Slashdot Mirror

I could think of a few reasons...

• this
• this
• this
• this

The linked article features $500 for some simple cables. But people can spend MUCH MORE MONEY than $500 on simple cables. For example:

$699 for 3M of speaker cables: (look for STEREOVOX Firebird Speaker Cables, 3M): http://www.gcaudio.com/products/steals.html

Ironically, the products are labelled "steals". Very true indeed.

But there's more. Not all products are "steals". "The next step up is the LectraLine cables priced at $295 for the 1M" http://www.gcaudio.com/products/newArrivals.html

But it gets better. At musicdirect.com you have power cords for $2,699.99 !!! Obviously it's "The Absolute Sound Golden Ear Award Winner!" Of course. http://www.musicdirect.com/c-650-power-cables.aspx

But it gets better, again. At nordost they build power cables made out of "99.99999% oxygen free copper conductors." I let you imagine the cost of production. A mere 1.25M of power cord is 8,795.00 (and these are UK pounds, worth more than a dollar). For 5M count 20,495.00 pounds. Yes, that's about $31K !!! http://www.highendcable.co.uk/Nordost%20ODIN%20Power%20Cords.htm

But it gets better, so much so that it gets boring. But still. Can you spend more than $31k on a simple pair of wires? Well, yes, you can. Look at the bottom of that page, 6M of speaker cable for only $50k. A bargain, really. http://www.audiofederation.com/dealership/prices/nordost/index.htm#prices

It is astonishing to say the least. That said, it some people have the money...

The linked article features $500 for some simple cables. But people can spend MUCH MORE MONEY than $500 on simple cables. For example:

$699 for 3M of speaker cables: (look for STEREOVOX Firebird Speaker Cables, 3M): http://www.gcaudio.com/products/steals.html

Ironically, the products are labelled "steals". Very true indeed.

But there's more. Not all products are "steals". "The next step up is the LectraLine cables priced at $295 for the 1M" http://www.gcaudio.com/products/newArrivals.html

But it gets better. At musicdirect.com you have power cords for $2,699.99 !!! Obviously it's "The Absolute Sound Golden Ear Award Winner!" Of course. http://www.musicdirect.com/c-650-power-cables.aspx

But it gets better, again. At nordost they build power cables made out of "99.99999% oxygen free copper conductors." I let you imagine the cost of production. A mere 1.25M of power cord is 8,795.00 (and these are UK pounds, worth more than a dollar). For 5M count 20,495.00 pounds. Yes, that's about $31K !!! http://www.highendcable.co.uk/Nordost%20ODIN%20Power%20Cords.htm

But it gets better, so much so that it gets boring. But still. Can you spend more than $31k on a simple pair of wires? Well, yes, you can. Look at the bottom of that page, 6M of speaker cable for only $50k. A bargain, really. http://www.audiofederation.com/dealership/prices/nordost/index.htm#prices

It is astonishing to say the least. That said, it some people have the money...

CD/DVD demagnetizer

Wow, that's incredibly brazen. Can't wait to hear how crisp my mp3s sound once I demagnetise my hard drive.

Having good equipment set up well in a good room isn't silly, but paying thousands of dollars for a speaker cable and a few hundred more for a CD/DVD demagnetizer) is.

There are two definitions for audiophile. You seem to be using the "someone who loves good audio" definition. The person you're replying to is using the "someone who spends ridiculous amounts of money on things that claim to work in ways that would break the laws of physics" definition.

http://www.gcaudio.com/resources/howtos/demagnetization.html

I think the best figure I got is here. Symphonic music peak: 120 - 137dB

So from absolute quiet to a full symphonic peak 96 dB isn't quite enough. 24 bit = 140 dB should be plenty though. It's a bit like HDTV though, if you take the absolute eye threshold and huge screens, 1080p really isn't enough. But I seriously doubt people would be able to tell the difference between that and a 4k image. But if we have the space - which we do have for audio at least - I wouldn't mind 96/24 being available for the consumer. It's not like they gain much by NOT giving it to us.

They already have the sound cannons that cause instantaneous and permanent hearing damage, and can rapidly cause permanent deafness.

They were used against protesters to the G20 meeting.

