I've always know 'audiophiles' are without doubt the most clueless people ever to be conned out of their hardearned and may as well spend their cash on magic potions for all the good their £1K kettle leads do them, but this list is beyond belief:

http://www.ilikejam.dsl.pipex.com/audiophile.htm

Please take a bit of time to read some of claims that these 'products' make. 1GHz (yes GIGAhertz) range tweeters and resin that turns transistor sound into tube sound is just the tip of the iceberg!

--------------------
om mani peme hung

Allesandro Products.

ROFLMAO at this one.

And then there's this amazing product for a mere $1500. Top quote here:

"Value: Performance and price[! ] place it in an elite category of power-line products."

Class!

--------------------
Scott
--Where are we going and why am I in this handbasket?

Why have I been wasting my money on such cheap junk. I need to get me some of this stuff!

Incredible!

Do any of these ***** idiots have any idea of how the music they listen to is actually produced?

They'd be horrified!

--------------------
...rubbish at words 'n' stuff.

Quote machinadynamica.com:

---

The Intelligent Chip is a one-inch square orange plastic wafer that, when placed on top of a compact disc player for 2-3 seconds, upgrades the disc (CD, DVD or SACD) being played.

---

http://www.machinadynamica.com/machina64.htm

HAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Scuse me while I change all the pots on my Audient desk to Silver Rock pots with Signature knobs forthwith. Erm, so that works out at about $80,000 per channel...

Good job I never tried recording any proper music before I carried out that essential piece of work!

--------------------
Dynamite with a laser beam...

oh bugger, my iMac just ate my Marigo Labs Signature 3-D Mat !!!

actually, shouldn't laugh- those power cords are the business.

my kettle sounds bloody Brilliant !!

Also funny: http://www.belt.demon.co.uk/product/product.html

Don't miss the "coloured electret ring ties" or how to improve the sound of your system by putting coloured tieraps around your cables, but only in selected positions and combinations... Or the Magna disks: alternative fridge magnet use...

Or this: http://www.ultraaudio.com/equipment/audiodesksysteme_glass_cd.htm

Somethingy to bevel the edges of your cds.

--------------------
Expert in non-working solutions

Quote jonny stringbender:

---

actually, shouldn't laugh- those power cords are the business.

my kettle sounds bloody Brilliant !!

---

Don't know why, but reading through all the blurb and hype these clowns spout just makes me feel so much better about, well.....everything.

You don't half feel smart when you know there's people out there worrying about the bi-polar phase loop of their on-off button.

Ahhhh, time for a cuppa.

Bugger, someone's nicked the kettle lead.....oi! Stop, thief! That cost me 3 grand.........

Quote Havoc:

---

Also funny: http://www.belt.demon.co.uk/product/product.html

Don't miss the "coloured electret ring ties" or how to improve the sound of your system by putting coloured tieraps around your cables, but only in selected positions and combinations... Or the Magna disks: alternative fridge magnet use...

Or this: http://www.ultraaudio.com/equipment/audiodesksysteme_glass_cd.htm

Somethingy to bevel the edges of your cds.

---

I think this one has got to be one of the funniest things i've seen in a long time...

--------------------
Myspace | All Things Considered - album out now!

Instead of laughing, you should be crying that you are in the wrong buisiness - think of the PROFIT!

Quote John Willett:

---

Instead of laughing, you should be crying that you are in the wrong buisiness - think of the PROFIT!

---

Absolutely, I just wouldn't be able to keep a straight face.

--------------------
...rubbish at words 'n' stuff.

Quantum Cat theory! Cats locked in boxes with some kind of bomb - justification of strange things you stick on a CD... I cannot believe Chris Morris isn't behind this.

Do people actually fall for this stuff?

I cant beleive how far you can stretch this gibberish to still be beleived by some.

I thought gold plated optical cables that 'conducted light better' were bad.

I had an album mastered at Alchemy Soho with Martin Giles last year, and he told me a funny story of when he went into an "esoteric" hi-fi shop to try out some sennheiser HD600's. He had to interrupt some guy who was blabbering some sh*t about the benefits of £1000 power cables to this hapless punter, so he set him up with a pair to audition. The guy had only set them up in mono, but when it was mentioned to him, the sales guy picked up the cans, listened for a second and said, "No it's not, its coming out of both ears"

sigh

--------------------
om mani peme hung

Things are getting very weird.......

