Mark Waldrep In Trouble AGAIN

[Blumlein 88]

I'm surprised by those who think Dr. Waldrep was unprofessional. I suppose the cable vendor by rigging the test was being most professional. Certainly that is in fitting with his profession.........to extract from everyone as much money as possible.

I don't think Mark entered into this to be some big expose. He might have done it differently if he had. He simply used the opportunity to see if the cable demo was on the up and up and it wasn't. Then he blogged about that experience. The reaction was the bigger story. The idea he did something wrong to report the truth is ludicrous. No one extracted an NDA from him nor is one implied by the activities.

 

[amirm]

I agree there is justification for his undercover actions, but as a matter of strategy, I think he would have done it all much more effectively if he'd :

• come straight out with all his evidence, firstly to the company he accused
• secondly, given them an opportunity to respond before publication
• finally, published all his evidence, as well as the company's response

Why? If he went to them and they got a lawyer to send him cease and desist and he backed off, we as consumers would never know there was cheating.

I like you to put on the hat of us consumers first and then think through what other scenario would be good for us, not manufacturer.

The manufacturer now knows the data and can counter easily with the same test and same measurement of volume. Instead they went complaining to the show owners? That is not how you counter if the evidence is on your side.

 

[andreasmaaan]

Why? If he went to them and they got a lawyer to send him cease and desist and he backed off, we as consumers would never know there was cheating.

I like you to put on the hat of us consumers first and then think through what other scenario would be good for us, not manufacturer.

The manufacturer now knows the data and can counter easily with the same test and same measurement of volume. Instead they went complaining to the show owners? That is not how you counter if the evidence is on your side.

The manufacturer can only counter the data if they themselves took measurements of the same demonstration (which I presume they did not)... OR if they can provide data that shows their cables result in an approx. 2.5dB amplitude increase in amplifier output. Or if they can find fault in Mark's measurements (which is unlikely but cannot be excluded).

I am thinking from the point of view of consumers. I'm thinking about how Mark could have had the greatest impact, i.e. publicised his findings most effectively.

If Mark were a journalist seeking to expose a fraudulent operator, he would gather as much evidence as possible then, prior to publication, give the operator a chance to respond.

But more importantly, doing things the way I suggest, Mark would not even have had to make any accusation at all. He could have simply said:

"I took these measurements during X's demonstration. This is what I witnessed (description of demonstration). These measurements were corroborated by [witness with SPL meter app]. It is well established that higher SPLs tend to be perceived as a subjective improvement in sound quality. The changes in levels that I and the other witness recorded seem to be inexplicable in respect of what is known about the possible effects of power cables on amplifiers. I therefore presented my data to the manufacturer and asked for an explanation. This is the response I got (cut and paste manufacturer response / cease and desist letter / no comment)."

And from a legal perspective, the existence or not of a cease and desist notice does not shift the legal ground. Truth remains a defence.

 

[SIY]

A cease and desist letter is basically worth this:

No fraud wants to deal with discovery. There's no real legal threat, just... TP.

edit: A defense is only needed if something goes to trial. Nothing like this will, the scammer has far and away the most to lose.

 

[andreasmaaan]

A cease and desist letter is basically worth this:

View attachment 13775

No fraud wants to deal with discovery. There's no real legal threat, just... TP.

edit: A defense is only needed if something goes to trial. Nothing like this will, the scammer has far and away the most to lose.

But the flipside is sadly that the accuser no doubt has far shallower pockets...

 

[SIY]

This would likely be sanctionable if brought. Nice payday for Dr. W.

 

[andreasmaaan]

This would likely be sanctionable if brought. Nice payday for Dr. W.

I'd say you're quite optimistic about the effective and just operation of the legal system

 

[SIY]

No, not at all optimistic, but I have a fair amount of experience with it.

 

[andreasmaaan]

Me too Although not in the US..

 

[Jakob1863]

A cease and desist letter is basically worth this:

View attachment 13775

No fraud wants to deal with discovery. There's no real legal threat, just... TP.

edit: A defense is only needed if something goes to trial. Nothing like this will, the scammer has far and away the most to lose.

