2 ms·

This is absolutely true, but I do not think it is merely limited to audiophile gear. The thing is, I don’t think overpriced audiophile gear is really that awfu

by jchw 5y ago

This is absolutely true, but I do not think it is merely limited to audiophile gear. The thing is, I don’t think overpriced audiophile gear is really that awful, its just awful value. The adage that there are no bad products, only bad prices is obviously flawed, BUT, sometimes it really is just bad prices. This cable is probably pretty good. For the price, it ought to be, because even the best cable money can buy would probably leave a fat margin at this price. Likewise, good mechanical keyboards can sell for a lot. Thousands. It’s no freakin joke. Maybe the prices haven’t gotten as meaninglessly inflated as audiophile gear, but it’s in a similar order of magnitude imo. We’re only talking about the extremes after all; a good pair of Audio Technicas is never going to be a ripoff, but that doesn’t mean someone around the corner isn’t trying to sell snake oil. Maybe audiophile gear really is different, but if it is I suspect it has something to do with the audience its marketed for and where the money comes from rather than an inherent difference in the markets.

tialaramex 5y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Belt https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Belt PWB Electronics shows that even if you believe some audiophile gear might actually "work" the enthusiasts can't tell the difference and will buy nonsense that doesn't do anything. That's important here, whether you think clicky keyboards are good is a matter of personal preference. Maybe you like how vinyl sounds. Maybe you prefer the wow and flutter of a cheap mono tape player from 2015 over the notionally far better 1982 Sony WM-D6. But whether there is even a perceptible difference is something we can actually measure and of course treatments like the "Quantum Clip" do not make a difference. Maybe Peter Belt was delusional, and maybe he was a scammer, and maybe somewhere in between, but his products can't work yet audiophiles bought them anyway.

by jchw 5y ago

tialaramex 5y ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Belt https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Belt PWB Electronics shows that even if you believe some audiophile gear might actually "work" the enthusiasts can't tell the difference and will buy nonsense that doesn't do anything. That's important here, whether you think clicky keyboards are good is a matter of personal preference. Maybe you like how vinyl sounds. Maybe you prefer the wow and flutter of a cheap mono tape player from 2015 over the notionally far better 1982 Sony WM-D6. But whether there is even a perceptible difference is something we can actually measure and of course treatments like the "Quantum Clip" do not make a difference. Maybe Peter Belt was delusional, and maybe he was a scammer, and maybe somewhere in between, but his products can't work yet audiophiles bought them anyway.