Audio Equipment Snake Oil - Andre Consulting, Incorporated

Audio Equipment Snake Oil
Quotes from actual audio
vendor websites and
literature
"I refuse to prove that I exist," says God, "for proof
denies faith, and without faith, I am nothing."
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas
Adams
Patrick G. André
André Consulting, Inc.
Acme Audio Labs
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Without getting into a long, drawn out
argument about the effectiveness of
upgrading various parts of the AC power
chain, let's just say this: we think that the
differences between any of the "garden
variety" hospital-grade AC outlets and the
Acme are audible and well worth the simple
effort and more-than-affordable outlay of
cash.
Acme Audio Labs
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When we say "affordable", you know we mean it the basic Acme 15 amp/125 Volt duplex receptacles
list for $30.00; the same with Cryogenic treatment
are $40.00. The 20 amp version is available in
standard edition at $35.00; the Cryogenic model
(shown on the left - our favorite) is just $45.00. On
these models, a proprietary high-purity silver plating
is applied to all the important contact surfaces. …
Acme outlets are available in any color you want (as
long as it's Ivory!).
Cardas Audio
An infinitely indivisible
progression known as
the Fibonacci sequence
or golden section is the
key to resonance control.
The ratio of Phi, or 1 to
1.6180339887...to infinity,
is the Golden Mean,
called golden ratio or
golden proportion.
Cardas Audio holds the patent, U.S. Patent Number
4,628,151, where the ratio of Phi is applied to any
electrical conductor.
Cardas Audio
It is said, wire is just wire. In reality, a high-end audio
cable must balance resistance, capacitance, inductance,
conductance, velocity of propagation, RF radiation and
absorption, mechanical resonance, strand interaction,
hysteresis, high filtering, wavy serial impedance and
reflections, electrical resonance, dissipation factors,
envelope delay, phase distortion, harmonic distortion,
piezoelectric effects, hall effect, field effect, voltage and
current tracking, thermoelectric phenomenon effects,
structural return loss, skin effect, corrosion, cross-talk,
bridge-tap and the interaction of these and a hundred
other things. As a high-end cable manufacturer, Cardas
Audio strives to address every detail of cable and
conductor construction, no matter how small.
www.AudioQuest.com
AudioQuest FLX 16/2 is a very effective 16
awg (1.23 sq. mm) cable using Long Grain
Copper (LGC). Each conductor in FLX 16/2
uses 19 strands of 29 awg, ensuring that
63% of the strands will be on the surface all
the time, where they do the most good. The
two conductors are spiraled together to
provide good RF rejection and optimum
signal carrying capability.
www.AudioQuest.com
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Important Cable Facts - Running-In: As with
all audio components, audio cables require an
adjustment period. …(not to be confused with
“break-in”)
A cable's performance takes time to optimize
because of the way a dielectric behaves (the
way the insulating material absorbs and
releases energy), changes in the presence of a
charge. Cables will continue to improve in sound
or picture quality over a period of several weeks.
www.AudioQuest.com
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Directionality: All cables are directional,
from hardware store electrical cable to the
finest pure silver cables.
Connections: The highest quality
connections are first made mechanically.
Solder is never a good conductor, not
even "silver solder."
DakiOm
203 Series Feedback
Stabilizers NEW!
The DakiOm 203 Series
Feedback Stabilizers are our
latest second generation
technology. The 203 Series builds
upon the success of the 103
Series and offers even better
performance. Music and movie
sound effects sound even clearer,
less fatiguing, and better than
ever. We are serious about
revolutionizing audio and giving
people access to very high end
audiophile sound quality.
$100-$170 each
Opus MM Interconnects
A large mass of electrically neutral epoxy damping
material encapsulates OPUS MM networks to
reduce resonance in the audible range.
Opus MM Interconnects
Although the network modules on OPUS MM
speaker cables and interconnects are quite large
and heavy, it would take considerably more
damping material to totally eliminate mechanical
resonance.
