4 ms·

Yeah, it's just goofy. I find it interesting only for the novelty aspect of it I guess. Maybe that was the wrong word to use. Maybe horrifying. My hobby, pho

by vt240 5y ago

Yeah, it's just goofy. I find it interesting only for the novelty aspect of it I guess. Maybe that was the wrong word to use. Maybe horrifying. My hobby, photography, doesn't seem to be nearly as bad though. It has a lot of the same problems, as the Guitar speaker industry, arguments about the art, and coloration, but it's really missing the $3000 IEC cable aspect, that seems to thrive in the audiophile community.

dwohnitmok 5y ago
I suspect the relevant difference here between a hobby like photography and something like sound systems is whether it feels like the hobbyist has to exert themselves in addition to using the tool or whether the tools allow for purely passive consumption. Most hobbies where you have to "exert yourself," whether that's in the form of going out and taking pictures or e.g. getting on a bike and riding around have some element of the community that looks down (often with varying degrees of condescension) on people who buy a ton of expensive gadgets but don't have the ability to actually use those gadgets well. There's often some pride in being able to "get the job done" with the cheapest equipment possible to show how much of one's work is individual ability rather than technological help. That element probably ends up being some sort of counterbalancing social force to unbridled gadget consumption whose end product is $3000 cables.
- analog31 5y ago
  A thought I've had about the $3000 cables, is that they may serve mostly as loss leaders, in the following sense: A person may believe that the $3000 cables are a rip-off, and satisfy themselves with $300 cables instead.
  - dwohnitmok 5y ago
    Oh that's a fun thought.
  - vt240 5y ago
    Haha. Never thought of that one before. Well in this COVID induced nightmare to acquire cable or wire, anything is possible. I don't think it was factor previously. Although I'm not really sure, and would love to be informed, but I didn't think it was the actual normal reputable cable manufactures that were in on this audiophile scam. Please correct me if I'm wrong here. I don't really follow it closely. Previously, I've always been able to acquire wire and cables with the right parameters.

by vt240 5y ago

dwohnitmok 5y ago

I suspect the relevant difference here between a hobby like photography and something like sound systems is whether it feels like the hobbyist has to exert themselves in addition to using the tool or whether the tools allow for purely passive consumption. Most hobbies where you have to "exert yourself," whether that's in the form of going out and taking pictures or e.g. getting on a bike and riding around have some element of the community that looks down (often with varying degrees of condescension) on people who buy a ton of expensive gadgets but don't have the ability to actually use those gadgets well. There's often some pride in being able to "get the job done" with the cheapest equipment possible to show how much of one's work is individual ability rather than technological help. That element probably ends up being some sort of counterbalancing social force to unbridled gadget consumption whose end product is $3000 cables.

analog31 5y ago
A thought I've had about the $3000 cables, is that they may serve mostly as loss leaders, in the following sense: A person may believe that the $3000 cables are a rip-off, and satisfy themselves with $300 cables instead.
- dwohnitmok 5y ago
  Oh that's a fun thought.
- vt240 5y ago
  Haha. Never thought of that one before. Well in this COVID induced nightmare to acquire cable or wire, anything is possible. I don't think it was factor previously. Although I'm not really sure, and would love to be informed, but I didn't think it was the actual normal reputable cable manufactures that were in on this audiophile scam. Please correct me if I'm wrong here. I don't really follow it closely. Previously, I've always been able to acquire wire and cables with the right parameters.