Calling BS on Snake Oil Cables

[admin]

We like to rant, but rarely does a rant result in some pretty productive "put your money where you mouth is" results as it did this week. Dave Clark, Editor of now-disgraced audio review publication Positive Feedback Online described, in his recent review, a $7,250 pair of ANJOU speaker cables as being "... way better than anything I have heard..." He then, in a not-so-rare example of audiophile thesaurus-crunching loquacity, "Simply put these are very danceable cables. Music playing through them results in the proverbial foot-tapping scene with the need or desire to get up and move. Great swing and pace--these cables smack that right on the nose big time."

Discuss "Calling BS on Snake Oil Cables" here. Read the article.

 

[OttoMatic]

Yeah, I saw that last week on James Randi's official site.

Think anyone will try it?

Why not?

 

[rnatalli]

I'm using straightened clothes' hangers for my cables

 

[autoboy]

I'm using straightened clothes' hangers for my cables

Ha, i thought I was the only one. To prove my point to a friend of mine that digital audio cables really don't matter much, I hooked up my DVD's digital out to my reciever using a clothes hanger. It worked perfectly.

He stil thinks optical sounds better though.

 

[zhimbo]

Randi's a hero of mine.

I like it when "psychics" or "mediums" say they won't take the challenge because they aren't in it for the money...which is typically demonstrably false, but even if these people truly are deluded and think themselves above such matters, then give the money to charity, already!

 

[mtrycrafts]

Ha, i thought I was the only one. To prove my point to a friend of mine that digital audio cables really don't matter much, I hooked up my DVD's digital out to my reciever using a clothes hanger. It worked perfectly.

He stil thinks optical sounds better though.

You really did do this experiment?
A number of years ago there was a web page of another similar test with measurements of errors that turned out to be zero.

I don't know if you would want to use that for speaker cables though too chancy for a short.

 

[mtrycrafts]

Randi's a hero of mine.

I like it when "psychics" or "mediums" say they won't take the challenge because they aren't in it for the money...which is typically demonstrably false, but even if these people truly are deluded and think themselves above such matters, then give the money to charity, already!

Of course Sylvia is not in it for the money She only charges $700 or so for a 1/2 hour session, and her son is following suit but at a reduced rate, for now.
But, people seem to pay.

Oh, that green ink clouds their ability.

 

[mike c]

i don't exactly use clothes hangers, but I just yesterday spliced speaker wire rather than buying a new longer cable to save a few bucks

I did use a self-fusing rubber tape though.

 

[Seth=L]

The new audio dictionary states...

Danceable - the uncanny ability of cables to dance or invoke dance like feelings in the listener to "cables". Also means stupid.

 

[stratman]

I use string, I find it imparts a "silky" feel to the highs, like a pinot noir, and of course the "chocolaty" mids can't be duplicated any other way, spider webbing wrapped around the string improves low bottom response, almost guttural in feel down to 25 megagiga hertz, of course I also place specially quarried pieces of granite on top of my DVD to cut down on ambient magnetic interference generated in the cave, it also works on the magic and wondrous device called a p-l-a-s-m-a, you know that strange magic like piece of glass with all those little magic creatures dancing inside, how do they get in there?

 

[Seth=L]

you know that strange magic like piece of glass with all those little magic creatures dancing inside, how do they get in there?

I don't know, I had been wondering this myself. Some of these secrets are best "unknown" because I wouldn't want anything about my hobby and where my money goes to make any sense. For this hobby things are best if left mysteries.

 

[stratman]

YES! Like fire!

 

[Seth=L]

YES! Like fire!

Careful with that wheel, who knows what it could do, best burry it and never mention it again!

 

[rnatalli]

I like chocolate

 

[stratman]

I like chocolate

There's a great thread somewhere (steam) about chocolate, but I tell you I love those chocolaty mids.

 

[pzaur]

Someone with a good financial backing needs to make two companies that sell the same cable, only packaged and priced differently.

1) Sell one for tons of money and the other for cost.
2) Find some reviewers to review each cable
3) Expose the fraud

-pat

 

[rnatalli]

This reminds of the recent psychology experiment with children and McDonald's milk. Basically, the researchers took brand A of milk and poured some into a glass and some into a McDonald's cup. The children believed the McDonald's milk tasted better when in fact it was the same milk. We're just as stupid as adults. At least milk is cheap unlike audio equipment

Hey Stratman, I saw a preview for a new show called Caveman. What's up with that?

 

[Kolia]

I thought the thing that made you tap your feet and feel like getting up and moving was the music! All the time, it was the cable... How silly I feel!

 

[jliedeka]

I can't remember where I read this but I was researching speaker cables and came across this story.

Someone was at a high end audio show and noticed all the speaker cables were these big fat orange wires. When he asked the sound tech what they were using, he said they went to the hardware store and bought some heavy duty extension cords that they used for the cables. It's interesting that the venue was a high end audio show and nobody thought there was any problem with the sound.

I'm of the opinion that you can't improve too much on a good 10-14 gauge wire for speakers. For normal runs, impedance is the only thing that really affects the sound.

 

[dorokusai]

I had a nice dialogue with Dave Clark, many moons ago, after he reviewed a CDP(Cary Audio) that I owned at that time. He was very nice to talk to and certainly knows audio but that cable thing is pretty off the wall.

That's weird.

Mark
Polk Audio CS