radamel
Music Fiend
Again, Bill Low, CEO of Audioquest, has admitted that a marketing video for Audioquest HDMI cables was doctored in such a way as to deceive customers into thinking Audioquest HDMI cables made a real sonic difference. We know that a major Audioquest store and an Audioquest employee (their sales manager for the south-western USA) were involved in the making of the video. So, a clear admission of collusion between manufacturers and stores to 'delude' (as you put it) customers.
I agree this doesn't tick all three of duckworp's boxes (manufacturers, stores, journalists), but two out of three is pretty good. And it's also worth noting that the person who originally broke this story, Mark Waldrep, was subsequently attacked several times in the audiophile press. Shoot the messenger.
Not sure if it is 2 out 3.
The store clearly yes, about Audioquest I have my doubts because:
The employee (that subsequently left the company as you say) may have been naif or he may have acted in a rogue manner.
Considering how knowledgeable sales people in some other businesses actually are I wouldn't be too surprised if it could have been the former.