Edav Nomad

I just found this.

From Engadget:

We've always believed that the perceived quality boost that comes from using high-end cables is really just a trick of the mind (read: justifying the ridiculous cost of premium cables to yourself) -- if you've dropped enough cash, you can probably hear anything you want. Still, our belief is one thing -- cold hard proof is another, and it looks like a group of 12 self-professed "audiophiles" recently couldn't tell the difference between Monster 1000 speaker cables and plain old coat hangers. Yeah, coat hangers. The group was A-Bing different cables, and unbeknownst to them, the engineer running the test swapped out a set of cables for coat hangers with soldered-on speaker connections. Not a single one was then able to tell the difference between the Monster Cable and the hangers, and all agreed that the hangers sounded excellent. No wonder Monster has to rig HD displays. Still, we bet people still fall for the hype -- oh hey, if you're looking for the ultimate in sound, we've got half a meter of oxygen-free, triple-wrapped double-insulated Sonically Shielded AmpliSized Egyptian Llama cable here that we'll part ways with for just a couple grand.

Audiophiles can't tell the difference between Monster Cable and coat hangers -- Engadget

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Rebel Television

Real audiophiles are the first ones to tell you Monster Cables are a huge ripoff. and that you're better off buying generic goods off Newegg.

Darnk Yun

Audiophiles......*snort* hehehehe...

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Darien Caldwell

I once read an interview with the guy who started Monster cable. He went over how the original company was a failure, and it was through clever marketing they were able to start charging 200-400% more for their cables and make the company a success. That's all it's ever been, a marketing gimmick. Make a cable real fat, and tell people more 'sound atoms' can fit through it. LOL

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[H]arsh Styles

Void

if you like/collect music, and hate crappy sounding speakers you are an audiophile.

if you buy monster cables, you are a fucking idiot.

because, like the marketing says, monster cables make all the difference in the world.

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Robert Jung

If you hookedd up the cost hangers and cables to laboratory equipment instead of speakers, it is possible (maybe) that the cables will have slightly less power loss, and les likely but possibly better slightly better freq response and less distortion. Of course your ears can't really tell the difference. The only real difference is that the coat hangers are somewhat more likely to pick up interference from phones, baby monitors and thunderstorms ;-)

I've been known to make choices based on lab numbers even though I know there was no real world difference. I tell myself it's because I appreciate research and the beauty of aiming at perfection, but, erm I suspect that it also has something to do with the male of the species' preoccupation with measuring and comparing certain things, e.g. " My numbers are bigger than your numbers." Admit it guys, how many of us have tried to impress women by showing off our toys and telling her how our toys are so much better than the other guy's toys!

Brianna Ort

Wire coat hangers are quite thick conductors. When properly terminated I'm not at all surprised they transmit analog data well.

Would you want rigid wire connecting all your components?

And standard speaker pairs have done the job for years.

Eunoli Rain

Darnk Yun

I can see the collecting music part (oh wait, that's a music collector!), but really, no one likes crappy sounding speakers.

I lump audiophile in the same category as foodie (everyone likes food, whoopie! oh you tried wacky "woah! what's this?!" food! you deserve a special name! ) and fashonista.( person who really likes fashion.....and can be catty about it too.... and a lot of the time look like they got hit by a closet going 100mph)

screw that, you're a audio/food/fashion enthusiast!

ENTHUSIASTS! ALL OF YOU!

Gabriell Anatra

I dunno. I've met a few who do seem to prefer crap equipment.

Me, I can take many things or leave them as far as sound equipment goes. My current comp speaker setup is an old Panasonic shelf system for instance. Not audiophile stuff, but still not bad, if more than a little bulky.

Eris

Audiophiles are the target market for the emperor's new clothes.

Jura Shepherd

Interesting that the article specifically mentions that the coat hangers were soldered.

Ramen Jedburgh

Not a surprise, a conductor is a conductor.

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Ramen Jedburgh
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Imnotgoing Sideways

Unless it's a superconductor! XD

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Tranquillity Dexler

I would think the only potential difference they might be able to detect would be if the monster cables were shielded and someone drove by with a high powered CB/HAM or other transmitting radio.

Running transmitting radios, I've had some really bad RFI problems even with shielded COAX. The only thing that has ever worked is an RF choke. I cant imagine what it would be like running on a coat hanger.

Nibb Tardis

I've always wondered if there really was an audible difference between $5000 speakers and $50000 speakers.

At one point on the price range, brag power supercedes sound quality.

DanielRavenNest

Or a semiconductor.

Kalel

This reminded me of to a thread a long time ago...

American consumerism at its most hilarious

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Khamon

It's not really a "trick" of the mind. People just don't realize the difference between the nominal (by electronic standards) sensory input they receive and the vastly different perceptions their brains construct. Most marketing is based on the belief that the world is as I feel, hear, see, and taste it. Reality is just a bunch of spherical rabbits in a vacuum.

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Ramen Jedburgh

I think it is more a combination of manipulative marketing, a lqck of understanding of how electronics work, and people's blind belief and trust that "they know what they are talking about and wouldn't lie for profits".

Twisted Pharaoh

pfft... bring a smartphone or something that makes interferences nearby and tell me you don't hear any difference again.

Casey Pelous

There are still audiophiles in a world of crunchy, flat, brickwall filtered digital sound?

Well, bless their hearts. And their silly fat cables!

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Ramen Jedburgh

These MP3s sound like crap no matter which cable I use!

Actually I still buy CDs in some cases and I can hear the difference avlot.

Gabriell Anatra

It depends on how the file was made.

There are a lot of 'dead' compressed music files about. There are also a lot of 'dead' flattened CDs about.

The format means a lot less than the mastering does.

Rebel Television

I think part of the problem is how Best Buy and its ilk price non-Monster cables too. If Best Buy priced generic cables to compete with NewEgg and Amazon, people would buy the $10 cord over the $75. But people see a $50 generic cable and a $75 Monster cable, they think, "Oh well, I'm spending $1000 on the TV, what's another $25 matter to ensure top quality."