What is an equivalent product to HiFi snake oil?

[egellings]

RFLMAO... chuckle chuckle... too funny.

I think that what makes crack so addictive is that it's inhaled, and that produces a very fast buzz rise time. It's that rise time that makes it so addictive, as compared to snorting a powder which does not saturate the lungs with the drug as quickly, even though the dose from crack is smaller.

 

[Doodski]

I think that what makes crack so addictive is that it's inhaled, and that produces a very fast buzz rise time. It's that rise time that makes it so addictive, as compared to snorting a powder which does not saturate the lungs with the drug as quickly, even though the dose from crack is smaller.

C R A C K - Is presently highly undesirable due to the dosing and spiking of the stuff. It is being spiked even though people have been dying from the opiate content. Beware and do not do that C R A C K stuff at this time.

 

[Recluse-Animator]

My understanding of it is that THC inhibits an inhibitor in the neurochemistry, allowing signals to flow unrestrained. So it's not that you're hearing better it's that you're hearing more. You become aware of every little background noise that your brain would normally filter out, like you're getting a more raw input. Same thing with music you notice little things deep in the mix that you normally wouldn't focus on. In some ways it's similar to an anxiety state, and probably helps explain why many people experience a type of paranoia. "What was that?".

Well isn't hearing more the same as hearing better? Mushrooms can also have this effect and it also has the possibility to better your sight.
There's research going on about mushroom medicine.

 

[Recluse-Animator]

RFLMAO... chuckle chuckle... too funny.

If you think crack is pure cocaine and that there's no such thing as synthetic cocaine or crack you're naive.

 

[pablolie]

I have no idea why this thread has become about substance abuse and/or mental health issues.

Let's all admit we can't provide help on those in this online forum, I hope. It's best to seek true professional help tailored to needs.

 

[drallim]

Well isn't hearing more the same as hearing better? Mushrooms can also have this effect and it also has the possibility to better your sight.
There's research going on about mushroom medicine.

Not if it doesn't allow you to hear things that you couldn't hear before, and instead only changes how you pay attention. If I sit here and just listen I can suddenly hear all sorts of noises I wasn't aware of moments ago when my attention was elsewhere, birds chirping, traffic noise, etc. It doesn't mean my hearing suddenly improved.

Sales people will draw your attention to something you may not normally notice and then act like it is their product that let you hear it, when really it was just you paying attention. Trained listeners like our host can detect subtle artefacts from lossy encoders that 99% of people will never notice, simply because they know what to listen for and pay attention to, not because they have super-hearing.

Unless you have evidence that weed gives you super human hearing? I doubt anyone has actually studied that.

 

[drallim]

Back on topic I think the audiophile snake oil phenomenon combines features from a variety of areas.

The marketing aspect can be seen in many other areas. I'm going to include all the psychological effects like power of suggestion in here.

The fashion aspect can be seen anywhere people are trying to one up each other. My gear is more expensive than yours, you can't hear the cables because your amp isn't revealing enough, you have wooden ears, etc.

The anti and pseudo science reminds me of the flat earth community. They don't discount science itself as a concept, they just assert that the accepted science is all wrong or fake. Then they perform their own sad experiments but often don't understand the implications. The literature is filled with bogus sciency language. But the people think of themselves as rational, it's not like they just operate altogether outside science like yogic flying and so forth.

The reliance on placebo effect can be found elsewhere, most famously in medicine.

Did I miss any? I can't think of anything else that contains all of these aspects. Some types of alternative medicine probably fit closest, but generally lack the fashion/snobbery aspect.

 

[Recluse-Animator]

Not if it doesn't allow you to hear things that you couldn't hear before, and instead only changes how you pay attention. If I sit here and just listen I can suddenly hear all sorts of noises I wasn't aware of moments ago when my attention was elsewhere, birds chirping, traffic noise, etc. It doesn't mean my hearing suddenly improved.

Sales people will draw your attention to something you may not normally notice and then act like it is their product that let you hear it, when really it was just you paying attention. Trained listeners like our host can detect subtle artefacts from lossy encoders that 99% of people will never notice, simply because they know what to listen for and pay attention to, not because they have super-hearing.

