Stereophile doubles down on the snake oil!

[mcdn]

In the modern world we now understand that most budget should go on speakers and subs, then room correction DSP, then amps, then $100 on sources and finally $20 on cables.

The paradigm shift is enormous and I don’t think we can hope to unify both world views

 

[Purité Audio]

Yep, this part is an example of that;

Ah, the old saying one needs to spend a certain percentage of total system cost on cables.

Then doubles down, implying cables offer a better path to system improvement than room treatment.


JSmith

I don’t know how those old men can live with themselves, ‘what do you do for a living daddy, I am a professional liar.’
Keith

 

[mcdn]

I don’t know how those old men can live with themselves, ‘what do you do for a living daddy, I am a professional liar.’
Keith

That’s a bit harsh. They (the editors and contributors) create content that the publishers can sell advertisements next to.

You might as well get angry with the publishers of “psychologies” magazine, or goop.com

That said, Martin Colloms has a history of claiming to be objective, so this latest rubbish does look hypocritical at best.

 

[mcdn]

Wondering what @Kal Rubinson and @John Atkinson think

 

[Audiofire]

“You can't convince a believer of anything; for their belief is not based on evidence, it's based on a deep seated need to believe” ― Carl Sagan

 

[kyuu]

Let's not derail the thread with that kind of thing, whether we agree with it or not.

 

[Mart68]

That’s a bit harsh. They (the editors and contributors) create content that the publishers can sell advertisements next to.

You might as well get angry with the publishers of “psychologies” magazine, or goop.com

That said, Martin Colloms has a history of claiming to be objective, so this latest rubbish does look hypocritical at best.

But the 'Why cables matter' article is full of techno-twaddle intended to deceive

If he just gave an opinion 'There's no science to back me up but I hear a difference with these cables' that's one thing. Dressing it up as science crosses a line.

You see this all the time with so called 'subjectivists' where, despite eschewing measurements and an objective approach they feel they have to try to support their perceptions with some sort of technical claim - like it is due to less jitter, or lowered noise floor.

When I worked in telesales, telling the customer the product did something it did not do was a sackable offence. You could tell them you owned one and it had revolutionized your life, that was fine.

 

[mcdn]

I don’t imagine Martin Colloms sits down and says to himself “oh god, forgive me, I have to write this nonsense or my children will starve”

Far more likely is that he is so steeped in the culture that he himself has been part of generating that he truly believes cables matter.

From the outside we can see he believes it because of financial incentives, but for him it’s probably a genuine conviction.

Or maybe I’m being too charitable.

 

[Purité Audio]

Charlatan or merely incompetent.
Keith

 

[Beave]

I've used this quote before on here, and probably in reference to Stereophile too:

“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.”​

― Upton Sinclair

 

[mcdn]

Charlatan or merely incompetent.
Keith

I still find those words more judgemental than is justified. He hasn’t expressly set out to deceive you, or anyone else as far as we know. How about misguided, deluded, narcissistically grandiose?

 

[Mart68]

Charlatan or merely incompetent.
Keith

A little from collom A, a little from collom B?

If he has any technical background or understanding at all the idea that a cable carrying a digital signal can have a 'sound' of its own is so ridiculously outlandish that it inevitably throws up questions as to his motives.

But the audio industry is a small close knit bubble and likely everyone he interacts with believes that to be true without question. Similar to a cult where there is constant reinforcement of concepts which, from the outside, appear absurd, but internally make complete sense.

 

[Purité Audio]

It would take half an hour to conduct a controlled ie unsighted comparison, in all those years…
When I first had multiple units here it was one of the first things I did .
Keith

 

[Mart68]

It would take half an hour to conduct a controlled ie unsighted comparison, in all those years…
When I first had multiple units here it was one of the first things I did .
Keith

That is the elephant in the room. The cable changes the sound - just show the evidence for that via measurement or blind testing. And then we're done.

But that never happens and there's only one reason why.

 

[mcdn]

Of course Keith, but you are not a member of the cult! Cult members don’t do those things that would be obvious to you

 

[mcdn]

Actually there is really good work out there on the specifics of how to talk with cult members and start detaching them from their obsession. It’s not simple. I must go look it up,

 

[mcdn]

A little from collom A, a little from collom B?

Nicely done!

 

[Arindal]

maybe sales of expensive cables are tanking?

See no evidence for that. People might say that speakers and amplifiers meet a saturated market, but seemingly not stuff like cables. People who have everything still like to tweak and fiddle with accessories.

The claim that a typical speaker cable has a resistance of 0.5 ohm is enough to show that the writer is either a clueless clown who pulls his numbers out of his ...

The interesting question would be: Why would people believe this stuff even those who claim to have some technical understanding or background?

“You can't convince a believer of anything; for their belief is not based on evidence, it's based on a deep seated need to believe” ― Carl Sagan

I did not get much in touch with true believers, but me thinks that presenting facts, telling them there cannot be any difference or outright insults, would not really help persuading anyone. They are seemingly resilient to all that.

On the other hand, I do not think these are beliefs for their own sake. There must be some way to show people a way out.

 

[TLEDDY]

“ I still find those words more judgemental than is justified. He hasn’t expressly set out to deceive you, or anyone else as far as we know. How about misguided, deluded, narcissistically grandiose?”

Sadly, I must disagree and say that the deception is intentional. As others have pointed out, it is a matter of financial survival.

JA performs objective measurements and, from time to time, has critical observations about the measured product.

The cable insanity was started in the 70s by Bob Fulton of Fulton Musical Industries - his Fulton Gold speaker cables could be used for arc welding or pulling stumps!* Since
then, the “High-end” cable industry has exploded. The only contrarian along the way was the chief engineer/designer at McIntosh who rightly claimed that ordinary copper wire of adequate gage is all that is required.

*Comment attributed to Nelson Pass, not original to me!

 

[Soniclife]

The only contrarian along the way was the chief engineer/designer at McIntosh who rightly claimed that ordinary copper wire of adequate gage is all that is required.

They seem to have changed their minds, based on stupidly expensive cables with their name on them now.