Audioquest "BoomBox" Vendor Demo: Legit or Slick Marketing?

[admin]

We've recently had the opportunity to sit in on the Audioquest "Boombox" dealer demo where they attempted to convince the participants of the sonic superiority of their cables even when using simple and low fidelity audio gear. The reason individuals believe in exotic cables is a matter of concern to social scientists much more than engineers. This article seeks to shed light on some of the prevailing cable myths by looking at a typical Audioquest cable demonstration. Although this article refers to an Audioquest demo, many esoteric cable manufacturers are guilty of the same faulty logic shown here. The point of this article is not to say that these manufacturers make poor quality cables, but simply to show that much of the science and logic surrounding high-end cables is fallacious and not even becoming of poor Sci-fi material. So, buyer beware. Don't get tricked by a flawed demo or pressure from a sales person. In our opinion, the money you save on expensive cables is better served by improving the bass response in your system via adding another subwoofer or addressing potential room acoustics issues!

Discuss "Audioquest "BoomBox" Vendor Demo: Legit or Slick Marketing?" here. Read the article.

 

[Hi Ho]

I have sat through that exact boombox demo. I have also sat through several others. The latest was a comparison of USB cables. Seriously? I went into each of these demos with an open mind but was really put off by all the B.S. that was spouted and I honesty don't recall ever hearing any differences between any of the cables tested. Great article!

 

[mtrycrafts]

We've recently had the opportunity to sit in on the Audioquest "Boombox" dealer demo where they attempted to convince the participants of the sonic superiority of their cables even when using simple and low fidelity audio gear. The reason individuals believe in exotic cables is a matter of concern to social scientists much more than engineers. This article seeks to shed light on some of the prevailing cable myths by looking at a typical Audioquest cable demonstration. Although this article refers to an Audioquest demo, many esoteric cable manufacturers are guilty of the same faulty logic shown here. The point of this article is not to say that these manufacturers make poor quality cables, but simply to show that much of the science and logic surrounding high-end cables is fallacious and not even becoming of poor Sci-fi material. So, buyer beware. Don't get tricked by a flawed demo or pressure from a sales person. In our opinion, the money you save on expensive cables is better served by improving the bass response in your system via adding another subwoofer or addressing potential room acoustics issues!

Discuss "Audioquest "BoomBox" Vendor Demo: Legit or Slick Marketing?" here. Read the article.

I like this part
The reason individuals believe in exotic cables is a matter of concern to social scientists
but, this applies to humans beyond cables and audio in much of our lives.
Too many out there are just gullible and deeply set in many beliefs no matter what the facts and evidence is.
We need an evolutionary paradigm shift.

 

[mlibbey]

They admit double blind is better

Because there are too many unknowns, the ABX test becomes primarily an opportunity for embarrassment

Translation: we know that our cables aren't any better, and we know that double blind will prove that, so we need to avoid it.

 

[panzeroceania]

I know you explicitly stated that you weren't saying the cables had poor build quality and were merely exposing the marketing technique for a broader discussion.

I agree with you as far as the marketing techniques. You've also linked to articles on how many features or fundamentals of cables by said companies are exaggerated or do not have measurable differences. All that said, other than costing more for little to no difference, are these cables bad? (as far as analog audio, and speaker cables)

I was under the impression that a large gauge solid cable with good dialectic/insulator was a good thing.

I guess what I'm asking is this:

1.) is this a case where a company spends a lot of money to make a high quality, solid cable, that is expensive because of the materials with minimal to no difference in audio

or...

2.) are they not spending more on making high quality cables but instead providing regular or low quality cables and pocketing the difference.

The difference to me is that in the first scenario, no intelligent person is being "fooled" or "duped" you are being sold costly cables for a costly price. In the second scenario there is fraud.

 

[mtrycrafts]

I know you explicitly stated that you weren't saying the cables had poor build quality and were merely exposing the marketing technique for a broader discussion.

I agree with you as far as the marketing techniques. You've also linked to articles on how many features or fundamentals of cables by said companies are exaggerated or do not have measurable differences. All that said, other than costing more for little to no difference, are these cables bad? (as far as analog audio, and speaker cables)

I was under the impression that a large gauge solid cable with good dialectic/insulator was a good thing.

I guess what I'm asking is this:

1.) is this a case where a company spends a lot of money to make a high quality, solid cable, that is expensive because of the materials with minimal to no difference in audio

or...

2.) are they not spending more on making high quality cables but instead providing regular or low quality cables and pocketing the difference.

The difference to me is that in the first scenario, no intelligent person is being "fooled" or "duped" you are being sold costly cables for a costly price. In the second scenario there is fraud.

Case one would depend on what the claims are. That is the issue.
One would have to slice cables apart to see how well they are made and what is in them to compare quality. Many are made by the same cable maker but only the jackets are modified with the customer's name, etc. That is not of importance to me and perhaps a lot of other folks out there.
Now, if I was the type to have a curio cabinet with audio stuff in it, then, i may contain some based on artistic values

John Dunlavy had expensive cables that were only claimed to be 8 Ohm Impedance, nothing more, nothing less.