In defense of quantum products.


There are many audio products that have the word quantum in their name. The brand names Synergistic Research, Bybee and Kemp and Audio Magic come to mind. There are others.

Frankly, some of the explanations for these products are difficult for me to understand. I understand the general theory of quantum physics but when it comes to the details I often find myself getting lost very quickly. Are the explanations offered up by makers of quantum products accurate or not? And does it really matter? Is audio about understanding what manufacturers say or about enjoying the music?

Personally, I am only concerned whether the product works in my system. If the explanation is satisfactory but it does not deliver I could not care less about the theories offered in their defense. Happily, I have been lucky with products from Synergistic Research, Bybee and Audio Magic. I have not used any Kemp products yet.

What have your experiences been with quantum products?
sabai
I searched and read a few thing on the Nordost and Synergistic sites as some homework in response to this thread.

The word quantum comes up many times when you run a search on the word, but I did not see a concise explanation of exactly what it meant in the context of the site ( I thought I did see some clear things that made some sense a while back on the Synergistic site when some of their power related products caught my interest but not this time). The term appears to be used mainly as a principle and/or tool in testing as part of their R&D process as best I could tell and is mentioned in the context of many products. I could have missed some things. SInce it was so frequently used but an explanation not obvious I did not spend too much time digging. I gathered that they are applying a technique that originated in the medical field back in the 90's but a quick Google search turned up nothing on other sites explaining further.

Whatever. I have no doubt these products sound good or they would not be in business for long. If the customers are happy with the products that's all that matters. I could easily live with them I am sure but doubt I would be willing to make the investment required.

I expect all expensive audio products to "sound really really good" though of course we all will tend to like some more than others. I can count on one hand probably the expensive audio gear I have heard around that did not sound good at all to me and I suspect that was because of problems with specific units and/or the setup.

I agree in the end that customer satisfaction is all that matters.
David12,
Everyone has their opinion which is as it should be. The final arbiter is the ears. IMO.
Polk432 wrote:
"If all the high priced tweeks out there really worked why don't companies just take a 10.00 non refundable deposit, let the customer try it out, and send it back if it doesn't really work."

Well, I did exactly that with Machina Dynamica's (Geoff Kait) Teleportation Tweak. He offered a money-back guarantee. I purchased the product and Geoff administered the tweak. The result? Absolutely NO change in the sound-quality of my system. I told Geoff of this and he immediately refunded my money. He ALSO removed his money-back guarantee. Now that's what I call standing behind your product!!!

Most of these wacky, way-out products are exactly that - a way to separate gullible audiophiles from their money. No thanks, I'm trying to quit...

-RW-
I've been fortunate to have had friends lend me tweeks, high priced wires, IC's, bricks, stones, elevators, and the like, and NONE of them made any difference in sound at all. I'm just happy I spent my money on better equipment. Adding subs, a different set of speakers, eq's, going from SS to Tubes and things like that will make a difference in sound, but to me all of the tweeks mentioned are just a ripoff. Nice to see RW got a refund, and didn't have to learn the hard way, or fool himself into thinking the tweeks were working. Just enjoy the stereo.