Solid Snake-Oil Storage: This SSD Is Aimed at Audiophiles

[Ron Party]

My wife and son trimmed the tree and as always they did a great job and it looks and smells great. Got me thinking... are there audiophile grade X-mas trees?

 

[dasdoing]

it needs burn-in lol

those testers on that froum must be paid actors. it isn't even snake-oil, it is a scam

 

[morpheusX]

it needs burn-in lol

View attachment 173645

those testers on that froum must be paid actors. it isn't even snake-oil, it is a scam

Don't discard plain stupidity

 

[JayGilb]

I'm advocating fraud being held to account. Any claim that a drive can improve audio is fraudulent.

I agree with you, but let's tackle chiropractics first and then the supplement/homeopathic market before bringing down the hammer of justice on audio snake oil.

 

[Digby]

I had a computer that experienced burn-in once. Lightning must have hit a nearby pylon and the surge travelled down the house wiring; the PSU connector was singed to the motherboard. It was so burned-in, it wouldn't turn on.

I suppose it is possible to have too much of a good thing.

 

[raistlin65]

I agree with you, but let's tackle chiropractics first and then the supplement/homeopathic market before bringing down the hammer of justice on audio snake oil.

Chiropractic manual adjustments do help some back conditions. But this audio product does absolutely nothing. So I think we should start there. lol

 

[anmpr1]

I'm advocating fraud being held to account. Any claim that a drive can improve audio is fraudulent.

I'm not sure about that. If you go to their product page, they openly list all the parts the device contains, and as long as those parts are what's in the package when you get it, then that part of the deal is sealed. No fraud there. [It's out of stock, by the way. LOL]

Revelation Femto SSD | Zzyzx

Femto NVMe M2 SSD designed for audiophiles and music lovers

zzyzxphile.com

If you read closely, there is really no claim that the drive will improve audio in any specific, measurable way. What they claim is that they have done some in-house listening tests, and in their opinion they've come up with a winner. They do claim that their device is designed to 'bring out all the emotion' in music. Are those fraudulent statements?

They also claim it has been designed by audiophiles for audiophiles. My guess is that is true, as far as it goes. In broken English syntax (obviously the 'designers' are not from the US or UK, or if they are they failed English grammar, in school) they list some rather loose, subjective claims, 'graphed' on a spider chart. A bunch of 'sonic criteria' that is unmeasurable from any objective standpoint: vibrancy, focus, sound character, representation et al.

To back it up, they offer a page of user testimonials where folks claim to have heard all these remarkable things, and more.

Does any of that rise to the level of actionable fraud? Is it any different than someone claiming that Mrs. Smith's apple pie is better than Marie Callendar's, because Mrs. Smith's pie makes them 'feel' warmer in the stomach, than Marie's pie? Or that Lite beer is 'less filling and tastes great'?

Back when all this nonsense took off, even Mark Levinson couldn't tell you why his preamp 'sounded better' than the Pioneer. But claims made for those 'high end' devices were pretty much the same as for this SSD. And no one went to jail over it. As far as I know. The fact that people take this sort of thing seriously tells you more about people, than it does about any particular device being sold on the market.

 

[voodooless]

I'm not sure about that. If you go to their product page, they openly list all the parts the device contains, and as long as those parts are what's in the package when you get it, then that part of the deal is sealed. No fraud there. [It's out of stock, by the way. LOL]

So what? I can sell you a pile of rocks, and tell you exactly what kind of rock they are and where I found them, and also claim al kinds of magical properties these rocks poses. According to you, I’m not fraudulent..

If you read closely, there is really no claim that the drive will improve audio in any specific, measurable way.

Of course not.. I also won’t tell you how my magical rocks work.

What they claim is that they have done some in-house listening tests, and in their opinion they've come up with a winner. They do claim that their device is designed to 'bring out all the emotion' in music. Are those fraudulent statements?

Yes! I personally tested my pile of rocks. They are way better than any other rocks you may find.

They also claim it has been designed by audiophiles for audiophiles. My guess is that is true, as far as it goes.

Doublespeak..

Does any of that rise to the level of actionable fraud?

Yes, all of these things are specially designed to fool people into buying this shit.

Is it any different than someone claiming that Mrs. Smith's apple pie is better than Marie Callendar's, because Mrs. Smith's pie makes them 'feel' warmer in the stomach, than Marie's pie? Or that Lite beer is 'less filling and tastes great'?

Yes it’s different. For one, the stakes are much higher. Secondly, those pies actually taste differently. As for the lite beer.. that is probably a harder argument. At least it tastes different as well.

