The product is fraudulent for reasons that go beyond the discrepancy between the advertised claims and the actual performance. It would be silly and unrealistic to base the assessment, of whether it is or isn't bunkum, on the simple question of whether the manufacturer's claims are literally correct.
It is necessary to consider implied claims, when there are implied claims that are clearly identifiable and that are vital in explaining why people buy the product. In other words, it would be disingenuous for the manufacturer to say, "But I never said that it would make your audio gear sound better. Maybe that's what you thought, but you can't blame me for that, because I never said that it would make your audio gear sound better." Inarguably it would be disingenuous and dishonest for the manufacturer to defend himself in this manner. As such, it is fully fair and fully appropriate to consider implied claims that are clearly identifiable and vital in explaining why anyone would buy the thing, in assessing whether the product is fraudulent. It is overtly apparent that this product is fraudulent at face value, with no need to consider whether the claims the manufacturer had actually made were false in a strict literal sense. The approach you took, in assessing whether the product is fraudulent, is not realistic and is not itself genuine.
The following statement of yours is not fully truthful:
To my way of thinking a statement needs to be fully truthful in order to be considered truthful. Truth does not come in shades of gray. A statement is either truthful or not. To be truthful there must be no spinning or bending of the facts, and nothing should be conveniently omitted if it bears on the veracity of the question under consideration. I haven't read all the posts in this thread so I can't know whether anyone actually did say claim that "ALL PS-Audio products are similarly without merit..." So I can't say whether you are wrong about that, but let's consider the broader and more pertinent question of whether Mr. McGowan sells other products for which he overstates the capability in order to sell them for a lot more money than equivalent products bought elsewhere. How about this wall outlet:
https://www.psaudio.com/products/power-port-classic/#tab-features
The claims for this $49 wall outlet include:
- Improves images
- Easy to install
- Cleans the soundstage
- Open, airy, top end
- Improves midrange bloom
- Will not degrade over time
- Improved connectivity
- Lowers apparent noise floor
- AV Grade
Thus, an ordinary wall outlet that improves images, cleans the soundstage, has an open, airy, top end, improves midrange bloom, has improved connectivity, lowers the apparent noise floor, and most important of all, is AV Grade. You can buy the very same thing at any hardware store for one dollar and change. By what form of extreme rationalization would this not be deemed fraudulent?
Or how about the power cord? The only sort of upgrade that anyone ever needs with respect to power cords is when the one included with the product isn't long enough. The one-meter length of Mr. McGowan's power cord sells for $800; the two-meter length sells for $1200. By what form of extreme rationalization would this not be deemed fraudulent? All outrageously expensive power cords are fraudulent because the implied claim is that they improve the sound quality of your system, which they cannot possibly do.
https://www.psaudio.com/products/ac12-power-cable/
There is also a surge protector that he sells for $500, with claims that are similar to the above claims for the wall outlet.