Awesome Audiophile Snake Oil

more to my point upthread, read this about some Adidas running shoes...is this any less bullshit pseudoscience? no. Are these shoes probably really comfotable to run in? yes.

adidas today brings unprecedented comfort and energy to runners with the launch of its most technically-advanced running shoe yet, Ultra BOOST. The full-length BOOST midsole is comprised of 3,000 energy capsules – 20 percent more than any shoe to date. The carefully-engineered Primeknit upper provides a precision fit and maximum breathability, while the midsole technology returns energy with each step.....
..

A Stretch Web outsole with a perforated, elastic design puts runners closer to the BOOST cushioning, allowing them to maximize the energy-return benefits. A new heel construction comfortably cradles the foot and adjusts to the Achilles tendon's natural movements. For a customized fit and feel, a new, featherweight sock liner adapts to runners' individual foot forms. Ultra BOOST also boasts a new dual-density TORSION® SYSTEM, embedded into the shoe's base. This allows for more independent movements between the heel and forefoot, giving runners superior stability and a smooth, controlled run.

To ensure Ultra BOOST can deliver ultimate comfort and energy return mile after mile, adidas put the shoe through the ARAMIS testing system most commonly used by institutions including NASA, Boeing and Audi.

"Each technology featured in Ultra BOOST was built to complement each other providing energized adaptability through a customized fit, look and feel," said Ben Herath, vice president of design for adidas Running. "While we've taken innovation to the next level, the sleek silhouette of Ultra BOOST is built to look as good as it performs."

imo the audiophile equivalent would be "we added a piece of reflective tape to the front to stop ultraviolet waves from slowing your running speed"

i'm not sure there's a huge gap between that and "The full-length BOOST midsole is comprised of 3,000 energy capsules"

isn't that marketing speak for bouncy balls

http://www.plasticsportal.net/wa/plasticsEU/portal/show/common/content/campaigns/infinergy/english/index.html

imo I want headphones covered in this now

possibilities for the future of audiophilic talismans (talismen?)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_emerging_technologies#Materials_science

as an ex runner and having talked to a bunch of people about running shoes, that's just a pr piece. it doesn't mean the shoe is good or bad

there are many types of feet and strides. weight, posture, knees and sole fat are contributing factors in what you find to be comfortable

what was quoted answers almost none of this information, and few articles do. that's why it's better to just try on the shoe

i'm not sure it is comparable to audio hardware

otm

I honestly am sad about the state of materials science research in north america. All the stock speculation has led to research drying up. I can buy kevlar headphone cables, but where is the kevlar of tomorrow? Not in the USA, I'll tell you that.

imo completely comparable to audio hardware because listeners have a different "fit" for what they want, whether it's making something sound exactly like it sounded in the studio or making it sound like it's live. also where you're going to use your speakers, etc, much like indoor versus outdoor runners

I prefer that my speaker setup recreates the audio aesthetic of a Sony boombox w/cd player circa 1992

some people are "chasing the dragon", I am "looking for Mega Bass (tm)"

i guess i can kind of see that

i only have a few mid-priced headphones i've ever used (even in studios), but choosing the right headphones or speakers to me sounds more subjective

for me, the point of a running shoe is to relieve foot stress and give me better stability/grip for quite probably X amount of time, whether i'm doing short or long runs. it's more pragmatic/practical

i don't see how listening to a pair of speakers and trying on a pair of shoes is that different i guess

both have very definable physical characteristics, can be measured and quantified in different ways (maximum volume and response to different frequencies versus things like durability and material response to impact) but how those things relate to our personal preferences and comfort vary

if you're an olympic sprinter materials definitely matter, or if you run a lot and your arches are crap

I honestly am sad about the state of materials science research in north america. All the stock speculation has led to research drying up. I can buy kevlar headphone cables, but where is the kevlar of tomorrow? Not in the USA, I'll tell you that.

― mh, Wednesday, August 24, 2016 12:09 PM (four hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

lots of good (opto)electronic materials science here, though

yeah but how much of it is connected to my 401k? not enough!

I have a friend of who is always talking about how great his stereo is -- so much so that i rarely engage in an discussions about it with him. He swears by his Adcom amp, CV passive radiator speakers his sub, etc, but i've never been overly impressed because he always plays everything WAY TOO LOUD. Also, his speaker-placement renders the concept of stereo separation mute. When watching a movie a couple years ago i noticed that he didn't have his left and right channels oriented properly - so the "vision" of an object moving left-to-right "sounded" like an object moving right-to-left.

So, even without any apparent snake oil, self-deception can justify just about anything.

lol at the left/right speaker thing. that's not really a big deal with a lot of music, but if he uses the same setup for movie audio and doesn't notice it... hmm.

being clueless is probably a priceless audiophile accessory if you can manage to stop buying stuff

I have saved a good $10k by going to too many shows that shaved off the high end of my hearing.

So, even without any apparent snake oil, self-deception can justify just about anything.

