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Audiophiles and Snake Oil...

Roger Adams said:
One should also be offended by the term "snake oil" in the thread title if one is to form that opinion surely?
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Audiofool, Audiophool is semantics.

No because Snake Oil is a term, it is not calling anyone anything. Whereas Audiofool/phool is personal so two completely different things.
 
Colin L said:
I think that anyone using the term audiofool probably hasn’t heard what a really good, well chosen and tweaked system can do.
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Hi,
Isn't this just a case of self delusion. Someone sells you an expensive cable with a claimed "special" design and materials, and people hear a difference.

When i read one of the posts about the middle range studios - it is obvious those people creating the music you listen too, have no investment in audiophile products. Surely, if the product had an effect, they would all be using them ?

Regards,
Shadders.
 
Yep, heard many systems tweaked to an inch of their lives. Friends with £5k’s “worth” of power cables. Several expensive Ethernet cables, jitter and data cleaners by Melco. More power supplies than a commercial business on a rack that costs nearly as much as my system. And it doesn’t come close to what can be done with some well engineered speakers set up with multiple distributed subs based on tooles research and self built for a few hundred quid.

Yet many of these people I know claim huge upgrades every time they change a cable, have some good upgrade peddled to them by dealers or the other subjective reviews of listeners from forums, seems like just wanting to back up each other’s view that the more you spend the better the sound gets, and couldn’t go back to not having the latest audio quest Ethernet cable or bi wire links. Totally in their heads, get to hear plenty of systems regularly and I just can’t seem to hear what they do
 
Paul Burke said:
Yep, heard many systems tweaked to an inch of their lives. Friends with £5k’s “worth” of power cables. Several expensive Ethernet cables, jitter and data cleaners by Melco. More power supplies than a commercial business on a rack that costs nearly as much as my system. And it doesn’t come close to what can be done with some well engineered speakers set up with multiple distributed subs based on tooles research and self built for a few hundred quid.

Yet many of these people I know claim huge upgrades every time they change a cable, have some good upgrade peddled to them by dealers or the other subjective reviews of listeners from forums, seems like just wanting to back up each other’s view that the more you spend the better the sound gets, and couldn’t go back to not having the latest audio quest Ethernet cable or bi wire links. Totally in their heads, get to hear plenty of systems regularly and I just can’t seem to hear what they do
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In your opinion.

That is the point really, Hifi is very subjective. What one person likes another may not.

I have heard many systems that I have thought sounded terrible, whereas others appear to almost wet themselves over them. Equally I have heard systems that I thought sounded great but weren’t popular at all. It’s all personal and all relative.
 
Here is my point, made as succinctly as possible.

Certain forms of distortion will add to the listening experience with certain recordings whilst diminishing that of some others. The faithful will go looking for that same authenticity with other genres only to be disappointed by falling short. These people will, in general, have "demo tracks" that they use when others come to visit.

The issue with this level of distortion is that is very selective. Hopefully our musical tastes are not. If they are, I would question the need for an expensive system in the first place.

Remove that 2nd harmonic and a whole new world of musical discovery awaits. Surely that this what this hobby is about?
 
Roger Adams said:
Here is my point, made as succinctly as possible.

Certain forms of distortion will add to the listening experience with certain recordings whilst diminishing that of some others. The faithful will go looking for that same authenticity with other genres only to be disappointed by falling short. These people will, in general, have "demo tracks" that they use when others come to visit.

The issue with this level of distortion is that is very selective. Hopefully our musical tastes are not. If they are, I would question the need for an expensive system in the first place.

Remove that 2nd harmonic and a whole new world of musical discovery awaits. Surely that this what this hobby is about?
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Read your first sentence, just the first 4 words... they you go on to generalise the whole audience by your last 8 words.... its absolutely subjective in every sense..
 
Cereal Killer said:
Read your first sentence, just the first 4 words... they you go on to generalise the whole audience by your last 8 words.... its absolutely subjective in every sense..
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Hi,
For some reason, science seems to be ignored when someone hears a change.

The CD green pen episode, was believed by many, and had some basis in science, yet no one believes it any more. Why ?.

The CD green pen episode is no more fanciful than power cables, special fuses, isolating pads on equipment, special shelves, or exotic speaker cables.

Science will show that the aforementioned have no effect, yet audio people believe them since the marketing department postulates on why they make a difference.

What is the reason why audio people don't believe in CD green pens, yet do for other audio products that have no basis in science ?

Regards,
Shadders.
 
And have you tried any of these: "fanciful power cables, special fuses, isolating pads on equipment, special shelves, or exotic speaker cables" you mention?
 
That there's interaction between a green transparent medium and certain laser wavelengths is undoubted scientific fact. That this occurs with a measurable effect in green edged cds is completely unproven, I've never seen any verifiable tests to show any difference with treated cds nevermind a measurable improvement like reduced jitter, reduced servo action, or reduction in psu rail noise etc etc.

It's a logical fallacy
 
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