If you are crazy enough to blow 30 grand on a piece of wire because advertising told you to do so--you deserve to get taken to the cleaners.
Ignorance used to be an excuse but anyone can check anything electrical on engineering websites--search function is a critical skill. I can't feel sorry for anyone that gets duped by audiophile nonsense, it is just a hobby and in the greater scheme of things to worry about, who cares about audio? It is goofy hobby that is not required to live so let it all hang out and there is a sucker born every minute--and two to take him.
$15,000 purses, $100,000 for a wedding dress and 5 digits for a pair of shoes. Fashion is expensive but I don't see anyone posting that people should lose their freedoms and the government should regulate clothing fashion, or purses, wallets, shoes or the stupid things people do with their cars.
It's not like some guy with his wife pregnant with triplets, just getting started in this world and skrimping and saving to get enough space for his much larger family in a few months is purchasing audio foolery. Most likely, it is some person that wants to feel special, likes his ego stroked with his pile of things and has the money to throw away to do it. Sure, it is a huge waste of money but that person has the personal responsibility not to get taken. I figured out when I was a child watching Saturday morning cartoons that commercials and adevertising is a bunch of BS, if you make it to adulthood thinking advertising is real, that is your delusion as you have more problems than meer audio trinkets.
How many people that shop for clothing get butt hurt because some nut pays 5 figures for a pair of shoes? Why would they? How come audio people get all wound up because of so much audio BS? Probably because it makes the term "audiophile" mean a clueless technologically illiterate person or a sucker and they wish to get rid of idiots in the hobby? Heck, audio attracts idiots--one of the rare hobbies that invovles technology that a person can be an "expert" by just claiming it. I can be an audio expert and be utterly clueless how it works! Can't do that in the computer hobby, not in the automotive hobby by any means but in audio you can! Just claim you have "golden ears" or something and win!
Ever hear the term "foodie"... a person that likes food and for some reason has a supernatural ability to taste food or something? Now that took some effort, food tastes good! I guess now we have golden tongues AND golden ears? Wait, wuhuuuzat? Golden tongue is slang for...oh yeah, I guess golden tongue means something a lot different from taste buds...
So relax, the audio hobby has been full of crap long before most of us were born. I tend to ponder the type of person that would purchase such crap, maybe they don't have anything productive to do? Ever see who attends audio shows? Hmmm... I hope my life remains as exciting and rewarding as it has been so I never get to that level of boredom! Just think, a hobby where you sit around on your ass for hours on end!
I find it darkly amusing--plus a good physical warning to me when I see crap like that. Smile, wave and get out of there before things get really weird. Scientology, flat earthers and audiophiles...gotta go! I vote let those people burn money as long as it keeps them off the streets at night. People like all sorts of things that make them feel better---does not matter if it's true! Look at people that watch sports... cheering for millionaires because they can throw a ball in a hoop....fascinating!
George Carlin was right...