Awesome Audiophile Snake Oil

The interesting thing about these tweaks is that they abandon the pretense of scientific support. Whereas w/ feet for speaker stands in Stereophile or whatever they'll be some physicist explaining how the damping works, here's it's just like, Hey, put this magic clock in the room and it'll improve the sound. I love it.

Sorry, maybe I'm Billy-doesn't-get-it, but is this site real or an elaborate spoof?

I had initially assumed spoof, but I followed some links and poked around and it appears to be real, or at least elaborate enough a spoof to include three or four different sites. Stereophile had an article on some of these tweaks a few years ago anyway:

http://www.stereophile.com/news/10415/

even if it is a spoof there's certainly enough real snake-oil products with extremely similar purposes/explanations

here's a collection of some more: http://www.ilikejam.dsl.pipex.com/audiophile.htm

i know someone who swears by this ....
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=280182123367&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=018

"extremely flat"

I don't even know what "a richer, fuller sound, with less emphasis of detail" means. it's supposed to be a good thing?

My latest tweak = this chair;

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/njsouthall/Photo624.jpg

i'm actually buying a glass platter for my turntable. i might even buy that mat for it. i'm a sucka 4 luv.

actually the chair i'm assuming was a joke, but honestly i was suprised how much getting speaker stands and "correctly" positioning my chair i listen in and the speakers in the room made a HUGE difference in how good things sounded.

The chair's totally not a joke; it's expensive and comfortable and easily moved but it's not likely to make me fall asleep in it (no headrest); if I'm comfortable and awake, I can concentrate on listening more. I bought it (almost) with the sole intention of it being a 'headphones' chair.

But yeah, basic physics says position your speakers correctly and sit in the right spot; you simply don't get stereo-imaging without it.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/03/audiophiles-cant-tell-the-difference-between-monster-cable-and/

...a coat hanger.

that's AMAZING.
audiophiles are some weird people, man.

actually the chair i'm assuming was a joke, but honestly i was suprised how much getting speaker stands and "correctly" positioning my chair i listen in and the speakers in the room made a HUGE difference in how good things sounded.

-- M@tt He1ges0n, Thursday, December 13, 2007 11:39 PM

totally true

actually properly treating one's room acoustically would probably do a better job than moving your chair and speakers about

is there already a company selling audiophile interior house paint?

because if there is, I should start selling audiophile EXTERIOR house paint.

(xpost)
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/cb/Dbsts2.jpg

I was much, much less impressed with this enormous fucking Naim set-up than I should have been given how much it ought to have cost. Sure it went LOUD, but sound-wise I wouldn't swap it for my own system, I don't think.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/njsouthall/IMG_0126.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/njsouthall/IMG_0128.jpg

Is it just perspective on that first photo, or are your speakers nearly at shoulder height?

Oh, no - is that a Cyrus CD player? Or tuner? And why isn't everything on Mana shelves? That's why it doesn't sound that good. And has it been on continuously for five years? Another biggie with Naimists. (Seriously, that doesn't look like a great room for those huge - and amazingly ugly - speakers).

What's the turntable - Nottingham Spacedek or something? Oracle Delphi?

mp3s out a old marantz amp someone gave me and 15 y/o bottom of the line cambridge soundworks speakers all day babay

although i did love to read sudiophile magazines when i worked at a bookstore just for the lulz

The speakers are nearly to chest height - I'm 5'8".

The Cyrus is just a DAC for his wireless streaming thing. Dunno what the turntable is. The room is big but odd; it's a loft that used to be three bedrooms. There's a (low) double bed behind the speakers, plus a desk, which is where I slept (not the desk) (although that picture was taken at 6am so sleeping wasn't exactly urgent and key that weekend).

Yeah, I really wish someone had just given me a peek into my co-habiting/flat in communal block/married-with-kids future when I was handing over the moolah for all my gear in 1996-97. I wish I'd just got something good/2nd-hand with a small footprint (Cyrus CD/integrated, ProAc speakers, something like that; maybe a Pro-Ject record deck, old Marantz cassette deck, NAD tuner, cables from Maplin) and STOPPED there. Think of all the photographic gear I could've bought with the money saved if I'd just contracted that particular hobbyist bug a decade earlier!

(Ah, DAC for wireless streaming; the Naim box-stacking is kinda insane - external power supplies for everything. Makes my Audiolab pre/mono arrangement look positively understated).

