Extreme Snake Oil

[mhardy6647]

So there is unmeasurable noise that humans can hear

There is a cottage industry of small 'companies' selling abstruse products (at prices that range from not outrageous to tropospheric) that remove exactly that noise which cannot be detected except by ear -- when it is absent.
E.g., https://verafiaudiollc.com/collections/clean-power
In fairness, though -- they show data and everything. Graphs.
In full disclosure, I have zero hands-/ears-on experience, but suffice it to say I am somewhat skeptical.

 

[Mart68]

There is a cottage industry of small 'companies' selling abstruse products (at prices that range from not outrageous to tropospheric) that remove exactly that noise which cannot be detected except by ear -- when it is absent.
E.g., https://verafiaudiollc.com/collections/clean-power
In fairness, though -- they show data and everything. Graphs.
In full disclosure, I have zero hands-/ears-on experience, but suffice it to say I am somewhat skeptical.

''Customers praised this audio fuse box for delivering significant sonic upgrades. Shoppers reported improved soundstage width and depth, increased transparency, and enhanced dynamics. One customer said it makes amplifiers sound "almost like a completely different, more powerful amplifier."

'Swiss Digital Fuse Box' - £600

 

[mhardy6647]

''Customers praised this audio fuse box for delivering significant sonic upgrades. Shoppers reported improved soundstage width and depth, increased transparency, and enhanced dynamics. One customer said it makes amplifiers sound "almost like a completely different, more powerful amplifier."

'Swiss Digital Fuse Box' - £600

So... I read the review of that thing (the Fuse Box thing, that is) @ Positive Feedback:
I aspirated my drink when I read this comment.

It takes the place of the fuse, plain and simple, and I'm not hearing anything now from the EVO 300 that wasn't designed into its original build. It's been in my system for over four years now, I listen to it on an almost daily basis, and it's a very good tube amplifier. But by eliminating a $2 generic fuse and replacing it with the Swiss Digital Fuse Box, I'm now finally hearing the EVO 300 perform at its absolute peak for the very first time ever—and it's now become an exceptional tube amplifier! I never knew until now that the EVO 300 was capable of this elevated level of performance...

emphasis added

The more I read that first sentence, the less sense it makes! My initial read of it was that somehow this box had removed some bad sound thing(s) from the dude's EVO 300 that that "wasn't designed into its original build". Didn't the designers design a $2 generic fuse into their "original build"? If not, then what the fug did they design into it to prevent, you know, house fires and stuff?

Now I am not sure it (EDIT: i.e., that first sentence I quoted above) means anything.

 

[Nutul]

This made me literally cry.

 

[Gregm]

So... I read the review of that thing (the Fuse Box thing, that is) @ Positive Feedback:
I aspirated my drink when I read this comment.

Didn't the designers design a $2 generic fuse into their "original build"?

Isn't a $2 (or Euro 1.8) fuse is a bit on the expensive side (my poor devices operate on fuses costing $2 per box of ten!)? Surely it is silver / gold plated, for enhanced sonic performance!
When the EVO device is already "tweaked" with an audiophile, silver / gold plated fuse, why does anyone need a Swiss fuse box???
Which begs the question: must said fuse box be exclusively Swiss made or are other provenances acceptable?
(As in Belgian chocolates, french perfume, etc, you get the idea)

 

[delta76]

This is Marantz "sound master" talking about "tuning sound" on amplifiers. Damn, never knew Marantz is some serious snake oil BS.

you might be surprised to know that companies operate on profit-focused basis. if your major market segment believe in BS, many companies will bend their ethos to please those.
I'd give them a pass. Still much less harmful than some other companies. As some say "Companies will keep breaking law as long as benefit profit is more than the fines"

 

[Mart68]

Isn't a $2 (or Euro 1.8) fuse is a bit on the expensive side (my poor devices operate on fuses costing $2 per box of ten!)? Surely it is silver / gold plated, for enhanced sonic performance!
When the EVO device is already "tweaked" with an audiophile, silver / gold plated fuse, why does anyone need a Swiss fuse box???
Which begs the question: must said fuse box be exclusively Swiss made or are other provenances acceptable?
(As in Belgian chocolates, french perfume, etc, you get the idea)

Belgian Fuse Box has more chocolaty midrange whereas the Swiss one is best described as nougaty.

 

[antcollinet]

the Swiss one is best described as nougaty.

Or best for timing.

 

[mhardy6647]

Isn't a $2 (or Euro 1.8) fuse is a bit on the expensive side (my poor devices operate on fuses costing $2 per box of ten!)? Surely it is silver / gold plated, for enhanced sonic performance!
When the EVO device is already "tweaked" with an audiophile, silver / gold plated fuse, why does anyone need a Swiss fuse box???
Which begs the question: must said fuse box be exclusively Swiss made or are other provenances acceptable?
(As in Belgian chocolates, french perfume, etc, you get the idea)

All excellent questions.

