Stereophile cable review

[Nitreb]

Really... (in the comment section of the review)

"Quote: “But those are just hi-fi traits (ambient detail and black background). The (product) accomplished something I feel is more important: It gave consistently clear structure to the sounds it reproduced, emphasizing the interconnectedness of harmonic forms. This, in turn, made the music feel whole and easy to connect with.”
I find this musically insightful observation - how and why, and as a supreme quality, a product in review conveys play of music well - to be one of the most significant in audiophile journalism, I've read in recent years.
Thank you very much, Herb."

Gramophone Dreams #63: Cardas Beyond interconnect & loudspeaker cable

I was born an obsessive reader and a compulsive tinkerer. During the '60s, I subscribed to Popular Science, Popular Mechanics, Hot Rod, Car Craft, Motor Trend, Road & Track, and (of course) Stereo Review and High Fidelity. Every one of those magazines presented articles discussing the importance...

www.stereophile.com

 

[sq225917]

Nice company, keeping people in jobs by fleecing the rich and gullible. What's not to like, no one's going broke or selling their kidney to pay for these...

 

[Kremmen]

Another quote from Herb Reichert in the same Stereophile review:

"Switching from Cardas's budget-priced, $125-per-meter Iridium to Cardas's $4250-per-meter Clear Beyond changed my system's sound character as much as changing phono cartridges or DACs: The Bartók DAC became more silent, grainless, full-spectrum, and beautiful-sounding than it had been with any of my other cables. Right away I wondered how much of this radical quiet was the result of the Cardas cable's extensive shielding."

One thing is for certain. Herb's imagination is far more developed than his hearing. I wonder how much impact this has had on his bank account over the decades? I dread to think.

Each to their own I suppose.

 

[restorer-john]

Surprise, surprise, no measurements...

 

[Vacceo]

If it changed it as much as a DAC, he said no lie: there was no change.

 

[Bleib]

What a serious magazine. It's obviously all about making money, not truth.

 

[Ken1951]

These dudes are on some serious drugs. Totally whack-a-doodle.

 

[Idiocratease]

I wonder how long these guys will take to realize music sounds much better when you listen to is in a room of pure nitrogen. I am sure reviewers will recognise the increased atmosphere of the music…

 

[delta76]

Can we stop posting quote from Stereophile? We know they are selling snake oil to readers, they have written, and will write abstract, absurd, non sense claims. there is no end to it

 

[DSJR]

How old is Herb now? I bet he's never recently had his ears tested - he probably thinks as I did that he doesn't need to - and then the truth hit me - HARD

P.S. Just looked, he's a silly old fart like me - definitely going deaf with increasing age

 

[anmpr1]

During the '60s, I subscribed to... Stereo Review and High Fidelity. Every one of those magazines presented articles discussing the importance of upgrading stock wiring to better-quality "premium" wires, citing improved electrical performance and greater reliability.

Look Herb, you can believe whatever you want. No one cares. But if you are going to lie make stuff up about what others are doing (or did when they were alive), at least make up something that has some basis in reality. Julian Hirsch, Len Feldman, Larry Klein, Dave Ranada, Ed Foster, Robert Long et al never shilled 'premium' wires to hook up audio components. About as far as they went was to recommend generic 16 gauge speaker wire as a 'one size fits all' solution.

And Hot Rod and Road and Track? How is the nitromethane system of Top Fuel 'likewise' (Herb's word) related to a stereo? Good Grief! Is anyone even manning the helm over at Stereophile, or are they just rearranging the deck chairs?

 

[coonmanx]

My first thought is this...

That paragraph sounds like it could have been written by an AI speech generator. Hey AI, describe some wires in glowing terms and use lots of fanciful and emotional words...

I'm sorry Dave, but I can't do that...

LOL.

 

[Peluvius]

In Australia we have truth in advertising laws. I am not a lawyer but I would be surprised if this piece did not breech those laws.

"It is illegal for a business to engage in conduct that misleads or deceives or is likely to mislead or deceive consumers or other businesses. This law applies even if you did not intend to mislead or deceive anyone or no one has suffered any loss or damage as a result of your conduct."

 

[Geert]

I would love to see a judge mandate a double blind test to verify if Herb can effectively hear what he claims to.

 

[voodooless]

In Australia we have truth in advertising laws. I am not a lawyer but I would be surprised if this piece did not breech those laws.

"It is illegal for a business to engage in conduct that misleads or deceives or is likely to mislead or deceive consumers or other businesses. This law applies even if you did not intend to mislead or deceive anyone or no one has suffered any loss or damage as a result of your conduct."

You apparently can advertise for the efficacy of homepathy in Australia as well, so I wouldn’t hold my breath about audio gear either…

 

[Marc v E]

These dudes are on some serious drugs. Totally whack-a-doodle.

The thing is, they can actually believe it too!

These reviews always remind me of the wine that tasted so good on holiday (and doesn't at home);
the recommended/gold medal etc etc wine at the grocery store;
the chocolate treats that were very expensive/special/you name it;
and the fruit/veggies at the grocery stores in my country that have hardly any taste when I come back from places like Italy/France etc,
but are 'alright/pretty good tasting' when you get used to them.

Same with tea and coffee. Our national taste is inclined too burned coffee till its bitter (imo). It's weird.

 

[delta76]

In Australia we have truth in advertising laws. I am not a lawyer but I would be surprised if this piece did not breech those laws.

"It is illegal for a business to engage in conduct that misleads or deceives or is likely to mislead or deceive consumers or other businesses. This law applies even if you did not intend to mislead or deceive anyone or no one has suffered any loss or damage as a result of your conduct."

You can in theory sue companies for misleading advertising, but in these cases it could be very hard to prove that their claims are misleading, and even if you do, the fines would be small given how niche the market is. No lawyer is gonna pursuit that lawsuit

 

[voodooless]

You can in theory sue companies for misleading advertising, but in these cases it could be very hard to prove that their claims are misleading, and even if you do, the fines would be small given how niche the market is. No lawyer is gonna pursuit that lawsuit

It’s strange that the burden of proof is shifted towards the customer in these cases. This should really change in consumer law.

 

[delta76]

It’s strange that the burden of proof is shifted towards the customer in these cases. This should really change in consumer law.

Which is why those companies always give abstract subjective statement in their ads. If they give numbers which can be disputed they might be in trouble. Again the best chance against them is a class action and you need to gather enough customers that were "damaged" by their advertising. Good luck doing that with customers buying Nordost cables thinking they are worth every penny.

To be clear I definitely want them to be held responsible, I just don't see it happen. ASR is our best chance fighting back

 

[NYfan2]

A while back I was attending a demo of the new KEF LS60, Reference 1 and Blade 1 meta and happened to sit next to a guy that was very busy on his laptop. So, at one moment I asked him where he was writing for and it is one of the bigger web audio sites in the Netherlands. A few weeks later I read the article he wrote about the demo of the speakers. It was all beautiful prose and the LS60 were amazing and the Reference 1 even better and of course the Blade were top of the line. Although I agree that the Reference 1 is better than the LS60 and that the Blades are in a league of their own I realized that these guys are about writing beautiful articles that give readers a nice feeling. If they would use a scientific approach a lot of people would stop reading the articles because they think it is boring.

End of the line, since this experience I realized that these reviews are completely useless they don't give accurate information, they only give a nice reading experience (or try to).