― bodacious ignoramus, Thursday, August 25, 2016 9:46 AM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

don't mean to go on about this, because don't mind that i disagree with people in this thread but this is what i was suggesting yesterday

there are so many variables and audio people have all these deeply personal ideas about audio, it starts to look like producing sound is voodoo magic. then there's the "feels right/wrong" scenario. i've seen people get fancy monitors only to place it down in their untreated concrete-wall basement

i guess i can kind of see that type of thing happening with runners, but in my experience, it didn't happen often with those i spoke with

agreed -- also, like lots of other gear, i just want something that's of a certain quality and that it's reliable. I don't camp/backpack nearly as much as i used to, but i can tell you for certain that my pack/sack/shack are nearly equivalent to stuff you can buy today - same with power and hand tools -- buy the best you can afford, take good care of it, and it should last a good long time.

As for the people putting fancy monitors in an unfinished basement -- i'm ok with that if the idea is that they plan to keep it "forever" -- not the same as runners where the "tech" as well as your foot volume changes over the years -- a pure stereo amp that's 40 years old may be better than one you'll buy 40 years from now.

my feet are 24/192

the best headphones are sony eggos mdr-d77 don't @ me

there's def a reason these are in every studio or radio station in the world, not many better values than these sonys in terms of sound, build quality for sub-100 cans

https://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDR7506-Professional-Diaphragm-Headphone/dp/B000AJIF4E

in general though i feel like sony's one of the last big electronics companies to give a shit about making good consumer stuff

Sony, really? I had such poor experiences with their gear from the 90s and oughts that i swore off their nameplate completely. Glad you have luck with them, tho.

my go-to for flatest sound are maestro's gmp 8.35d's

i guess i feel like their TVs are still good and the baby monitors we bought were the first ones that worked after 2 tries and their headphones still seem good
but i don't have like an amp of theirs, old CD player of theirs i had was a champ

depends what i'm doing tho

the only thing that is still tricky for me is monitoring vocals when i'm the one singing

tried a few and couldn't even use the studio's standard headphones they use for monitoring vocals -- forget which ones we were using, but it was a nightmare that basically ruined the entire ep

I am in possession of samples of both the foil & the cream

update to follow

Also, his speaker-placement renders the concept of stereo separation mute.

I see what you did there

But, nevertheless, subconsciously, we are still attempting to resolve these energy patterns and anything we cannot resolve causes us to remain under tension. Or, we are actually interpreting these (new, strange) energy patterns to mean, ‘danger’, ‘predator’, ‘intruder’ and we therefore remain under tension because we can never resolve them.

the next stage in extreme audiophila is going to be self-help, that is, you can't really expect all your expensive audio components to function well unless you have harmony within yourself. so first you need to start paying for this expensive new-age therapy, and once all of your inner anxieties and neuroses are resolved, we can get to work on your stereo system.

i mean, your brain (and ears) are really the most essential part of any audio set-up, so why would you spend $30,000 on a turntable but any less than that on inner harmony? doesn't make sense, does it?

gotta lube up your brain with the audiophile cream

...or, some good reefer.

you should probably just ram an electrical pole right through your brain, that should do it

i can totally see audiophiles getting fancy ear cleanses just so they can hear sound in its more 'purer form'

this discussion has to have already been brought up on one of the hifi message boards

i mean the biggest impediment to enjoying listening to music is inner distraction... that should really be every audiophile's priority.

perhaps they are being distracted by obsessing over their audio systems, and that is keeping them from hearing the music to its fullest. what then?

http://rob.conery.io/img/2015/09/recursion_title.jpg

imo a lot of this is self-help through retail therapy or externalizing mental anxiety in external phenomena that you then spend time controlling through tweaking

that was my implicit point...

but if you just fix your brain you don't end up with cool speakers

Non believers get slathered in cream and covered with stickers

sign me up

I am in possession of samples of both the foil & the cream

update to follow

― The bald Phil Collins impersonator cash grab (Joan Crawford Loves Chachi), Monday, August 29, 2016 1:27 PM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

hyped for this

no doubt

Sony, really? I had such poor experiences with their gear from the 90s and oughts that i swore off their nameplate completely. Glad you have luck with them, tho.

― bodacious ignoramus, Monday, August 29, 2016 8:45 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Had a terrible midi system from them in the early 90s, and have stayed away from most of their stuff ever since, but they were the only make of walkman-related stuff I'd ever have considered, and I swore by their earphones for years as well.

But yeah. That midi-system, with the shitty turntable and the tape deck that ran too slow. Fuck Sony.

Was in the market for a new set of headphones for in the house so ordered a pair of those Sony 7506's.

The internal grille is in the shape of the Fibonacci pattern, supposedly to ensure minimal sound colouration

http://www.trustedreviews.com/news/sony-celebrates-70th-anniversary-by-releasing-high-end-signature-series#y2xHBH0p0qfFIUvD.99

supposedly

who really knows