Stereophile's AudioQuest cable review

[nm2285]

I just read Stereophile's for some AudioQuest cables and was shocked to see a very average review. Not only this, but the reviewer put down many of the false "scientific" claims of AudioQuest and many of the false beliefs from audiophiles about cables. The most shocking thing I read was that the reviewer used his own DIY cables using some inexpensive components.

I was blown away! Stereophile is a publication I fully expected to support all the myths and hoopla surrounding exotic cables. Kudo's to them for the pleasant surprise!

 

[gene]

Thats great news. Looks like we started a trend with our cable debunking. Did they actually do any measurements or analysis? I asked Audioquest nearly a half dozen times for cable samples to measure and they refused. I would love to measure those cables with batteries on them. Heck I will even do it with different brand of batteries. Would be fun

 

[Rip Van Woofer]

Feel that? It's the earth's axis shifting!

 

[cornelius]

I was wondering if others here noticed the article. I thought it was funny how he removed the batteries and they sat in his desk drawer for most of the review.

Quite a long response from the manufacturer.

 

[nm2285]

Thats great news. Looks like we started a trend with our cable debunking. Did they actually do any measurements or analysis? I asked Audioquest nearly a half dozen times for cable samples to measure and they refused. I would love to measure those cables with batteries on them. Heck I will even do it with different brand of batteries. Would be fun

No, no measurements. It was still a listening review which, for someone interested in buying the cables, was worthless. It could conclude basically nothing. The reviewer could hear almost no difference between his DIYs and the AudioQuests (sad considering the AQs were $1000 for the interconnect).

 

[gene]

Well designed cables should be indistinguishable sonically regardless if they cost $5/ea or $5000. Beyond a very minimal price point you are paying solely for cosmetics and hopefully nice compression style terminations. IMO slapping a battery on a cable and marketing it as a scientific breakthru should be criminal.

If you can scan that Stereophile article and email it to me I would appreciate it. Someone also told me Stereophile published a letter I wrote them in this months issue but I haven't seen it, nor do I remember the particulars of what I wrote.

 

[UMD_terp]

What the ****.... I just read Audioquest's web site about their Dielectric Biasing BS... I had not heard of it until now... These guys give engineers a bad name. I have a masters degree in electrical engineering, and I must admit that I am ashamed that these people are allowed call what they do 'engineering'. I thought Monster was way over the top with the crap they promote, but audioquest by far takes the cake. Unbelievable...

 

[gene]

UMD;

Haha join the club. Did you see my articles on this?

Audioquest DBS

Audioquest FAQ

BTW we out rank them at their own game on the search engines as well

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&safe=off&q=audioquest+cable

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=audioquest+dbs

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&safe=off&q=audioquest+

Aside from their claims and battery powered cables, most of their lower cost cables appear to be decent, and use Belden wire from what I can see so they may not be bad. I just wish manufacturers didn't have to use these sort of misleading advertising tactics to lure unwary consumers into buying their products.

We could use someone with your background to help out on cable articles and such. Please feel free to email me at: gds@audioholics.com if you are interested.

 

[UMD_terp]

Gene,

I have read those articles as well as all your other articles on cables. I think you have done a great service to everyone in search of the truth behind cables as everything you have stated is sound and makes sense technically. That is part of the reason I like this website... much more so than other related websites such as the AVS forums, etc... most of those guys over there just don't get it. A coworker of mine and I often make fun of the ridiculous claims that cable manufacturers make and we have a running joke about Monster cable that we like to exploit whenever things don't work in the lab for no apparant reason.

My background is actually more in DSP and communications. I develop and implement signal processing and communications algorithms in the digital domain with a little bit of work in the analog world on the side. I'd be happy to help with anything you guys need... I'll shoot you an e-mail....

 

[Mudcat]

Gene,

Did you get mt email from just after the 4th? The one inwhich I provided the measurements of various industrial, DIY, and Speaker type cables?

Tom Goldsworthy

(aka Mudcat)

 

[gene]

Cool UMD I look forward and do have some ideas you may be able to help out with regarding your background.

Tom, I don't think I got your email. I get over 1000 emails/day (95% spam) and yours was likely filtered by my spam program unfortunately. Please resend.

I am working at Cable Face Off II now, and will be posting part of it by the weekend, stay tuned...

 

[Mudcat]

Gene,

Okay, I'll be sending two files, a word file and an excel file. The word file is just explaining what I did and why, the excel file is all the measured data from the cables.

 

[nm2285]

Gene:

I'd be glad to send you the article, but a fax would be much easier for me. If that's an option, let me know where to send it (can email me at nm2285@aol.com).

 

[gene]

Its pretty funny, while I writing the article title Debunking the Myth in Speaker Cable Resonance I was so disgusted with the misinformation in the Transparent Cable Stereophile review that I referenced written by Wes Phillips that I also wrote an email to Mr. John Atkinson (owner of Stereophile) to share my contentions. Six months later they published my email as a "Letter to the Editor" while also ironically publishing a review of the Audioquest DBS system in which the reviewer flat out declared the DBS system had non influential performance on the cables.

Here is a scan of page 12 from the August 2004 edition of Stereophile with my letter.

 

[docferdie]

Hey Gene,
Most local retailers have pretty liberal return policies on cables. Why not just buy a pair and get a refund after you are done with the review

 

[gene]

Hi Doc;

I'd rather not stick it to a dealer like that. After the cables are opened they wont be able to sell them as new again and who wants to go through the hassle of bringing them back to get sold a sales pitch by some salesman about how I need to let the cables break in, or change the batteries, whatever.

Maybe an Audioquest owner here can send us samples to review.
Batteries not included of course

 

[nm2285]

Sorry about the delay, Gene, but I sent the article by fax a few minutes ago. Enjoy it!