And Todays Audiophool Product is................

[Buriedcode]

To be fair have you listened or tried but I suspect because of your biases, no. In acoustics there is such term
called psycho acoutics this is not wishful thinking but the way the brain and ear interacts. There are papers on the subject. It is a fact that everything or object/element in this universe has a natural resonance even the planet earth has one it's called the Shumann resonance of late it is about 7 hertz. to pooh pooh anything
as audiophool is being closed or narrow minded. There are some things that cannot be scientifically explained currently although there is snake oil out there.

 Let's take a real world example, compare the sound of a wood violin with an electronic one made of metal and acrylic or a wood piano with an electronic one/synthesiser. It should be obvious. Why do violin players
sought after hundreds of years old violin made by Stradivari or  Guarnari? There are serious papers on this too. Even all the modern scientific instruments for analysis of these violin's acoustic properties NO one to date has manage to replicate the sound of the famous ancient luthiers (musical instrument craftsman). Is it just due to aging like fine wine or something esle? There is even speculation that the trees from a certain mountainous region in Italy that are transported down and then subsequently floated down in the sea ways to the place of trading due to this salt water emersion certain
chemical reaction took place and there are gold elements embedded in the wood fibres which could account for the specially sound quality and also the secret way the wood is being dried. All this even makes for the tendency to dismiss discoveries as make believe but you are entitled to your opinions.

PS: If you have the chance go visit the german Steinway piano company you will be surprised as to their ways of choosing the wood for their pianos. If music be the food of life play on. 

Jesus wept. I don't know where to start.  I think I'll leave the whole post in quote so people can re-read it.  Violin players, and many instrument players generally go for famous names because they are famous and expensive.  This also means others have looked after the instruments, so they are likely to be in good order.  As for sound..:
http://www.thestrad.com/cpt-latests/blind-tested-soloists-unable-to-tell-stradivarius-violins-from-modern-instruments/

Also, a misunderstanding of 'psycho acoustics', mixed in with words like 'resonance' doesn't help trying to convince others that raising a cable off the floor improves its electrical qualities.  Psycho-acoustics is very well understood (although no dobut, there is more to discover).  I'm sure you have listened to MP3's, or watched a DVD, or used a telephone - all of which use really quite complicated processing to abuse how our brains process sound in order to reduce bandwidth for high storage density and lower transmission bandwidth.

'Shumann resonance' is a generally seen as a red flag by many engineers.  Yes everything has resonance, insofar as a cavity, to physical dimensions.  But how does this relate to psycho acoustics?  Perhaps the brain automatically equalises sound to flatten out any natural resonance of the ear, but its generally all non-linear anyway.

And then you bring wine into this. Wine. I suppose your point is, we all have our opinions, and experience things differently, we see, hear, and taste differently and there is no real way to know exactly what others sense.  But other than that, god knows what you're on about.

Gold in wood makes it 'sound' better? Why would gold make it better? why not chocolate, or rat droppings?  Is it because gold is seen as valuable, and therefore must make everything 'better' in some grossly subjective way?   I have in fact played on a steinway (was given 10 minutes on it!) and it sounded beautiful.  As I would expect seeing as it costs so much.  But I suspect they are choosy about the wood they use because nature doesn't have quality control to the specifications of piano makers, and their customers expect them to have some strict materials selection if they are going to charge as much as they do.

I really shouldn't have seen this thread as it just makes me look like a ranty mcrantface :/

Edit: I fell for it didn't I? it was a troll post. Thank god I'm not a fish, I would not survive long.

[Greg Robinson]

Don't think this has been posted before: REV33.

And here's what I guess they think passes for a white-paper.

"Hear your music. Experience less ear-fatigue."
"REV33 cleans noise and distortion without ever processing your music."
"Patent Pending Technology"
"Designed by electrical engineers with a combined 50 years of experience, the REV33 currently has 6 patents pending towards its innovative technology. Depending on the headphones or earbuds being used, REV33 can provide a peak improvement the signal to noise ratio by up to 12 dB."

"Music takes an electrical path to your ears.
An electrical signal travels from the audio source through a system of cables to your headphones.  The speakers inside your headphones convert the electrical signal into vibrations that are heard by our ears as acoustic energy or audible sound."

"While your speakers are busy converting electrical signals into acoustic energy, they are being hit by sound waves and unwanted electrical energy coming from other sources.
These external sound waves and electrical energy causes the speakers to vibrate and create an unwanted electrical signal that travels all the way back through the circuit. This creates a layer of noise and distortion that lies on top of the original signal."

"REV33 utilizes proprietary technologies to identify and isolate unwanted electrical signals as they move through the circuit.
The REV33 is a passive device that sits inline between your audio source and headphones. With both a forward and reverse transfer function, REV33 allows music content sourced by the amplifier to pass unaltered to the driver but resists the flow of unwanted current from your headphones back into the audio circuit."