Which might be so, but - as i´ve mentioned before - the last time_did_ Mark Waldrep _remove_ his posts after receiving a cease and desist letter......

http://www.realhd-audio.com/?p=5659
http://www.realhd-audio.com/?p=5656

 

[SIY]

His choice. No idea what the posts were or what the letter said. If I had posted something true and gotten a C&D, my attorney would be all over that, but he's actually killed many people, so is not easily intimidated.

 

[SIY]

Fortunately, the internet has a good memory.
https://web.archive.org/web/20160428171841/http://www.realhd-audio.com/?p=5656
https://web.archive.org/web/20160427232128/http://www.realhd-audio.com/?p=5659

 

[Blumlein 88]

Fortunately, the internet has a good memory.
https://web.archive.org/web/20160428171841/http://www.realhd-audio.com/?p=5656
https://web.archive.org/web/20160427232128/http://www.realhd-audio.com/?p=5659

Was about to post what I remembered from those. But you found it. And it is as I remember. Volume progression and possibly tracks that are different on the same CD using the same song.

 

[SIY]

Ironically, from the comments:


Grant
APRIL 21, 2016 AT 3:30 PM
Mark, have you ever considered sitting in on these demos with either a SPL meter or an audio recorder in hand? Even if it’s only the one inbuilt in your phone (and hence not attracting attention), it would still suffice for comparisons.
Reply

• 
  
  Admin
  APRIL 21, 2016 AT 4:36 PM
  I should have taken my phone with me…I have those apps. Next time.

 

[andreasmaaan]

@SIY, I obviously can't speak to your experience, but in my experience as a (non-US) lawyer, some large(r) companies, when threatened by an individual of limited means, choose the the smart (albeit rather evil) strategy of relentless attack, hyping up a sense of fear and draining the little person of their precious money as the legal fees escalate. The higher the stakes (and the stakes would probably be quite high if the accusation was fraud and it related to the company's main product line), the heavier the assault. And this is in cases where the individual actually does have a leg to stand on.

This might explain Mark's retraction in the previous case. And it's the reason for my earlier comment about not being very optimistic about the effective and just operation of the legal system.

 

[SIY]

It's a common tactic here as well. But our discovery process can be quite revealing.

Usual IANAL disclaimer.

 

[Jakob1863]

The last time he had even less reliable data than he allegedly had this time.

"As i´ve said it depends on what was claimed during the talk and what the accusations exactly is; strong beliefs about "fraudsters, peddlers" and all the things they never would do can be quite damaging in legal fights.

And if one really believes that a accordingly designed mains (power) cable can´t have more attenuation at high frequency in comparison to an ordinary IEC cord, then
-) there is a bridge in Brooklyn on sale
-) he really must ask somebody who knows about physics

before getting in legal trouble."

You said "if i had written something true...." that should be the basis but i´ve learned that in legal terms it is even more important being able to proof that it was true. If you have enough facts/proof - and money considering andreasmaaan´s post above - then you most likely have a good chance.

 

[SIY]

HF is irrelevant to level changes correlating with power cord price. Not sure why you keep bringing that up.

 

[amirm]

And if one really believes that a accordingly designed mains (power) cable can´t have more attenuation at high frequency in comparison to an ordinary IEC cord, then
-) there is a bridge in Brooklyn on sale
-) he really must ask somebody who knows about physics

Have you talked to anyone about the physics? No way, no how you can attenuate high frequencies with a power cord. If such simple objective data existed it would be huge news. Instead no power cable has remotely shown such.

 

[Jakob1863]

Have you talked to anyone about the physics? No way, no how you can attenuate high frequencies with a power cord. If such simple objective data existed it would be huge news. Instead no power cable has remotely shown such.

No, it wouldn´t be huge news as it is known since approximately 100 years (maybe even more).....
I don´t know if you - as SIY maybe did - missed that Mark Waldrep addressed the possibly interfering high frequency noise? I´ve mentioned it too in one of my posts in this thread.

Additionally i don´t know what kind of audio decive was hooked up to "demonstrate" the various power cords, as it was not mentioned.
Before not knowing it and before not knowing about the mains related RF noise i wouldn´t rule out anything.

And reading Marc Waldrep´s post i got the impressions that he recorded the whole MQA related part but that he - in the power cord case - only recorded the music samples but not the talk.