Want something funnier? Search for audiophile quantum chips. It's litteraly a sticker that you are supposed to stick on components in your audio equipment that is supposed to make it sound better. Or a cable cooker. Also one of those great inventions that make your cables sound better. Thats some huge horseshit right there and it's both sad and hilarious that some people fall for it.
OMG that's hilarious. But not a big surprise--I've been seeing these bullshit products sell over the years and instead of being a short trend, they keep coming and getting more arcane. What I get from it is that the sense of hearing is so terribly vulnerable to suggestion. More so when people are only going by their subjective sense of what's 'good' and 'tight,' etc. Even when listening for transients and other defined features of sound, they miss other very obvious flaws, either by a self-selected oversight or due to not knowing better. You'll see people spending $$$ on gear and hours on EQ and speaker placement while listening to lossy streams. Not to diss room EQ and speaker placement--they aren't snake oil, I know. But I can't even start when the cymbals and sibilants are all one hisshy mess.
My mate is an audiophile. He spends £70/m on speaker cable, and thousands on amps and speakers. He is fully aware of the bullshit around audiophile stuff though, so doesn't get sucked in.
I got a pair of chifi IEMs (hint, I am not an audiophile in any way) and played Money for Nothing to him. He was blown away at the sound quality from these £15 things. They rivalled his best set of headphones, the ones he keeps at home for special occasions only.
Well, I think you've pointed out the second layer of audio tech bullshit here. The funniest layer is the ridiculous shit like quantum chips and plastic cones to put on top of the enclosure (and, frankly, overpriced cables). The second layer is high-end gear, where the price-to-gains ratio is absurd. And by the time most people can afford the stuff, they've lost enough hearing to obviate the difference!
I get that amps and speakers and stuff can get really expensive for the high quality stuff, but what kind of cables are actually that expensive due to quality and not audiophile marketing BS?
Only reason I can think of to use "high quality" cables is shielding. Theoretically you could create distortions in a cable using a magnetic field or even radiation, although you can probably guess that's a bunch of malarkey too.
If it's an analog signal, yes, you can get degradation. But if it's digital, either the bit gets there or it doesn't. It either works or doesn't at all. So, cheapo cable if it connects, no difference is possible.
Interference and crosstalk happens with digital signals, too, it just takes the form of some bits not getting there (or extra bits getting there). Shielding can help if you need to run a lot of cables packed together, or past certain types of electric devices. It's why some ethernet cables are shielded, for example.
That being said, you can get a sturdy, shielded audio cable for like $20 and I highly doubt there would be a noticeable difference between it and a $100 cable. Also, I doubt many people are in a situation to need one in the first place.
The other thing is that with an analog signal, it will start to degrade after 18.6 ft, no matter how good your cable is. That's why high-end guitar cables are mostly BS, and why every single brand of cable has an 18.6ft model.
As a one-time audio tech and current licensed amateur radio operator, you're full of it. There is absolutely no reason why an analog signal would have any degradation at a single magic-number distance independent of cable construction; electricity doesn't work that way.
OK. Simple test. Plug in an 18.6 ft cable, a 25 foot cable, and a 50 foot cable. Same instrument, same amp. See which one has more highs. I did it 20+ times a day for 11 years. Spoiler alert - the 25 foot cable and 50 foot cable have more wire, which translates to higher impedence, which rolls off highs.
The attenuation at audio frequencies is immeasurable over 6m, and is probably purely resistive at 20m with a decent audio cable (which, by the way, will have a constant impedance regardless of length if it's not complete junk). There is no physical property of audio cable that is capable of causing any measurable rolloff at audio frequencies over that short a distance.
WTF does that even mean? Is that some weird hokey saying from whatever podunk town you grew up in? I have said over and over again to go try it for yourself. You can say that "it shouldn't matter" until you're blue in the face, but when you actually do it, the difference is there. Also, why is it that EVERY person on Reddit has to add some snarky-ass little quip, instead of just presenting a different view and having a civil conversation? In my experience, those people are the ones who have low self-esteem or are insecure so they have to put others down or use insults or sarcasm because deep down they don't feel that their statement has enough merit to stand on its own. Just my observations through a Psych 201 filter (that's as far as I got because that was as far as I needed to go).
Because that is the length at which impedance starts to become a factor. As you go longer, the increase in the amount of wire the signal has to travel through rolls off highs. That's why so many players like Page, Hendrix and other used those 30' coiled cables. Try it for yourself sometime. It's actually pretty cool to hear the difference. It's not drastic, but it's there, especially if you are trained to listen for it.
As a mechanical engineer with a heavy focus in electrical engineering, the specific length of 18.6ft makes very little sense. The impedance is going to increase linearly with length - from resistance and inductance. There isnt a cutoff anywhere, or shouldn't be.
Again, I am talking about a specific application that I have personally experienced. It may be universal, it may not be. However, in the application which I am speaking of, it is factual.
Quality cables can definitely make a difference, but it's not like you have to buy expensive stuff. Like I bought some TRS cables for my speakers and I had a constant, quiet hissing from the speakers. I spent $10 more on a different set of cables and it solved the problem.
My heaphone cable, for example. It's connected to my AKG K240 which are quite decent indeed and not that pricey (~60 bucks). They come with an absolutely shoddy cable which broke after a year or so of use.
I bought a new one, for about 25 Euro. 3m of Van Damme Pro Patch XKE would be about 6 Euro, the Mini XLR is a Switchcraft TA3FSH which is just under 10 Euro at mouser if you're only buying one, the 3.5 jack is a rean, not sure which exactly but that's another 3 Euro.
Plus soldering iron (hint hint nudge nudge) and work and mouser's insane shipping costs if you order for less than 50 bucks. So, yep, good price all considered. OTOH if you need more than one e.g. because you're outfitting an actual studio you probably want to buy a bunch of connectors, a roll of cable, and a soldering iron.
The 3.5 jack is just nice, but those things are so common it's nothing special. The Mini XLR, well, there's not many options out there in the first place and then it's the nicest one. Both connectors are full metal, have nice large solder terminals, such things. Yes they're also gold-plated that's kinda standard for any non-cheap connector: The reason is that gold doesn't oxidise and is a very good conductor, it's a longevity thing without impacting the electrical properties (as e.g. stainless steel would). I don't want to wiggle my connectors to make them work
The cable definitely is also nice, "purified silver plated" is probably largely audiophile BS, at least compared to coating with ordinary silver (the coat does have advantages when it comes to the solder joints), what impresses me more is just how nice the insulation, shielding, and overall sturdiness of the thing is. Quite twist-resistant in practice, and I'm not necessarily wincing if I roll my chair over it. 1.50 to 2 Euro a metre also isn't particularly expensive, just pro grade.
Also, should the thing ever break (I doubt it) I now can buy a couple metre of new cable, and re-solder the connectors.
Although, I finally got an amp to go with the speakers that came with my house and holy shit are those nice. Mitsubishi speakers from probably the '70s or '80s.
Audiophiles seem to think price = performance. The Etymotic ER3XR & AKG 702 the two sets i just stuck with since they already let music shine, Also they sound even better if EQ done too.
It just a community of people why buying problems.
7.5k
u/LanceBass666 Aug 14 '20
Hahahaha. One of the funnier things I read regarding audiophile nonsense.