2. cables
  3. 1014149717

7500 for USED cables? Are they joking?

I've been out of high-end audio for about 8 years, and the thing I am most struck by on my return is the apparent acceptance of power cables, interconnects and speaker cables that cost as much or more than heavy-duty high-end components.

As a now-outsider of sorts, this really looks like the Emperor's New Clothes big-time. Especially power cords, considering the Romex that delivers the A/C to the outlet isn't exactly audiophile quality.

Are people really paying $500 and up for wire? Is this foolishness of the highest order, or is this what people now believe it takes to extract the last percent or two of definition from their components?

What happened? Even buyers of what are now considered "modestly priced" cables would be laughed out of the professional audio world, so why do audiophiles think they need something better than was used to make the original recording? MOST professional recording engineers scoff at the difference between microphone cables that cost $19.95 vs. those that cost $49.95 -- most anything higher is rarely considered at all (the most expensive microphone cable might be $125 for a 20 foot run, and it's laughed at by most of the pros).

I'm not criticizing -- I'm too stunned to draw any conclusions -- I just wondered if anyone has given this much thought.

(At least I understand the home theater revolution -- thank heavens something came along to save the high end manufacturers, although it makes me chuckle to think of someone spending $30,000 to watch the Terminator. It's OK with me.)

Thank you for your consideration,

Mark Hubbard
Eureka, CA
Ag insider logo xs@2xmark_hubbard

Showing 4 responses by cornfedboy

cornfedboy
1,645 posts
 
mark: since i, myself, have only just awakened after spending these past 20 years in a coma, i quite understand your concerns. my two sons, who were but grade-schoolers as i remember them, now each earn in just a year what it took me a decade to realize! my modest tract house that my wife and i scrimped and saved for to purchase for $40,000 is now assessed for $300,000! when i replaced my beloved BMW this year, my new one cost ten times more than its predecessor! and food! don't even talk about it. please. how can anyone afford to live in these times? and, my god, look how tastes have changed! my hero, lawrence welk, is now replaced by someone named "snoop doggy dog"? playboy magazine now shows, ahem, pubic hair? i'm with you, mark. i'm sticking with zip cord. thin zip cord. the wildly expensive wire is just more, ahem, pubic hair. and i still refuse to look at it! who would care to get close enough to listen to it?!

r. vanwinkle.
cornfedboy
1,645 posts
 
lmb: i'm sure you already know the answers to all your questions. i don't and feel NO need to find them. i prefer just listenin' to music through my system, which includes the wires that sound best to me. it's really that simple. but, hey, if measurin' is what floats your boat, then keep on keepin' on. just don't interrupt me with your results. -cfb
cornfedboy
1,645 posts
 
funny coincidence (or is it?): god came over to my house this past weekend. she loved the salsa and chips and taught me how to measure theistically, deistically and scientifically the differences among ic's, pc's and cables. 'course, you’ll have to take this on faith, since she told me that if i gave up the secrets, i'd be as good as dead. at best. -cfb
cornfedboy
1,645 posts
 
theaudiotweak: boy, does your post make me feel a lot better. i paid $15,000 for a pair of .5 meter interconnects that have never been reviewed. or even heard of by all but the "true insiders." thank goodness! -cfb
More to discover