Audiophiles nessecity?

[SETEC_Astronomy]

HigherFi.com
HigherFi.com - Speakers
HigherFi.com - Amps

'nuff said.

[Bob Scott]

Ceasar: What is your definition of "zip cord"? I've heard references to zip cord mainly in the '60s.

Is it that standard 18-2 lamp cord? I use that for speaker wire.

[Robert Reed]

Setec
Are those commas or zeros in the pricing. If commas, I put together a million dollar system in less than 2 minutes. Great discounts though at up to 50% off. Mmmmm-I wonder what my current Visa limit is at. 300 Gs for one speaker . When I started this thread, it was only based on absurd prices I was aware of at the time. You guys have opened up a whole new level of 'Ripleys Believe it or Not'.

[SETEC_Astronomy]

Setec
Are those commas or zeros in the pricing. If commas, I put together a million dollar system in less than 2 minutes. Great discounts though at up to 50% off. Mmmmm-I wonder what my current Visa limit is at. 300 Gs for one speaker . When I started this thread, it was only based on absurd prices I was aware of at the time. You guys have opened up a whole new level of 'Ripleys Believe it or Not'.

They're commas, you read it right.

I saw a site offering $40,000 speaker wire the other night and $3000 customized earbuds. It's pretty nuts what people spend money on and try to sell. Being someone who slightly enjoys the hisses and pops from records and tube amps a near perfect audio setup is even further from desired.

A few interesting sites I found related to this thread:
Top Ten Signs an Audio Cable Vendor is Selling You Snake Oil
Audiophoolery
Monster Cables vs. a Coat Hanger

[CeaSaR]

Ceasar: What is your definition of "zip cord"? I've heard references to zip cord mainly in the '60s.

Is it that standard 18-2 lamp cord? I use that for speaker wire.

Yes Bob, my definition of zipcord generally refers to standard 2 conductor cord used to supply mains power to
"lighter duty" appliances. I have seen it, in the past at Radio Shack - labeled as zipcord, anywhere from 20 to
16 gauge, usually in brown with either a flat or ridged indicator on one conductor cover.

CeaSaR

[haklesup]

It's funny what Gold can do to a consumer's impression of technology. Copper is more conductive than gold and on day 1 would probably perform better but over years, one might obsess over oxidation of this copper. Fact is the terminals cut right through any oxide as soon as you close them.

Might as well buy the cheap copper contact AC receptacles (maybe splurge and get hospital grade) and dip them in a gold plating bath without disassembly.

BTW, I couldn't easily find the product on 'partsies expresso dot com-o' what should I search for or a product # etc?

Zip cord is commonly any 2 conductor cable for AC applicnces that can be peeled apart to separate the conductors. As opposed to most newer power cords which are round. I've seen it in 12, 14, 16 gauge and in black, brown and clear primarily.

[Janitor Tzap]

Gold & Gold Plating:
Some years ago you could buy gold plated tubes from Radio Shack.
They where designed for the Audiophile types.
And were suppose too give the tube amplifier deeper, richer sound, and last longer than regular tubes.

I had a customer who wanted the final tubes replaced on his Sansui X1000 with these.
I did it for him, but couldn't see any real difference in the sound.

I've seen gold plated contacts used in mechanical television tuners, and S-100 boards on the edge connectors of the cards.

But now with new types of copper composites that are resistant to oxidation.
Or an anti-oxidation coating on the copper, that helps prolong conductivity.
Most manufacturers are doing this instead of Gold plating, just because its cheaper.

Zip-Wire:
Yeah, the local hardware store carries it.
They call it "Lamp Cord".

One Audiophile person I knew liked to use 14 Gauge 50 strand for connecting up his speakers.
It was his belief that the higher strand count gave better current and voltage flow.

