Biggest audio hoaxes


Often when people discuss audio, they talk about "snake oil" or "hoaxes."

It's pretty typical to use the term hoax as a tactic against another who disagrees with one, or holds an unusual opinion or vouches for something which has not been verified. That's not what I mean by a "hoax." 

By "hoax" I mean an audio product or claim which has been pretty definitively disproved. Maybe not to everyone's satisfaction, but to common consensus.

So -- with that definition of hoax in mind, what are some of the biggest audiophile hoaxes you've heard of?
128x128hilde45

“ hilde45, everything I think of, it may have worked for someone else, just not for me.

The marker, on the outside of CD.”

There are many reasons why audiophiles sometimes don’t get the results they were expecting. The marker on the outer edge of the CD is an excellent example. There is a very long history of tweaks that didn’t work for some people.

The reasons for negative results include but are not limited to one or more errors in the test system, not following instructions correctly, the test system is simply not resolving enough, the test conductor’s hearing is not all it’s cracked up to be.

I say all this being the only one in the world to have solved the very difficult problem of eliminating the scattered laser light inside the CD player, a problem that coloring the edge of the CD partially solved.

geoffkait

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You wanted to hear from him here you go.. Every now and then he PMs me.. ON this subject it seemed to peak his interest.

My take on geoffkait is pretty simple. I always walked away with more questions than answers. Seen him at a show a time or two. I see ALL oh yea, he’s been around quite a while. I can see him snickering. He is quite a character!

Regards
  • "Just check out the website of Synergistic Research for some good comedy."
Thanks for the comment, Gene. 

Frank
@oldhvymec

Yes
Different people listen to and appreciate different aspects of the music they listen to. Some are sensitive to bass.. drum beats, tonal balance, midrange, imaging. My partner and I comment while watching a movie... we all notice the explosions... but we constantly notice completely different details... i’l notice the brand of fountain pen or a watch while my partner will notice the wallpaper color. Music is like that also.
Same for video. 

Depth of image and subtlety of image, 3d life like effects..all mean nothing to some people, they don't like DLP projected images. whereas that (what good DLP does) is the core of what some demand.

Whereas they love LCD projectors with the candy colors the shades of color are more important to them, they don't care or even notice if the image is fuzzy, flat, no contrast, with greyed out black levels. lifeless mud. but the color is important. somehow.

JVC DILA projection is probably the best compromise that moves in a good direction in all areas.