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Good news: I saved $48600 and you probably can as well!

PierreV

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I am a sucker for hi-fi news so I read this attentively

https://parttimeaudiophile.com/2019/02/17/audioquest-mythical-creatures-ces-2019/

Yes, it is a subjective review indeed, but it makes specific testable claims based on Ry Cooder's “Nobody’s Fault But Mine” track.
So I sat and listened to that track a dozen times with my cheap cables...

monster cable: reviewer finds them apparently lifeless. Scratch one, definitely not lifeless on my cheap cables

The $18400 Audioquest wild cable: Ry Cooder's voice suddenly is no longer "nasal". Suprise, the voice doesn't sound nasal on my cheap cables, definitely throaty, bordering on chesty at times. $18400 saved.

On the $4500 AudioQuest Folk Series Thunderbird, the reviewer notices the choir for the first time. That's kind of an obvious choir if you ask me, and it doesn't even disappear on my sub $250 system. $4500 saved.

Then the $48600 AudioQuest Mythical Creatures Dragon... According to the reviewer, the voice becomes additive. To be honest, I was a bit puzzled by that qualification and settled for the impression that the voice wasn't subtractive, multiplicative, divisive or even commutative. The guitar's full tonality was present on my system as well and, yes, I could hear its texture and fingers action at times. Therefore, until I have a definition of what an additive voice is, I can safely assume that I have also saved $48600!

In short: if Ry Cooder doesn't sound "nasal", if you notice the choir, if the guitar's tonality is present on your system, you also have saved $48600.

Now, now, I can already hear some of you saying that Audioquest's marketing is dishonest but I will posit that they are one of the most honest cable companies around. This is so true they even have a cable named "Robin Hood" ;)
 

SIY

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Well, if you had a system that was sufficiently resolving and you had the fine aural acuity and the true love of music needed to appreciate these fine products, the differences would be obvious to you.

Of course, without Bybee Quantum Purifiers, you're just dealing with mid-fi sound.
 

Ron Texas

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This song was first recorded in 1927 by Blind Willie Johnson. It was featured in the American Epic series.
 

Hugo9000

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Perhaps by "additive," they mean doubling the singer's voice? The first to do this was Patti Page way back, and to show off even further, she sang four separate vocals on at least one song and was even billed on the record as the Patti Page Quartet. Beautiful woman with a marvelous voice and great musicianship even on songs that would be throwaways for anyone else!

See here: https://www.discogs.com/artist/3081640-Patti-Page-Quartet
 

Soniclife

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Then the $48600 AudioQuest Mythical Creatures Dragon... According to the reviewer, the voice becomes additive. To be honest, I was a bit puzzled by that qualification and settled for the impression that the voice wasn't subtractive, multiplicative, divisive or even commutative.
If you had heard it you would know what it was, so cough up cheep skate or you will live your life additive free. Until next year when the organic version comes out.
 

sonci

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It could have been much better if he had not put his face in it. What a charlatane...
 

invaderzim

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I still don't know if the veil has or hasn't been lifted from the sound in my system. ;)

Besides they mentioned science and stuff with: "but Garth’s engineering curiosity to understand why something is the way it is, is so refreshing. " See, that proves all the nay-sayers wrong.
 

graz_lag

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now hear this.jpg
 
OP
PierreV

PierreV

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@Ron Texas - thanks for the historical pointer. A version seems to be available on Tidal, not sure it is the 1927 one but interesting.
@Hugo9000 - there are some measures, when the choir backs up, where there's indeed an intermediate voice between the main one and the choir for a moment. It could indeed be what the reviewer is referring to. Now that would be something easily overlooked and could be used to manipulate a demo: if I am told what I should pay attention to, I will probably hear it. I just listened to the track four more times focusing on the background effect, the choir, the main voice and the guitar and I discover different things every time...
 

Ron Texas

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@Ron Texas - thanks for the historical pointer. A version seems to be available on Tidal, not sure it is the 1927 one but interesting.
@Hugo9000 - there are some measures, when the choir backs up, where there's indeed an intermediate voice between the main one and the choir for a moment. It could indeed be what the reviewer is referring to. Now that would be something easily overlooked and could be used to manipulate a demo: if I am told what I should pay attention to, I will probably hear it. I just listened to the track four more times focusing on the background effect, the choir, the main voice and the guitar and I discover different things every time...

Anything recorded in 1927 was direct to disk and pressed as a '78. It will be mono, scratchy and full of soul. This song has been recorded many times.
 

RayDunzl

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amirm

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This nonsense around transmission line never ends:

1550532946379.png


The wavelength of audio at 20 kHz, is a whopping 15,000 meters. Transmission line effects are not material until the length of the cable approaches 1/10 of the wavelength. That means we don't worry about speaker wire reaches 1,500 meters or 5,000 feet! Even using 1/20th guideline the lengths involved are way, way higher than domestic audio speaker cable lengths.

Somehow concept of "transmission line" makes intuitive sense to non-technical audiophiles, allowing them to continue creating these junk science arguments.
 

Ron Texas

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This nonsense around transmission line never ends:
The wavelength of audio at 20 kHz, is a whopping 15,000 meters. Transmission line effects are not material until the length of the cable approaches 1/10 of the wavelength. That means we don't worry about speaker wire reaches 1,500 meters or 5,000 feet! Even using 1/20th guideline the lengths involved are way, way higher than domestic audio speaker cable lengths.

In that case I will have to try wrapping 1,500 meters of wire around the exterior of my house. Good point @amirm .
 

jsrtheta

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@Ron Texas - thanks for the historical pointer. A version seems to be available on Tidal, not sure it is the 1927 one but interesting.
@Hugo9000 - there are some measures, when the choir backs up, where there's indeed an intermediate voice between the main one and the choir for a moment. It could indeed be what the reviewer is referring to. Now that would be something easily overlooked and could be used to manipulate a demo: if I am told what I should pay attention to, I will probably hear it. I just listened to the track four more times focusing on the background effect, the choir, the main voice and the guitar and I discover different things every time...

Or maybe he was reaching for "addictive"?

Just a thought.
 

JohnYang1997

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Are they speaker cables? Speaker/headphone cables can have measurable difference in the speaker end.
But for that whopping thousands of dollars. Fuck off....
I may buy actually good cable for 100 maybe 200 dollars max for my setup.
PS: Not because of transmission line bullshit. Of course.
 

Blumlein 88

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Well, OK, this is 1929. The lyrics caught my ear, a little past three minutes in particular...

Yes, the lyrics in the end there are really something for those days. Maybe that was the version with the Parental Advisory for explicit lyrics only played in the prohibition speakeasy.
 

jsrtheta

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Are they speaker cables? Speaker/headphone cables can have measurable difference in the speaker end.
But for that whopping thousands of dollars. Fuck off....
I may buy actually good cable for 100 maybe 200 dollars max for my setup.
PS: Not because of transmission line bullshit. Of course.

What cables could possibly be worth $100-200?
That aren't 100-200 feet in length?
 

JohnYang1997

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What cables could possibly be worth $100-200?
That aren't 100-200 feet in length?
Build quality, durability, don't get oxidized, good base material, good structure, low impedance from low to high frequency. There was a measurement done by passlab you can search for it. 100-200 dollars for cables are actually pretty cheap. If your complete system are at about 200 range of course you don want to pay for those cables. If your system is around 1000 dollars i think it's pretty natural and reasonable to consider good cables.
 
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