Point is: these products do absolutely nothing and thrive by marketing (paid reviews etc) and the gullibility of ignorant buyers.

Is this legally fraud? Probably not, but morally: most definitely.

Still wanna buy my rocks?

 

[anmpr1]

So what? I can sell you a pile of rocks, and tell you exactly what kind of rock they are and where I found them, and also claim al kinds of magical properties these rocks poses. According to you, I’m not fraudulent..

If you are talking about legal fraud, it's probably not that... at least in the case of the SSD. For your rocks? As long as you are not making any specific objective claim about them--a claim that can be disproven, then that would probably not fall under any legal definition of fraud, either.

BTW, there are all sorts of magical amulets on sale, including special rocks. Some that glow, when you plug them in. The claims for these are pretty non-specific, and I doubt that anyone could possibly hope to take the makers/sellers to court for fraud.

But more importantly, fraud implies an intent to deceive. In your example, if you believed your rocks were really magical, how would that be fraud? With this SSD? My guess is that whomever is behind it really thinks the device is special. I mean, think of it this way--, if someone was going to practice true fraud, with the idea of making an unlawful monetary gain, do you think they would do it with something like this? Something that has such a small potential sales market, and something that probably doesn't have much of a profit margin to begin with? And something that they can't even sell, because of the electrical component shortage? No, I think we are dealing with true believers. Not fraudsters.

But your guess is as good as mine. Maybe they are sinister in intent, but just not very aware of their market, and actually believe they can make a lot of money scamming innocent and naïve audiofools, before the police track them down.

 

[voodooless]

But more importantly, fraud implies an intent to deceive. In your example, if you believed your rocks were really magical, how would that be fraud? With this SSD? My guess is that whomever is behind it really thinks the device is special.

Yeah, that is alway the argument: but they themselves believe it. I really don’t buy that for a second. The whole approach to sales of these things is totally tuned to subjectivity. Clearly they know that objectively they can’t make any claims. Now one can think: these people believe in the audiophile of the gaps argument. Well they might… But it’s far more reasonable to think that they know it’s bullshit and are very aware of the hype and cult following these kinds of products enjoy, and take advantage of this to the fullest.

Can I prove the intent? No, but I wasn’t going to court anyway . I can just assert things just as easily as they can.

I mean, think of it this way--, if someone was going to practice true fraud, with the idea of making an unlawful monetary gain, do you think they would do it with something like this?

I never said it was unlawful fraud.

Something that has such a small potential sales market, and something that probably doesn't have much of a profit margin to begin with? And something that they can't even sell, because of the electrical component shortage? No, I think we are dealing with true believers. Not fraudsters

Development started before the chip shortage issues, so hardly an argument. Profit margin? The cheapest 1TB M2 SDD is 80 euros. This thing is 10x that. I’m pretty sure they make a decent profit.

We may need to ask Elizabeth Holmes how this works..

 

[Killingbeans]

Yes, all of these things are specially designed to fool people into buying this shit.

The thing is, there's a pretty high risk that the guy making these pointless things doesn't have bad intensions. He probably belives his own BS 100%. Especially since he's "only" asking $700 for it. I bet he sees himself as someone who's doing the hobby a great favour.

Hard prison time for fraud would not do much good. He's just sharing a delusion. Deprogramming would be more effective.

 

[voodooless]

I don’t even know why thinking you sell a decent product makes it any better, specially if you totally ignore any objectivity regarding this product, and even go through great lengths to avoid it.

By that logic the Nazis in the 2nd world war were okay as well. They thought they were doing nothing wrong either. Now I obviously don’t want to compare an audiophile to a Nazi . It is obviously just an extreme example to make my point.

 

[anmpr1]

The thing is, there's a pretty high risk that the guy making these pointless things doesn't have bad intensions. He probably belives his own BS 100%. Especially since he's "only" asking $700 for it. I bet he sees himself as someone who's doing the hobby a great favour.

Hard prison time for fraud would not do much good. He's just sharing a delusion. Deprogramming would be more effective.

A guy convicted of high-end racketeering would just spend his prison time working in the electrical shop, thinking up new and improved ways to get that front to back depth his recordings have been missing!

But seriously, this device is such an outlier. PC hobbyists are generally looking for the cheapest (most cost effective) way to get from point A to B. I just don't see many PC hobbyists, even hard-core audiofool ones, gravitating to something like this.

I'm sort of torn between thinking how much the 'tweako' scene is legitimate fraud, and how much is just delusion. No doubt a mix. Most people on the consumer end, the people that actually buy the stuff, are delusional. Likewise, some boutique 'designers' and manufacturers also believe they've got the zen. They truly believe in the magic. You can tell by listening to them, or reading their spiel. They are sincere.

