, non-audio purchases. When you bought your car, how much time did you spend researching data that wasn’t immediately available, like wet weather stopping distance?When you wanted to know about safety, did you just assume the car was safe? Or did you look up the number of stars from govt crash tests? Or did you actually pull the govt crash test data report that shows the amount of g’s applied to each body part during a controlled crash?

for my cars i look at safety ratings and accept nothing but 5 star rating. About the rest of the car i do not care since i am not into cars.

 

[Keith_W]

for my cars i look at safety ratings and accept nothing but 5 star rating. About the rest of the car i do not care since i am not into cars.

Wow! I wonder if I am an strange for considering price, depreciation, reliability, how many doors I need, how much interior and cargo space, fuel economy, luxury features, warranty, running costs, repair and insurance costs, and finally whether I like the styling (no BMW) and whether their current F1 driver is being a total dick (no Mercedes for me) or whether the owner is a total dick (no Tesla either).

 

[ahofer]

Wow! I wonder if I am an strange for considering price, depreciation, reliability, how many doors I need, how much interior and cargo space, fuel economy, luxury features, warranty, running costs, repair and insurance costs, and finally whether I like the styling (no BMW) and whether their current F1 driver is being a total dick (no Mercedes for me) or whether the owner is a total dick (no Tesla either).

No. And there is no shortage of websites and periodicals where measurements are taken and compared.

 

[M00NMAN]

So what kind of Snake Oil is this? Why would it make any difference using a basic $15 outlet vs this $150 outlet?

NRG Edison Duplex Wall Outlet

AudioQuest cables and other audio products combine solid conductors, high-purity metals, specialized geometries, and stable dielectrics to enable naturally beautiful sounds and images.

www.audioquest.com

 

[fpitas]

So what kind of Snake Oil is this? Why would it make any difference using a basic $15 outlet vs this $150 outlet?

NRG Edison Duplex Wall Outlet

AudioQuest cables and other audio products combine solid conductors, high-purity metals, specialized geometries, and stable dielectrics to enable naturally beautiful sounds and images.

www.audioquest.com

It costs more, so it's better. Duh!

 

[Killingbeans]

Think about how much research you honestly do when making other, non-audio purchases.

High-functioning autism + ADD. Breathing is the only thing I do more than research

 

[DonR]

When you bought your car, how much time did you spend researching data that wasn’t immediately available, like wet weather stopping distance?When you wanted to know about safety, did you just assume the car was safe? Or did you look up the number of stars from govt crash tests? Or did you actually pull the govt crash test data report that shows the amount of g’s applied to each body part during a controlled crash?

Since the advent of ubiquitous ABS, wet stopping distance is a function of the tire, not the car. I pulled the NTSA reports on all the vehicles I was interested in. They tended to cluster for the most part, as I would have expected.

 

[M00NMAN]

It costs more, so it's better. Duh!

But..but it says it has "SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER METAL MASS FOR OPTIMUM CURRENT DELIVERY"... so it can handle massive protons?

 

[DonR]

But..but it says it has "SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER METAL MASS FOR OPTIMUM CURRENT DELIVERY"... so it can handle massive protons?

Fairly certain I heard them play when I was at Uni. Drummer with no rhythm and lead singer with a bladder issue?

 

[Count Arthur]

But..but it says it has "SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER METAL MASS FOR OPTIMUM CURRENT DELIVERY"... so it can handle massive protons?

Actually, current is the movement of electrons, not protons, and protons are massive, when compared to electrons.

 

[Mr. Widget]

There probably are a lot of unscrupulous scam artists out there, but I think that the vast majority of the pixie dust companies believe their own nonsense. They rely on the expectation bias of themselves and their customers for verification of their designs. They are truly proud of their non-existent accomplishments.

I think many have an evangelical zeal in their beliefs that many of us would call delusional.

I say live and let live but try to help your friends not waste their money even though this can be difficult. Magic is more exciting than boring old facts.

 

[M00NMAN]

Actually, current is the movement of electrons, not protons, and protons are massive, when compared to electrons.

and what does this do "POLISHED HIGH-TENSION SURFACES WITH HANGING-SILVER PLATING"?

 

[fpitas]

But..but it says it has "SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER METAL MASS FOR OPTIMUM CURRENT DELIVERY"... so it can handle massive protons?

Most outlets aren't made to handle the proton bombardment of high-end audio.

 

[antcollinet]

and what does this do "POLISHED HIGH-TENSION SURFACES WITH HANGING-SILVER PLATING"?

Well at best, silver is going to tarnish. So nothing good.