The $250 power cables and $600 power strip that dethroned my $10k Shunyata Everest

@audphile1 I hear ya. I have been thinking about it but have found other things to do with the disposable income lately. And it is not like the cables I have sound bad, but maybe in a few months I’ll give them a shot. I agree though, even if for some strange reason I prefer them to my Shunyata, Zavfino, Hurricane etc. they do still look like Monoprice turds. 

Something else I just noticed regarding One of biggest "snake oil" reputations in audio-land, even more than Synergistic Research, is Bybee with their Quantum purifiers. Never tried them, but some have and claim they work. And others have opened one of them up and all it was is a single 10 cent resistor. 

And yet here in this DAC review thread that @mitch2 started, which has over 100,000 views one of the favoured products engineer’s is now putting them in his latest product: 

"As for our new Mystique Z Quantum, they will be formally announced and available in January 2026. The MSRP will be $12,999 and if you already have a Mystique Z the upgrade will cost you the same $2,000 difference. 

The Z Q replaces the medical grade AC input filter with three Bybee AC Purifiers: one for line, one for load, and one for ground. 

And the Z Q adds two Bybee Gold Slipstream Purifiers between the single-ended output stage and the RCA jacks. That also puts them between the single-ended output stage and the single-ended to balanced IC chip that creates our balanced outputs. 

My impression of the Quantum upgrade is a bit more transparency, depth, texture, and resolution, combined with a more effortless quality and transient intensity. "

"Toward the end of my time with the Mystique Z NC, Benjamin (who clearly never sits still) informed me of another (reportedly substantial) upgrade to the Mystique Z line – the next top model, the “Quantum” or Mystique Z Q. The Quantum version will start as a typical Mystique Z with the highest-level nano crystal chokes and will incorporate Bybee Quantum Purifiers placed in strategic locations. Benjamin informed me that he has been listening to a beta version and that this Z Q is his highest performing DAC yet. Then, as a pleasant surprise, Benjamin sent me his beta version to listen to as I was finishing with the Mystique Z NC. I will post more on my time with the Z Q later."

If someone started a new thread titled "Bybee Quantum Purifiers-wow!" and explained how he put them in his DAC and how much more liquid the presentation is the whole community would be chewing him to bits, this has probably already happened, I didn’t search, but in this thread nobody is calling out with derogatory snake oil claims. Clearly @fuzzbutt17 sees some benefit to these "snake oil" products or he wouldn’t use them. 

@mclinnguy 

I always enjoyed your posts. Your post’s here got me thinking about a broader trend in the U.S. high-end audio market vs European/Japanese markets. 

My perspective: it seems that many American manufacturers, particularly in tweaks, cables, and power products lean heavily on proprietary “processes” or branded treatments (quantum conditioning, molecular alignment, conductor activation, etc.) as a core part of their identity. The language often emphasizes the listening experience and end result rather than clearly articulated electrical or mechanical fundamentals.

What I find interesting is the contrast with many European and Japanese manufacturers, who tend to foreground more traditional engineering explanations: topology, grounding, power supply design, materials science, impedance control, and mechanical execution. Even when designs are exotic or artisanal, the rationale is usually expressed in fairly orthodox engineering terms.

To be clear, this isn’t an argument that U.S. products don’t work or don’t sound good, many clearly do! Nor is it a claim that everything important in audio can be captured by standard measurements. I do wonder, however, whether market expectations play a role. The U.S. audiophile space seems more tolerant of narrative-driven explanations, while European and Japanese cultures appear more comfortable letting conservative engineering and long-term consistency do the talking.

IMO, solid engineering in the U.S. often gets obscured by marketing because storytelling tends to sell more effectively than equations. Many European and Japanese firms still lead with engineering fundamentals and allow the sound to be the natural outcome, even if that means slower, steadier growth. By contrast, American boutique brands often lead with the listening experience, framing their engineering in more symbolic or proprietary language as a way to stand out in a much louder and more competitive marketplace 😊

I might be willing to try one of their HDMI cables for use between my Zidoo Z3000 Pro media player and my Lyngdorf MP-60 2.1.  I'd use it for audio output only and if I do hear a good change, I'd move it to the video port and watch...  I do really like my Wireworld Stellar (fiber optic) HDMIs but $250 for an HDMI cable is reasonable, even if they're $8 off of Amazon. 

@mclinnguy great and thoughtful post.

Some people take the reductionist view that, what with their golden ears and their highly-resolving systems, audiophilia consists of hearing things others don’t.

In this subgroup, bragging rights are to be had for hearing the most minute of differences - and that makes sense, for it validates the superiority of their golden ears, and of the highly resolving excellence of their systems.

Now, what’s even more minute than minute? Nothing. You guessed it, the next step is these guys are bragging on about hearing nothing. Beat that, peasants with Kmart systems! 

Yet, whenever any random guy owning the mother of non-resolving systems shows up out of nowhere and sings the credo of tweak and cable martyrdom, they undiscriminatingly embrace him like a long-lost brother in arms. Go figure.

As always, enjoy the music. At least, give it a try.