The speakers are Naim DBLs. They weigh about 15st each. Retail these days at £15k. When he got them, in 2000, they should have been £12k. He got them for £4k cos they were "shop-soiled" - the band he's in had an arrangement with Naim and they'd been using them as a playback set-up when they recorded an album in a country house, and the guitarist's dog had taken a bite out of the bottom corner of one, or something.

I'm kind of glad I've had a brush with stuff that's seriously high-end because it's warned me off a bit. Our flat's not that small, but it's a flat nonetheless, and, you know, I want stuff on the walls and holidays and a new camera and stuff maybe too.

I think my main response to audiophilia these days is that the best way to make your hi-fi sound great is to play better records on it.

actually properly treating one's room acoustically would probably do a better job than moving your chair and speakers about

How so?

the best way to make your hi-fi sound great is to play better records on it.

b i n g o

if anyone is looking for really great speakers that won't break your bank....i bought these about a year ago and couldn't be more pleased with them...they are really surprising given the price and size:

Epos ELS 3 mini monitors:

http://www.musicdirect.com/product/73457

i run them with a Cambridge Audio integrated amp w/Cambridge phono pre-amp.....

My turntable is a Rega P1 -- one thing on that i would recommend is buying a glass platter and also i replaced the original ortofon cartridge with a Denon DL 160 cartridge which is a fucking amazing cartridge for the price...

For CD player I run a really really old NAD one that I got off craigslist for $35...it works pretty well, has a hard time tracking CD-Rs but will play them after awhile (it's from 87 though so I guess there weren't even CD-Rs then)

Post more pics of slobs in garrets seasoned with with ridiculous sound systems and ugly furniture.

I really like the coffee table.

I think my favourite way / place to listen to music these days, rather than the big sofa and NAD / Cambridge Audio / Tannoy / proper rack & stands set-up in the living room, with everything anchored in a nice triangle, blah blah, equidistant from rear walls, speakers toed in, is the hotch-potch system in the back room, with the knackered Marantz CD, 20-year-old Marantz amp, DAC, and diddy Q Acoustics speakers. Cos I have space, peace, my comfy chair, books, headphones, no TV or console to distract.

Those are the kind of speakers you buy to justify having previously bought Monster Cable.

What's the sensitivity rating on those things? It might be all show, but they certainly look like they could bring on an involuntary bowel movement.

Specifications
Frequency response (in room)

17Hz - 20kHz 3dB

Sensitivity

92dB/1W/1m

Impedance

4 Ohms (minimum)

Power handling

200W (music programme)

Dimensions H x W x D

1200mm x 650mm x 400mm

Finish options include

Cherry
Maple
Piano Black [to special order]

like i said before, it's been my impression that tru-skool audiophiles think monster cable is for philistines and ppl that buy stereo equipment at best buy.

It's just a damn swindle, is all.

Tru-skool audiophiles do think that. I've never seen Monster cables mentioned in a hi-fi mag. Not that I read them that often. I have one Monster cable, and that's a 3.5 stereo mini-jack to 2 phono thing, for the iPod dock.

It's the new gold-plated CD.

The main rig's cabling: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/njsouthall/IMG_0267.jpg

The little rig's cabling: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/njsouthall/IMG_0268.jpg

my CD player connects and the connects for my phono pre-amp are monster...i got them for $7 a set from some online store...actually pretty good if you can find them for cheap, but nowhere near worth the money they usually charge.

it's a $500 ethernet cable!

http://www.usa.denon.com/ProductDetails/3429.asp

fucking ridiculous

actually properly treating one's room acoustically would probably do a better job than moving your chair and speakers about

How so?

-- Scik Mouthy, Wednesday, May 7, 2008 1:50 AM (1 month ago) Bookmark Link

i never answered this.. basically in a room with a balanced frequency response, the only difference you should theoretically hear by positioning yourself differently in a room would be volume changes based on how far you are away from the sound source. if your music sounds different by shifting yourself a foot to the left of your speaker, it's because the frequency balance is not even across the room. you could be sitting in a bass null or peak which may affect the sound positively or negatively to varying degrees

effectively in a room without a balanced frequency response, the room is affecting what you hear to a very large degree. probably 10000x more than expensive cables will in a million years

See, I was thinking more just about getting accurate stereo-imaging re; speaker placement, rather than frequency-response; you can't get proper stereo-imaging if the speakers aren't in front of you.

Just buy a fucking sixpack and listen to something good, jesus

What audio equipment uses ethernet cables?

http://www.musictoyz.com/images/jpg/gtfat2.jpg

Not sure if this quite belongs here, though is audio related and I suspect this is some serious snake oil.

Anyone know about this fuckin thing?

