Biggest audio hoaxes


Often when people discuss audio, they talk about "snake oil" or "hoaxes."

It's pretty typical to use the term hoax as a tactic against another who disagrees with one, or holds an unusual opinion or vouches for something which has not been verified. That's not what I mean by a "hoax." 

By "hoax" I mean an audio product or claim which has been pretty definitively disproved. Maybe not to everyone's satisfaction, but to common consensus.

So -- with that definition of hoax in mind, what are some of the biggest audiophile hoaxes you've heard of?
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Mark me down as a CD Stoplight believer

Did many an A/B test with family and friends; overwhelming majority noticed a difference!
CD players sound better than turntables. Worst hoax ever. Music industry wanted us to rebuy everything we owned on vinyl.

Video industry is worse....VHS, Beta, Laser Discs, mini discs, DVDs, bluray. Anything to get you to buy the latest and greatest. It's the source resolution. I know little about video admittedly, but isn't film still the best?

Townshend pods are great, especially for isolation. I like their platform because the pods are directly screwed into it for easier adjustment, if any. Also check out Symposium products. Their roller blocks serve the same purpose as pods and also dissipate distortion from the source you put them under. The thing I like about them is you don't have to match spring (or pod) tensions. They use ball bearings. They also make shelves of varying thicknesses and quality and also isolate and dissipate, focusing more on dissipation than isolation. Also, you can actually talk to the owner and he will take the time to make specific recommendations because of the myriad levels and variety of his products. They work surprisingly well with clarity. They don't add anything. they subtract distortion.
russ69   I agree about that Lexicon Cd player, but this was not the only piece this company bought and put in their own box. That OPPO CD player was $500.  Lexicon put the entire unit, outer cabinet and all, into an aluminum box and raised the price to $2500.