Insanely Expensive Audio

[NorthSky]

All of the above plus plumbing and electrical supplies as we recently completed some renovations.
Ulta hi-end mags don't bother with me.

Plumbing, I don't get those. ...Roofing yes.
The high-end mags don't bug me too much either. They just want me to subscribe.

 

[NorthSky]

It reminds me of a hobbyist version of the late, lamented ADC40.

I'm the one who said what the quote said. Somehow Frank ended up up there.

I don't mind much a small stick of bamboo for $750 Cdn, as long as it sounds good, better than James Brown.

 

[NorthSky]

It takes a lot of different measurements to get a complete picture of a speaker, and the magazines only publish the basics. So although there are some very good $1k speakers around, I'm confident that additional measurements could be done that show up the difference between these and the best speakers in the $10-$20k range.

Absolutely.

 

[Blumlein 88]

I understand all that but the decisions about how to apply the limited resources and to which products are made by JA. I intend to flag these posts for him but it might be more effective for you and others to address him directly by email and/or the Stereophile website forum.

I'm just guessing on this, but I can see where testing such mch products becomes a slippery slope. You can test basic input and output capabilities which sets limits on how good the unit can be. Do you then go into testing performance in some of the dozen or more mch decoding capabilities looking for glitches? Some readers will want that. Those devices are simply too complex to test all of that comprehensively.

 

[NorthSky]

I agree. Those audio/video products are multi complex.
It is quasi impossible to absorb all aspects, plus the firmware updates, plus the reliability over time. We take from all sources what we can get and the rest is up to us to explore in ways that are dedicated to our own personal use.

There is no way that any professional review is perfect, that'll be the day.
I'm grateful to Kal and Stereophile's crew, for more than fifty years...half century+ of stereo hi-fi sound, plus multichannel...music & films. ...Regardless of how insanely expensive or not audio is.

✒ https://www.stereophile.com/category/historical

 

[FrantzM]

I had written in another forum that I was waiting for a $100,000 speaker cable. .. In the meantime for your enjoyment

An $82,000 speaker cable or better a speaker interface ... aka Speaker cable .... The retail price is not a typo...This ...is ... a ...: cable

Here is the White Paper that will require a PhD in Suspension of Rationale Thoughts to understand ... https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0980/3064/files/Multipole_Explained_2015.pdf?12246396735601743447

The big thing is part of the ... err... cable .... It is the "Articulation " Console and weight about 45 pounds or was it, Kg ??? For what it does, it is a bargain

 

[Wombat]

How do individuals who fall for this nonsense manage to make the money to pay for it?

I guess intelligence and money-making are different things.

 

[Blumlein 88]

I had written in another forum that I was waiting for a $100,000 speaker cable. .. In the meantime for your enjoyment

An $82,000 speaker cable or better a speaker interface ... aka Speaker cable .... The retail price is not a typo...This ...is ... a ...: cable
View attachment 17074


Here is the White Paper that will require a PhD in Suspension of Rationale Thoughts to understand ... https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0980/3064/files/Multipole_Explained_2015.pdf?12246396735601743447

The big thing is part of the ... err... cable .... It is the "Articulation " Console and weight about 45 pounds or was it, Kg ??? For what it does, it is a bargain

Its like they built a crossover and forgot to include the 45 drivers for each pole of articulation. I see in the chart some cables over-articulate. Now I hate it when that happens. I wonder how many poles I'll need for my full range electrostats?

 

[sergeauckland]

Its like they built a crossover and forgot to include the 45 drivers for each pole of articulation. I see in the chart some cables over-articulate. Now I hate it when that happens. I wonder how many poles I'll need for my full range electrostats?

I would like just one pole, to hang those responsible for such blatant fraud.

S.

 

[FrantzM]

How do individuals who fall for this nonsense manage to make the money to pay for it?

I guess intelligence and money-making are different things.

The money spent on these BS do not affect those who indulge in it... The purchasing of those however however show the level of plasticity of the human mind. It explains a lot, from Genocide to totalitarianism. And of course Those BS things ...

 

[andreasmaaan]

I had written in another forum that I was waiting for a $100,000 speaker cable. .. In the meantime for your enjoyment

An $82,000 speaker cable or better a speaker interface ... aka Speaker cable .... The retail price is not a typo...This ...is ... a ...: cable
View attachment 17074


Here is the White Paper that will require a PhD in Suspension of Rationale Thoughts to understand ... https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0980/3064/files/Multipole_Explained_2015.pdf?12246396735601743447

The big thing is part of the ... err... cable .... It is the "Articulation " Console and weight about 45 pounds or was it, Kg ??? For what it does, it is a bargain

I think we have a winner

 

[Thomas savage]

The idea life can be as simple as ‘spend more get more’ is a very seductive one, while we are at it the more you spend the less you have to know but the clever your made to feel.