Following the links on some of these sites, turns up the most unexpected 'audiophile' equipment.

Behringer , anyone?

Price for the FBQ2496 at Thomann today? Best part of a hundred quid.
But get the fine lads at 'Reference Audio Mods' to stick half a dozen bits of scrap in it and it becomes....well, how much you got?

Wonder what they can do with my 30 quid behringer, er, thingy? You've gotta love 'em!

Coming next week - the Maplin Monoblock Tube Amp....

Quote reid:

---

Coming next week - the Maplin Monoblock Tube Amp....

---

Whadday mean, "next week"?

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=5296&TabID=1&WorldID=&doy=9m1 2

--------------------
Dynamite with a laser beam...

The database of people who buy this stuff must be worth a fortune.

Can you imagine the sort of junkmail someone who paid $240 for a wooden board with a treble clef printed on must get?



"Improved 'soundstage'? Sure Homer, cheque okay?"

this is the funniest thread of the week

especially the post with the story about the mono headphone...

Quote olivier:

---

...especially the post with the story about the mono headphone...

---

But not as good as the quote from a well known hi-fi reviewer who suggested wiring the mains in series - was told "don't you mean in parallel?" replied "what's the difference?"

--------------------
John - Sound-Link ProAudio
President - Federation Internationale des Chasseurs de Sons

Quote Steve Hill:

---

Quote reid:

---

Coming next week - the Maplin Monoblock Tube Amp....

---

Whadday mean, "next week"?

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=5296&TabID=1&WorldID=&doy=9m1 2

---

Christ, I stand corrected.

It's probably really good too?

Whatever next? No doubt Lada are putting the finishing touches to their new F1 car, soon to be unveiled as a world beater....

Quote reid:

---

Whatever next? No doubt Lada are putting the finishing touches to their new F1 car, soon to be unveiled as a world beater....

---

http://www.race-cars.com/carsales/reynard/1066057472/1066057472la.htm
1996 Reynard Lotus-Reynard
Lotus-Reynard car, ready to race in the Russian Formula 1600. Chassis: 1996 Reynard, Engine: Lada/VAZ Sport 8 valve 1600 cc, 170 hp,

Close!!!

Even better
http://www.sportlada.ru/revolution/

Edited by Simon (aka UK03878) (09/12/05 12:51 PM)

Quote:

---

No doubt Lada are putting the finishing touches to their new F1 car,

---

Well, if Lamborghini can make tractors then they can make F1 cars as well. Stand to logic...

http://www.samedeutz-fahr.com/lamborghini/

--------------------
Expert in non-working solutions

I seem to be in a corner, pot of paint in hand, and no way out......

Quote Havoc:

---

Quote:

---

No doubt Lada are putting the finishing touches to their new F1 car,

---

Well, if Lamborghini can make tractors then they can make F1 cars as well. Stand to logic...

http://www.samedeutz-fahr.com/lamborghini/

---

Yeah, but dude . . . that's not just a tractor . . . that's a f**kin' TRACTOR!



--------------------
Scott
--Where are we going and why am I in this handbasket?

Quote reid:

---

Things are getting very weird.......

Following the links on some of these sites, turns up the most unexpected 'audiophile' equipment.

Behringer , anyone?

Price for the FBQ2496 at Thomann today? Best part of a hundred quid.
But get the fine lads at 'Reference Audio Mods' to stick half a dozen bits of scrap in it and it becomes....well, how much you got?

---

Purchase New Modified Behringer FBQ2496 Budget modified
($525 Installed/shipped)
(1-2 week leadtime)

Purchase Budget Mods for Behringer FBQ2496 and Send unit to RAM
($350 Installed/shipped)

Purchase New Modified Behringer DEQ2496 Budget modified
($725 Installed/shipped)
(1-2 week leadtime)

Purchase Budget Mods for Behringer DEQ2496 and Send unit to RAM
($400 Installed/shipped)

Superclock 3 upgrade to either unit
($295 Installed)
FREE INSTALLATION!

