Archimago wrote: > True... However money and organized religion have always been > intertwined. As a *business*, audiophile equipment is of course all > about the profit motive. The -problem -and I think what really is > troubling is that claims are now made on articles of faith (hence > religion) without any evidence. And as we all know, what's left of the > audiophile "media" apparently lacks the courage and conviction to take a > stand (which is why independent blogs and message forums become > important for critical thinking in this day and age not just for audio). > I presume with the loss of subscription income, magazines probably are > at a point where they are at the mercy of advertising dollars to survive > (in this regard, we can't blame them I suppose since "biting the hand > that feeds" them will lead to their own demise). > > I guess in many ways it is not much different from homeopaths, > nutraceuticals, etc. where likely much (or all) of the "effect" is > placebo in origin yet of course many subscribe to the beliefs > wholeheartedly and spend significant dollars as well. Of course medical > science still holds many mysteries to be uncovered although many of the > beliefs held by homeopaths are clearly wrong. The thing about audio of > course is that this is a mature science we're talking about (especially > digital computer audio)! We could argue about audibility of things like > 16/44 vs. 24/96 knowing that *maybe* 16/44 is cutting too close or that > there could be filtering issues with some DACs and whatnot... But there > are other things like ethernet cables where there really is *nothing* to > argue about by virtue of what it IS and what it was ENGINEERED to do! > All of that stuff about timing issues and jitter (referring to the > article) is just *not* a possible "issue" between otherwise error-free > -ethernet cables-. A belief or "faith" that it is possible constitutes > some kind of magical thinking which when systematized (as the Industry > might want to do to instill fear and uncertainty) becomes a "religion" > IMO. And that's the real issue... > > Go ahead audiophile companies, make your $5000 ethernet cables - just > don't tell me that they sound better, or evangelize this belief through > your priests in the audiophile press. And if you do - then please > present some evidence first! (I know, this ain't gonna happen unless > something like a regulatory agency with the power to prosecute is > capable of acting.)
Nicely stated and I wholeheartedly agree, especially with respect to independent blogs and message forums becoming the last line of defense. Speaking of magical thinking and regulatory agencies, check out this video of Dr. Oz's infamous appearance at a US Senate panel since it pretty much proves that without any regulations (as is the case in the high end audio business) anyone can make any kind of claim they like and there's absolutely nothing that the government can do to stop them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pS-Qpp5asSE Living Rm: Transporter-SimAudio pre/power amps-Vandersteen 3A Sign. & sub Home Theater: Touch-Marantz HTR-Energy Veritas 2.1 & Linn sub Computer Rm: Touch-Headroom Desktop w/DAC-Aragon amp-Energy Veritas 2.1 & Energy sub Bedroom: Touch-HR Desktop w/DAC-Audio Refinement amp-Energy Veritas 2.0 Guest Rm: Duet-Sony soundbar Garage: SB3-JVC compact system Controls: iPeng; SB Controller; Moose & Muso Server: SBS on dedicated windows 7 computer w/2 Drobos 'Last.fm' (http://www.last.fm/user/jazzfann/) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ralphpnj's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=10827 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=102632 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