It’s really not hard , sometimes you just want one thing in life that’s perfect . Your not buying cables or amps your buying a fantasy and it’s a very pleasant feeling to be so well insulated.

That’s what money does in this ( and many other ) instance it insulates you by confirming the super ego.

I’m yet to meet a man that does not use some kind of self delusion to sustain their reality. It’s likely you all do it, just maybe not by buying expensive cables.

 

[mansr]

Here is the White Paper that will require a PhD in Suspension of Rationale Thoughts to understand ... https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0980/3064/files/Multipole_Explained_2015.pdf?12246396735601743447

Reminds me of this:

 

[Ron Texas]

How do individuals who fall for this nonsense manage to make the money to pay for it?

I guess intelligence and money-making are different things.

It's most likely inherited, lottery winnings, personal injury settlements or some other windfall. Also sports celebrities tend to be rich and dumb.

 

[Blumlein 88]

It's most likely inherited, lottery winnings, personal injury settlements or some other windfall. Also sports celebrities tend to be rich and dumb.

Please, please no need for stereotyping. I've known some intelligent people who earned their money to buy such things. It is more what Thomas said. Pay more get more is hard to keep out of your head. And often you do even if its only personal service, quality of the enclosures and things like that. Even if you don't get $82k worth, you do get something and it all makes you think you got more than just a pretty box and personal service. Plus some items even if overkill really are more and simply can't be done for less.

I bet a large number of customers for this are doctors. And they aren't stupid. And they do earn their money. But this isn't their field, their own field is one of usually better items costing more, and they are very busy. So simplifying things for such customers goes a long way.

I seem to recall back in the 90's Ted Turner owned some of the big Martin Logans and "all the best stuff" to go with them. Some of what he purchased was snake oil. But it was impressive and Mr. Turner is nobody's fool (except for Jane Fonda).

 

[RayDunzl]

I seem to recall back in the 90's Ted Turner owned some of the big Martin Logans and "all the best stuff" to go with them.

I didn't know I was (to some degree) a Ted Turner type...

 

[Ron Texas]

I bet a large number of customers for this are doctors. And they aren't stupid. And they do earn their money. But this isn't their field, their own field is one of usually better items costing more, and they are very busy. So simplifying things for such customers goes a long way.

Many successful people just know how to do one thing, but their success makes them think they are an expert at everything.

 

[NorthSky]

Audio cables are not even a particle of dust in the firmament.

Ray, with those glasses you look like anyone we know, including Ted Turner.

I didn't know I was (to some degree) a Ted Turner type...

 

[etc6849]

I'm with you. My entire 5.1 theater with 5 tri-amped speakers, 5 subs, 10 Benchmark AHB2 amps, and 3 4x8 Xilica XD4080 speaker processors (DSP, DACs and FIR filters) wasn't as much as the speakers discussed in this thread (even when talking single speaker and not a pair). I can guarantee my setup sounds better too Well at least based on what I know about room acoustics, electrical engineering and even what I have heard...

These companies spend all this time and money "researching" crossover designs when FIR filters will always sound better and have no impact on phase. This doesn't make any sense in today's world. Using multiple amps and an active crossover with FIR filters will measure better (and have many times more realism).

It takes two or more subs to even approach what I'd consider to be decent fidelity in the bass region. My room needed 5 time aligned subs and 13 bass traps until I didn't need to use EQ anymore to achieve +/- 4 dB. I also have incredibly fast decay times (more important IMHO), and my waterfall plots looks very nice (smooth fast decaying sides and only slight dips).

But does it have the West Coast Sound option? Seriously with all this modern DSP emulation capability around, a speaker could have a range of 'voices'.

 

[cjfrbw]

Many successful people just know how to do one thing, but their success makes them think they are an expert at everything.

This is true. Doctors are notorious for being easy prey for flim-flam investment con men, who flatter their intelligence and then sell them some kind of abortive investment or tax scheme. Boiler room con artists brag about the doctors they talk into buying bogus stocks by saying stuff like "This stock will pay for your kids' college" etc.

Doctors think that because they have competed and succeeded, they can do a sudden death analysis of a complex investment.