Monster Cable
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What is Time Correct technology?
Monster’s way of compensating for
something called "Velocity Propagation" or
better known as the skin effect. An analog
audio signal passing through a copper cable
succumbs to this law of physics in which bass
frequencies tend to gravitate towards the
center of the cable; higher frequencies are
forced to the outer portion of the cable. …
EMC Handbook (Kaiser)
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Skin Depth of Copper at 20 kHz = 18 mils
(dia: 16 ga = 50 mils, 12 ga. = 80 mils)
‘Resistance’ of 12 ga. wire, 9’ = 41 mΩ (for
the signal plus its return path)
For 100 W & 8 Ω speaker, I = 3.5 Arms
(although speaker are rarely run at full load,
usually only an impulse)
So the total loss I2R is 0.5 W or 0.022 dB
Monster Cable
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What is magnetic flux tube?
This is a specially-designed dielectric tube
that runs down the middle of a group of
different gauge windings. This helps break
up the magnetic field generated from the
current flowing through the cable’s
conductors. We wrap the larger solid-core
conductors (the culprit of this magnetic
field) around this dialectric [sic] for
maximum affect.
Monster Cable
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What is PEX dielectric?
PEX is a special dielectric or insulation
that insulates each conductor from each
other to help eliminate noise.
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Does Monster use oxygen-free copper?
Yes. Monster Cable uses extremely high
grade, oxygen-free copper to prevent
corrosion and maximize conductivity.
Monster Cable
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Why do the cables have directional
arrows?
This is done for shielding purposes only, a
design where we do not solder the shield
on the signal’s destination. This ensures
that any noise picked up by the shield will
not be transmitted into your signal path.
www.audioholics.com
Audioholics.com
Cable Vendor
Requested Cable
Terminations
Status
Acoustic
Research
Master Series 10AWG
Banana
Submitted
Audience
Maestro ($406)
Banana
Submitted
Audioquest
Any
NA
Declined
AVIC
SC1100 ($170)
Banana
Submitted
AV Cable
10AWG
Banana
Submitted
Axiom Audio
Speaker Wire (~$60)
Spade
Submitted
Cardas
Crosslink 1S
Banana
Submitted
Cardas
SE 9
Banana
Submitted
Empirical Audio
Clarity 7 ($3,580)
Spades
Submitted
Goertz
MI-2 Veracity
Banana
Submitted
River Cable
Flexygy ($275)
Compression Banana
Submitted
River Cable
Starflex ($195)
Compression Banana
Submitted
Transparent
Audio
Any
NA
Declined
Tributaries
11AWG
Compression Banana
Submitted
Zu Cables
Any
NA
Declined
Audioholics Cable Face Off II
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It is of no surprise that Audioquest and
Transparent Cable and Zu Cables declined
our review request since these companies
appear to sell the most pricey cable products
in the industry, and also make the most
questionable claims (IE. Skin Effect, Diode
rectification, break-in, audiogenic distortion)
about said products and offer no measurable
proofs or objective facts.
Rod Elliot Article http://sound.westhost.com/cable-z.htm
AC Resistance [sic]
Inductance
Capacitance
Total Harmonic Distortion
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Of a signal, the ratio of (a) the sum of the
powers of all harmonic frequencies above the
fundamental frequency to (b) the power of the
fundamental frequency. Note 1: The THD is
usually expressed in dB. Note 2:
Measurements for calculating the THD are
made at the output of a device under
specified conditions.
Less than 1% is considered not audible.
I find your FAQ section to be misleading and misguiding to those who don't understand
basic electronics. I question your business ethics if you can deliberately make such
ludicrous claims as cables causing distortions, or cables requiring break in, etc. You have no
proof for this, nor do you base your reasoning on any valid science. (Audioholics.com)
We totally understand that is very easy to be skeptical about cables.
