$35K for Speaker Cables!

[audio amateur]

Listen to a carefully matched $350k system and you'll understand.
rw

Not sure I'll ever have the opportunity of doing so...

[E-Stat]

Not sure I'll ever have the opportunity of doing so...

It is like riding in a two seat F1. Walls disappear. You hear details from your favorite music that you had never before heard - even for stuff you've listened to countless times. You immediately hear rhythmic patterns that were never before rendered so plainly. I hope you are mistaken.

rw

[audio amateur]

It is like riding in a two seat F1. Walls disappear. You hear details from your favorite music that you had never before heard - even for stuff you've listened to countless times. You immediately hear rhythmic patterns that were never before rendered so plainly. I hope you are mistaken.

rw

I'm pretty sure riding in an F1 would be the (much) more thrilling experience.
In all honesty though, 350K? You could almost buy a lifetime of tickets to the real thing with that kind of money...

[contrapunctus]

$35K ... Carumbah.

Well, I am selling a pair of silver-plated Oxygen Free Copper 2m length new Supra EFF-IX audio interconnects on ebay ... they are currently at a ridiculous $9.90 (compared to about US$200 retail) and auction ends in about 48 hours, so if you know about Swedish Supra, and like a bargain ... it's here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=190375215706

[E-Stat]

Well, I am selling a pair of silver-plated Oxygen Free Copper 2m length new Supra EFF-IX audio interconnects...

So what are their LCR metrics?

rw

[nightflier]

You could almost buy a lifetime of tickets to the real thing with that kind of money...

There is a point where the diminishing returns are outweighed by the lack of value that you're actually getting. If you can afford $350K, then why not go see the real orchestra every weekend for the rest of your life rather than try to reproduce it in your living room? These MIT cables are such a product, where the diminishing returns aren't even the issue anymore, compared to the absolute lunacy of spending that much on cables for fantasy technology, IMO.

And what is this technology anyhow? What can possibly be worth $35K in a cable? We're not talking about a piece of Lamm gear here, we're talking about a cable! Even if they were made of solid platinum and the box dangling off of them had a full PCB with the most expensive parts, I still fail to see how that would amount to $35K. Someone please explain to me what kind of magic these cables can produce that a top-of-the-line cable from a more realistic manufacturer can produce. What is MIT doing that the other guys are not? Do these cables really sound better or just an ever so slight nudge different? Or is that margin of supposed superiority just snake-oil?

[Ajani]

There is a point where the diminishing returns are outweighed by the lack of value that you're actually getting. If you can afford $350K, then why not go see the real orchestra every weekend for the rest of your life rather than try to reproduce it in your living room? These MIT cables are such a product, where the diminishing returns aren't even the issue anymore, compared to the absolute lunacy of spending that much on cables for fantasy technology, IMO.

And what is this technology anyhow? What can possibly be worth $35K in a cable? We're not talking about a piece of Lamm gear here, we're talking about a cable! Even if they were made of solid platinum and the box dangling off of them had a full PCB with the most expensive parts, I still fail to see how that would amount to $35K. Someone please explain to me what kind of magic these cables can produce that a top-of-the-line cable from a more realistic manufacturer can produce. What is MIT doing that the other guys are not? Do these cables really sound better or just an ever so slight nudge different? Or is that margin of supposed superiority just snake-oil?

I'd rather spend $100K on concert tickets, than own a $100K setup... but I'm sure others will and do disagree... Who am I to tell them that they should not spend their $100K (or $350K) in that manner?

Value in HiFi can ONLY be determined by the individual purchaser...

[E-Stat]

I'd rather spend $100K on concert tickets, than own a $100K setup... but I'm sure others will and do disagree...

I certainly enjoy attending live concerts, but as a dedicated music junkie, I would find that approach way too limiting.

1. How do you choose to listen to content from decades ago? How would you hear the Beatles? Forget about them? Wait for the next oldies concert in your area?
2. How do you hear movie scores without the dialog? There are a number I like just hearing.
3. How do you actually get to hear the music and instruments that are butchered at a 120 db rock concert?
4. What if the nearest symphony orchestra is 100 miles away? I rather like spending more time listening than driving.

rw

[Ajani]

I certainly enjoy attending live concerts, but as a dedicated music junkie, I would find that approach way too limiting.

1. How do you choose to listen to content from decades ago? How would you hear the Beatles? Forget about them? Wait for the next oldies concert in your area?
2. How do you hear movie scores without the dialog? There are a number I like just hearing.
3. How do you actually get to hear the music and instruments that are butchered at a 120 db rock concert?
4. What if the nearest symphony orchestra is 100 miles away? I rather like spending more time listening than driving.

rw

Exactly! All valid reasons why someone would prefer to spend the extra money on HiFi... I'd "probably" settle for a $30K setup for all those issues and spend the remaining $70K to go out to live events... But then again, who knows what I'd actually spend that money on if I had it? So it's best to let the potential purchasers make the value decision themselves...

[audio amateur]

I certainly enjoy attending live concerts, but as a dedicated music junkie, I would find that approach way too limiting.

1. How do you choose to listen to content from decades ago? How would you hear the Beatles? Forget about them? Wait for the next oldies concert in your area?
2. How do you hear movie scores without the dialog? There are a number I like just hearing.
3. How do you actually get to hear the music and instruments that are butchered at a 120 db rock concert?
4. What if the nearest symphony orchestra is 100 miles away? I rather like spending more time listening than driving.

rw

I knew you would respond with this
There is a obvious trade off in what I mentionned. Perhaps you can settle with a mid-fi system when you're not attending the real deal? Heck, with 350K your can certainly make room for a very decent system!

