Snake Oil Department, Top This

[Beershaun]

"including the chemical composition of the air surrounding your circuitry—are active participants in the shared EM ecosystem"
Wow...just wow... and for $835 you can get it with a custom organic glass stand. It's good to know that no pesticides were used in the making of that glass stand.

 

[voodooless]

"including the chemical composition of the air surrounding your circuitry—are active participants in the shared EM ecosystem"
Wow...just wow... and for $835 you can get it with a custom organic glass stand. It's good to know that no pesticides were used in the making of that glass stand.

And don’t forget to order the one with the correct angle for your latitude.. And use a compass to alight to north!

 

[antcollinet]

And don’t forget to order the one with the correct angle for your latitude.. And use a compass to alight to north!

The audio equivalent of an astrological chart.

 

[DimitryZ]

Keep in mind a few anecdotal stories don't amount to much evidence.
Still, I too have now had (bought in a reputable HiFi store, so I hope real) AQ speaker cables breaking on me. Within 1,5 years one of the banana plugs has come loose from the cable when our cat walked past/underneath the cable.
The screws meant for detensioning the cable by gripping the sleeve... don't really grip the sleeve tight enough.
While reattaching it looked to me like the wire mantle was stripped too far back, leaving only the bare wire + that black rubber sleeve. Those are not thick enough for the length of the screws. Trying to tighten them drives them past the (plastic) threading.

View attachment 153834

It's funny the product pictures for the cable (Rocket 33) make the banana connectors look like something sturdy and metal.
The renders do not look like the real deal, which really is plastic and match the ones in the picture above (but then silver tips):
View attachment 153833

p.s. AQ calls these "SureGrip" ... I don't agree. Their grip in the speaker terminal is really, really weak.

Fair enough.

I actually don't have a lot of experience with AQ speaker cables, only with ICs and digital. My speakers cables are AQ, but terminated to order by Audio Advisor in the US with spades and those connections are bulletproof.

 

[VintageFlanker]

 

[Beershaun]

Really do want to see the variable cost of some of these luxury speaker cables to see what the reasonable selling price should be p

 

[Harmonie]

So... which length did you select at the end

 

[antcollinet]

That extra meter for only $400 looks like a bargain though.

 

[kyle_neuron]

Don’t forget the power cables! You know what they say, crap in…

These are my personal preference. Again, it’s just a beautiful *chef’s kiss* of scrolling verbal garbage:
https://www.synergisticresearch.com/cables/srx-cables/srx-ac/

 

[Grumpish]

Don’t forget the power cables! You know what they say, crap in…

These are my personal preference. Again, it’s just a beautiful *chef’s kiss* of scrolling verbal garbage:
https://www.synergisticresearch.com/cables/srx-cables/srx-ac/

But it has custom quantum tunneling....

 

[Mojo Warrior]

The 2021 Catalogue of Audiophile Snake Oil (Recommended Components) has been released on Stereophile. If you didn't think audiophiles were a cult, a quick read should convince you.

Essentially, if you are not a billionaire, you cannot ever hope to possess the gear in Category A+, A or even B. Remember the first Rule of Audiophools is it always better if it is more expensive. Don't forget Rule #2, that to be "better" it must be heavier. Rule #3 is "measurements don't matter because only the golden ears can hear the magic and the leaders of the cult always have golden ears".

You peons have mid-fi, average (Category C), mediocre home systems that don't reveal the true character of the music. [sarcasm]

For those who still retain an iota of rationality, it is an endless supply of audiophool humor. With over the top, effusive praise of gear that you will probably never have the opportunity to hear (or see) for yourself. Which leads me to the conclusion that the writers (I hesitate to call them reviewers) are "on the take". That is they are being paid, directly or indirectly, by the manufacturers and advertisers. AFAIK, their subscription based glossy magazine had imploded years ago, so that revenue stream has disappeared.

So, a potential reader should ask themselves, "How do these con artists get their hands on such obscenely expensive hi-fi gear without any evidence that they have financial means to do so?" The lack of transparency should be obvious enough to draw a conclusion.

 

[Doodski]

Wowowow it is a big list @ Stereophile.

 

[mhardy6647]

But it has custom quantum tunneling....

So much better than plain ol' generic quantum tunneling.

 

[mhardy6647]

The 2021 Catalogue of Audiophile Snake Oil (Recommended Components) has been released on Stereophile. If you didn't think audiophiles were a cult, a quick read should convince you.

Essentially, if you are not a billionaire, you cannot ever hope to possess the gear in Category A+, A or even B. Remember the first Rule of Audiophools is it always better if it is more expensive. Don't forget Rule #2, that to be "better" it must be heavier. Rule #3 is "measurements don't matter because only the golden ears can hear the magic and the leaders of the cult always have golden ears".

You peons have mid-fi, average (Category C), mediocre home systems that don't reveal the true character of the music. [sarcasm]

For those who still retain an iota of rationality, it is an endless supply of audiophool humor. With over the top, effusive praise of gear that you will probably never have the opportunity to hear (or see) for yourself. Which leads me to the conclusion that the writers (I hesitate to call them reviewers) are "on the take". That is they are being paid, directly or indirectly, by the manufacturers and advertisers. AFAIK, their subscription based glossy magazine had imploded years ago, so that revenue stream has disappeared.