After all, you can't measure it, so how can you possibly hear it? In
fact you can hear it - and it really is very easy to hear the
differences. Far from making bogus claims, the principle of cable
"break in" is very real. "Breaking in" a cable has everything to do
with the insulation - not the wire itself. The insulation (or
dielectric) will absorb energy from the conductor when a current is
flowing (i.e. when music is playing). This energy-absorption causes
the dielectric's molecules to re-arrange themselves from a
random order into a uniform order. When the molecules have
been rearranged, the dielectric will absorb less energy &
consequently cause less distortion. The cable is now said to be
"broken in" and sound quality is improved. To prove it, simply take 2
pairs of the same cable - one broken in, one new, and compare in the
same system.
As for causing distortion - absolutely! All cables cause distortion.
Stranded cables cause the worst type of distortion, which is why
we use solid conductors. (AudioQuest)
ABX Double Blind Testing
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In the first test, five specialty interconnects from
AudioQuest, MIT, Monster Cable, H.E.A.R., plus
Belden cable with Vampire connectors were
compared to a $2.50 blister pack RCA phono
interconnect. Listeners used Etymotic Research
ER4 in-ear phones driven by the headphone jack of
a Bryston 2B power amplifier.
The next three tests are the data from Tom
Nousaine's "Wired Wisdom: The Great Chicago
Cable Caper", listed on the ABX periodicals page.
ABX Double Blind Testing
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The Type "T1" cables were compared on a
system including an Sumo Andromeda power
amp and JS Engineering Infinite Slope
speakers, by the system's owner. He chose
his own program material and had no time
limit.
The Type "Z" cables were tested on the
system of a high end audio shop employee
including: Snell type B-Minor speakers; Forte
Model 6 Power Amp; and an outboard DAC.
He used his own program material selected
to show the differneces [sic] he expected.
ABX Double Blind Testing
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The Type "T2" cables were compared on a
system including a Denon DCD-1290 CD
player, and Accuphase P-300 power
amplifier, and Snell KII speakers.
ABX Double Blind Testing
Interconnects and
Speaker Wires
Correct
Listeners
70 / 139 = 50%
7
$418 Type "T1" Biwire
vs. 16 Gauge Zip Cord
4 / 10 = 40%
1
Type "Z" Biwired
Speaker Cable vs. 16
Gauge Zip Cord
70 / 139 = 50%
7
16 / 32 = 50%
2
$2.50 blister pack phono
cable vs. PSACS Best
$990 "T2" Speaker
Cable vs. 16 Gauge Zip
Cord
Result
Genesis Loudspeaker 1.1
Genesis Loudspeaker 1.1
Technical Specifications
Dimensions Mid-tweet
H 90" x W 41.5" x D 5"
Woofer tower
H 90" x W 17.5" x D19"
Weight 1250 lbs per side
Frequency Response 16Hz to 36kHz (+/-1dB)
Sensitivity 92dB 1 watt 1 meter
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Price: $145,000 a pair
Apogee AFI-4
Apogee AFI-4
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Engineering Data
AFI-4/4W Passive/Two-way
AFI-4B/4WB Active/Biamped/Two-way
Dispersion:
AFI-4/4B H: 60° x V: 45°,
(rotatable)
AFI-4W/4WB H: 90° x V: 45°,
(rotatable)
Frequency Response (1m on
axis): 58 Hz to 20 kHz ± 3 dB
Max. SPL (@1m):
AFI-4B 122 dB cont./128 dB
peak
PTML (peak transient
mechanical limit): AFI-4B 139
dB
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Sensitivity (1W @ 1m):
AFI-4B LF: 99 dB spl/100 Hz
to 1.4 kHz
HF: 103 dB spl/1.4 kHz to 5
kHz
Nominal Impedance:
8 ohms, each driver
Max. Power Handling
AFI-4B LF: 200 W cont./800 W
peak
HF: 75 W cont./300 W peak
Dimensions:
front: 15.3"(389mm) W x
28.2"(716mm) H
rear: 9.9"(252mm) W x
28.2"(716mm) H
depth: 12.1"(307mm)
Weight: 53 lb. (24 kg)
About $900 list price
Edge NL Signature 1.1
Edge NL Signature 1.1
NL Signature 1.1 Amp
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Chassis: 2
Transformers: 4
Number of Channels: 1
per chassisTransformer
Rating: 4 x 1500 va
Total Capacitance:
320,000 uF
Power Rating into 8
Ohms: 400
watts/channel
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Output Impedance: .013
ohm
Constant Current
Capacity: 83.32 amps
Number of Lasers: 2
Input Type: RCA
Approximate Weight: 115
pounds x 2
Dimensions: 19"d x 15"w
x 9"h
Retail Price: $35,900/pair
The NL Signature One amplifiers use a separate power supply for
each half of the sine wave, two power supplies per chassis.