"Free from unwanted noise and distortion, you can hear your true sound with unsurpassed clarity.
When noise and distortion are managed, there is a dramatic increase in sonic clarity coupled with a reduction in symptoms of ear-fatigue, even in the most dynamic of performance environments"

[R005T3r]

Not to be a dick, but Why are you willing to pay with such things, when you can get:
1. decent pair of headphones
2. decent audio board
3. audio repair suite like Audition or Rx3?

You will have set up your lab and you are good to go. If you want you can also buy an audio test sutie and keep your gear calibrated.I hardly doubt you are going to pay more than a stereo +speaker audiophool grade equipment...

[Greg Robinson]

Not to be a dick, but Why are you willing to pay with such things, when you can get:
1. decent pair of headphones
2. decent audio board
3. audio repair suite like Audition or Rx3?

You will have set up your lab and you are good to go. If you want you can also buy an audio test sutie and keep your gear calibrated.I hardly doubt you are going to pay more than a stereo +speaker audiophool grade equipment...

Huh?
Sorry, may be a language barrier, but this is a thread poking fun at audiophool products, I posted a link to an audiophool product in order to mock it, and you seem to have misunderstood that I'm the proud owner of one, and mock me as an audiophool? No, I'M the one doing the mocking here, thankyouverymuch!

[rrinker]

 This one HAS to work  they have professional musicians endorsing it! 

[helius]

You can easily detect bullshit by red flags, such as a description of a phenomenon that would apply even more generally than its context implies. The expression that's used is that "the argument proves too much".

"While your speakers are busy converting electrical signals into acoustic energy, they are being hit by sound waves and unwanted electrical energy coming from other sources.
These external sound waves and electrical energy causes the speakers to vibrate and create an unwanted electrical signal that travels all the way back through the circuit. This creates a layer of noise and distortion that lies on top of the original signal."

Just like every transmitting antenna also receives radio waves. (The phenomenon described applies to any radiator.) Or just like every LED also receives light waves. Does this mean you need "proprietary technologies" to transmit wireless data without "unwanted electrical signals"? That sounds like a big deal. Why aren't these inventors pitching their breakthrough to Broadcom or Qualcom, but only to a few clueless audiophiles? Oh wait.

In actual practice, the amplifier has a high damping factor and such received signals do not significantly affect its operation.

[TheBay]

I put this on here a couple of years ago, but this still takes the biscuit!
http://www.lessloss.com/blackbody-p-200.html

[edy]

Let's *assume* raising cables off the ground improves the sound quality, for argument's sake (even though most of us think it's all BS).... Why would we pay $150 for these "risers" when we can get a bunch of plastic or wood blocks with grooves in it and do it yourself? For a fraction of the cost Where does it end? $300? $500? $1000?

If someone believes raising cables off the ground does something, then I should invent a device that "cleans up the electromagnetic spectrum at Bluetooth frequencies" to help improve the sound in a room when people use a wireless Bluetooth headphone set. What do you think? I'll make the device out of wood and attach gold-colored antennas and a bunch of blue blinky lights, it will look AWESOME! 

[rrinker]

 Because if you just use plain ordinary items to lift the cables off the floor, they will still be subject to induced oscillations at audio frequencies. Only the special $150 each support towers have the proper acoustical insulation properties to clean up the sound signals in your speaker wires. Of course if you don't use the pure copper oxygen free unidirectional speaker cables, you're just wasting your money on the cable towers.

[tatus1969]

unidirectional speaker cables

buuuahahaaa 
guys be careful. you are creating so many business ideas for the audiophool industry and if they read that here they will make all the money

[rdl]

unidirectional speaker cables

I'm pretty sure you can already buy them. As a matter of fact, I think they've been around for quite a while. I'm not sure audiofools even believe it makes a difference though.

[raptor1956]

If there's anything good about the decline in the audio business it is that there is less money going to hucksters.  But they will always take there cut as there IS a sucker born every second.

Perhaps as the younger generation that have grown up listening to low bit rate mp3's etc and quite happy doing so the hucksters will have to find a new market for there talents.  If you can't tell the difference between low/moderate bit rate lossy compressed music then you probably won't be in the market for a better audio system and maybe that is where this story ends...


Brian

[tatus1969]

unidirectional speaker cables

I'm pretty sure you can already buy them. As a matter of fact, I think they've been around for quite a while. I'm not sure audiofools even believe it makes a difference though.

shhh, dont disclose this to any electron around. They might spread their word, and at the end of the day one of the ones working in a serious audiophile's directional cable, being forced going the wrong way half of the time, will get irritated and mess up the music experience. Bloody amps not keeping up with technology and still creating AC at their outputs.

[Groucho2005]

While your speakers are busy converting electrical signals into acoustic energy, they are being hit by sound waves and unwanted electrical energy coming from other sources.
These external sound waves and electrical energy causes the speakers to vibrate and create an unwanted electrical signal that travels all the way back through the circuit. This creates a layer of noise and distortion that lies on top of the original signal.