Unless you have evidence that weed gives you super human hearing? I doubt anyone has actually studied that.

It allows you to hear things you couldn't hear before. Just like with taste buds and the sensitivity of your skin for example.
Don't know about weed, but studies are going on with mushrooms giving you better hearing and sight.

 

[Chrispy]

Personally I definitely prefer good hallucinogenics (shrooms, peyote, mescalin, etc) over basic thc products Not just for music, but thc is still pretty good for music.

 

[ahofer]

I recommend the documentary Somm 3, on Amazon Prime.

Mentioned here: https://audiosciencereview.com/foru...ons-from-the-wine-indistry.25332/post-1357813

 

[nerdstrike]

Esteemed forum members, I give you Thorium toothpaste and the scrotal radiendocrinator.

The post-Curie decades were unusually good at refining snake oil. Audiophilia has a long way to go!

 

[Galliardist]

Esteemed forum members, I give you Thorium toothpaste and the scrotal radiendocrinator.

The post-Curie decades were unusually good at refining snake oil. Audiophilia has a long way to go!

Those products are not snake oil though.They are positively lethal…

 

[nerdstrike]

Those products are not snake oil though.They are positively lethal…

I agree they are extreme, but they also embody the ethos: Put special stuff in and make unfounded and untested claims about their efficacy. It took many years (1938-1950) before the establishment banned these things for the now obvious risk they present. Many radioactive products of the era did not contain enough to be immediately harmful...

 

[OldHvyMec]

Many radioactive products of the era did not contain enough to be immediately harmful...

They sure did on a collective population. Many actors were irradiated at Hollywood film sites and eventually died because of the "UNPUBLISHED"
risk of radiation exposure. I don't worry about that as much as long term exposure to brake dust and rubber products from out highways.
That seems to be a silenced subject. What does happen to all that rubber and brake dust from around the world. Where is your domicile?
I'm pretty sure it's close to a road.

Snake oil would at least hold the dust down? If we could add that to a list please. It does do something.

 

[Gringoaudio1]

Many Chinese emperors likely died from immortality elixirs containing toxic substances. Snake oil Chinese style. A lot of so-called ‘Eastern medicine’ is complete hooey as far as I’m concerned from ginseng to acupuncture etc. I have seen the desperation that people with no other medical options show when they flock to this snake oil.

“Qin Shi Huang was not the first or last emperor to die of elixir poisoning. Adam Leith Gollnerremarked in an article that "the idea of conquering death was an all-consuming obsession for the (Chinese) nobility." They relied on the Fangshi , specialists comparable to alchemists, who used specific recipes and methods to concoct immortality elixirs. Unfortunately, these elixirs often contained toxic substances such as mercury and arsenic. The Chinese word for elixir , Dān 丹, has a common root with cinnabar, a natural source of mercury.

Instead of promoting improved longevity, these elixirs were much more likely to shorten lives and lead to very painful deaths . Joseph Needham, a prolific historian of Chinese science and technology chronicled the many Chinese rulers believed to had died of poisoning. The earliest known report of the use of elixirs was from the 4th century BCE and reports continued into the 18th century, despite knowledge of the risks. The Tang dynasty seems to have been particularly susceptible to the claims of the Fangshi and historians believe that at least five emperors died from imbibing immortality elixirs.”

 

[Suffolkhifinut]

Many Chinese emperors likely died from immortality elixirs containing toxic substances. Snake oil Chinese style. A lot of so-called ‘Eastern medicine’ is complete hooey as far as I’m concerned from ginseng to acupuncture etc. I have seen the desperation that people with no other medical options show when they flock to this snake oil.

“Qin Shi Huang was not the first or last emperor to die of elixir poisoning. Adam Leith Gollnerremarked in an article that "the idea of conquering death was an all-consuming obsession for the (Chinese) nobility." They relied on the Fangshi , specialists comparable to alchemists, who used specific recipes and methods to concoct immortality elixirs. Unfortunately, these elixirs often contained toxic substances such as mercury and arsenic. The Chinese word for elixir , Dān 丹, has a common root with cinnabar, a natural source of mercury.

