[GeneT45]

Your comment can only be truly appreciated by plumbing the bizarre depths of "high-end audio" where nitwits (errr... customers) will pay $700 for a 6' Kapton-insulated power cord for their stereo. You know, to plug into the wall where it connects to 100 ft of Romex that cost $0.20/ft...

Looks like my favorite example has disappeared, but there are always these: http://www.audio-consulting.ch/?Parts:Woodlenses

[pclmulqdq]

What I don't get about this is that marketers keep getting away with pushing this BS on the audiofool public.

There is a core group of audiophile/EEs who design DACs, amps and the like and who do know what matters for sound quality, and there's a whole pile of marketers who try to jump on the train with gold-plated power cables and (apparently) expensive chunks of wood. The engineers don't seem to care to call out the marketers on their BS. Maybe they just aren't effective at it.

As a result, the public can't really tell the difference between true and false things, like how gold-plated headphone connectors are more conductive and durable than the cheap version (and thus sound better), but gold plated power cables have no effect on sound quality. If they did, there might be a lot more audiophiles since there is some semblance of authority about what is worth paying for. The engineers are sabotaging their market by refusing to educate customers.

[daniel-cussen]

There's stupid shit and it involves scams, like going to a record store and they say "hey maybe you're the chosen one" play a track then switch gear and say "listen to it again" and play a different track pretending to be the first, and bam, audiophile.

Then there's the blind. One of my ancestors was a blind Spanish classical guitarist, played in concerts often. So for them? They can tell you the brand of headphones you're listening to from the other side of the room. And that's nothing. They also think faster, listen to sound at a much much faster rate than ordinary speech. Like 4x? Something. Sky's the limit. And when they speak to each other they speak much faster more like the speech synthesizer.

[the_third_wave]

$700, where do you buy your cables, at McDonalds?

No, if you want to have really clear audio you'd better get one of those Synergistic Research cables [1]. For a mere $10.000,- starting price (6 ft, add $1000/ft if you want a longer cable) it will be as if the musicians are sitting on your table, eating your cookies and petting your dog. It's the Quantum tunneling which does the trick, see? They kick the atoms into the right shape using a Tesla coil and, being obedient little atoms, they stay where they're told. Or something.

[1] https://www.synergisticresearch.com/cables/srx-cables/srx-ac...

[unfocused]

C'mon! Everybody knows that the Nordost Valhalla 2 Power Cord is far superior than the SRX. It's also only $10,079.99 CAD for 6ft, so it will be less than yours since yours is in USD, saving you money to to buy fridge magnets which will help dampen the magnetic field from any orphan atoms that may leak through.

Also, from the manufacturer's brochure: Unlike conventional power cables, which have propagation speeds that are less than 50% the speed of light, the Valhalla 2 Reference Power Cord has a speed of 91% the speed of light.

[1] https://audiofi.ca/products/valhalla-2-power-cord?variant=34...

EDIT: On a more serious note, check out https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php for real testing, where the dollar store speaker cable performed (surprise!) as well as the fancy cables. The fancy cable company was not happy.

[buescher]

This discussion has been going on for a long time. Power cables are not going to fix anything. Speaker cables, I have my doubts. I use the cheap stuff, but would go for all copper if I were splurging. On the other hand, I have bought about-dollar-store-cheap interconnects with problems, so I go for the fancy Amazon Basics level stuff myself. I get the guys that buy aesthetically pleasing cables, but that's a different story. Here's Bob Pease on the subject(s): https://www.pearl-hifi.com/06_Lit_Archive/02_PEARL_Arch/Vol_...

[mod]

> Unlike conventional power cables, which have propagation speeds that are less than 50% the speed of light, the Valhalla 2 Reference Power Cord has a speed of 91% the speed of light.

Thank God somebody is making these. Imagine if we had to wait almost twice as long!

[buescher]

Before you bag on these guys, even though they deserve it, imagine the customer support issues...

[elteto]

> ...being obedient little atoms, they stay where they're told

50 shades of quantum tunneling

[dpkirchner]

That quantum tunneling is done by hand in California, using six-zeros volts of electricity. Pretty impressive.

[digitallyfree]

Speaking of audiofools, look no further than the Machina Dynamica store (https://www.machinadynamica.com/) that features magic rocks, CD stickers, and other items you can add to your system to improve sound. Literally the whole site reads like it's satire - but apparently people actually buy their stuff.

[teraflop]

The magic rocks and other physical devices are old hat. For $60, you can just call Machina Dynamica's phone number, and they'll play a 20-second "series of mechanical pulses" which remotely transforms your phone onto exotic matter, thereby severing its quantum connection to the "cell phone information field" that would otherwise be degrading the quality of every audio/video device in your home.

http://www.machinadynamica.com/machina60.htm

[buescher]

My favorite example is the Shakti stone, no longer on Stereophile's recommended accessories list. Who knows if they work? I have done enough EMI mitigation to think "not damned likely" but I have also done enough EMI mitigation (read the patent first, and the testimonials from people who should know better) that I wouldn't bet a paycheck on it.

[ace2358]

Forget the 100ft of in house cable. What about the miles and miles of outdoor power lines… Hard to beat that corroded aluminium sound!

[nikau]

I read a story about hifi enthusiasts in japan who ended up getting dedicated external powerpole transformers installed for supposed cleaner power and as a bit of a status symbol.