Audiocom Invisus PPR1 HIGH PERFORMANCE Voltage Regulation Upgrade to either unit
($225 Installed)

Audio Consulting Coupling Transformer Output Stage Upgrade
($600.00 Installed)

--There are no words

--------------------
om mani peme hung

Another one:

http://www.gcaudio.com/cgi-bin/store/showProduct.cgi?id=89 Aerobics for your system to get it tuned!

--------------------
Expert in non-working solutions

Quote Havoc:

---

Another one:

http://www.gcaudio.com/cgi-bin/store/showProduct.cgi?id=89 Aerobics for your system to get it tuned!

---

$125 for that!

--------------------
...rubbish at words 'n' stuff.

Quote Havoc:

---

Another one:

http://www.gcaudio.com/cgi-bin/store/showProduct.cgi?id=89 Aerobics for your system to get it tuned!

---

I love it! "Every audiophile realizes that electronic components, speakers and cables improve with use . The break-in period varies from a few hours to several hundred hours, depending on the unit in question. The process can be both frustrating and inconvenient as we wait for full performance to be realized. "

So spend $125 on a CD. WTF will that do to improve the cable between say my tuner and my amp?

Out of solidarity with fellow forum members I am immediately launching my own system enhancing CD for $50. Please form an orderly queue.

--------------------
Dynamite with a laser beam...

LOL

I've just realised that i actually know an audiophile.

A friend's dad "accidentally" left the price tags on his new stack system for about 6 months. Each box (of which there were about 4) were in the £4000 range.

None of them actually had any buttons on them either...

Quote:

---

None of them actually had any buttons on them either...

---

But how bad would have been the sound if there had be any buttons???? I mean all that circuitry to use those buttons would have added significant jitter to the output stage of the tubes so that the warmth of the tubes would have been compromised by the digital harshness. If there had been buttons on it, the price tags would have read £6000 and you would have needed £2000 interconnects to get rid of the artefacts created by them...

No I don't believe what I wrote either... I guess I fall into the category of cured audiophiles. I once bought a Meridian CD drive (500) and could not detect any difference between that and mu old philips CD514 (IIRC) and Tascam DA-P1 when using the same convertor (a 18bit Crystal semiconductor reference board: still in service today). No doubt if I had spend more on the amps and speakers I would have been able, but by the time I made enough money to buy those I had completed my studies in physics and electronics. That cured me.

I always think that the utility boards (electricity company) is missing a great opportunity here. They could offer special audiophile connections to the grid with audiopile meters and wire. Wonder how much you could fleece them?

--------------------
Expert in non-working solutions

Quote:

---

Well, if Lamborghini can make tractors

---

I think you'll find that Lamborghini were making tractors long before they started tinkering with supercars.

I live in a county where you simply can't avoid picking up this kind of information.

Tom

Quote Mr Tom:

---

I live in a county where you simply can't avoid picking up this kind of information.

Tom

---

That`ll be America, then,Tom? - Specifically California, home of the world-reknowned Useless Information Mine.
I hear some of the retired miners were recently prosecuted under George W. "know nuthin`" Bush`s Freedom from Information Act for illegal posession of trivial fax and info likely to significantly affect Pub Quiz Winning Probability curves in the SoCal area.
Film at eleven.

--------------------
Me? But I`m such a loveable old bugger!

Quote Mr Tom:

---

Quote:

---

Well, if Lamborghini can make tractors

---

I think you'll find that Lamborghini were making tractors long before they started tinkering with supercars.

---

He's right. As were many of the big car manufacturers, started making agricultural machinery & progressed to personal vehicles as a market emerged.

I did a double take about 14 years ago when we were driving down a country lane in Co. Kerry, Ireland and a Lamborghini roared out of the field onto the road in front of us, and proceeded to hold us up for the next 15 mins.

Mike

--------------------
www.ehsound.co.uk - Live Sound Hire & Services

re the 'breaking in' cd...

i realise that actually trying to apply reason to some of these claims is pretty stupid, but i was under the impression that components merely 'wear out' with use...like most things in nature don't like having electricity run through them, and it tends to cause oxidation etc.

right?

Quote reid:

---

Behringer , anyone?

---

From the 'reference audio mods' site:

'Please give the unit well over 300 hours to break-in with this clock.'

