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The Dynaco Tube Audio Forum

Dedicated to the restoration and preservation of all original Dynaco tube audio equipment - Customer support for Tubes4hifi VTA tube amp and preamp kits and all Dynakitparts.com products


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Dallas
Gregg R.
Maintarget
pedrocols
corndog71
arledgsc
deepee99
peterh
baddog1946
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    the most ridiculously priced cables so far

    baddog1946
    baddog1946


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    Post by baddog1946 Sat May 09, 2015 11:33 am

    This topic keeps coming up but I had to expose it at it's sublime level. These cables must be the worst example of over priced audio gear I have seen yet.
    This excerpt is copied from an article on 6 moons site. My god who are these guys?? I can buy a car for the same amount as 1/2 meter of this stuff.

    May 2015 - NordOst pushes Odin north of the wall - The company's new "Supreme Reference Series" is called Odin 2 and will bow in Munich spanning analog, digital and tonearm interconnects, loudspeaker, biwire jumper and power cables. "Each uses our patented dual mono-filament process, total signal ground control and proprietary Holo:Plug connectors."

    Pricing is $16'999 for a 1.25m Odin 2 power cord; $19'999 for a 0.6m/pr of analog interconnects; 11'999 for a 1.25m phono cable; $10'999 for a 1.25m digital cable (coax or AES/EBU); and $29'999 for a 1m/pr of speaker cables.
    http://www.6moons.com/news/news.html
    peterh
    peterh


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    Post by peterh Sat May 09, 2015 11:44 am

    One should not be surprised by the stupidity that is may be demonstrated.
    The good thing is that we ( who don't buy ) feel a tiny bit more intelligent then before.
    deepee99
    deepee99


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    Post by deepee99 Sat May 09, 2015 12:24 pm

    Audioholics had an interesting post
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RR4crLxpd4U&index=45&list=PLvfTZmvZzNmBVl-n5yyCDSM63njbNRB69
    on this recently.
    Congratulations are du NordOst, who've just nudged AudioQuest into the No. 2 snake oil division and now leads by a cable-tow.
    arledgsc
    arledgsc


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    Post by arledgsc Sat May 09, 2015 2:26 pm

    Sheesh!.... On power cords what about the 100 ft. of Romex used to wire the building and the $5 circuit breaker? That always leaves the snake oil buyers with a deer in the headlights stare.
    corndog71
    corndog71


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    Post by corndog71 Sat May 09, 2015 3:10 pm

    arledgsc wrote:Sheesh!....  On power cords what about the 100 ft. of Romex used to wire the building and the $5 circuit breaker?  That always leaves the snake oil buyers with a deer in the headlights stare.

    What good does a water filter do at the tap when it travels so far from wherever it comes from?
    deepee99
    deepee99


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    Post by deepee99 Sat May 09, 2015 3:29 pm

    Some more fun reading:

    http://www.audioholics.com/frequent-questions/audioquest-cable-theories-exposed

    http://www.audioholics.com/audio-video-cables/top-ten-signs-an-audio-cable-vendor-is-selling-you-snake-oil/audioquest-responds-to-top-10-snake-oil-article

    Corndog71, I think you're doing apples & oranges here. A tap filter removes the crud from the water (man- and nature-added). I don't see any power cord even claiming to do that!

    I have a Fuhrman power supply that guarantees +~- 1 volt variation off of 120v and allegedly removes spikes and dips before they can hit the electronics. Maybe that's snake-oil, too, but the McIntosh blue volt/amp display is way cool.
    pedrocols
    pedrocols


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    Post by pedrocols Sat May 09, 2015 10:52 pm

    Proudly made in USA....
    Maintarget
    Maintarget


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    Post by Maintarget Sat May 09, 2015 11:01 pm

    Typical designer BS hey its so pretty I'll just add an extra digit to the cost and tell em how great it is Laughing
    Gregg R.
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    Post by Gregg R. Sat May 09, 2015 11:33 pm

    Sorry fellows, but I don't have a problem with over-priced cables. No one is required to buy these things!!

    There are many products and services which appear snake-oil to non-enthusiasts. I have trouble convincing anyone that they need to spend more than $200 for a bicycle, especially if they just plan to ride around the block with the kids on a Saturday morning.

    I have also have trouble convincing anyone that they need a hi-fi more sophisticated than a Bose system.

    My current hobbies (vices?) include cycling and 4.1 tube audio. Try explaining to someone that they would be better off with padded spandex pants!

    Gregg R.
    corndog71
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    Post by corndog71 Sun May 10, 2015 12:43 am

    Gregg R. wrote:Sorry fellows, but I don't have a problem with over-priced cables. No one is required to buy these things!!

    There are many products and services which appear snake-oil to non-enthusiasts. I have trouble convincing anyone that they need to spend more than $200 for a bicycle, especially if they just plan to ride around the block with the kids on a Saturday morning.

    I have also have trouble convincing anyone that they need a hi-fi more sophisticated than a Bose system.

    My current hobbies (vices?) include cycling and 4.1 tube audio. Try explaining to someone that they would be better off with padded spandex pants!

    Gregg R.

    No kidding.  I recommended a pair of speakers costing $500/pr (Vanatoo) to a non-audio forum and one guy responded that he couldn't imagine spending that much on speakers.  He said he'd never spent more than $50 on a pair of speakers and that he could always count on the local resale shop for a decent sounding pair.  I found it fascinating that he was also a musician and yet thought so little of speakers.

