So Amirm has tested a lot cables and "conditioners" and we know that they do not work and are sold to "audiophiles" who usually have more money then brains.
My question is why does he continue to test them ? It is waste of time, effort and server space so what is the point ? Seems to me this is just a low hanging fruit in order to have something, anything really new to post on the first page.
There are multiple reasons why I test these devices. For now, that comment about low hanging fruit for the home page is out of line. I have plenty of stuff to test so there is no reason to think I need to post something there.
This device was tested because the company behind it has important historic factor. It was one of the early "this can't possibly work but folks say it does" that is so common now, but wasn't then.
Importantly, each one of these tweaks works different or at least has different claims. The box tested here has two switches claiming to change the response of the audio system. There has been no analysis of what the switches do or what the thing does. As such, I can't take the test of an Audioquest cable and say applies to this as well.
As noted, people research these products using search engines. If we don't review them, plenty of other "reviews" pop up enticing people to spend money on things that may do nothing for their system. The combined voices of all these other people (and companies) is extremely loud online. We can't be a whimper in the corner when we have critical important information to share.
The impact on the market is significant and growing. Two years ago if I did a test like this, it would just get dismissed out of hand. Today there is power behind it and folks take notice. There are many people who are not at the extremes of this and just thought these things must work because they keep hearing about them. But once they see my testing and learn the foundation of why they don't work, their opinion is not only changing but they become advocates online.
While I like to think we are making progress in all product types that I test, I really prize the progress we have made in shining a light on these tweaks. We are able to do that precisely because we don't dismiss them out of hand as was done for decades, but put data where our mouth is. The former approach didn't work. This one is.
There is also the personal factor. There is monotony for me in testing the hundredth DAC, amp, speaker, etc. So something like this where it presents a puzzle, is good to analyze. I certainly got an "aha moment" when I figured out what the switches were doing and how the thing was wired. I think many members get a kick out of it just the same, providing some relief from very hardcore reviews of other products.
Net, net, we are going to keep doing things like this. They will not be done everyday. These two Dice products were sent back in May I think! But when I get a chance, I will test them until the mission is fully accomplished.