As if it will last that long

--------------------
Imagination is more important than knowledge - A. Einstein

Quote:

---

Quote:

---

I live in a county where you simply can't avoid picking up this kind of information.

Tom

---

That`ll be America, then,Tom? - Specifically California, home of the world-reknowned Useless Information Mine.

---

I said COUNTY, not COUNTRY (with an R). Ie. Herefordshire in England, where an extensive knowledge of tractors and farm macinery in general is easily aquired.

But this is straying somewhat from the topic of audiophiles, so I'll shut up.

Though California would be nice one day . . . . . .

Tom

All I have for these companies is respect if they have customers willing to pay!!!!!!

Makes me laugh though, by the time a recording is on CD, its probably travelled down a couple of miles of copper wire.....

Interestingly - if you follow the very first article link to the website, then take the link to the audiophile forum - you'll find just as much cynicism there for the CD Mat with triangles cut in it. Branding all audophiles as clueless is a bit rich without any kind of data to say just how much of these products are actually sold. If I set up a website wich makes cars out of wood and waxed lyrical about their superior "natural" handling, would it make all motorists clueless or just the couple of clueless ones it takes to have made my website investment easily worthwhile.

Stones and glass houses - have a look for the VOVOX microphone cable debate in this very forum for a pro audio example of controversy.

Good, fun thread all the same

Quote clownsplitter:

---

Branding all audophiles as clueless is a bit rich ...

---

They bring it on themselves, surely? If I appreciated listening to good music on good equipment, which I do, I would jump through hoops not to call myself an audiophile - or let anyone else do so - because, for me, that just identifies me with the lunatic fringe.

I don't begrudge manufacturers and retailers exploiting the phenomenon. It's quite admirable. As P T Barnum said, there's one born every minute. And it creates a few laughs for those of us who know better.

--------------------
Dynamite with a laser beam...

Steve, we're in agreement re the business side. (I'm actually inspired enough to start up my own)

Re your "audiophiles" remark and for the sake of an argument.....

How about "hi-fi enthusiast?" or is that now equally tarnished "likes good music through a good system" doesn't trip off the toungue and neither does "people who own expensive kit but are a cut above hi-fi enthusist nutters or audiophile 'heid the ba's' ". Whatever the acceptable term is, many people might just class you an audiophile given your description of yourself and Alex might just have called you clueless. Seeing as you might just have had your metaphorical pint spilt, why not take the tack of disassociating true audiophiles from the lunatic fringe rather than allowing them all to be tarred by the same brush and get stuck right in you big closet audiophile Jessie.

Is there any snappy phrase which refers to peple who invest in good (and by good I'll assume it's not cheap) hi-fi kit which is acceptable. I assumed Alex was having a pop (albeit a good natured one for the sake of a laugh) at all the descriptions listed above but accept that I could be wrong, in which case - ignore all this waffle. Just arsing about killing time on a Sunday in any case

Perhaps Alex can provide a definition but yes the people who buy 30,000 interconnects want their heads examined and yes it's well funny seeing how inventive "Manufacturers" will get to try and ferret out the tw*ts

Quote:

---

All I have for these companies is respect if they have customers willing to pay!!!!!!

---

I coudn't sell people this sh!t with a straight face!

--------------------
om mani peme hung

Edited by Alex Harper (11/12/05 06:11 PM)

Quote clownsplitter:

---

Steve, we're in agreement re the business side. (I'm actually inspired enough to start up my own)

Re your "audiophiles" remark and for the sake of an argument.....

How about "hi-fi enthusiast?" or is that now equally tarnished "likes good music through a good system" doesn't trip off the toungue and neither does "people who own expensive kit but are a cut above hi-fi enthusist nutters or audiophile 'heid the ba's' ". Whatever the acceptable term is, many people might just class you an audiophile given your description of yourself and Alex might just have called you clueless. Seeing as you might just have had your metaphorical pint spilt, why not take the tack of disassociating true audiophiles from the lunatic fringe rather than allowing them all to be tarred by the same brush and get stuck right in you big closet audiophile Jessie.