Krell
Full Power Balance 750 Mcx
(Class A, 750 W, Mono(!), 140 lbs., ~$25k)
QSC
QSC
QSC
QSC
Other Statements
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Short unused RCA connectors
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The sound of polyester capacitors is not as
good as polystyrene
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Can damage output connectors by driving a short
circuit
True at RF, not noticeable at 20 kHz
Power supplies must be fast
Signal paths must be short
Things to Avoid
Top Ten Signs an Audio Cable Vendor is Selling You Snake Oil
By: Gene DellaSala Date: 10/08/03 - www.audioholics.com
Watch out if a:
1 Cable vendor promotes that their product
allegedly eliminates audio related Skin Effect
and "Strand Jumping" problems.
2 Cable vendor claims revolutionary
breakthrough in cable technology by
polarizing or biasing the dielectric using a
battery.
Here is an example of the dielectric biasing scheme
courtesy of Audioquest. The battery does not make a
complete electrical connection. Thus it is considered
an open circuit.
See:http://www.audioholics.com/techtips/audioprinciples/
interconnects/Audioquest_DBS.html
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Cable vendor promotes that their products
eliminate "Audiogenic", "Diode Rectification"
or any type of non linear distortions.
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Cable vendor physically places (+) and (-) wire leads
in separate dielectrics not closely spaced in a
common jacket.
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Cable vendor claims vast improvements in sound by
inserting "Cable Elevators" to raise the cables off the
floor and minimize electron misfiring or static energy
fields.
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Cable vendor claims that cryogenically freezing
cables (or outlets) improves fidelity or measurably
changes electrical properties after the cable is
restored to room temperature.
More Things to Avoid
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Cable vendor claims that their cables require a
"Break In" period.
Cable vendor claims that measurements cannot
quantify why their designs are superior and
often misapply engineering principles in their
reasoning but abandon the associated
governing laws and metrics that establish them.
Cable vendor claims audible differences exist
between stranded and non-stranded wires of
same gauge rating, geometry and conductor
spacing.
Still More Things to Avoid
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Cable vendor claims audible differences between
silver and copper cables of equal design geometry
and gauge.
The Speaker cables or interconnects cost more than
a Plasma TV or a lease on a new Infinity G35 sports
coupe.
Cable vendor claims wire is directional.
Claims of Speaker Cable Resonance at Audio
Frequencies
Comments from my friends
Yes, these guys are very serious. That's what makes them
so annoying.
".....we think that the differences between any of the
"garden variety" hospital-grade AC outlets and the Acme
are audible....."
Audible. They actually used the word to describe an AC
wall outlet.
These guys won't be happy until their entire house is wired
in 6 gauge, platinum, shielded, oxygen free......
Romex.
Comments from my friends
You're not still using power off the grid for
audio, are you? Ick. You don't know where it's
been.
Wood-fired thermopiles and free range
electrons are the only way.
They're fresh and perky, not tired and brittle like
grid electrons.
Don't use too high a voltage when collecting
them or they will bruise.
Put your money into the transducers - me