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Groove-Tubes-Fat-Finger-Guitar-Sustain-Enhancer?sku=420270

lol i have used it

Denon's 1.5 meter (59 in.) ultra premium Denon Link cable was designed for the audio enthusiast. Made from high purity copper wire and high performance connection parts, the AK-DL1 will bring out all the nuances in digital audio reproduction from any of our Denon DVD players with the Denon Link feature. Attention to detail when building this cable was used by empoying high quality insulation, tin-bearing alloy shielding and woven jacketing to reduce vibration and to add durability. Additionally, signal directional markings are provided for optimum signal transfer. Rounded plug levers help prevent breakage.

It's a digital signal! Either you have a dropout or you don't! There's no gradual loss of quality that may happen with other signal types. Furthermore, with the error-correction that's surely present in whatever communications protocol is used here, the correctness of the signal is probably 100% minus whatever % is represented by the droppage of a single bit every 1,000,000,000,000,000 years. The PCB is going to corrode into unusability before a bad frame is transmitted.

to say nothing of the acoustically beneficial properties of mickey mouse gnome figurines

I didn't really know if the wood is good or bad, I could imagine it reflecting some stuff but maybe not because it's more porous?

I was trying not to be creepy with "Wait, I know the room he's describing! I've been there!"

lol, it's a true statement and not at all creepy, mh happens to be the only ILX person to have visited the Moodles home, although a bunch of folks from here have seen this same room in zoom sessions

But why place the Eames chair off-center?!

it's the only place it will really fit in that room, photo was taken from the perspective of the big sofa on the opposite wall where I spend most of my time, there's a cluttered coffee table next to the Eames chair that I moved out of the way for a better shot

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C20vGfiv1qK/?igsh=dHVlbDMxeGY4bndk

this is primo snake oil

https://www.musicdirect.com/equipment/accessories/audio-additives-sorbothane-6-x-6-damping-sheet-each/

on sale!

if you’re not using damping sheets are you even really listening to music?

the word “thereby” does a lot of work in these pitches

You need the cold-pressed sorbothane otherwise it can really mess with the soundstage...

the fact they are 0.125 inches thick is so hilarious

Sorbothane is a legit shock-absorbing material - watch at 1:48 for the attempted hand-smashing (it's actually pretty impressive):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVN98EwM3l0

yeesh

Hate the marketing, not the material! Hahaha

Place them anywhere you have vibration and let your components deliver better performance.

pretend you don't have any context whatsoever for the above sentence.

seems quite rude + intrusive now, doesn't it? with all due respect, what could you possibly know about my components?

sorbothane does seem pretty cool. unfortunately the link posted seems to be the going rate

goddamn it I'm gonna end up buying this crap

Pretty easily debunked - sorbothane is a high impedance material for physical vibration, so it would absorb vibration passing from one thing to another. You can't place it on something and expect it to "suck in" vibration, or stick it to something vibrating in the hope of damping it down; mass is pretty much the only way to do that.
Also worth pointing out that sound is, y'know, vibration, so I wouldn't be keen on a material that absorbed ambient vibration around my audio system.

i was thinking it'd be good to use as speaker feet? or turntable feet?

For sure, I’m just guessing they hope people will use it like magic stones

xps according to sorbothane.com, it can be used both for vibration isolation and vibration damping, so not sure that is correct:

https://www.sorbothane.com/technical-data/articles/vibration-damping/

Is it named after Kevin Sorbo

lol

Urethane is named after Kevin Sorbo's urethra

pls stop posting about that person. thanks.

xps I think that describes two different modes of reducing vibration between things, not sucking it out of the air. I’m sure it would prevent e.g. sound from bouncing off a surface (which is also a coupling thing) but I strongly doubt you’d unwrap a sorbothane mat and the room would go quiet.

people I think we all need to consider this incredible breakthrough: I present the ground box.
https://www.entreq.com/en-GB/products/ground-boxes-17667704
Sceptical? What if I told you that

By attaching an Entreq ground box with Eartha cables to your gear, you can eliminate high-frequency pollution, resulting in more detailed and clear music. You will experience a better flow, more air, and improved dynamics.
It's like driving a car with the handbrake on and then releasing it, everything works smoother.

oh I need a whole bunch of these

they tried not to advertise their prices but I can't be deterred in my pursuit of a box with some plates in it https://www.futureshop.co.uk/brands-category/entreq/entreq-grounding-boxes

reminds me of an orgone box https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orgone

New username harvested from the ground box website...

hat tip to the "Eartha" cable name