Is there any snappy phrase which refers to peple who invest in good (and by good I'll assume it's not cheap) hi-fi kit which is acceptable. I assumed Alex was having a pop (albeit a good natured one for the sake of a laugh) at all the descriptions listed above but accept that I could be wrong, in which case - ignore all this waffle. Just arsing about killing time on a Sunday in any case

Perhaps Alex can provide a definition but yes the people who buy 30,000 interconnects want their heads examined and yes it's well funny seeing how inventive "Manufacturers" will get to try and ferret out the tw*ts

---

If someone described themselves as a Hi-Fi enthusiast or Junkie, then that's fair enough but if they would describe themselves as an audiophile, I would take that as a euphemism for somebody with far more money than their understanding of physics or electronics.

I suppose just as I would imagine a self-described "petrolhead" or "cruiser" or whatever is the kind of idiot who fits loads of spoilers and stupid looking glue-on accessories to his mums nissan micra.

--------------------
om mani peme hung

Edited by Alex Harper (11/12/05 06:19 PM)

I guess an "audiophile" would not spend say £600 on a pair of Epos speakers 15 years ago (so well north of a grand now, I guess) and keep them, and not even bother to check out any other speakers or new innovations since, because they do the bloody job and do it well.

So I'm probably not a hi-fi junkie either.

We're talking about a bunch of boxes intended to allow me to hear what an artist played reasonably well. They are just tools, necessary inconveniences standing between me and paying the artist to come and perform for me. Apart from the home stereo, I can also playback stuff in a pretty well controled studio environment on some serious kit.

I know the compromises that have to be made, and that have been made, in the recording process between the singer's popshield and my ears. I also know that spending another £100k (if I had it!) is unlikely to add even 1% to my listening pleasure.

Anyone who thinks otherwise is living in cloud cuckoo land and is IMHO deserving of contempt (except by someone who manages to sell them something!)

--------------------
Dynamite with a laser beam...

Ah come on Steve - sorry for yanking your chain (you big hairy audiophile) and I did like your definition about next best thing to artists performing in the room.

Seriously though. How much much would forum members recommend spending on a good system before the law of diminishing returns kicks in. In your opinion obviously
(and I'd appreciate it if the "hey man it's all about the music" brigade passed on this one - recording/mastering facilities with kit costing millions prove it does matter to some people including if my budget ever allows it, to me)

Say for a good DAC, Pre/power amps & speakers. Assume a cheap transport as this makes no odds given a good DAC).

I appreciate this one could be genuinely controversial and ought to be in a hi-fi forum but since I run the risk of advice from clueless audiophiles - some views from the experts please.

Funny actually, I was talking to a photographer friend the other day. An old friend that I always run my recordings past. Hes one of these hard nosed types who takes a hard line with his own and everyone elses work. A music lover but deffinately not an audiophile.

Hes been playing a CD of mine in the boom box he keeps in his studio. And he was giving me his opinions of the new stuff. I was pointing out that i was frustrated with the whole mp3 on the web thing.

Why? because im never too happy putting my stuff up on the web. For various but contradictory reasons. On the one side, i really want people to hear the pristine CD version, cos thats the intended medium and the best i can give. On the other side i dont want to just give things away so i tend to bugger the mp3's up a bit so that in the unlikely event that someone falls in love with the songs they will be driven to buy a pucker copy. And then again i really want people to hear everything ive got. Thats the dream of any musician or any artist for that matter. To be able to publish their work instantly to the world. Dream come true brought to us by the miracle of http.

But as he pointed out. For most of the listening public. The whole idea of high quality audio is a very recent development. If you think back say twenty years. The majority of the target audience for pop music was young and skint. They heard their music on a dodgy radio and then maybe bought a vinyl and played it on a cheapish system they had thrown together from bits. Not everyone but the majority.

And to be honest, we both agreed that there is something very special about hearing music coming out of a tranny on the beach. It takes on a majical quality that no end technical sophistication can match. In fact when i moved to this house the previous owner had left an old mono cassette machine in the shed with a copy of Pet Sounds on it. I still stick it one whenever im in the shed. And somehow, in some mysterious way, its almost asif thats how its meanst to be heard. It somehow has more power, more meaning. Of course i cnt hear every plink and plonk that i get off my system in the house. But theres something added.

So im thinking about selling old transistor radio version CD players. Things that emulate the sound of an old flips transistor hanging off a nail in the wall. For what shall we say???? £500

Quote ow:

---

But theres something added.

