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?
128x128hilde45

djones51
"
 think one of the worst hoaxes in audio has been the attacks and disinformation on ABX and Other forms of blind testing ."

It is not a fraud, deception, or hoax to challenge, question, or refute the faults and limitations of the various forms of blind testing including abx part of the problem is that what many consider hear to be a blind test may be blind but they are not scientific because they leave other variables without proper, appropriate, and necessary controls. 


The real issue for some here is that the "blind test" is part of their fundamentalist core belief system as has been noted by various other users, contributors, and writers to this forum and when you have blind faith in any entity you cannot accept criticism, fault finding or  doubt directed, attached, or aimed at the fundamentalist belief itself it is immune from questioning.
+2 djones51.   There is definitely a concerted effort to spread false information. It is similar to other industries which have been repeatedly debunked, but they still continue, many whose sales far exceed this little corner of the debunked world.


Similarly, though, those that should be most upset are the biggest proponents. Is this a misery loves company thing or an anti-authority thing

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It is not a fraud, deception, or hoax to challenge, question, or refute
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If you had stopped there, the overall validity of the post went way up.
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arafiq
682 posts
05-18-2021 3:36pm
Biggest hoax >> ’wife who pokes her head into your listening room and proclaims she hears a difference when you have recently (unbeknownst to her) acquired some new component’.

^^^^^^^^ Today's winner ^^^^^^^^^^^
Fuses for one that cost Like $2500, and way way too much emphasis on room treatment crap to excess. You know, flying saucers on the ceiling, and weird azz stuff hanging from walls and In corners and behind speakers and between speakers and behind you and what your sitting on and of course, you must absolutely not have a coffee table or god forbid a picture frame with glass! Oh my, a TV or an equipment rack between the speakers!....I don’t know what world some of you live in, but it ain’t mine....you must have a wonderful marriage....I could go on & on but I’ll spare ya all...oh wait, we must not forget to mention those potential seismic good vibrations...everthing should be mounted on a slinky!!! Pronto! Asap!
Oh crap, almost forgot, shut off those breakers to the fridge and the ac when you are intently listening, and then forget to turn em back on....😜
hilde45-
@bdp24 Are the Townshend products very helpful even for those of us with concrete floors covered with a short rug? My floor feels very stable, and while I respect the idea of vibration control enough to try it, I wonder if my rig is very susceptible to the kinds of vibrations these products help to mitigate?

Concrete is just as "susceptible" as you put it. Yes even slab concrete poured on the ground. I lived in a basement like that, it was very easy to feel vibrations from one person in one room coming through the floor right under the wall into my room. If I can feel and hear it then for sure it affects the sound when amplified a hundred times.

Think of the old-times movie trick of the train robber putting his ear to the track. This works because sound travels through even something as solid as 6" thick solid steel. 

You play your speaker, it sets the concrete to vibrate, it rings, and yes it settles down very fast but for that small fraction of a second until it does it is smearing fine detail. Here, watch https://youtu.be/BOPXJDdwtk4?t=120 Solid concrete floor. See?