High-end Audiophile equipment; hilariously expensive or outrageously useless? - General

I recently found the absolute perfect example of everything that is wrong with Audiophiles (meaning the insane ones, not the ones that just like good quality). The company is called [URL="http://www.lessloss.com/"]Lessloss[/URL], and their products are the embodiment of wasteful spending. Here is perhaps their most absurd product, [URL="http://www.lessloss.com/blackbody-p-200.html"]the Blackbody[/URL]: [IMG]http://www.lessloss.com/images/blackbody/LessLoss-Blackbody-01.jpg[/IMG] It consists of a metal box with... er... i'm not sure. It's certainly not powered, which makes it seem even more useless. Here, i'll let the company explain: [QUOTE] The Blackbody is a high-tech audio accessory which greatly enhances your audio playback experience by addressing the interaction of your audio gear's circuitry with ambient electromagnetic phenomena and modifying this interplay. The Blackbody takes advantage of the quantum nature of particle interaction, and is therefore able to permeate metal, plastic, wood, and other barriers to affect the circuitry inside your components. This altered electromagnetic influence results in profoundly improved sound quality. [B]What does the Blackbody do that power filters do not?[/B] The LessLoss Blackbody is not a power filtering device. Rather, it complements your power filtering device by addressing the audible imperfections incurred by your gear's direct interaction with ambient electromagnetic phenomena. Where a power filtering device leaves off, the Blackbody, as a field filtering device, takes over. [/QUOTE]So in summary, it sends out magical anti-EM waves that uses quantum mechanics to make your music sound better. It's the purest of quantum bullshit and yet this apparently "reputable" audio equipment company has it up for sale. The best part is, they suggest buying three, to fully envelope your equipment in healing rays. And it can be yours for the reasonably low price of $959, almost chump change for a magical black box. Of course, the company sells the requisite $1200 power cables and all, but I think nothing truly measures up to the gall that is the Blackbody. oh, and here are a couple reviews pointing out that, yes, it is useless: [URL]http://gizmodo.com/5412997/lessloss-blackbody-improves-stereo-sound-with-slippery-snake-oil-science[/URL] [URL]http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/25/lessloss-blackbody-improve-your-sound-for-just-959-and-your-se/[/URL] EDIT: And another product I think sums up Audiophiles well, the [URL="http://www.locus-design.com/cynosure_usb.html"]Locus Design Cyanosure USB[/URL] cable. [IMG]http://www.locus-design.com/images/cynosure_diverter-5.jpg[/IMG] Looks quite impressive, eh? And it is. $2850/3ft impressive, actually. Forget about those cheap USB cables that can weaken your... digital signal... this one is better because my god look at it, it's wrapped in metal-fabric and it has a brick! [QUOTE]Available now. My personal statement on ultimate USB cable design, the Locus Design Cynosure. The ultimate realization of my USB cable construction philosophy using a core of my custom manufactured dual Complect™ braid of ultra pure CFDCT-UP-OCC-Ag conductors and Teflon air tubes. I then surround the core with multiple layers (how many=proprietary) for damping and shielding. The layers consist of cotton, carbon fiber, Teflon, Mylar, Nylon, silver plated copper braid, and many more materials that I will not reveal. All Cynosure's are hand built, burned in, and evaluated in one of my reference systems, by me personally. [/QUOTE]It sounds impressive as well, but less so once you realize USB is digital and is not really capable of subtle audio signal degradation. Those gold conductors and teflon airtubes and 20 layers of fabric to damp and shield the cord makes it just as effective as a $5 cord you can get at Best Buy. I don't understand how any one would ever buy this. Analogue cables, yes, you can convince yourself the audio fidelity is perfect, but USB? EDIT: Now for something more traditional, we have the company [URL="http://www.audioquest.com/"]Audioquest[/URL]. Some of their stuff is reasonable, just basic connectors and all for pretty cheap, but then you get to the high range. The really high range. Monster looks like a value brand compared to these. I present, the[URL="http://www.amazon.com/AudioQuest-K2-terminated-speaker-cable/dp/B000J36XR2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1276984800&sr=1-1"] 8' [/URL][URL="http://www.amazon.com/AudioQuest-K2-terminated-speaker-cable/dp/B000J36XR2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1276984800&sr=1-1"]AudioQuest K2 terminated speaker cable [/URL]retailing for the reasonable price of $8,450. It might be a bit over priced, but they do look pretty damn cool: [IMG]http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41TS7P9GXAL._SL500_AA300_.jpg[/IMG] Even the internet realizes how bad this is. The entire review page is joke reviews, and somewhat funny ones at that.

Buying this right now, it's a must have.

I bet you'd only get the full 'quality' if your house was built like a recording studio.

