so their cooking cables now. . .

[jaxvon]

It's not a $700 sine wave generator, it's a $700 square wave generator

 

[furrycute]

http://www.canakit.com/Default.asp?...tp://www.canakit.com/Contents/Items/CK030.asp

There, less than $8 for a square wave generator kit. Add about $20 or so for the power supply, case, connectors, etc. You can build your very own cable cooker for about $30.

 

[kaseaman]

Maybe Ishould start up a cable cooking company, I could make a ebpage and tell people that if they are not happy with the way thier system sounds, they can send me thier cables and I could cook them for the right amount of time and it will be guaranteed to improve their soundstage. This may seem sick to some people, but what is really sick is I am sure i would have people paying upwards of $1000 to have me do this. Man I Could be rich. . .

 

[RhapsodyInBlack]

kasea !

sounds like you are on the verge of becoming a politician or a religious figurehead !

after all, they too found ways to convince the masses that their useless,baseless and unproven methodology absolutely had to be digested in order to experience life as it is meant to be !

 

[racquetman]

This stuff has to end . . .

. . . so I'm forming an organization called C.A.B.L.E.S.

Consumers Against Blatant Lies regarding Electronic Signals.

Send me a lot of money and I promise to yell at the cable companies

 

[furrycute]

Just thought about those Nordost Valhalla cables. They are a perfect match for this cable cooker.

A couple of quotes from the Valhalla website.

1) "Valhalla interconnect is extremely fast at over 87% the speed of light."
- I thought all electrons travel at the same speed. Man, my physics professor must have lied to me. Look those little electron buggers travel faster in Valhalla cables!

2) "Extremely mechanically stable, the conductors are effectively suspended in inert air, preventing oxidation."
- I thought only the nobel gases are inert. There is nothing inert about ordinary air. My chemistry professor must have lied to me as well!


Man, I just love this audiophile lala land, where the laws of physics and chemistry work in mysteriously different ways.

 

[philh]

You guys are missing out on something really special here. You gotta cook with chicken fat: the hell with the cholestorol, it gives those cables a special flavor, and the music a touch of Schmaltz. Thank you Grandma!
Seriously: the next time you meet up with one of those folks who believe in this crap ask them if they have ever heard of cable "burn out". If they say no then play'em for all their worth.
d.b.

Maybe you're onto something here

Start a company that renews your burnt out cables.

Are your cables beginning to sound too bright and muddy? It's caused by electrons wearing out and transferring different fequencies at different rates. We will take your speaker cables or inteconnect and flood them with hedo radiation waves. Renew your cables for the low rate of 21.95 per pound. If you're not satisfied, we will replace your cables with a cyrongenically heated welded cable that is the electrical equivalent to the unimproved cable.

Hey, if someone can sell pet rocks to improve audio, then surely this would sell

 

[MDS]

The speed of electric signals varies with the medium through which they travel. It is generally accepted that the speed is +/- .70C - 70% of the speed of light.

Does anybody realistically think that there is an audible difference between .70C and .87C? Must be as there are lots of audiophiles that buy expensive cables based on how 'fast' they are.

 

[jaxvon]

Indeed. A good cable should list its VOP, or "Velocity of Propagation". This figure is a fraction of the speed of light, so a .67 (like many Canare cables) is .67 times the speed of light...still really really fast.

Regarding the air thing...nitrogen is fairly inert and it makes up the majority if the air we breathe. I think the meaning here was "electrically inert", indicating the perfect dielectric (next to a vacuum).

 

[furrycute]

Okay, I admit, my physics and chemistry are a bit rusty.


Found another website reviewing "audiophile grade" fuses. Interesting read.

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/isoclean3/fuses.html

I wonder what they'll come up with next. Platinum coated circuit boards?

 

[Dan Banquer]

You have a bright future in audio marketing Thanks for the laugh.

d.b.

Maybe you're onto something here

Start a company that renews your burnt out cables.

Are your cables beginning to sound too bright and muddy? It's caused by electrons wearing out and transferring different fequencies at different rates. We will take your speaker cables or inteconnect and flood them with hedo radiation waves. Renew your cables for the low rate of 21.95 per pound. If you're not satisfied, we will replace your cables with a cyrongenically heated welded cable that is the electrical equivalent to the unimproved cable.

Hey, if someone can sell pet rocks to improve audio, then surely this would sell

 

[jaxvon]

I love how the review of the "Audio Grade" fuses even pokes at the stupidty of the concept:

Just when you think there's nothing left to tweak, along comes something else you had never considered before. Ever notice that little 10-cent fuse sitting next to the AC inlet in your equipment? Apparently, some fuses are better than others. They can have a considerable impact on performance. Okay, quit laughing, I am serious. Truth be told, when I was given a handful of Isoclean fuses to try, I laughed, too. However, consider this; did you know that the AC signal entering your components travels through that little fuse first? In some components, it can be several fuses. If upgrading from a stock power cable to a decent aftermarket cord can produce audible benefits, then why not that little fuse?

Pathetic.

 

[miklorsmith]

Really?

Having an opinion and changing it as a result of first-hand observation is pathetic? I'm more suspicious of precluding seemingly illogical possibilities based on prior conceptions.

