Surely the power supplies in high end equipment would've been designed to cope with dodgy mains anyway? I mean that's also what you're paying for right?
There are some industrial uses too. Certain high-end recording setups rely heavily on very clean power supplies. I completely agree with the above though: if there are people out there who want to buy these things, then it's understandable the products will still be made. The only thing that winds me up is the people who will spend thousands on a patch cable, or even more on a power plug are the people who will incorrectly label themselves as Audiophiles or Enthusiasts. True enthusiasts take the time out to learn about the subject, and understand that the difference these products will make is either negligable or completely absent. Case in point - I studied Music Technology at one point in my meandering educational career - at one point, we had to set up and record a single to "Production quality". We had some very nice equipment: however, were missing a "pop screen" (It's a circle of fabric that goes between a microphone and a vocalist, to remove the sound of the vocalist blowing into the mic). One guy on our course went out and spent his hard earned cash on a professional pop filter for just over 50 quid. However, his pride was suddenly broken when Laura (a girl we were recording with) just calmly took off her tights, and pegged them over the mic retention bracket. This being said though, my best friend is a self professed "Audiophile". He regularly spends really silly amounts of money on gold plated banana plugs, and little bits and bobs to improve his system. He admits that 90% of the time, it doesn't make a difference that he can hear... but it makes him happy. And this is really all that should matter.
I guess all the pop screens were gone the next day, then... I believe that a well organized cabling system will have a better impact on sound quality than expensive power cables. (Shorter length = less coils that can produce noise)
Very true. Furthermore, regardless of the coils in the cable, if they're not shielded correctly (and most are very badly shielded), any cable is potentially an antenna. There's a very famous example of the Rolling Stones recording an album, and realising one of their leads was (albeit incredibly faintly) picking up a local radio station... Whether or not this is an urban legend is beside the point: at the end of the day, any length of cable can potentially cause noise, so you're absolutely right saying that the smaller they are the better.
lol.. I have pretty high end audio quality tastes and I have always just used lamp chord for speakers and bought the cheapest interconnects that don't fall apart.
FOOL!!! (Sorry, SOMEONE had to.) !@Oreon and back on topic, there's a sucker born every minute, and a whole world to take their money...many of those people who would buy this have such a deep understanding of audio, and yet undoubtedly never learned the simple science of digital.
Russ Andrews is a UK snake-oil merchant (and major advertiser in the Hi-Fi press), a purveyor of very expensive kettle leads. He's recently been jumped on by the Advertising Standards Authority after a consumer challenged various claims on scientific grounds. http://www.asa.org.uk/asa/adjudications/Public/TF_ADJ_44177.htm So they're not OTT claims, just typos.
ID rather be labeled a noob than a fool! maybe if those people buying those ethernet cables understood basic electronics, the world would be a better place!
LoL. 875. What you have could be what I had meddled with before at work (SMT line). I have to say, I wanted to smuggle one out for personal use, but the sheer weight of it puts me off, as it makes for a very difficult getaway. I know a case where the person insisted on using expensive S-Video cable instead of using component for DVD player to his LCD TV, and bought a HDMI cable costing over hundred bucks to be prepared for future.
No, but the little clippy retention bit doesn't get all corroded either What can I say? My $1.50 monoprice mini-jack optical cables have gold tips.
there is a difference between optical and analog, dude. quality actually matters to a certain degree when it comes to speaker cable and analog interconnects.
Digital is conveniant but riddled with issues, no matter what level of programme (from iTunes to Audition' or Acid') or operating system you use. It's like any industry, the higher the price the smaller and smaller the performance yielded. You can pay close to a million for a hypercar, or save half your money and buy a supercar which is slightly slower. Granted, can you honestly tell the difference between traveling at 200mph and 210mph? Same difference here I wouldn't consider myself an audiophile, I don't spend remotely anything close to audiophile levels, but my current audio set-up is a pair of Shure SE210's (earphones), Audio Technica ATH-AD700 (headphones), Rode Podcaster (USB microphone) and an Auzentech Prelude (soundcard). Anyone who claims they can't tell the difference between (for example) a pair of Apple earphones for their iPOD and a pair of Shure or Etymotic earphones, probably wants their ears tested. Each to his own of course!
This is why I don't like the term "audiophile". It shouldn't matter what you spend on gear. Someone with a £100 setup can be just as much of an audiophile as someone with a £100k setup, or even someone without a hifi at all. If you enjoy high quality audio reproduction then you're an audiophile, regardless of what you spend.
Yeah people who spend huge amounts of money on those things are not audiophiles or videophiles they are just spendaholics. But hey, anything that can redistribute the wealth from those who have too much to others is a good thing.
bloody hell! there's 25% off if you trade in your old cables! you could save a mint on your 100k printer cable....
So if I trade in my $4 radio shack jobbie, I can get 25% off this wonderfully fantastic cable? WOW! It's like I'm MAKING MONEY !!!! /me runs to the website...
