Extreme Snake Oil

[AdrianusG]

The goes two words to the left though

No physical buttons, that won't be a nice experience, and for the money, you don't even get XLR outputs. And oh boy:

View attachment 336265


And there is much more where that came from:










And obviously not a single relevant spec about its performance other than the output voltage

Seems like the only material this device is missing out on is "Unobtanium" oh well, perhaps the Mk2 model then, right now it's just to generic for me.

 

[Killingbeans]

I stand corrected, it just costs 67.000 Euro's, my bad!.

Now, i'm no Car lover, not at all in fact, but i think you can buy a pretty nice Car for this kind of money.

It's crazy.

I see they've launched a fourth brand, 'Axxess', aimed at the plebs who can't afford the real stuff.

Still not actually cheap, and still claimed to be full of magical fairy dust. I can only imagine that they hope it will function as a gateway drug.

 

[IAtaman]

Feel ashamed to be Dutch right now.

When you feel bad, think of ASML.

 

[AdrianusG]

When you feel bad, think of ASML.

Now that's REAL High Tech

Have a nice X-mas Y'all

 

[DonR]

"Now with 10% more Vibranium"

 

[Chrispy]

It was somewhat fun, just seeing a variety of goofy audio woo woo products mocked. But I was hoping for (and prefer) a more concise, targeted, technical take down of this stuff, like Amir provides.

Just saw the video, came to see if someone posted it. Sounds more like a waste of time to run any of this nonsense thru an AP, and those that really need to hear/see this will be in denial even if the measurements are made. They made it quite enjoyable to watch, tho.

 

[Roland68]

They've been on sale for seven years and specifications are "following". And there seems to be no actual published evidence that these rings work. As always, it is for the maker to prove the efficacy of the product.

What is supposed to work there?
It is a piece of one of their NF cables with carbon conductors with a halogen-free outer jacket and a piece of heat shrink tubing.
Maybe she still connected the conductor and the shielding.

There are now tons of carbon jewelry available, so you don't have to wear a piece of cable that no one knows whether there are any incompatible or dangerous substances in it. That's definitely not what it was made for and wasn't tested for.

I have a roll of high quality carbon rovings here. If I made a 1cm thick bangle out of it and wrapped it in shrink tubing, it would have to be worth at least 10x as much, right?

 

[BeeKay]

Almost every snake oil BS has been tried to sell. An astonishing number of products really pulled it off. As there should to be a relation of intelligence / smartness and available income AND, crazily, no such thing when it comes to fleece money from that chaps with above products … did someone already try audiophile air supplements and audiophile ACs?

 

[Palladium]

Almost every snake oil BS has been tried to sell. An astonishing number of products really pulled it off. As there should to be a relation of intelligence / smartness and available income AND, crazily, no such thing when it comes to fleece money from that chaps with above products … did someone already try audiophile air supplements and audiophile ACs?

I saw someone locally selling a used megabuck IEM cutting his list price by 50%.

I don't think people are as gullible as the snake oil peddlers want to believe.

 

[srkbear]

Speaking of nutsy-kookoo stuff....

I bet I'm not alone in wishing some of the more notorious snake oil peddlers in high end would actually try answering their critics. A direct debate with someone like Amir would be at least very entertaining!

While we don't have such a scenario for kooky audio claims, perhaps just seeing a scientist go no-holds-barred with a hapless flat earther, will be a form of intellectual catharsis - just seeing nonsense get it's due....

Enjoy:

I just actually subjected myself to watching that entire full hour “debate”. Somehow ordering a $4,500 audiophile networking switch that bottlenecks my throughput at 100 Mbps to lower all that operating noise doesn’t seem so moronic now that I’ve had my rudimentary common sense carpet bombed to that extent. Couldn’t you have at least warned us ahead of time? ‍

 

[Platypus20]

Yeah,

I know one of them, Aavik, they just launched an outrageously expensive DAC / Streamer, costs somewhere around 30.000 Euro's I think

Aavik SD-880 flagship streamer/DAC​

The Orange accents would clash with my decor

 

[voodooless]

The Orange accents would clash with my decor

Well, luckily redecorating may be cheaper

 

[Titmouse]

I stand corrected, it just costs 67.000 Euro's, my bad!.

Now, i'm no Car lover, not at all in fact, but i think you can buy a pretty nice Car for this kind of money.

Seems a bit thin in hookup offerings at that price.

Aavik SD-880 specifications:

• Digital inputs: 2 x BNC S/PDIF, 2 x optical TOSLINK, 1 x USB-B
• Digital outputs: 1 x BNC S/P-DIF
• Analogue output : 1 x RCA unbalanced
• Network interfaces: 1 x Ethernet RJ45
• Additionally: 2 x USB-A for connecting external drives
• Dimensions (W x H x D): 580 x 155 x 510 mm
• Weight: 33 kg

 

[egellings]

"Now with 10% more Vibranium"

...for your cranium.

 

[JimBean]

Seems a bit thin in hookup offerings at that price.

Aavik SD-880 specifications:

• Digital inputs: 2 x BNC S/PDIF, 2 x optical TOSLINK, 1 x USB-B
• Digital outputs: 1 x BNC S/P-DIF
• Analogue output : 1 x RCA unbalanced
• Network interfaces: 1 x Ethernet RJ45
• Additionally: 2 x USB-A for connecting external drives
• Dimensions (W x H x D): 580 x 155 x 510 mm
• Weight: 33 kg

Yeah, you think for that amount of money it would at least have balanced output. Is there at least a good chunk of gold inside to make the purchase price reasonable?

 

[Killingbeans]

I bet 30 of the 33kg consists of those ridiculous "Tesla coils"

 

[AdrianusG]

The Orange accents would clash with my decor

Perhaps for a small amount extra $$$$, couple thousand or so you can get different color options at request?

 

[TLEDDY]

From a past Stereophile Magazine Reviewer:

interviewer:: Would you bet $10,000 that you could tell the difference between two CD players, preamps, amplifiers, or speakers in a double blind test?

reviewer: That's easy. I would not, [though I'd have the best shot on loudspeakers, particularly if I could pick the candidates, say a Klipschorn vs. a BBC LS3/5A!]

 

[MarkS]

Source: https://www.soundandvision.com/content/star-date-1997-lessons-past-still-apply-part-2

 

[Kal Rubinson]

From a past Stereophile Magazine Reviewer:

interviewer:: Would you bet $10,000 that you could tell the difference between two CD players, preamps, amplifiers, or speakers in a double blind test?

reviewer: That's easy. I would not, [though I'd have the best shot on loudspeakers, particularly if I could pick the candidates, say a Klipschorn vs. a BBC LS3/5A!]

Tom is a smart man.