 

[jaxvon]

Touche my man, touche. I was just riding the wave of skepticism and being a bigger a-hole than I should've been. Good point. It's good to see you back again...

 

[miklorsmith]

Nobody's perfect

The boys over at AA are guilty of starry-eyed dreaming and lack of foundation in reality. The Decware kids need to figure out there's more to life than Decware. SingleDriver aficionados (while definitely onto something) similarly should expand horizons. At AudioCircle, the rule of the day is "new is good". Yesterday's solution is so, you know, yesterday.

Here? A profound propensity for philosophical gang-tackling, not based on first-hand observation. There's a lot of snake oil out there, but not everything is. When we think we have all the answers, we stop learning. This is not limited to audio, but certainly is manifested in it.

Conversely, when we understand there's a lot we don't know, we wade into the subjective waters of direct experience, allowing for counterintuitive outcomes. In this way we can learn and be humbled.

 

[furrycute]

There is a reason experiences are called "subjective."

Ever heard of a placebo effect? Sometimes sugar pills are very effective at curing real diseases.

The only way to separate fact from fiction is to perform a double blind testing.

But, when you have lunatic ideas like
1) cable burn in (whatever that means),
2) audiophile grade fuse,
3) audiophile grade powercord,
etc., and other lunatic ideas that just seem to pour out of the Twilight Zone, no one in their right mind is going to spend several hours testing this audiophile pseudoscience.

 

[racquetman]

Conversely, when we understand there's a lot we don't know, we wade into the subjective waters of direct experience, allowing for counterintuitive outcomes. In this way we can learn and be humbled.

I don't mind being humbled. However, I also think skepticism is important. A lot of people get scammed on a daily basis because they don't ask any questions or put up any opposition. Even if some of these theories that are proposed by cable companies are true, that doesn't necessarily justify the extreme markup in price. That, I believe, is the main objection to these claims. If the audible gains are obvious to everyone then go ahead and charge $1200 for your interconnect and people will probably gladly pay it.

Personally I could care less if these "cooked" interconnects performed miracles and put me into a state of euphoria. They still aren't worth $1200 (I can reach euphoria for cheaper than $1200 )

 

[miklorsmith]

Nope

Not the point. It isn't "this product" or "that product". It's whatever thought not immediately registering with the collective consciousness. Somebody pounces and everyone else venoms in. It has nothing to do with cable cookers (which seem silly to me), it's the pervasive outlook that nothing new could be any good. I mean new thought, not the new model year.

People (generally) need to be more open minded. That is VERY true here. Precluding evolution precludes evolution. If your knee-jerk reaction to anything you don't understand is "snake oil", you'll never progress in the hobby. If that's good enough for you, great. Just don't expect to ever be better than you are today.

Skepticism is good, even necessary. Just don't let it rule the day.

 

[racquetman]

we're talking specifically about interconnects (cables)

Miklorsmith,

Can you give another example of a new product/technology that people pounce all over? I love new products/technologies. That is why I follow consumer electronics. Something is always changing, and it is usually for the better.

Unfortunately interconnects have no where to go in my opinion. The problem for these companies is that the glass ceiling has been hit a long time ago, and there is no way to break through. We already have the reference for how good the sound can be. It's a live performance for most of us. Or for the home theater nuts it's recreating the sound of their favorite cinema. We know where we want to get to. The reference is out there for everyone to see/hear. Most of us try to approach this reference point and hopefully we can be content with our results. We know things could probably sound a little better (a little being the key words) but then you reach a point of diminishing returns.

I will spend more money on something if I think the performance benefits are in line with the price increase. No one will argue about whether a Ferrari will perform better than my Chevy Cavalier. Anyone could drive both vehicles for 10 seconds and agree with that statement. People don't sit around and bash Ferrari because they can't afford one. You could never say the same thing for any 2 interconnects (unless one was damaged).

Miklorsmith, I think most are bashing these products because even if they performed miracles like they claim, the price/benefit factor just doesn't add up. If they charged $30 for these "cooked" interconnects, then I believe most wouldn't be so quick to make fun of them. Cable companies are playing to the elitist attitude of some people. These people don't care about how things work. They just want to say they own "the best." By pricing these cables in the stratosphere, the companies know they won't be questioned by those purchasing the products. It will be, "These are the best, huh? Fine. I'm rich. Give me a dozen."

My reaction to things I don't know about (and that interest me) is, ok, tell me more. Explain this to me. I'm usually excited initially. It is only later that I may be disappointed.

Do you really think these companies love audio so much that they just worked and worked until they found a new way to make signal transfer better. I hope you're not that naive. They sat around and said, "hey, we need a new gimmick so we can sell some cables. Anyone got any ideas?" Then Bob in the corner came up with the cable cooker. I think he got a promotion. That Bob is a bright one.

 

[mustang_steve]

I can flame sear cables for anyone here who wants it, just give me a few hours for the can of pork `n beans to kick in and gimme a match and we are a go!

....of course your cable insulation may be a bit crispy, as well as anyone too close may be incinerated, but them's the breaks!