On the other hand, the folks that run outfits like Audioquest? I'm talking about the mass-marketeers of tweak? I suspect they are just laughing at the stupidity of their customers.

Dealers (what few are left) probably understand the score, but have to keep the doors open in this horrible economy, and selling stuff like high priced wire keeps their margins up.

Then there's the 'high-end' press. Almost completely worthless. How many are true believers, and how many just do it for the toys that arrive each month? A guy like Fremer probably believes. No one would do the weird stuff he does, if they were just play acting. I mean, even Andy Kaufman couldn't keep that sort performance thing up, for that length of time. Atkinson? I don't see how he couldn't possibly know the score.

 

[somebodyelse]

Chiropractic manual adjustments do help some back conditions. But this audio product does absolutely nothing. So I think we should start there. lol

If that's all they were claiming then it wouldn't be a problem, but it's not. They've made claims about asthma, colic, haemorrhoids, hair loss, chlamydia, cancer and more. When a science journalist calls out such claims they sue.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Chiropractic_Association_v_Singh
https://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2012/feb/22/simon-singh-british-chiropractic-association

 

[antcollinet]

I'm not sure about that. If you go to their product page, they openly list all the parts the device contains, and as long as those parts are what's in the package when you get it, then that part of the deal is sealed. No fraud there. [It's out of stock, by the way. LOL]

Revelation Femto SSD | Zzyzx

Femto NVMe M2 SSD designed for audiophiles and music lovers

zzyzxphile.com

If you read closely, there is really no claim that the drive will improve audio in any specific, measurable way. What they claim is that they have done some in-house listening tests, and in their opinion they've come up with a winner. They do claim that their device is designed to 'bring out all the emotion' in music. Are those fraudulent statements?

They also claim it has been designed by audiophiles for audiophiles. My guess is that is true, as far as it goes. In broken English syntax (obviously the 'designers' are not from the US or UK, or if they are they failed English grammar, in school) they list some rather loose, subjective claims, 'graphed' on a spider chart. A bunch of 'sonic criteria' that is unmeasurable from any objective standpoint: vibrancy, focus, sound character, representation et al.

To back it up, they offer a page of user testimonials where folks claim to have heard all these remarkable things, and more.

Does any of that rise to the level of actionable fraud? Is it any different than someone claiming that Mrs. Smith's apple pie is better than Marie Callendar's, because Mrs. Smith's pie makes them 'feel' warmer in the stomach, than Marie's pie? Or that Lite beer is 'less filling and tastes great'?

Back when all this nonsense took off, even Mark Levinson couldn't tell you why his preamp 'sounded better' than the Pioneer. But claims made for those 'high end' devices were pretty much the same as for this SSD. And no one went to jail over it. As far as I know. The fact that people take this sort of thing seriously tells you more about people, than it does about any particular device being sold on the market.

completely revitalized and transformed music play

No, it doesn't

All results to live like 3 demensional souding

Nor that.

vinyl like characters, sense of depth, dynamic impact, details densities and separations can almost be seen which reveals every ounce of emotion of all music recordings.

And none of that.

 

[raistlin65]

If that's all they were claiming then it wouldn't be a problem, but it's not.

It's not a claim, but a fact that has been confirmed by medical experts. For instance, my physical therapist is well-trained and very good, and does some of the same adjustments. However, I will admit people would typically be better off going to a physical therapist, since the manual adjustments are not the only ways they can treat back problems.

They've made claims about asthma, colic, haemorrhoids, hair loss, chlamydia, cancer and more. When a science journalist calls out such claims they sue.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Chiropractic_Association_v_Singh
https://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2012/feb/22/simon-singh-british-chiropractic-association

I have no interest in debating this with you. I was merely pointing out your false equivalency.

 

[Robin L]

, there are all sorts of magical amulets on sale, including special rocks. Some that glow, when you plug them in. The claims for these are pretty non-specific, and I doubt that anyone could possibly hope to take the makers/sellers to court for fraud.

By way of example, this text will explain all the magical properties of Crystals.
We have two copies in this household:

 

[Holmz]

By way of example, this text will explain all the magical properties of Crystals.
We have two copies in this household:

Like a bookended crystal set?

 

[Robin L]

Like a bookended crystal set?

Got crystals all over the house.

 

[BDWoody]

A little piling on...

This audiophile optimised SSD is designed to make your audio sound better

And I've got a gallon of snake oil to sell you.

www.pcgamer.com

Let's hope more of this lunacy gets called out regularly.