Why pay so much?

Geez, what intolerance. If you don't like the thread, nobody forces you to read it. I seriously doubt that all audiophiles are so closed minded that attacking the poster is considered good form. The original thought, that this hobby is loaded with pricey fluff is certainly valid. Yes, it could have been phrased better, no question but good heavens, no room for dissent or we go running for the moderators? Really?

randy-11

I used to work in 94107, that's by PacBell in San Francisco. The guys at Monster Cable used to come in all the time laughing about their new "Turbo" this and and whatever wonder marketing scheme they could come up with. Of course it all sounded the same. That was, what, 25 years ago and nothing has changed. There is a guy I went to High School with that has had a High End  shop forever. One day I was there talking to him and these guys came in complaining about how some megabuck cables they had bought were "Too bright". He gave me a look like it was time for me to get lost while he tried to finesse the know nothing types that had more money than brains.

Now everybody has a right to spend their money in a fashion that they see fit. It's nobody's business, not really. The Diamond industry for instance makes zillions selling what is a rather common mineral through tight control and marketing. HiFi marketers have every right to fleece a public begging to be taken. The market is there after all.

That doesn't mean that those that point out the obvious are somehow misguided or "trolls".

I use zip cord myself. I've tried lots of fancy pants cables in the 40+ years
that I've been doing this . That covers many hundreds of amplifiers.
Imagination is a hearty part of this hobby. Imagination is good.

So is realism...