[GMichael]

I'd rather spend $100K on concert tickets, than own a $100K setup... but I'm sure others will and do disagree... Who am I to tell them that they should not spend their $100K (or $350K) in that manner?

Value in HiFi can ONLY be determined by the individual purchaser...

There are some who can spend over $100k on each, and then not even show up at all the concerts or turn their system on more than once a year.

[Ajani]

There are some who can spend over $100k on each, and then not even show up at all the concerts or turn their system on more than once a year.

As is their right... They can spend the money however they please...

When I was living in Toronto, I had easily the nicest looking kitchen of all my friends. The combination of Stainless Steel and Granite was breathtaking... Yet friends always joked about the fact that I rarely ever cooked...

Point is that I paid the rent, so it was my right (and mine alone) to use or just look at that kitchen (and I certainly enjoyed looking at it)... So even if someone wants to collect a $350K Stereo and use it like a sculpture, so what?

[GMichael]

There is a point where the diminishing returns are outweighed by the lack of value that you're actually getting. If you can afford $350K, then why not go see the real orchestra every weekend for the rest of your life rather than try to reproduce it in your living room? These MIT cables are such a product, where the diminishing returns aren't even the issue anymore, compared to the absolute lunacy of spending that much on cables for fantasy technology, IMO.

And what is this technology anyhow? What can possibly be worth $35K in a cable? We're not talking about a piece of Lamm gear here, we're talking about a cable! Even if they were made of solid platinum and the box dangling off of them had a full PCB with the most expensive parts, I still fail to see how that would amount to $35K. Someone please explain to me what kind of magic these cables can produce that a top-of-the-line cable from a more realistic manufacturer can produce. What is MIT doing that the other guys are not? Do these cables really sound better or just an ever so slight nudge different? Or is that margin of supposed superiority just snake-oil?

It's the magic of being able to tell someone, "mine is better than yours."

[Ajani]

It's the magic of being able to tell someone, "mine is better than yours."

Is that like the magic of being able to laugh at all the fools who pay big money for: "the same performance I got for a fraction of the cost"?

[GMichael]

Is that like the magic of being able to laugh at all the fools who pay big money for: "the same performance I got for a fraction of the cost"?

Sounds like I hit a nerve.

[emaidel]

What can possibly be worth $35K in a cable? We're not talking about a piece of Lamm gear here, we're talking about a cable! Even if they were made of solid platinum and the box dangling off of them had a full PCB with the most expensive parts, I still fail to see how that would amount to $35K. Someone please explain to me what kind of magic these cables can produce that a top-of-the-line cable from a more realistic manufacturer can produce. What is MIT doing that the other guys are not? Do these cables really sound better or just an ever so slight nudge different? Or is that margin of supposed superiority just snake-oil?

Amen to that, brother. $35K for speaker cables is one thing, and one thing only: ridiculous, conspicuous consumption for the super-wealthy. This is the type of item one would see on the USA network show, "Royal Pains," which does a splendid job illustrating the vacuuous, shallow mindset of the ultra-wealthy Hamptonites on Long Island's East End South Shore.

And here I am, wearing a lowly $4,000 Ebel watch that I actually thought was good.

[Ajani]

Amen to that, brother. $35K for speaker cables is one thing, and one thing only: ridiculous, conspicuous consumption for the super-wealthy. This is the type of item one would see on the USA network show, "Royal Pains," which does a splendid job illustrating the vacuuous, shallow mindset of the ultra-wealthy Hamptonites on Long Island's East End South Shore.

And here I am, wearing a lowly $4,000 Ebel watch that I actually thought was good.

So a $4K watch isn't ridiculous, conspicuous consumption? Does it tell time better than a $40 watch?

[emaidel]

So a $4K watch isn't ridiculous, conspicuous consumption? Does it tell time better than a $40 watch?

No, not really. It was a gift from my wife for my 50th birthday (15 years ago!) that still works perfectly. The crystal is made of an unusual material that, despite 24/7 use (including showering and swimming) has yet to develop a single scratch. And no gold "plating" has worn off, since the gold trim is all 18 kt. stuff.

I will be able to will this watch to my grandchildren.

[poppachubby]

So a $4K watch isn't ridiculous, conspicuous consumption? Does it tell time better than a $40 watch?

The answer is most certainly, yes. Time pieces of that caliber are precision crafted and will most certainly keep time better than a wide range of cheaper watches. The watch I can understand. First it must be designed, then tooled, then assembled. All with utmost precision. The cables have the same process, although I don't see the precision being the same, but to the tune of $35K, c'mon...

I don't care about any liberal stuff concerning, "it's his money". It's overpriced and that's that.

[JohnMichael]

Amen to that, brother. $35K for speaker cables is one thing, and one thing only: ridiculous, conspicuous consumption for the super-wealthy. This is the type of item one would see on the USA network show, "Royal Pains," which does a splendid job illustrating the vacuuous, shallow mindset of the ultra-wealthy Hamptonites on Long Island's East End South Shore.

And here I am, wearing a lowly $4,000 Ebel watch that I actually thought was good.

I am a fan of Swiss watches. What movement does your Ebel have?

[emaidel]

I am a fan of Swiss watches. What movement does your Ebel have?

The back of the bezel says "1911." I hope that answers your question, and perhaps you can explain what it means to me, since I don't know!