Stuff for idiots

Nemiyen · 30 May 2020 at 17:32

I just bought a 120 quid audioquest carbon usb cable on ebay for 72 quid even though I work in it and know its all 1s and 0s but wanted to see it for myself.

Yep it sounds the same to me from the cheap one I took from an external hard drive!

I really can't be bothered unplugging it and testing cables over and over but I played my favourite songs and it sounds the same to my ears.

I would sell it back on ebay but feel sorry for the next sap that buys it lol. I'll just live in the knowledge that I tried it myself and it made no difference at all from what I can tell.

Edit: At least now my external drive had its USB cable back now. Silver linings and all!

jellybeard999 · 30 May 2020 at 20:37

Advertising Standards have challenged a lot of their claims over the years.

The kettle lead was allowed as RF interference is reduced Vs a normal kettle lead in lab tests. Whether that actually makes a difference to sound, or it cancels out the mains grid and house wiring is anyone's guess though.

https://www.google.com/search?q=rus...d-xiaomi-rev2&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8

i-bert · 30 May 2020 at 20:40

www.apple.com

Destination · 30 May 2020 at 21:08

i-bert said:
www.apple.com

ROFL
nice

Noxia · 30 May 2020 at 22:30

Audiophile reviews are hilarious. I think there an audiophile word generator somewhere for inserting BS into a forum post. Some people legitimately leave headphones blaring for 200 hours before they use them to 'burn them in' so that the 'soundstage warms up'.

Rimsy · 31 May 2020 at 00:02

i-bert said:
www.apple.com

Can't believe it's taken 3 pages before this appears! Was the very first thing that sprang to mind!

arknor · 31 May 2020 at 03:38

Noxia said:
Audiophile reviews are hilarious. I think there an audiophile word generator somewhere for inserting BS into a forum post. Some people legitimately leave headphones blaring for 200 hours before they use them to 'burn them in' so that the 'soundstage warms up'.

you could just buy a pair of cheap headphones and enjoy a paradigmize exponentially better phase-gain relationship with your partner, re-examine the plateau-spreading thresholds, settle in for a wild night and maximize interactive interfaces

Diddums · 31 May 2020 at 03:46

Audiophiles make me laugh. We have one at work, he recently spent £200 on some little 3D printed cones to put his speakers on to "reduce the amount of sonic energy going in to the floor".

Erm, when I worked for Stage Company in Holland, we set up loads of acoustic systems for various halls and whatnot, the pinnacle being the Heineken Music Hall in Amsterdam which likes to boast about having the best acoustics in the world, not once did we hear about these amazing things.

I do remember them however, a load of the staff bought old speakers from the company which they then installed in their homes for lols / bragging rights and they used these little cones to reduce the amount of bass going through to the neighbours. That's it.

Angilion · 31 May 2020 at 05:11

I was going to post examples of the selling of heroin when it was new, probably the children's cough medicine with extra heroin (more than the adult version). Then I realised that's not fair. Those heroin products weren't a ludicrously expensive way to do nothing or get identical functionality to something costing <1% as much. They actually worked as stated and customers couldn't initially know the risks.

So I think the best example is the story of the emperor's new clothes. The process is exactly the same. It's just a version for modern day.

dowie · 31 May 2020 at 11:12

For anyone interested in hi-fi, fed up with all the audiophile BS that is prevalent seemingly everywhere (pretty much every retailer and industry magazine buys into the same pseudoscience BS) this video is worth watching:

arknor · 31 May 2020 at 14:53

Diddums said:
Audiophiles make me laugh. We have one at work, he recently spent £200 on some little 3D printed cones to put his speakers on to "reduce the amount of sonic energy going in to the floor".

Erm, when I worked for Stage Company in Holland, we set up loads of acoustic systems for various halls and whatnot, the pinnacle being the Heineken Music Hall in Amsterdam which likes to boast about having the best acoustics in the world, not once did we hear about these amazing things.

I do remember them however, a load of the staff bought old speakers from the company which they then installed in their homes for lols / bragging rights and they used these little cones to reduce the amount of bass going through to the neighbours. That's it.

do they really stop much? bass travels through the air anyway? like when your at a concert and you feel the bass in your chest

Diddums · 31 May 2020 at 15:01

arknor said:
do they really stop much? bass travels through the air anyway? like when your at a concert and you feel the bass in your chest

I doubt it tbh, but when we could buy a pack of four for 1 euro it was worth a shot. Nobody really measured anything and asking your neighbours if your irritating 2am music was improved wasn't exactly the most sensible approach to finding out

Saytan · 31 May 2020 at 17:11

Many years ago I read an article about a blind test where people couldn't even spot a phono cable that was made of paperclips....

bazzabear · 31 May 2020 at 19:31

Years ago I found a gold plated ... optical cable. Not sure how that was supposed to work.

Feek · 1 Jun 2020 at 01:13

Rimsy said:
Can't believe it's taken 3 pages before this appears! Was the very first thing that sprang to mind!

Three pages? We've only just reached half way down the first page

PiKe · 1 Jun 2020 at 02:11

Shouldn't snake oil sellers like Russ Andrews be shut down? If trading standards are investigating the 5g stick why not Russ Andrews £25 fuse?

Akagi · 1 Jun 2020 at 04:04

PiKe said:
Shouldn't snake oil sellers like Russ Andrews be shut down? If trading standards are investigating the 5g stick why not Russ Andrews £25 fuse?

Because the £25 fuse works as a fuse. The 5G blocker stick does not block 5G.

Mr Badger · 1 Jun 2020 at 04:29

Noxia said:
Audiophile reviews are hilarious. I think there an audiophile word generator somewhere for inserting BS into a forum post. Some people legitimately leave headphones blaring for 200 hours before they use them to 'burn them in' so that the 'soundstage warms up'.

Have you never heard of foreplay?

Noxia · 1 Jun 2020 at 11:59

Mr Badger said:
Have you never heard of foreplay?

Not with headphones no.

arknor · 1 Jun 2020 at 13:07

Noxia said:
Not with headphones no.

what does burning in actually do anyway.

with speakers you have big cones, maybe they are slightly stiff when new.
but with headphones according to google

The front cover is a plastic disc with holes in it to let the sound enter your ear. Just behind it there's a very small cone. It's hardly cone-shaped, though: it's a flattish, transparent disc made of very thin and flexible plastic, and it's quite crinkly and crackly when you move it.16