• WANTED: Happy members who like to discuss audio and other topics related to our interest. Desire to learn and share knowledge of science required. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!

Extreme Snake Oil

Spkrdctr

Major Contributor
Joined
Apr 22, 2021
Messages
2,212
Likes
2,934
Ok, I have for a few years now had Shunyata as the "King" of the snake oil sellers. They represent the worst of the worst. They have it all. Marketing material that is pure rubbish and techno nonsense by the bucket full. I always wish someone with deep pockets could sue them out of existence. Then I foolishly looked at some Audio rags, I mean mags yesterday and saw an ad for Synergistic Speaker Wire I think it was. $28,000 for an 8 foot length. I now have put them at the top tier with Shunyata as both companies need to be hounded out of business. They represent the worst of the audio world. I know I should not be surprised, but I still am at the overwhelming amount of rip off and scam artists that are dominant in the audio industry. Just thought I would mention it today.
Our "hobby" is dominated by low life's, criminals and scammers of the highest order. They are true professionals at their trade.
 

StuartC

Active Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Mar 8, 2021
Messages
154
Likes
398
Location
Rugby, United Kingdom
Personally, I subscribe to the belief that a fool and his money are easily parted. In my eyes, in todays society with readily available information literally at our fingertips, if you're an educated adult and you can't research whether a product is genuine or viable, then you are fair game. If it seems too good to be true it usually is.
 

HorizonsEdge

Active Member
Joined
Dec 20, 2019
Messages
223
Likes
315
I see this through the lens of rampant capitalism versus reasonable government regulations.

For example, almost no one is going to argue that it was bad for the government to set standards such as children's pajamas not be flammable or that airplanes not fall out of the sky. These were actually big issues in the 60's and early 70's.

Today, even if we have decent regulations we often have a vacuum of enforcement. You can review historical funding levels. Over funding some agencies while under funding others (sometimes in very specific categories). Quick comparison of DEA versus SEC. War on drugs has been a 40 year failure but we keep investing more and more. Meanwhile the SEC has almost no investigators and even less lawyers.

Every time someone claims that our industry is self-regulating during some interview I end up yelling at the so-called reporter who allows it to pass.

While this is not a uniquely American problem we have a history of exploitation in the name of holy capitalism. We are out of balance and hopefully someday we will be closer.
 

Katji

Major Contributor
Joined
Sep 26, 2017
Messages
2,990
Likes
2,273
1625591486002.png
 

Inner Space

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
May 18, 2020
Messages
1,285
Likes
2,938
Personally, I subscribe to the belief that a fool and his money are easily parted. In my eyes, in todays society with readily available information literally at our fingertips, if you're an educated adult and you can't research whether a product is genuine or viable, then you are fair game. If it seems too good to be true it usually is.

I agree in principle, but IME to assume the primacy of hostile and predatory vendors is too one-sided. Customers drive this market just as much. They love this stuff. They have a baked-in assumption (generally historically legitimate) that upward progression in SQ is always possible, and that there is no limit as to the granularity of what matters. It's all a happy collaboration. If, hypothetically, a class-action suit or government regulation killed that market, the customers would restart it underground.
 

ahofer

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Jun 3, 2019
Messages
4,947
Likes
8,694
Location
New York City

ahofer

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Jun 3, 2019
Messages
4,947
Likes
8,694
Location
New York City
Generally by birth as I understand it

Anecdotally, there are a lot of entrepreneurs wasting dough on this stuff. All the old money folks I know view this sort of stuff as a gauche avenue to poverty.
 

pads

Active Member
Joined
Jan 12, 2021
Messages
209
Likes
539
Quantum Tunneling: Post Production process, 1 million volts are passed through finished cable providing a “canal” that allows electrons to pass more freely through conductor material and connections

I'm sold......
 
OP
S

Spkrdctr

Major Contributor
Joined
Apr 22, 2021
Messages
2,212
Likes
2,934
I think you are getting Shunyata and Synergystic Research confused. Surely the latter is the top in snake oil extremism.

Shunyata has had the #1 position for years. Now we can add the wire company.
 
Top Bottom