2. cables
  3. 124957-818

Are audiophiles still out of their minds?

I've been in this hobby for 30 years and owned many gears throughout the years, but never that many cables.  I know cables can make a difference in sound quality of your system, but never dramatic like changing speakers, amplifiers, or even more importantly room treatment. Yes, I've evaluated many vaunted cables at dealers and at home over the years, but never heard dramatic effect that I would plunk $5000 for a cable. The most I've ever spent was $2700 for pair of speaker cables, and I kinda regret it to this day.  So when I see cable manufacturers charging 5 figures for their latest and "greatest" speaker cables, PC, and ICs, I have to ask myself who buys this stuff. Why would you buy a $10k+ cable, when there are so many great speakers, amplifiers, DACs for that kind of money, or room treatment that would have greater effect on your systems sound?  May be I'm getting ornery with age, like the water boy says in Adam Sandler's movie.
dracule1
dracule1 OP
1,085 posts
 
"From the OP’s perspective I could probably advocate the point that most components are seriously overpriced too. As an example, you can get a great if not outstanding sounding acoustic guitar made by a famous Spanish master for, say, $7k-$10k. It takes talent and decades of work to be able to build an instrument like that. What equipment can you get for $10K ? Decent sounding Rowland or Gryphon integrated? Not much. So they are overpriced big time too, correct?"

Being a classical guitarist myself, I really appreciate your comment here. England, France, and Spain all have master luthiers who have devoted their entire adult lives to their craft. Some of these guitars can take months to build and are true works of musical art, yet their prices are still less than most of these overmarketed cables. Intolerable, no? I guess not to the filthy rich audiophiles - my apologies to the filthy rich audiophiles for offending their delicate egos.
Post removed 
dracule1 OP
1,085 posts
 
"The OP just appears to enjoy making others feel bad......period. If you corner him with facts which demonstrate the preposterous nature of his claims, he will retaliate with a personal dagger like his endless insults to Geoff, his comments to folkfreak regarding the SQ of his DCS stack or to me regarding my Nordost cables, the merits of which are laughable on their face."

Actually, I like making people feel good, if you’ve read my posts. 😘 As for those who feel bad because of my views on audiophile cables, get over it. It’s just an Audiogon discussion thread.

I like Geoff. He’s just a smartass. I see no harm in him.

Folkfreak is so rich he doesn’t know what to do with his money, by his own admission. He had his say and left because he has better things to do.

Watts,
You on the other hand, are a disturbed individual. You keep stalking me. You give me the creeps, man. 😱😳😮


inna
7,604 posts
 
Dracule1, let's just not call them 'filthy rich', they are simply rich. We don't want to start a class civil war here, really. If you ask me, I would never pay $70k for any cables regardless of my finances. Yes, it's too much! And how much is not too much? Well, I am not sure, $15k for a masterpiece perhaps.
I had no idea that great acoustic guitars are also made in England and France, I thought only in Spain.
Yes, I have a high tolerance for the absurd but not unlimited. And I am tired of paying $20 per pound for my favourite European cheese ! Too much, goddamn it !
dracule1 OP
1,085 posts
 
Inna, ok. I'll call them "wonderfully rich". How's that for political correctness?  I wasn't trying to start a class war, as I wouldn't mind being "wonderfully rich" myself. But I wouldn't spend $10k for cables even if I hit a record Power Ball jackpot.

Oh yes. There are other countries that make excellent classical guitars besides Spain.  If I had the money, I would spend $10k on a classical guitar made by a master luthier. My favorite classical guitarist is Julian Bream, an Englishman, who was trained by the father of modern classical guitar Andre Segovia, a Spaniard.

European cheese? I thought velveeta was the bomb! I'm glad I don't have expensive taste in cheese. I have taste buds of a goat.
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