Extreme Snake Oil

[RickS]

The accompanying article is actually pretty accurate though.

Is another reason we like summaries for offsite content.

 

[PristineSound]

Is another reason we like summaries for offsite content.

I have made edit to my post with an AI summary.

 

[Speedskater]

Well chosen cables for the task at hand and in good condition, don't make a difference.
But in the audiophile world, not all cables meet those requirements.

 

[fatoldgit]

Snake oil needs peddlers and Jason Victor Serinus is in the top echelon.

To quote:

Toward the end of the review period, I moved the PhoenixNET to a shelf of its own and supported it with IsoAcoustics Gaia feet. Oh my goodness, did that make a difference! Instantly, backgrounds were even blacker, colors more distinct.

So the $US 5000 network switch needs special feet to perform at it's best.... you would think that a $US 5000 network switch would have been designed and built with a super duper chassis etc such that it wouldn't need special treatments nor be affected by the use of special treatments.

I don't know whats more sickening:

1- that a $US 5000 network switch exists and audiofools buy it
2- that audiofools accept the need for such a thing in the face of how ethernet/tcpip work
3- that someone like Jason Victor Serinus is given a somewhat respected publishing platform to peddle fantasies and his editors accept "backgrounds were even blacker, colors more distinct" at face value

Humans would appear to be fundamentally gullible (in all areas of life) and appear to instinctively appeal to and believe a higher authority, even if that authority is quackery.

Is this flaw something we inherited from our early ancestors as they navigated their world and for those things they couldn't explain (basically everything), they had to create fantastical make believe stories because they had no science to explain it?

As a species we are regressing.

Peter

 

[Purité Audio]

I completely understand reviewers lying for the sake of the ‘review’ but the thought that they might actually believe the nonsense .
Keith

 

[RickS]

I have made edit to my post with an AI summary.

Seems like another useful application of AI as long as a human reviews for accuracy.

 

[Mart68]

I completely understand reviewers lying for the sake of the ‘review’ but the thought that they might actually believe the nonsense .
Keith

Plenty do. Suspect some have their doubts but they only expose that when they become obviously agitated about 'people listening to graphs.'

 

[Purité Audio]

Yes… so why not conduct a very simple unsighted, level matched if necessary comparison, all those reviewers all those retailers over fifty years…
charlatans or incompetent I can’t think of any other explanation.
Keith

 

[Mart68]

Yes… so why not conduct a very simple unsighted, level matched if necessary comparison, all those reviewers all those retailers over fifty years…
charlatans or incompetent I can’t think of any other explanation.
Keith

Partly like being in a cult. It's self-reinforcing and only looks crazy from an outside perspective.

Ask about blind testing and they've got half a dozen reasons why it isn't valid and they don't need to do it anyway because they can overcome cognitive bias.

 

[PristineSound]

Seems like another useful application of AI as long as a human reviews for accuracy.

It seems accurate to me, please let me know if you notice inaccuracies.

 

[Nutul]

Me simply wants to cry. Not die, that's too much, we all agree. But, I mean... is this the proof we deserve extinction?!?

 

[Sal1950]

Jason Victor Serinus

JVS is about as screwy a subjective audio writer as I've ever read.
He's slid completely off his cracker under Jim Austin at the helm of Stereophile
Austin IMHO is completely out of his comfort-zone as Editor of a magazine supposedly dedicated to the advancement of SOTA audio and should resign.
I see him as the most perfect example of "The Peter Principle" as I've ever witnessed.

 

[MarkS]

so why not conduct a very simple unsighted, level matched if necessary comparison

The usual audiophool excuse is that such a test would add mental stress that interferes with their golden-ear ability to hear those fine details.

 

[totti1965]

We finally hit the $150,000 mark for cables! And it's all about “measurements.”
We learn from the CEO: „There was a time, cables were just an accessory to connect unit A to unit B, these times are long over now.“ What ever this means…

 

[JiiPee]

The usual audiophool excuse is that such a test would add mental stress that interferes with their golden-ear ability to hear those fine details.

That is understandable. Lie detection tests are stress-inducing.

 

[Somafunk]

We finally hit the $150,000 mark for cables! And it's all about “measurements.”

Doug Schneider is having a bit of trouble defending siltech in the replies, ”trust us bro, they do have walls of measuring equipment”

 

[Truth Ness]

For that money you can probably build yourself an entire house with dedicated top-notch acoustically optimized listening room so that your $$$ speakers would really be able to deliver their full potential.
Getting the cable instead will give you... NOTHING !

 

[Truth Ness]

Doug Schneider is having a bit of trouble defending siltech in the replies, ”trust us bro, they do have walls of measuring equipment”

Hahahahahahahahaha how dumb!

 

[AaronJ]

Doug Schneider is having a bit of trouble defending siltech in the replies, ”trust us bro, they do have walls of measuring equipment”

For measuring lengths of cable on the production floor.

 

[SeleniumFalcon]

Famous last words: "trust us bro".