Awesome Audiophile Snake Oil

My most expensive component is my Cambridge Audio amp, think it was on sale for $800. I got lucky because my house got struck by lightning and burned out a bunch of electronics and the adjuster overvalued a lot of stuff.

Which is hilarious cuz I can't imagine anything sounding better but even a grand is peanuts in the scheme of things.

I think I have those same speakers, tlg, I just meant all the expensive Magic Alex stuff. That listening_room instagram account is frightening. Rooms filled with ugly electronics on one side and the other side of the room looks like a haunted 1 star motel room

oh yeah? do you like them? i’ve always had this mythical view of klipsch cause of mancuso + the loft, was thinking about getting some new speakers and was surprised how affordable these are, especially compared to many of the other “historic” speakers like jbl century, klipsch heresy, altecs etc

actually it’s the kp3.5 that I have, they sound really good to me but I’ve never done any a/b-ing or anything. also haven’t really been able to really crank them cuz neighbors. I like the looks of those kp4s.

kg

Y’all are talking too much about gear that a halfway normal person might buy and not $92,000 hand-magnetized hard drives

Does this guy think he has a first gen Beatles master tape in his collection?

I can't figure it out. At best, this would be a production master copped from a pressing plant, perhaps a 1/4 reel copy of an original half-inch (or 1/4 inch) mix-master. But he's acting like it's the holy grail of sound quality.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLWHPy9zdGs

“It sounds like Paul McCartney is singing right next to you!” No, it sounds like someone is talking over the music.

And anyway, wasn’t it the professional industry standard that 1/4” master tapes play at 15 ips (inches per second)? Because it looks like its playing a lot slower than that.

30 ips is generally better sound quality but you really eat through tape, 15 ips can be great too, but it's a little grittier, I guess it's more of a flavor thing. I'd imagine lower than 15 ips and it would get even more effected.

in the opening seconds he says "this is the original Let It Be master recording" while holding a 7" acetate, so his definition of 'master' seems to be pretty fluid. I LOLd at his stupid chart where he explains how blu ray only has a fraction the sound quality of LPs, because they are more generations removed from the master tape - as if people are dubbing music onto each new format from the previous format. guy seems like a complete idiot.

Lol that is the dumbest theory I've ever heard.

XP - Yeah, 7.5ips can be pretty grungy on 1/4 inch by comparison, better if mono though, using the entire width of the tape.

I'm wondering if a lot is being lost in translation here

this looks cool (and probably not snake oil, but this is the active thread) and a collected vintage newsletter for audiophiles seems up our alley:

https://www.dopefromhope.com/

Went to Axpona on Friday. Best room to my ears was Acora Acoustics. Here was the equipment list:

https://i.imgur.com/6t3mrOz.jpg

I should say I am not an audiophile and went with a friend purely as an exercise in curiosity. Sadly most listening rooms did not have posted price lists like this.

Nice. I guess it's the old adage, "if you have to ask the price, you can't afford it."

Did you have fun?

Yeesh. For those prices, they should specify room dimensions and specifications while they're at it.

It was a fun experience, yes. Just to be able to listen to some of these systems was a treat and definitely made mine feel wholly inadequate!

Based on what most rooms were playing, my tastes are miles away from the audiophile community. More bluesy guitar quartets and solo classical guitar than I knew existed.

Saw this company's network streamer/DAC in lots of rooms:

https://eng.hifirose.com/

lol 5 grand, suck my dick

Playing ethnicky jazz to ease my snazz only five grand stereo

I am so glad I bought a spare Google Chromecast Audio before they discontinued it

*brings reference album to audiophile listening party*

*Album is Propeller by GBV*

haha

when I tested out turntables many years ago, I brought that Gastr Del Sol 7" on Teenbeat and a Thelonious Monk promo LP, something else too but I forget what

five grand stereo

spent a few mintues on that website trying to work out if any of their gear indeed had speakers on it... and still not sure. I know there was a DAC + streamer product for way more than my whole system costs. I'd like to one day be in a city where one of these events is taking place, cuz I just don't believe my ears would find much difference. (... then I lose all my money)

BTW the Bureau of Labor Statistics says five grand in 1980 (date of Holiday in Cambodia) is worth nearly $20,000 today.

solitary posts that effortlessly summarize the spirit of ILX

lol bravo

I’m flattered

Nice to see I'm quoted in that thread, talking about the Nirvana baby's penis!

The box for my Audioquest Dragonfly Cobalt has a sticker that says the Cobalt needs 100 hours to “burn-in” (their quotes). “Please be patient as the chips come up to speed.”

99-hour warranty?

To be fair I’ve noticed that with new computers too, they’re all sluggish and veiled until they’ve burned in - the mouse becomes more responsive, more analog in feel, and the pixels on the screen acquire a depth and clarity that really opens up the display.

i can't tell if that's a joke.

wait, yes i can.

BRB going to start a publisher that requires you to burn-in your books for about 100 hours. At first it will all seem like gibberish but after 100 hours of staring at the page it will start to make sense.

. C’mon!

https://consequence.net/2023/04/half-vinyl-buyers-record-player-study/

It's been kind of an irritating practice to shove a vinyl disc into every multi-CD box set these days, thus inflating the price in the process - I wonder if that's a factor? (I sold off my player a year ago and I've still had to buy some vinyl because of this.)

doubt it, I think people feel a disconnect or nostalgia for physical artifacts related to the music they consume and are buying records to fill that hole in the time of streaming. maybe a pinch of buying merch to support an artist too

background items for social media posting, too

Pro tip: Audiophiles are the flat-Earthers of the audio industry. pic.twitter.com/SzDA8hoq8J

— Eduard (@edthesoundman) May 10, 2023

Pro tip: Audiophiles are the flat-Earthers of the audio industry. pic.twitter.com/SzDA8hoq8J

— Eduard (@edthesoundman) May 10, 2023

omg the reveal that this is all for stuff that was recorded in mono. A+

^ what this thread was born for xp

Tbf even thru my phone speaker off YouTube, that did sound pretty fuckin hot … but I’m pretty sure the perimeter whatsits had nuffin to do with it.

Yeah, it sounded great through headphones on my laptop, but can you imagine being in that room, with that guy, and trying to enjoy music without constantly thinking about how he was gonna murder you and grind up your bones for his next set of magical resonating discs?

Being a flat earther is cheap, this guy is more like a $450 a day in supplements wellness hippie

Someone in the thread linked to this full video (with more music at the end)… I admit it does sound pretty great even through my phone speaker, but yeah who knows exactly why (I will say the guy seems surprisingly chill).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fr8O_jZhpl4

It sounds great because he's playing it loud (or at least it's coming in hot through the camera mic).

The bit talking about how his pucks on a pole change the acoustics of the room was the funniest part, since there's still very obvious echo in the small rectangular room with bare drywall walls.

god what an amazing video