---

Wow, flutter and distortion I expect.

--------------------
"Qui habet aures audiendi audiat"

Quote Havoc:

---

Another one:

http://www.gcaudio.com/cgi-bin/store/showProduct.cgi?id=89 Aerobics for your system to get it tuned!

---

I bet it is just white noise!

No doubt, the technical blurb will say that "By utilising the advanced research of the German mathematician, Carl Friedrich Gauss, the sounds on this CD were carefully created by advanced computer algorithms running in a state-of-the-art recording studio situated in LA. The material has been carefully chosen to exercise the full audio path by equal dynamic excursion across the full frequency range, thereby enhancing the full musicality and timing of your reference system. We are confident that after exercising your system for at least 6 hours, you will notice improved sound stage, warmer bass, a more open treble and a loss of the artifacts often associated with the digital medium. This new found enjoyment of your hi-fi system will also perform wonders for your sex life."

Mark

Quote MarkEdmonds:

---

Quote Havoc:

---

Another one:

http://www.gcaudio.com/cgi-bin/store/showProduct.cgi?id=89 Aerobics for your system to get it tuned!

---

I bet it is just white noise!

No doubt, the technical blurb will say that "By utilising the advanced research of the German mathematician, Carl Friedrich Gauss, the sounds on this CD were carefully created by advanced computer algorithms running in a state-of-the-art recording studio situated in LA. The material has been carefully chosen to exercise the full audio path by equal dynamic excursion across the full frequency range, thereby enhancing the full musicality and timing of your reference system. We are confident that after exercising your system for at least 6 hours, you will notice improved sound stage, warmer bass, a more open treble and a loss of the artifacts often associated with the digital medium. This new found enjoyment of your hi-fi system will also perform wonders for your sex life."

Mark

---

ROFL!!

--------------------
om mani peme hung

Quote MarkEdmonds:

---

Quote Havoc:

---

Another one:

http://www.gcaudio.com/cgi-bin/store/showProduct.cgi?id=89 Aerobics for your system to get it tuned!

---

I bet it is just white noise!

No doubt, the technical blurb will say that "By utilising the advanced research of the German mathematician, Carl Friedrich Gauss, the sounds on this CD were carefully created by advanced computer algorithms running in a state-of-the-art recording studio situated in LA. The material has been carefully chosen to exercise the full audio path by equal dynamic excursion across the full frequency range, thereby enhancing the full musicality and timing of your reference system. We are confident that after exercising your system for at least 6 hours, you will notice improved sound stage, warmer bass, a more open treble and a loss of the artifacts often associated with the digital medium. This new found enjoyment of your hi-fi system will also perform wonders for your sex life."

Mark

---

That is actually the marketing blurb for the $50 CD I announced above (and which, I am disappointed to note, no-one has bought yet). I can however reveal it is not only mere white noise, but also a psycho-acoustic collage of failed mix projects covering many genres of music over the last four decades, and therefore undoubtedly including material which is "attuned" to your own listening preferences.

And I need to get this crap off my hard disk. (Oops).

--------------------
Dynamite with a laser beam...

Quote Steve Hill:

---

I know the compromises that have to be made, and that have been made, in the recording process between the singer's popshield and my ears. I also know that spending another £100k (if I had it!) is unlikely to add even 1% to my listening pleasure.

Anyone who thinks otherwise is living in cloud cuckoo land and is IMHO deserving of contempt (except by someone who manages to sell them something!)

---

Steve,

You have a nice looking studio.

There are a people who like to spend their money on very flash cars that will never be driven above 70mph (legally). Are they all idiots?

There are probably quite a few idiot audiophiles around with more money than sense, but there are also a lot of people who enjoy listening to music on something a bit more beguiling than an ipod. No you don't have to spend £100k, but there is definitely a difference between a well thought out hi-fi system and your typical midi system.

Some of the comments made in this thread have been just as laughable as the hi-fi tweaks.

Dave

--------------------
Lighthouse Mastering

Fair point. I can 't actually bring myself to own an iPod despite the aching trendiness of the things, because I can't quite convince msyelf that mp3 is a proper music format... so I guess some people would criticise me on that score. I suppose my home hi fi is a good system (probably ten times the price of a typical midi system at current values).

