In today's episode of "Tales of Snake Oil": Mexican audiophile boxes

[Merkurio]

Let me introduce you the latest breakthrough in mexican audio engineering... proudly handmade audiophile boxes filled with rare (or not so much) minerals!

For non spanish speakers, make sure to put english subtitles to understand it better.

They're selling them trough local FB groups and the product description is not slouch either, I tried my best with the translation:

We present to you the box that we manufacture, which we call "JRM audiophile box" and does the job of a septic tank for the audio system, improving absolutely everything, it's a box 100% made by mexican hands.

We're proud to present this wonder that truly does a lot for each system. In the same way, we thank the people who trusted us and asked for their boxes.

Greetings, audiophiles!

Asking for more specific details, we get:

Technically it is an attractor of low voltages at high frequencies, which has the function of eliminating the contamination of electromagnetic noise (EMI) and radio frequency (RFI), for which the box improves the system in an absolute way, it corrects the frequency response of the high ranges, making them more extended, clear and powerful mids, articulated, controlled and deep bass. Absolute cleanliness in any equipment that has it implemented.

At least they "only" charge about $250 for them, a bargain in snake oil land...

 

[JSmith]

they "only" charge about $250 for them

Awesome, what a bargain... been looking for something like this, thanks!







JSmith

 

[Merkurio]

Awesome, what a bargain... been looking for something like this, thanks!







JSmith

Indeed, this will launch us to the first world and beyond!

 

[Mnyb]

Will a local representative arrive and "replenish the earth" inside and take the "transport earth" with him in small ziplocked bags

 

[Valhalla]

the edge of snake oil extraction technology. Should work like a charm. Added to my "to buy" list.

 

[Katji]

i guessed right - another version of those ground boxes...with soil and copper strips in them. The original made in Finland iirc. ...And with some special crystals mixed into the soil, big ones, for a diversionary effect. You know, just to put you off making your own. Someone opened one and posted pics on Fb, years ago. There was a guy in Vietnam who made a version of it. Then he posted stuff about his special...uhh stickers - like little round foil stickers with a Golden Ratio logo thing on it. To stick on transformers or whatever inside amps. I thought it was a joke but it turned out he was quite serious.

 

[Mnyb]

i guessed right - another version of those ground boxes...with soil and copper strips in them. The original made in Finland iirc. ...And with some special crystals mixed into the soil, big ones, for a diversionary effect. You know, just to put you off making your own. Someone opened one and posted pics on Fb, years ago. There was a guy in Vietnam who made a version of it. Then he posted stuff about his special...uhh stickers - like little round foil stickers with a Golden Ratio logo thing on it. To stick on transformers or whatever inside amps. I thought it was a joke but it turned out he was quite serious.

I have goldmine in my garden , we carted away our garden waste to the recycling station hmm could one replace the copperstrips with leftover food cans and lids ?

 

[Katji]

iirc, the crystals look like that stuff for fishtanks - blue crystals.

Entreq. The name suddenly surfaced while I was in the kitchen. Made in Sweden - sorry Finland. [lol] So I googled it to check. Still going strong. That Scandinavian natural wood thing.

i don't know what these are:

...Looks like real vinyl.


^^Very green audiophilery, no polystyrene.

 

[pozz]

@amirm has already reviewed the Entreq: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ignal-grounding-preliminary-measurements.476/

 

[Tks]

I know people here want to dog on the product. I'm here simply looking at the marketing material people posted and almost fell off my chair.

I've seen people do better photoshop jobs on MS Paint. It's so hilariously bad, you would think someone is making a parody meme about how bad the graphical work is. Like literally not even 5 minutes worth of work. Generic font, Bevel+Emboss blending option, and Drop Shadow (though the white text is just straight up no effects).

What a disaster..

 

[EB1000]

Those amigos deserve the Darwin's award of audiophoolness...

 

[FrantzM]

I bet that the Gaja de Tierra Audio grounding box is warmer sounding than the Entreq.
Best synergy is with SS and digital system to infuse warmth.