Well,
as far as weird speak wire....
I've seen this stuff that looks kinda like ultra-flat ribbon cable, but for speakers.
{I think its for people who want to hide the speaker cables, by wall papering over them.}


Signed: Janitor Tzap

[CeaSaR]

Janitor Tzap,

You mean the stuff that is about as thick as maybe 2 sheets of paper? Yeah, that stuff is for exactly
what you say it is: post construction hiding of "cabling" behind a slight bit of spackle and paint. A friend
asked about that a couple of years ago when they bought a plasma tv and surround system. She wanted
to hang the speakers without tearing up the walls. I wonder if she did.

CeaSaR

[kheston]

A far more ubiquitous yet not quite as egregious example of this is MonsterCable. People buy these things all the time, despite the studies that prove they are no better than standard zip cord (or is it lamp cord?) at a fraction of the price.

People actually pay $150k for a pair of speakers or $8k for a 12ft power cord because they believe the more money you pay, the better it is. Audiophiles are not alone in this, I've got a pair of Nike sneakers to prove it.

[CeaSaR]

The thing that kills me about all of this is that the music is acually about the experience. Right now I am
listening to my flea market find Hitachi K900 transistor radio. Don Maclean's American Pie is playing and I
have been transported back to my youth when the hottest thing you could have in your room was a
AM/FM clock radio. Better yet was one with the faux digital number tape clock! No multimillion dollar,
super accurate, sonically phase corrected sound system can take me back to that time like a cheap little
mono transistor portable radio can.

Younger for just a little while,

CeaSaR

[Robert Reed]

Caesar
"No multimillion dollar,
super accurate, sonically phase corrected sound system can take me back to that time like a cheap littlemono transistor portable radio can. "


Isn't it strange that 'Oldies' actually sound better on an Old radio.
If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, then certainly listening pleasure is in the ear of the listener.
Last year I repaired an old vibrator car radio for a mans '54 chevy. He told me that he drives down to Lake Shore park on summer evenings to listen to the Indians ball games on it. He said its the only radio he will use for those ball games. Ahh, the mystique of those bygone 'Radio Daze'.

[Bear]

Well, as P.T. Barnum said "there's one born every minute".

Take care all

Dennis

[sofaspud]

Wow y'all covered a lot of territory in this thread. It wasn't mentioned that Editor Bryan touched on the subject too
a month or so back. I recall he wrote something about CDs in the freezer??
I would never make excuses for those shallow thought/deep pocket audiophiles, but nor would I tend too far to the
other extreme. You can drive a Chevy or you can drive an Aston Martin. It doesn't mean everyone driving a Vantage
is a jughead. My point being, some of those speakers and amps are the Aston Martins of the audio world. And if you
want ultra-low distortion+noise at 1000W RMS into 1 ohm, it ain't gonna come cheap. (Even for the DIYfer.)
I couldn't agree more with Robert's twisted proverb, "If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, then certainly listening
pleasure is in the ear of the listener." And lots of oldies were recorded and mixed with lo-fi/AM playback in mind. Plus
it adds to the nostalgia of listening to the song (or ballgame) itself, as mentioned.
On the other hand, it's also nice to hear oldies more lifelike than I've ever heard them. American Pie? Buddy H lives!!

[CeaSaR]

I am not one to revert to lo-fi if I can have hi-fi, but I'm saying that the cost some people go to in order
to have the best is way over the top, especially when there is no way to accurately ascertain the so-called
improvement. Just look at the product that started this thread. The outlet will feed a power cord that will
undoubtedly feed a power transformer to make DC. If this DC power supply is designed correctly, there will
be compensation for under/over voltage at the source. If you filter the mains to reduce 50/60 Hz hum, you'll
starve the onboard PS! Audio rated outlet my 4$$.

Already you have your first source of possible distortion within the audio appliance, the DC supply. Dare I
continue? I think not for this board. You guys get my line of thinking. Obviously the overpaid,
under(electronics)educated won't ever get it.

Oh well,

CeaSaR

[Bob Scott]

BTW, I couldn't easily find the product on 'partsies expresso dot com-o' what should I search for or a product # etc?

Wattgate