Ok hi-fi nuts - £21 for a rubber band?!

[swee'pea99]

I can't help wondering if people who've paid that much money for a rubber band might be predisposed to fool themselves into hearing a difference, whether or not there really is one - after all, otherwise you might feel a bit of a twit mightn't you?

listeners prefered a or b almost the same percentage when a and b were the same

The human mind is a funny thing. Tests on the placebo effect show among other things that placebos work even when people are told they're just placebos; that big placebo pills work better than small ones, coloured ones better than white ones; and that placebo injections work better than either. Our capacity for self-delusion is a wonderful thing.

 

[Profpointy]

I do think if some of the more outlandish claims of hi-fi engineers actually wrote up their results, they'd have the nobel prize for physics sewn up for decades to come.

But for all the mockery, deserved or not, good kit in any field does tend to be better and does have to be paid for. Of course, the trick is to work out what is worth paying for and what is expensive BS

 

[threebikesmcginty]

I do think if some of the more outlandish claims of hi-fi engineers actually wrote up their results, they'd have the nobel prize for physics sewn up for decades to come.

But for all the mockery, deserved or not, good kit in any field does tend to be better and does have to be paid for. Of course, the trick is to work out what is worth paying for and what is expensive BS

Limiting factors are also the state of your ears and the sound quality of the media you're using.

 

[cisamcgu]

But for all the mockery, deserved or not, good kit in any field does tend to be better and does have to be paid for. Of course, the trick is to work out what is worth paying for and what is expensive BS

I agree, mostly:
Turntables - mechanical marvels designed to get sound from the most difficult of medium - worth paying for until it becomes more of a work of art than a functional machine (A CD will sound better though)
Amplifiers - All the same
CD players / Streamers - All the same
Speakers - trust your ears and buy the ones you like the sound of, and fit in the room - but again, the more expensive are probably better up to a point.
Cables - analogue - nice and thick, nothing else matters : digital ones - don't make me laugh

 

[Profpointy]

Limiting factors are also the quality of your ears and the sound quality of the media you're using.

I remeber buying a minor item from some guys who mostly did v expensive hi fi installs for people, consultants if you like. Got the full demo of the high end set up - not a sales pitch: they were simply enthusiasts. The guy was extolling the virtues of the speakers have a frequency response up to 70kHz. He had some kind of argument that this made a difference despite being inaudable, and not actually on the record in the first place.

That said my high end Kef speakers - a £500 fleaby bargain; £3500 new are genuinely very very good and worth the money. Arguably even worth the £3k new price. Special cable, not so much.

 

[classic33]

I'm now selling a revolutionary new hi-fi product.

My new product, DragoTecho (tm) Harmon-O-Eliminator actively works to reduce envirnonmental harmonic vibrations from the soundstage, thus bestowing a wonderful warmth, depth and height to the listening experience.

Years of R&D testing the latest high-tech aerospace techniques and materials have enabled us to bring this revolutionary product to market for the amazingly low price of £99.99.

View attachment 375785

'Roly" beat you years ago.

 

[swee'pea99]

I agree, mostly:
Turntables - mechanical marvels designed to get sound from the most difficult of medium - worth paying for until it becomes more of a work of art than a functional machine (A CD will sound better though)
Amplifiers - All the same
CD players / Streamers - All the same
Speakers - trust your ears and buy the ones you like the sound of, and fit in the room - but again, the more expensive are probably better up to a point.
Cables - analogue - nice and thick, nothing else matters : digital ones - don't make me laugh

You missed out the most important: cartridges. Cartridges are to the setup what lenses are to photography. And yes, better cartridges do give much better sound. And no, CDs don't sound better.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

You missed out the most important: cartridges. Cartridges are to the setup what lenses are to photography. And yes, better cartridges do give much better sound. And no, CDs don't sound better.

Depends on a few factors though, I've got some great sounding vinyl and some shite and I've got some great sounding CD's and some shite. Mastering, pressing, all sorts of stuff can affect this so I don't think you can say one sounds better than the other.

 

[swee'pea99]

Depends on a few factors though, I've got some great sounding vinyl and some shite and I've got some great sounding CD's and some shite. Mastering, pressing, all sorts of stuff can affect this so I don't think you can say one sounds better than the other.

You can if you're a pretentious git who's invested quite heavily in vinyl. Vinyl sounds better.

See?

 

[threebikesmcginty]

You can if you're a pretentious git who's invested quite heavily in vinyl. Vinyl sounds better.

See?

Fair point.

 

[swee'pea99]

Let me qualify that....I agree totally. I have records that despite being to all appearances pretty much brand new sound pretty crap. Much more so than CDs, very few of which seem to be genuinely bad. But the best of my vinyl craps on the best CDs.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Let me qualify that....I agree totally. I have records that despite being to all appearances pretty much brand new sound pretty crap. Much more so than CDs, very few of which seem to be genuinely bad. But the best of my vinyl craps on the best CDs.

I've got some superb sounding CD's, lots from the 80s early 90s before all this remastering and loudness nonsense. Anyway have you not got an SACD player?

 

[swee'pea99]

I've got some superb sounding CD's, lots from the 80s early 90s before all this remastering and loudness nonsense. Anyway have you not got an SACD player?

You just made that up didn't you...

 

[threebikesmcginty]

You just made that up didn't you...

I can say some other poncy bollocks if it'll convince you.

 

[swee'pea99]

I can say some other poncy bollocks if it'll convince you.

Nothing will convince me - I am The Keeper of the Flame!