Hardware

While I agree and appreciate the spirit of the article, fuck Amazon, if you're going to buy cheap cables at least buy Hosa or something like that, don't give money to that shit company.

This is the same tired thing that's been going on since I can ever remember. First establish audiophiles as some deranged group of people that are willing to spend the insane amount of money on ridiculous science and then point and laugh.

Real audiophiles don't give two flying fucks about their cables, for the most part, outside of fundamentals being solid, good shielding, etc.

This is just the electronics version of the same shit you see across every market. $2,000 steaks covered in gold foil - but we're not castigating steak lovers because a steak lover would not buy such a thing.

The world is filled with people who have so much money it's embarrassing, and it's hard for the average chucklehead to understand that.

It kind of pisses me off that they didn't compare against lamp wire tied to rounded nails. They had the gear.

The thing about audiophiles is that you can’t tell them anything, they have to listen to the wires themselves.

couldn't be me...

Heh. Industry joke: why does thunder come after lightning?

Because, even God has to wait for the fucking sound guy.

I started making my own cables. Now I only have to worry about my own shitty craftsmanship. And boy is it shitty.

But hey I get cables at less than half the cost. And it’s fun.

I started in the record business back in the 70s, primarily handling classical records, and even worked for Telarc Records, the leading audiophile record label in the vinyl/CD eras, so I've had a LOT of contact with the high-end audio world.

Articles claiming that there are no differences in cables (and other audiophile doodads) have been running the entire time, and nobody ever listens. Audiophiles don't want to listen, they want to indulge their fantasies, and don't mind paying for it.

They aren't much different than the Sociopathic Oligarchs who are blowing their money on rockets. Audiophiles are guys who don't have rocket money to waste, but they've got audio gear money to stimulate those dopamine receptors, so whaddaya got that's expensive?

My experience is mostly in regards to headphones, but as an ASR-pilled audio enthusiast, Audio Science Review has been nothing but a great resource for anyone hoping to escape the audiophoolery nonsense that plagues audio "hobbies". I don't necessarily agree with every sentiment expressed there, but having a community that prioritizes objective, reproducible testing results as the basis for evaluating gear seems to be a rare thing these days.

I saw a video a while back where they routed audio through a banana, and nobody could pick out the audio that went through said banana. I can't find it, but here is a guy expanding on that video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fmCy686IC8

Lately I've been going to bat for audiophiles. People get really shrill about how unpractical their gear is and how much smarter they are for knowing that cheaper cables exist. But ultimately it's a hobby. They like the exotic expensive stuff because it's fun. The value is largely extrinsic.

Is a really nice fountain pen worth a couple hundred dollars actually 2000 times better than a bic? Is a collectors vehicle safer, faster, or more practical than a modern one? Is the story better if it's a first edition?

Ultimately audiophile stuff is more like collectibles than tools. Sounding good is important, but also important is just geeking out on something. And don't think there aren't function-first audiophiles who buy purely utilitarian gear and get super deep into room treatment and such. But there are also people who value aesthetics too. Branding, finish, novelty. And ultimately they're rich. Splurging on audio equipment for them would be like a regular person splurging on expensive stadium food or something. Or perhaps even more appropriate, stadium beer, which is the exact same beer that can be purchased much more easily and cheaply under different circumstances.

Reminds me of a vintage stereo repair shop near my old place. The guy would give you a free length of lamp cord with every purchase because "its good enough".

It used to be worse, older men would spend more and more for audio when all people lose hearing frequencies as a function of ageing.

I did a similar check on cables of various lengths during my undergrad. Basically just took some recording then plugged the output back into the input using cables from just a couple inches long (intended for connecting guitar pedals sitting next to each other) up to around 16 foot (I was a student and had no intention of spending money on 100 foot cables I'd never use again), also various qualities at the low end.

There was no measurable difference between any of them, whether it was a real audio signal being analyzed or even various types of noise (that tend to load up all of the frequencies).

The only difference between the different tests was the usual randomness of the lowest order bits on the recording device itself, which I believe is influenced by whatever EM activity is in the area, including the CMB, which can't be cut out without cutting out the input signal itself unless maybe if you do the test inside a faraday cage.

And if you're thinking "oh so then there might be a difference if you cut that randomness out", yes, but anything you listen to is still more affected by that interference than any cable choice and you probably never noticed that interference in the first place.

I've never seen audiophiles actually care about cables. The discussions are around speaker accuracy, room acoustics and treatment, listening position, and recording/mastering quality.