I will respond to only one: the Swiss moniker. With the caveat that I haven't read every word published on this (clearly) epochal product, I presume the Swiss moniker is applied either:

1) to indicate the precision nature of the product -- you know, to imply that it's the Patek Philippe of surrogate boxes that aren't fuses but are so much better than mere fuses for audiophiles who value getting to the next level of audiophile Nirvana far more than they value preventing their domiciles from burning down*.

or

2) to indicate that the device features holes as an essential part of its morphology.

I figure it could go either way.
(or maybe it's made in Switzerland...)

________________
* definitely a niche market.

 

[mhardy6647]

Belgian Fuse Box has more chocolaty midrange whereas the Swiss one is best described as nougaty.

ahh! @Mart68 invoked the putative hole-yness of the Swiss Box with far more wit, elegance, and conciseness than have I.

 

[fatoldgit]

Just when we thought we had seen it all.

$US 15,000 tube power supply where of course the marketing blurb mentions "adding the unmistakable warmth and richness of tube sound" via the power supply.

 

[Salt]

Just when we thought we had seen it all.

$US 15,000 tube power supply where of course the marketing blurb mentions "adding the unmistakable warmth and richness of tube sound" via the power supply.


View attachment 535112

A Tube driven power supply for, ideally , tube amps, or am I mistaken?

 

[fatoldgit]

A Tube driven power supply for, ideally , tube amps, or am I mistaken?

nope

This company produces expensive speakers so this power supply is to power a field coil speaker [as in unit/driver].

So it bangs out low volts..the voltage is flexible and stabilized, adjustable in precise 0.5V steps between 12 and 15 volts.

Slight oops on the price... its €14,900 or $US 17K

So if the power supply is $US 17K you can imagine the cost of the speakers.

You also need a special power cable..not sure if that is included in the price.

Peter

 

[gzost]

Just when we thought we had seen it all.

$US 15,000 tube power supply [...]

The church of the audiofools with its present core dogma of "everything matters" already has enough schools of belief for an endless amount of tweak-ey devices to be created which combine "audiophile engineering" solutions such as filters to blacken the background ever more at every stage, separate power supplies and cases for truly everything, the use of obsolete circuits and components, which better be point-to-point-wired with the finest silver litz spun by virgin nymphs under a red moon, and/or employ Nobel-prize-if-true "proprietary quantum physics" processes.

There will always be new permutations of the madness that is audiophilia, including a constant stream of claims about devices that sometimes make me wonder whether these writers and sites are all secretly running the world's largest and longest practical joke on the objectivist/reality-based audio technology community. Then I remember my real world encounters with the woo people over the years and have to conclude that most of the audiophiles are sincerely deluded.

 

[fatoldgit]

There will always be new permutations of the madness that is audiophilia

What gets me with much of this stuff/ultra hi end audio manufactures in general is you (them...not me) pay top dollar for a component which comes with some claim around years of research, no stone left unturned etc and a year later they come out with a MK II model claiming even better performance.

But..But... you said the MK I was IT.. the One...the Holy Grail...and now (cause I am a stupid rich person that needs to be seen to be hip amongst all my stupid rich friends) I need to either buy the MK II or send in my MK I for an expensive upgrade.

This is obviously different from the massive churn we see in low cost Chinese companies but the result is the same (FOMO) but with less dollars involved.

Peter

 

[egellings]

Just when we thought we had seen it all.

$US 15,000 tube power supply where of course the marketing blurb mentions "adding the unmistakable warmth and richness of tube sound" via the power supply.


View attachment 535112

Only 15 grand? Get a couple for the kids!

 

[Mart68]

Synergistic Research Power Cell SX

Synergistic Research PowerCell SX

By using the company’s unique Galileo-level technology and sophisticated graphene filtration system, the Synergistic Research PowerCell SX is so much more than just another noise-busting power conditioner, argues Ed Selley.

hifiplus.com

''PowerCell SX is, in fact, a cross-pollination of the existing PowerCell 12 and the higher-spec Galileo SX PowerCell. It utilises Active EM Cells, which are intended to project an electromagnetic field that filters and redirects contaminants.

These cells appear as five carbon fibre tubes laid flat at the rear of the chassis. They are 25% denser than the cells used in the standard PowerCell 12. Additionally, they are connected by a sixth flat EM Cell, visible as a black rectangle with two silver stripes. In the standard PowerCell 12, this is tuned to a harmonic of the Earth’s Schumann Resonance frequency of 7.83Hz. In the Synergistic Research PowerCell SX, this is extended to all six cells to enhance the soundstage and reduce listening fatigue.''

Ten thousand dollars.

 

[pinger]

If anyone actually buys this crap make sure to break it in sufficiently so you can fully appreciate the sonic benefits

 

[Mart68]

If anyone actually buys this crap make sure to break it in sufficiently so you can fully appreciate the sonic benefits

Don't worry you can guarantee anyone buying these things will catalogue their impressions at 20 hours, 50, hours, 200 hours... zzzzzzzzzz.

''72 hours in and the Signature Block is really opening up the sound. I've never heard the bass lines on the album Flaunt The Imperfection by China Crisis sound so good. Rhythmic, properly developed, powerful and beautifully controlled. Can’t wait for the next 72 hours and beyond.''

 

[ppierre]

You shouldn't criticize one off the last power strip made in USA !