Often those BS ideas/products come from real word needs. One of those is the idea of Chemical grounds.
I've met such in the Telecom field. There are companies that specialized in grounding. A very strange, arcane field. There is such a thing as " chemical grounding compounds" or for short "chemical grounds". They look like fertilizer or soil. They are sold in sacks or sometimes come in their own containers often a drum; you put in a hole. These are commonplace in Telecommunications. In my former company , we had to call upon one of those companies for the installation of "chemical grounds" because the soil wasn't providing a good ground and we were losing (the) very expensive microwave radios and other networking very often.

An exemple from a company called Loofal
https://www.loofal.com/earthing-solution/

So some clever marketers took this idea and ran with it . Selling a box with soil in it for "grounding". Amirm actually measured one of those, which was provided by the manufacturer themselves! I think they were quite surprised by their gear' performance or lack thereof.... As it did nothing, absolutely nothing.

 

[Katji]

Amirm actually measured one of those, which was provided by the manufacturer themselves! I think they were quite surprised by their gear' performance or lack thereof....

That's the only way I can understand why they sent it. That they believed it themselves. Or else just for the exposure, publicity.

 

[JeffS7444]

I'm worried about lower-cost Mexican snake oil imports threatening American snake-oil producers, and will they meet the same stringent standards of uselessness?

 

[thegeton]

iirc, the crystals look like that stuff for fishtanks - blue crystals.

Entreq. The name suddenly surfaced while I was in the kitchen. Made in Sweden - sorry Finland. [lol] So I googled it to check. Still going strong. That Scandinavian natural wood thing.

i don't know what these are:

...Looks like real vinyl.


^^Very green audiophilery, no polystyrene.

That's genuine "vegan leather," not 'real vinyl..."

 

[Mnyb]

I'm worried about lower-cost Mexican snake oil imports threatening American snake-oil producers, and will they meet the same stringent standards of uselessness?

I lived in a small town in northern Sweden in the 90’s the local paper ran an article about how smuggled vodka outcompeteded the local moonshine

 

[Wes]

I'd rather have a wooden box full of chalupas.

 

[thegeton]

I'd rather have a wooden box full of Cuetzpalin...

 

[bidn]

I'm worried about lower-cost Mexican snake oil imports threatening American snake-oil producers, and will they meet the same stringent standards of uselessness?

Thank you very much,
your post gave me a great laugh !

 

[rdenney]

I bet that the Gaja de Tierra Audio grounding box is warmer sounding than the Entreq.
Best synergy is with SS and digital system to infuse warmth.



Often those BS ideas/products come from real word needs. One of those is the idea of Chemical grounds.
I've met such in the Telecom field. There are companies that specialized in grounding. A very strange, arcane field. There is such a thing as " chemical grounding compounds" or for short "chemical grounds". They look like fertilizer or soil. They are sold in sacks or sometimes come in their own containers often a drum; you put in a hole. These are commonplace in Telecommunications. In my former company , we had to call upon one of those companies for the installation of "chemical grounds" because the soil wasn't providing a good ground and we were losing (the) very expensive microwave radios and other networking very often.
View attachment 123795

An exemple from a company called Loofal
https://www.loofal.com/earthing-solution/

So some clever marketers took this idea and ran with it . Selling a box with soil in it for "grounding". Amirm actually measured one of those, which was provided by the manufacturer themselves! I think they were quite surprised by their gear' performance or lack thereof.... As it did nothing, absolutely nothing.

Salty soil absolutely reduces impedance from buried grand planes to soil for half-wave vertical quarter-wave dipole antennas such as those used by AM radio stations. This is not snake oil at all.

And likewise saltwater—marine and amateur HF radios operated on boats depends on the conductivity of the hull to the saltwater. Freshwater is in comparison an insulator. (Distilled water is a good insulator.)

But these grounding boxes are pure charlatanism.

Rick “the earth is the reflective half of a vertical dipole” Denney