    I won't argue that cable prices can be ridiculous. They can. But so can the prices for cars, watches, clothes, boats, furniture, and basically anything built to a better than mass market level.
    baddog1946
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    Post by baddog1946 Sun May 10, 2015 10:36 am

    Wow! Hard to believe anything can be said to justify such absurd prices as those cables. Has someone been drinking the KoolAid?
    At those prices the conductors could be made of solid gold. Gold the most ductile of all metals and is only $1190 per ounce today. An ounce would stretch out enough to make any of those wires easily. This is pure snake oil at it's most silly level. Those prices are indefensible IMHO.
    corndog71
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    Post by corndog71 Sun May 10, 2015 1:23 pm

    On one hand I'll never buy them simply because I can't afford them. On the other, I know there are a few factors involved with the pricing of those cables. Their dealers get a pretty nice cut of that. Many of these cables require labor to assemble and terminate them. That costs money. I'm pretty sure they aren't churning out millions of feet of this stuff so that smaller scale is a cost factor as well.

    I can't defend every expensive cable out there but I know there are a few companies that try to do things right and publish their electrical specs and explain their designs without resorting to pseudoscience.

    For what it's worth which probably aint much, it was hearing cable differences that got me into this hobby. Some cables are better than others. If you haven't experienced it, then perhaps you haven't given them a fair shot. I would recommend trying Kimber 4VS. It's not too expensive and doesn't have any magic to it. It's 13AWG and braided to reduce the effects of EMI and RFI. To me, it makes a clear difference over generic zip cord. Hell, if you try the 4VS and don't like it then I'll buy it off you!
    Dallas
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    Post by Dallas Sun May 10, 2015 5:14 pm

    P. T. Barnum had it right.

    Some of my personal favorites that are along the same lines:

    The Super Intelligent Chip

    Furutech Rhodium receptacle

    Shunyata IEC power cord

    There are many more examples, of course, but I do get a kick out of these. I would really dig selling audiophile-grade service entrance panelboxes, conduit, and #12 AWG conductor. Hmmm... Smile
    corndog71
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    Post by corndog71 Mon May 11, 2015 10:22 am

    avatar
    Tom


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    Post by Tom Mon May 11, 2015 3:14 pm

    cables schmables
    old school wireless...

     the most ridiculously priced cables so far Panasonic-turntable1
    avatar
    wildiowa


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    Post by wildiowa Tue May 12, 2015 4:45 am

    There is only one solution for this...a live listening test and competition! Put the contenders in a room and set up a blind A/B comparison and add a few placebos or ringers in there and sort it out. Might be a good activity or seminar to schedule at the next Montana Tube Fest. This always is a hoot when expensive coffees or other products are compared in a blind test and something like Aldi's wins. I love it. I do agree this is America, however, and you can charge or do whatever you want and if the public pays it and you get rich, well that's capitalism. Seems to work well for ex-presidents and their relatives.
    dougmon
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    Post by dougmon Tue May 12, 2015 9:50 am

    My thinking on this is that the solution is to ignore the expensive cables. If you like your current cables, keep them. If the expensive cables are that much better (i.e., they bring the musicians into your living room), well, then we who can't afford them would be unhappy with our current cables for quite a while. Why invite dissatisfaction?

    Come to think of it, what's the big deal about "bringing the musicians into the room"? Do we really want musicians where we live? They don't wash, they mooch food and money, and they "borrow" your car when they need it. Better to just have a good stereo.
    baddog1946
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    Post by baddog1946 Tue May 12, 2015 11:35 am

    At the price of these cables you could bring a very famous band into your living room.
    deepee99
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    Post by deepee99 Tue May 12, 2015 11:52 am

    From another audio site:

    "One of my favourite apocryphal stories is the one of the audiophiles coming up to a company stand at a trade show, excited by the new bright orange cable attached to the speakers. The sales guy proclaimed it was a brand new product range they haven't announced yet. After the show, the sales guy went to the tech crew and asked about this new product that he'd never seen before. The tech crew replied that they forgot the speaker cable, so went down to home depot and wired up a $5 power extension cord."
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    Tom


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    Post by Tom Tue May 12, 2015 12:58 pm

    They probably shouldn't have gone cheap like that.

    Just think how much better the 30 amp orange extension cord would sound!!!

    Smile
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    j4570


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    Post by j4570 Thu May 14, 2015 11:34 am

    I always liked this article regarding speaker wire:

    http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm

    It's important to make sure you have good wire, but expensive doesn't always mean good. I'm sure there is a law of diminishing returns and for me it probably ends a lot sooner than those with more disposable income.

    Lots of good info on that site about McIntosh as well. I'm sure many of you have read it.

    Myself, I prefer independent 4 gauge welding cable for each connection. Not. But I did use it in the 1990's for wiring power to the rear for car stereo amps as it was a lot cheaper (and better quality, double insulated too) than the name brand stuff being sold, which was little more than restamped battery cable. There were some exceptions, but the welding cable was 1/10 of the price. And you could even buy the distribution blocks that split it into 4 8-10 gauge cables for about $3 from an industrial electrical supplier while they were $20-50 from a supplier (some were just those blocks with a sticker applied!!). I had a really decent sounding car without spending the ton of money that some spent. But it's all about what you enjoy.

    I explain to my kids all the time that spending money is about making choices. Sure, I could drive a more expensive car, but I'd need to adjust somewhere else, so we make decisions to what we each feel is the best for us!

    So no super expensive wire for me. That's my choice.

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