Yep, one of my now increasingly rare posts.
This kind of quackery is not unheard of in other equally pricey industries.
Look at Cycling....you can drop up to $30k on a new racing bike....dripping with carbon fiber and titanium...in some cases even the compoenets are re-fitted with titanium bolts to shave down weight, and sometimes the parts are even machined and re-finished to shave down those last ounces. $30k gets you a 8lb 20speed racing bicycle. 17lbs is considered light.
Now the quackery is this....they are now producing "vibration dampers" to kill the harsh rides these lightweight bikes have. They claim it's dur to elastomers, etc.....guess what it really is? Adding weight!
So you just spend thousands on a lightweight bike, and now you're spending $50 to add weight to it! It makes no sense.....yet people will defend these products with a voracity that I have only seen on cable asylum regarding the invalidity of ABX testing.
It's not just a problem in audio...it's a problem in any hobby where people put down tremendous amounts of cash. Nobody wants to admit to making a bad purchase when thousands of dollars were involved. That's part of why I remain to this day a budget audiophile...I don't want to make a mistake of that magnatude.
What we have needed and always will need are people to offer the right answers. And by right, I don't mean what people want to hear, I mean what they should hear. There are many fine audio products out there, and sudio nirvana is very attainable, so long as purchases are made with sound logic and knowledge.
That said, I do think exotic cables are a sham. Here's my rules for buying cables:
1) Quality: I expect cables to be consistent and well built.
2) flexible: I need a cable I can easily route and handle....flexibility is key to this. this is the reason I like PTFE insulation on my interconnects, and soft rubber on my speaker cables.
3) looks: I have visible speaker cable runs, so I did opt for a good looking set of speaker cables. I spent more than I would if I went with 12ga OFC , but it was worth it to me. If it was an in-wall run or under the carpet, I wouldn't have cared if it was bright pink cable...I'd use it anyways if it was good quality for the right price.