Just to protect against your comment being skewed as "police were causing permanent damage to protesters", the Toronto police were approved to use the LRAD in voice mode but blocked from using alert mode. Used as per their instructions and judge's orders, the devices are unlikely to cause permanent damage. Similarly, being authorized to carry guns isn't the same as shooting protesters dead.

Sources:
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/torontog20summit/article/828473--toronto-police-can-use-sound-cannons-but-at-lower-range
http://open.salon.com/blog/gordon_wagner/2010/05/27/lrads_--_sound_cannon_for_crowd_control
http://www.gcaudio.com/resources/howtos/loudness.html

I like how you take the time to do all that research but you don't bother doing something as simple as typing "Sonic Cannon G20" into Google. If you had you might have realized that he was probably referring to the 2009 meeting in Pittsburgh, not the 2010 meeting in Toronto.

The first link to said search:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2009/sep/25/sonic-cannon-g20-pittsburgh/

I'm assuming the GP wanted it to come back intact. Ever watched baggage handlers load luggage?

Yes. I used to regularly bring back beer from the UK to Canada in glass bottles and never had one break. If you pack them round well with clothes it is not a problem.

Given that they make those announcements at 200dB

Really? You might want to check this chart. At 125 dB cound can cause physical pain, at 180 decibels you will cause the death of hearing tissue and 194 dB is the loudest, sustained sound possible. Since I would estimate that onboard a jet the ambient sound is around 60-70 dB I would estimate that the announcements are around 70-80 dB i.e. up to twice as loud as a normal converstation. However since a loud rock concert is 115 dB and this is what they are trying to recreate it is not unreasonable to assume that a volume of 90dB or more is used which would be twice as loud as the announcement. Hence it IS is real problem.

Yes, but that will do you no good if your CD is magnetized! You need to rush out and buy a CD demagnetizer to get the full audio experience!

http://www.gcaudio.com/cgi-bin/store/showProduct.cgi?id=190

Some of you may remember the CD pen? A green magic marker that you use to color the edges of your CDs so the laser beam wouldn't leak out the edges? Check out http://www.halfbakery.com/idea/Audiophile_20Hearin g_20Test for details. Or how about the CD demagnitizer (http://www.gcaudio.com/cgi-bin/store/showProduct. cgi?id=190) to remove that annoying light-bending magnetic field from your precious collection. I could go on, but not without deviating more from the thread topic.

Notwithstanding that the average person sees/hears no difference between these "tweaks" and the normal off-the-shelf fair, companies like this are lucrative enough in that small niche market to make a profit. People with "ophile syndrome" will never be convinced that their perceptions are somehow flawed. As a former manager of an audiophile store and a technician of 30 years, I can attest to that. The more you argue, the more they will be convinced that you are unable to appreciate the finer points of whatever they are into.

Is this net card snake oil? Probably. Is it stupid to pay $279 for a network card to gain 1-2 FPS advantage? I won't buy one, but value is a matter of perception (however flawed). Yes *ophiles are a curious bunch with deep pockets. The extension to the computer market was inevitable. I'm just surprised no one thought of this marketing angle sooner.

...upgraded cables...

Do you know this one saying about money and sense and one being more than the other? Yeah. It applies to people who buy Monster Cables.

On a related note, may I suggest you buy a CD Demagnetizer? Once I played a demagnetized CD to a friend and

"It can be as loud as about 150 decibels..."

According to this decibal chart, that's somewhere between "jet at 100 feet" and "death of hearing tissue." I used to go to a summer camp near an air force base, and A-10 warthogs would frequently fly overhead. I doubt they were any closer than a few hundred feet, but they were still incredibly loud. It was near impossible to hear anyone speak/yell until the aircraft had passed. As for this weapon, my guess is that the pain of the sound it produces (while the most noticeable of the effects) is probably no more important than the fear and confusion it imbues.

Yes, and she really needs to sing underwater for the pressure, as the loudest sound possible in air (STP) is 194dB.

For example, see here.

Um, who said it wasn't above 115db? Clearly if they had been following the rules in the first place it wouldn't be a problem. According to this page it starts hurting at 125 db, so the sound may very well be above that when you're holding the phone against your ear, which would place it well off the end of the safety chart.