So, a potential reader should ask themselves, "How do these con artists get their hands on such obscenely expensive hi-fi gear without any evidence that they have financial means to do so?" The lack of transparency should be obvious enough to draw a conclusion.

yorxie4 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

 

[rdenney]

The 2021 Catalogue of Audiophile Snake Oil (Recommended Components) has been released on Stereophile. If you didn't think audiophiles were a cult, a quick read should convince you.

Essentially, if you are not a billionaire, you cannot ever hope to possess the gear in Category A+, A or even B. Remember the first Rule of Audiophools is it always better if it is more expensive. Don't forget Rule #2, that to be "better" it must be heavier. Rule #3 is "measurements don't matter because only the golden ears can hear the magic and the leaders of the cult always have golden ears".

You peons have mid-fi, average (Category C), mediocre home systems that don't reveal the true character of the music. [sarcasm]

For those who still retain an iota of rationality, it is an endless supply of audiophool humor. With over the top, effusive praise of gear that you will probably never have the opportunity to hear (or see) for yourself. Which leads me to the conclusion that the writers (I hesitate to call them reviewers) are "on the take". That is they are being paid, directly or indirectly, by the manufacturers and advertisers. AFAIK, their subscription based glossy magazine had imploded years ago, so that revenue stream has disappeared.

So, a potential reader should ask themselves, "How do these con artists get their hands on such obscenely expensive hi-fi gear without any evidence that they have financial means to do so?" The lack of transparency should be obvious enough to draw a conclusion.

I disagree up to a point. Yes, some remarkably expensive stuff is included, and many reviews there wax poetic, putting JA in the position of either backing them up or contradicting them with measurements (which they provide). But some of the ASR forum darlings are also included, including the reference Benchmark AHB-2 amp, the NAD C298 amp which uses Purifi Eigentakt modules, Revel and other Harman speakers, Benchmark DAC3, and so on. Even an Akitika kit amp was recommended in Class B, and even an amp based on the Hypex UCD modules was included.

To some extent, S'phile includes a lot of expensive stuff because that's what they review. That is a different issue, and indeed relates to some of the things you say, perhaps. So, there are no Topping products on the list, for example. But, often on the efforts of KR, they include the sorts of things we consider to be worthy of recommendation, too, even if they are not that cheap.

Rick "not sure Stereophile needs to do all of what ASR does, especially now that ASR does it" Denney

 

[voodooless]

I disagree up to a point. Yes, some remarkably expensive stuff is included, and many reviews there wax poetic, putting JA in the position of either backing them up or contradicting them with measurements (which they provide). But some of the ASR forum darlings are also included, including the reference Benchmark AHB-2 amp, the NAD C298 amp which uses Purifi Eigentakt modules, Revel and other Harman speakers, Benchmark DAC3, and so on. Even an Akitika kit amp was recommended in Class B, and even an amp based on the Hypex UCD modules was included.

To some extent, S'phile includes a lot of expensive stuff because that's what they review. That is a different issue, and indeed relates to some of the things you say, perhaps. So, there are no Topping products on the list, for example. But, often on the efforts of KR, they include the sorts of things we consider to be worthy of recommendation, too, even if they are not that cheap.

Rick "not sure Stereophile needs to do all of what ASR does, especially now that ASR does it" Denney

Even a broken clock is right twice a day...

 

[Mojo Warrior]

Sad that I have to point out that when 80% of what one publishes is BS, the other 20% becomes tainted by that indiscretion. So, it must be viewed with suspicion.

 

[rdenney]

Sad that I have to point out that when 80% of what one publishes is BS, the other 20% becomes tainted by that indiscretion. So, it must be viewed with suspicion.

I view everything with skepticism ("suspicion" is just too cynical). I have never yet taken anything published in Stereophile, or on ASR for that matter, at face value, without support from the data. At least Stereophile provides measurements of what they review, and I doubt those measurements are gamed no matter what the sponsor relationship or poetry offered in the subjective portion of the review.

Rick "who has read some accompanying poetry on this forum as well, and who has a few subjective opinions of his own, too" Denney

 

[xaviescacs]

The audio equivalent of an astrological chart.

This thing is spinning for god sake! You must take into account the Coriolis and centrifugal forces, and therefore, of course, one has to calibrate the impulse of the motor in accordance to the latitude.

 

[Spkrdctr]

I view everything with skepticism ("suspicion" is just too cynical). I have never yet taken anything published in Stereophile, or on ASR for that matter, at face value, without support from the data. At least Stereophile provides measurements of what they review, and I doubt those measurements are gamed no matter what the sponsor relationship or poetry offered in the subjective portion of the review.

Rick "who has read some accompanying poetry on this forum as well, and who has a few subjective opinions of his own, too" Denney

Like I always say scratch an objectivist and you find a a good bit of subjectivist under the objectivist covering. They just hide fairly well. I have come to the conclusion that almost everyone is a partial subjectivist in audio. They can't help it. This pursuit of audio means you have to at some point give in. Of course, I am using a broad brush in my term subjectivist, but it does surprise me. Oh well.