But I'm a long way off believing that 30-grand speaker cables are going to improve it!

--------------------
Dynamite with a laser beam...

Quote Lighthouse_Mastering:

---

There are a people who like to spend their money on very flash cars that will never be driven above 70mph (legally). Are they all idiots?

---

No. Some probably are, but certainly not all. They don't just buy for largely unusable performance -- if they did we'd all have TVRs -- they buy for a combination of showing off, investment, aesthetic beauty, engineering excellence and more besides. I agree with your point completely.

Quote:

---

No you don't have to spend £100k, but there is definitely a difference between a well thought out hi-fi system and your typical midi system.

---

Exactly. If you have the money, what's wrong with buying something that is put together nicely and has well though out ergonomics and aesthetics.

I'm no fan of the silly-money cables and loony china cones etc, but not all of the supposedly crack-pot ideas are actually crack-pot at all.

Quote:

---

Some of the comments made in this thread have been just as laughable as the hi-fi tweaks.

---

Quite!

hugh

--------------------
Technical Editor, Sound On Sound

Actually its not so long ago that the idea of putting speakers on properly spiked stands was considered *hifi voodoo b/s*.

--------------------
nibbled to death by an Okapi http://www.soundclick.com/tubilahdog

Quote Stevedog:

---

Actually its not so long ago that the idea of putting speakers on properly spiked stands was considered *hifi voodoo b/s*.

---

Certainly by my mother, who saw this as nothing more nor less than a gratuitous attempt to damage the carpet.

--------------------
Dynamite with a laser beam...

Shouldn't we have an auidiophiles register and prevent audiophiles having any contact with audio?

--------------------
Crazy guitar beating - www.myspace.com/dalecampbell

Quote Dale Campbell:

---

Shouldn't we have an auidiophiles register and prevent audiophiles having any contact with audio?

---

Yeah, I'd want to know about it if i lived round the corner from one!

--------------------
...rubbish at words 'n' stuff.

Nah, News of the World readers would just start lynching innocent orthodontists...

--------------------
Dynamite with a laser beam...

Quote:

---

No you don't have to spend £100k, but there is definitely a difference between a well thought out hi-fi system and your typical midi system.

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There is, few will argue about that. But most around here when hearing the word "audiophile" think about idiots keeping their cables above the ground with silk threads suspended from the ceiling and edging the cd's with green markers and keeping them aligned with the magnetic field of the moon.

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Expert in non-working solutions

Quote Havoc:

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No you don't have to spend £100k, but there is definitely a difference between a well thought out hi-fi system and your typical midi system.

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There is, few will argue about that. But most around here when hearing the word "audiophile" think about idiots keeping their cables above the ground with silk threads suspended from the ceiling and edging the cd's with green markers and keeping them aligned with the magnetic field of the moon.

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Most Audiophiles are just as skeptical as you are. There is only 1 in 10,000 who can afford to buy overpriced stuff, and most people want their living rooms to look normal, and not like some spiders web.

Dave

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Lighthouse Mastering

just saw this thread and had to post this article from CNN.com a couple of weeks back. the part i love is that lenny kravitz has a $215,000 pair of speakers. first, his music is shyte (to rip off jimi hendrix licks, a beat box will do) and secondn, he's probably deaf from standing in front of walls of 4x12 Marshall cabinets (unless they're just for show, probably are...).

oh well, i've got to go comparison shopping for my new yacht on ebay....

d

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High end hi-fi -- the ultimate stereo

By Barry Neild for CNN

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Crimes are committed on a daily basis in the name of music -- from the fans who illegally download the latest Britney Spears tunes to, depending on your taste, the people who wrote the latest Britney Spears tune.

The advent of iPods has led to some of the worst offences, granting a new lease of life to thousands of albums that should have been left to gather dust at the back of the record rack.

But even if you've assembled the world's coolest CD collection, whether it be smoky jazz, monstrous rock or teeth-rotting pop, perhaps the worst crime of all is to play it on substandard equipment.

Although you may be satisfied with your stereo, many of us are apparently guilty of surrendering our music to audio technology that may look the part, with its smooth black finish and flashing lights, but simply doesn't sound it.