Instead of promoting improved longevity, these elixirs were much more likely to shorten lives and lead to very painful deaths . Joseph Needham, a prolific historian of Chinese science and technology chronicled the many Chinese rulers believed to had died of poisoning. The earliest known report of the use of elixirs was from the 4th century BCE and reports continued into the 18th century, despite knowledge of the risks. The Tang dynasty seems to have been particularly susceptible to the claims of the Fangshi and historians believe that at least five emperors died from imbibing immortality elixirs.”

This is all very well! But what cables were they using?

 

[Gringoaudio1]

Hahaha I laughed out loud!
Don’t take my commentary for being anti-Asian. I just saw my late wife grasping for anything, including Chinese medicine, that would help her as she faded away. And my more recent ex as well, a very unhealthy woman. It was sad and desperate.

 

[killdozzer]

When asked this question, people often jump at wines. I must insist it is a bad example. Sure, there's a lot of BS in wines, but the production is so much different I just don't think it's fair. Besides, snake oil was originally a promise of a solution to a certain problem, so it doesn't really fit.

I will say one other thing. I'm not bragging, but I had to pass a blind tasting exam in order to be doing what I do.

 

[ChrisCables]

'High performance' tyres.

Especially when targeted/marketed at users of normal 'commute' vehicles.
A controversial choice perhaps. And while I'm prepared to nail my balls to the wall for everyone to take aim at on this particular choice, just stop and think for a minute about how many occasions the 'performance' component in these usally expensive tyres are actually going to be utilised when taking your kids to school, nipping down to the supermarket, picking the folks up for dinner, etc.

Don't get me wrong, performance tyres definitely have a place, but I think that place should be confined to the track (and maybe the Autobahn) for 'performance' vehicles driven by 'performance-oriented' drivers with 'performance-oriented mind-sets'.
I was one such character for many years and enjoyed taking the Atom down to the Nurburgring where the co-owners and myself would enjoy collectively destroying multiple sets of Avon semi-slicks and laughing about who came back into the car park with just the canvas showing through rubber. But never at any stage did any of us have the idea or desire to replicate this style of driving out on the public roads. We all value keeping hold of our driving licenses and avoiding speeding fines.

When I see the likes of Pirelli, Michelin, Goodyear et al recommending their 'high performance' products at SUV's, family four-doors etc. you have to stop and think 'why? what for?'
Obviously it's to satiate and facilitate the ever-bourgeoning trend in car-manufacturers producing road vehicles with ever increasing power capacties but still, in the real world, where we live in a world full of speed cameras, speed limits, other road users, would you want/need to drive like Nelson Piquet?
I experience it regularly. I drive an 'idiot-magnet' car. I won't say what it is but it's the type of vehicle that some wannabe F1 stars look at and think 'target. I'll get him at the lights. I'll show that fkr who's fastest out of the both of us!'
I have fun with that; usually I give a little rev to indicate to said boy-racer that 'yeah, i'm up for a drag'. To which the response is usually more revving from boy-racer type. Lights go green, they blast away at warp-speed, I saunter away gently, preserving my tyres as well as my sense of integrity, sanity, rationailty. They, on the other hand manage to attain a temporary, very temporay enlargement of the testicles as well as removing about 2mm from their soft-compound 'performance tyres. I'd say that was a 'WIN WIN'. lol

And pre-empting the backlash from the boy-racers of the forum before they all start banging on about stopping power, cornering power, wet weather performance blaa de blaa, consider how much life you get from a set of soft-compound performance tyres by blasting away from traffic lights, screeching to a halt at red lights, pulling 3G in a bend, notwithstanding the hightened risk of such manouvres to other road users.

Maybe not exactly snake-oil then, as performance tyres can and do work. Just not when applied to most road vehicles.

 

[egellings]

C R A C K - Is presently highly undesirable due to the dosing and spiking of the stuff. It is being spiked even though people have been dying from the opiate content. Beware and do not do that C R A C K stuff at this time.

Don't ingest any of that white stuff.