Anyone who wants to make a quick easy buck in this industry can try their hand at the following time honoured practice. Get a deal with a manufacturer of cheap electrical cables to supply you with a variety of cables. You can specify various design criteria, braided, coloured sleeving, different termination etc etc.
Now you can sell them at whatever markup you fancy as long as you have a USP (unique selling point - marketing jargon) for each one.
All audio products sound different no doubt, but the only ones most humans can easily distinguish between are loudspeakers. You can also include Tube amps and turntables/ cartridges if you love analogue - who doesn't?). You can pay more for build quality, aesthetics and features and if you wish but don't kid yourself you're getting significantly better sound.
It seems criminal that some engineers are working extremely hard to further standards in these areas, often with little financial gain, whilst purveyors of snake oil rake in easy money.
Yet this is the way of the world and its only fair that newcomers to audio get a fair warning. Things were even worse before the age of the internet. Or were they? I guess on balance they were because in those days there was very little information outside magazines, a whole different world of hurt.
How many of us eventually leave this hobby due to disgust at being swindled?
Now you can sell them at whatever markup you fancy as long as you have a USP (unique selling point - marketing jargon) for each one.
All audio products sound different no doubt, but the only ones most humans can easily distinguish between are loudspeakers. You can also include Tube amps and turntables/ cartridges if you love analogue - who doesn't?). You can pay more for build quality, aesthetics and features and if you wish but don't kid yourself you're getting significantly better sound.
It seems criminal that some engineers are working extremely hard to further standards in these areas, often with little financial gain, whilst purveyors of snake oil rake in easy money.
Yet this is the way of the world and its only fair that newcomers to audio get a fair warning. Things were even worse before the age of the internet. Or were they? I guess on balance they were because in those days there was very little information outside magazines, a whole different world of hurt.
How many of us eventually leave this hobby due to disgust at being swindled?