That's the view of a global network of audio aficionados whose tireless pursuit of the ultimate sound system leads into an often baffling jungle of equalizers, pre-amps, valves, and transistors that echoes to resonant call of tweeters and woofers.

For them, hi-fi must be capable of capturing the orchestral sweep, from thunderous timpani to soaring violin, or an Elvis show, from tremulous croon to softly creaking pelvis. In any recorded moment, you should not only be able to hear a pin drop, you should hear it fall through the air.

And for the true audiophile, when it comes to choosing a suitable sound system -- including , loudspeakers, amplifiers, compact disc players and turntables -- price is no obstacle.

"These are people making a lifestyle choice," says Steve Fairclough, editor of Britain's Hi-Fi News magazine, which keeps its ear to the ground of the music machine scene.

"They make decisions on hi-fi equipment in the same way that some people consider buying a yacht or a top-of-the-range car," he told CNN.

This was evident in 1992, when Dutch manufacturer Charles van Oosterum was commissioned by one music fan to build the US$ 1 million Grand Enigma System -- a loudspeaker stack that weighed 12-tons and was so large it had to be housed in a purpose-built bunker.

While higher prices do not necessarily equate to higher quality in the sound industry, says Fairclough, it is usually money well spent.

"The general rule of thumb should be that a 10,000 pound amplifier is ten times better than a 1,000 pound amplifier, but the truth is, it probably isn't.

"But in general, the top-end brands may put more into their research and spend more time in developing a particular product -- perhaps eight to 10 years -- which is reflected in the price."
Levitating shelves

Such is the effort poured into some hi-fi apparatus that some firms, including Australia's Continuum Audio Labs, whose Caliburn turntable retails at up to US$ 112,000, have reputedly received approaches from serious scientists amazed by breakthroughs such as levitating shelving units.

However, say the experts, even if you invest in one expensive hi-fi item, unless you have the right accompanying equipment and position it correctly, you might as well spend your cash on a pair of ear plugs.

Ricardo Franassovici, as charismatic chairman of London-based specialist hi-fi dealers Absolute Sounds, considers himself the "Marco Pierre White" of mixing and matching separate audio components to produce the perfect system.

"There is a small family of brands that exist that can be called the ultimate. These are the hi-fi equivalent of Lamborghinis, Ferraris or Bentleys," he told CNN.

Among these, he says, is Wilson Audio, a Utah-based operation run by pharmaceutical researcher-turned electronic engineer David Wilson, that creates bespoke loudspeaker systems retailing at up to US$ 215,000 for customers including Wesley Snipes and Lenny Kravitz.

For compact disc players, Franassovici recommends models such as the US$ 15,000 CD-7 by the Minnesota-based Audio Research Corporation, which features an unusual retro-style valve output.

Valves, which have largely been replaced by solid-state transistors in most modern electronic devices, create "the fat, old-fashioned sound you'd associate with Frank Sinatra," he says.

Among the best amplifiers, according to Franassovici, are Krell, a Connecticut-based manufacturer whose Evolution component series would require an outlay of almost US$ 150,000 -- a price he says most hi-fi enthusiasts would be happy to pay.

"These people have a tremendous love of music. They aspire to get uniqueness -- the same pride of ownership that you would get out of owning an Aston Martin or a Ferrari. They are driven with a passion."

While such prices and passions may seem unfathomable to the dedicated MP 3 listener, Fairclough believes the iPod revolution may have a knock-on affect for the world of high-end hi-fi.

"The thing the iPod has done is get more people listening to music which, in generational terms, is a very good thing. People who are enjoying music now will be asking themselves how they can enjoy it even more in the future."

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"Patsy had the drug tolerance of Keith Richards and the moral rectitude of Brian Jones." - Dr. Walter Bishop, "Fringe"

Quote Hasbro:

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but i was under the impression that components merely 'wear out' with use

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Capacitors apparently do.

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...like most things in nature don't like having electricity run through them

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There's nothing to 'like' because it's lifeless material and if that'd cause wear you'd have a problem every time lightning would strike .

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and it tends to cause oxidation etc.
right?

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I believe the real culprits you are looking for are called "oxygen" and "dihydrogen monoxide" .

Edited by Yoozer (13/12/05 08:07 PM)