Unbelievable bullshit. A speaker is a reactive load, if you feed a signal, it kicks back to the amplifier like a mule. This reactive energy is several orders of magnitude higher that any signals it may pick up from "other sources" and is actually one of the main challenges for amplifier designers.

[CJay]

If there's anything good about the decline in the audio business it is that there is less money going to hucksters.  But they will always take there cut as there IS a sucker born every second.

Perhaps as the younger generation that have grown up listening to low bit rate mp3's etc and quite happy doing so the hucksters will have to find a new market for there talents.  If you can't tell the difference between low/moderate bit rate lossy compressed music then you probably won't be in the market for a better audio system and maybe that is where this story ends...


Brian

Nope, the technology and BS evolves to meet the demands of the new market. See the beginnings of a whole new area here:

http://www.head-fi.org/t/639945/can-the-read-speed-of-micro-sd-effect-audio-quality

and Dave's take:

[tatus1969]

If there's anything good about the decline in the audio business it is that there is less money going to hucksters.  But they will always take there cut as there IS a sucker born every second.

Perhaps as the younger generation that have grown up listening to low bit rate mp3's etc and quite happy doing so the hucksters will have to find a new market for there talents.  If you can't tell the difference between low/moderate bit rate lossy compressed music then you probably won't be in the market for a better audio system and maybe that is where this story ends...


Brian

another business opportunity (jeh should it be simple like this?): a low-qual-compression-artefacts sound processor that you can add to your $10k pro audio gear for that warm comfort feeling of recognition. Optionally available a iOs/Android app for $9,99/month.

[Bud]

"Designed by electrical engineers with a combined 50 years of experience

You cannot "combine" experience. This statement alone makes no sense whatsoever.

[Kilrah]

You cannot "combine" experience. This statement alone makes no sense whatsoever.

While the wording may be bad, you certainly can.

A guy with 25 years of experience in analog design and another with 25 years in digital design will certainly be able to do better work quicker than either of them would when working on a system combining analog and digital systems.

The analog guy would be dabbling at the digital part making all the mistakes when the digital guy would in a glance be able to say "your problem's there, do that".

[rrinker]

 Not sure if I've seen unidirectional speaker cables - now there's an idea - not only unidirectional speaker cables, but different materials for the two conductors. One for enhancing the flow of electrons, the other for enhancing the flow of positive charges, so you definitely have to hook them up the right way round. Throw in some physics terminology, maybe mention that research done at the LHC has proven this effect, boom, instant sales of $25k per meter speaker cables.

 However - there definitely is a unidirectional audiophool ETHERNET cable. Might have been included in this thread even. Insanely expensive, of course, and it has directional arrows on it. I reject it outright as I demand that my ACK packets have the same high quality as my data packets!

[rdl]

unidirectional speaker cables

My bad. I was remembering interconnects. I think the directional part has to do with the shield only being grounded at one end.

Example:
http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=AQTORR

[tatus1969]

Not sure if I've seen unidirectional speaker cables - now there's an idea - not only unidirectional speaker cables, but different materials for the two conductors. One for enhancing the flow of electrons, the other for enhancing the flow of positive charges, so you definitely have to hook them up the right way round. Throw in some physics terminology, maybe mention that research done at the LHC has proven this effect, boom, instant sales of $25k per meter speaker cables.

 However - there definitely is a unidirectional audiophool ETHERNET cable. Might have been included in this thread even. Insanely expensive, of course, and it has directional arrows on it. I reject it outright as I demand that my ACK packets have the same high quality as my data packets!

great! almost as good as low jitter audio grade SD cards   

[tatus1969]

unidirectional speaker cables

My bad. I was remembering interconnects. I think the directional part has to do with the shield only being grounded at one end.

Example:
http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=AQTORR

these are line level connects, you need to have the shield connected at both sides, or you would completely lose ground reference. Another audio phooling. High end RCA is stupid anyway in my opinion, when there is hum-free differential signaling available, or even better digital links.

[rdl]

these are line level connects, you need to have the shield connected at both sides, or you would completely lose ground reference. Another audio phooling. High end RCA is stupid anyway in my opinion, when there is hum-free differential signaling available, or even better digital links.

Maybe. I am not an audiophool, nor am I an expert in making fun of them.
For those particular cables (with directional arrows) they state that the signal ground and shield ground are separate.

[NiHaoMike]

these are line level connects, you need to have the shield connected at both sides, or you would completely lose ground reference. Another audio phooling. High end RCA is stupid anyway in my opinion, when there is hum-free differential signaling available, or even better digital links.

Maybe. I am not an audiophool, nor am I an expert in making fun of them.
For those particular cables (with directional arrows) they state that the signal ground and shield ground are separate.

True directional cables have multiple layers of shielding. The inner layer is connected at both ends and the outer layer connected to whatever end is less sensitive to noise, usually the source. The main exceptions are sources that do not have a direct connection to ground such as microphones and guitars.

[Red Squirrel]

Over 100 bucks for pieces of foam.    To think I throw that stuff in the recycling when I get a new TV, I did not realize it was for the cables!