@kennyc Amen! x 10
Buyer Beware
This is my first post on Audiogon Forum but I have been a audiophile for almost fifty years. I like to buy and sell used equipment because it gives a chance to try a much wider range of products. Recently I wanted to try different USB cables and in that process I purchased two products from Mad Scientist Audio. One was their Black Magic and the other was the Ultra version. Both were purchased used from different sellers. I own two systems and decided to keep both. In both systems I use a AMR DP-777SE dac. In the system using the standard Black Magic USB the system was not using the built in volume control. About 2 month after purchasing the cable I tried using the internal volume control in the dac and it only worked at full volume. Thinking the dac was faulty I sent it back to TMR (great company) for evaluation. They tested it for 2 weeks in every configuration possible and determined it was working as it should. When i got the unit back (after a cost of approx. $200) I determined that the problem was the Black Magic USB cable. I contacted Bob at Mad Scientist Audio by email multiple times and he replied that his cable is incompatible with 1 in 50 produces and mine must be the 1. I then tried it in two other systems and also had the same results. Either the volume control didn't work or I would get cracking noises. after many emails back and forth Bob would not exchange the cable for a working one and only offered to sell me a Ultra cable at a discount. I don't know what his profit margin or warranty policy is but I have never experienced this especially with a cable manufacture, I offered to send it back to him so that he could access the problem but in the end his last email read "Therefore I don't think it's worth you wasting anymore money trying to fix or exchange your cable." Very disappointing. The cable is now in the trash. I know that this is a small boutique manufacture but with the controversy regarding cable costs and if expensive cable are necessary I thought that buy telling my story maybe it would alleviate this situation with this company.
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- 55 posts total
Audioholics, Gene IS an expert in high end cables he is a audio engineer ! and has explained "the importance of cable geometry. Also educate yourself about cable dielectrics -why the material that cover the metal matters sonically in high-end audio. " he has covered all that ! watch his videos and then post a response ! He explains how they work ( and don’t ) and has tested them using valid tests and testing protocols produced MANY great YT videos ! |
Why do they do it? We have cable derangement syndrome and probably it is associated with TDS. Who is the patron saint of lost causes. What are they trying to save us from. Should we spend our hard earned cash on hookers, booze and blow instead of cables? In my 40+ years of audiophilia I've found that cables are a great investment and actually can increase in value. When your super duper amp has blown it's caps and your SACD player can't be fixed, you'll get a great deal on your used quality cables 10-15 years later. Maybe part of the problem is these naysayers don't have a really resolving high end system or their system lacks synergy. Anyway they can glory in the resplendence of their bell wire. |
+1 @lordmelton Although it’s usually best to be sensitive to not put down another’s system, naysayers system lacking transparency likely near 100% true. Also, there’s commonly a stubborn emotional resentment of unaffordability, so they rationalize by pointing finger than facing objective truths. |
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