[QUOTE=Xen Tricks;22733108]I recently found the absolute perfect example of everything that is wrong with Audiophiles (meaning the insane ones, not the ones that just like good quality). The company is called [URL="http://www.lessloss.com/"]Lessloss[/URL], and their products are the embodiment of wasteful spending. Here is perhaps their most absurd product, [URL="http://www.lessloss.com/blackbody-p-200.html"]the Blackbody[/URL]: [IMG]http://www.lessloss.com/images/blackbody/LessLoss-Blackbody-01.jpg[/IMG] It consists of a metal box with... er... i'm not sure. It's certainly not powered, which makes it seem even more useless. Here, i'll let the company explain: So in summary, it sends out magical anti-EM waves that uses quantum mechanics to make your music sound better. It's the purest of quantum bullshit and yet this apparently "reputable" audio equipment company has it up for sale. The best part is, they suggest buying three, to fully envelope your equipment in healing rays. And it can be yours for the reasonably low price of £647.78 ($959,) almost chump change for a magical black box. Of course, the company sells the requisite £810.57 ($1200) power cables and all, but I think nothing truly measures up to the gall that is the Blackbody.[/QUOTE] FUCKING GENIUS!!! IT REMOVES BACKGROUND STATIC :monocle: I need a better set up. Using shitty hifi speakers that crackle like crack snapped pop. Bad times for an audiophile.

Thanks for link OP! Gonna love this.

will these work with my onboard soundcard and built-in speakers in my screen?

ER, so apparently it's supposed to be a reflector for EM radiation from the equipment that doesn't distort the radiation, meaning the returning EM noise doesn't interfere with the signal... what the hell? Their DAC 2004 looks pretty neat and they have the right idea about S/PDIF, but by god-

See, this is audiophile. Pure fucking voodoo craziness. Not these kids who download their music from Youtube and then claim to be an audiophile because they just bought very expensive Logitech Headphones.

Maybe I'll buy one when I'm a filthy rich "southern" hip hop producer. I hope it makes autotune sound good.

[QUOTE=DrLuke;22733234]will these work with my onboard soundcard and built-in speakers in my screen?[/QUOTE] Yes, if I recall, the company said something along the lines of "even an non-audiophile will notice a difference if used with a noisy pc through your typical soundblaster"

[QUOTE=Crackatowa;22733348]Maybe I'll buy one when I'm a filthy rich "southern" hip hop producer. [B]I hope it makes autotune sound good.[/B][/QUOTE] Running on a wing and a prayer you are.

[QUOTE=bravehat;22733391]Running on a wing and a prayer you are.[/QUOTE] Hey, Autotune can sound good if used right. Case in point, Gardenian's usage of it in the song "Selfproclaimed Messiah." [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-7yuASmpos[/media]

[QUOTE=Gmod4ever;22733701]Hey, Autotune can sound good if used right. Case in point, Gardenian's usage of it in the song "Selfproclaimed Messiah." [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-7yuASmpos[/media][/QUOTE] sounds more like a 101 on how not to do compression

[QUOTE=Gmod4ever;22733701]Hey, Autotune can sound good if used right. Case in point, Gardenian's usage of it in the song "Selfproclaimed Messiah." [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-7yuASmpos[/media][/QUOTE] That didn't sound to great, and anything can sound great when properly used. A better example would have been [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGvi6GeXnLg[/media]

I think the BlackBody is supposed to work like some kind of Faraday's cage. I just don't think it will reallyy do anything useful.

[QUOTE=rakkar;22734401]I think the BlackBody is supposed to work like some kind of Faraday's cage. I just don't think it will reallyy do anything useful.[/QUOTE] Faraday Cages work by surrounding the object in an EM-proof material. This, uh... beams anti-rays at stereos... EDIT: [QUOTE=michaeldim;22734643]USB is digital, it won't suffer from signal degradation. It's more or less an all or nothing thing. Fucking mesh covers and gas injected cords will do nothing. Such construction for analog connectors has a [I]slight[/I] improvement but does [I]nothing[/I] for digital connectors. They do the same thing to HDMI cables. [URL="http://www.mint.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/TheRipHDMI3.jpg"]This infographic[/URL] can explain the bullshit better.[/QUOTE] $140 profit for BB from one cable. You've gotta be kidding me.

USB is digital, it won't suffer from signal degradation. It's more or less an all or nothing thing. Fucking mesh covers and gas injected cords will do nothing. Such construction for analog connectors has a [i]slight[/i] improvement but does [i]nothing[/i] for digital connectors. They do the same thing to HDMI cables. [url=http://www.mint.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/TheRipHDMI3.jpg]This infographic[/url] can explain the bullshit better.

Well, to be fair you still need cables rated for a certain datarate at its length if you need 1080p for example, but largely this can be accomplished fairly cheaply still. And HDMI v1.3a brings certain quality improvements too, so while those might be more expensive too you're not paying for nothing in that case.

[QUOTE=Xen Tricks;22734429]Faraday Cages work by surrounding the object in an EM-proof material. This, uh... beams anti-rays at stereos... EDIT: £94.57 ($140) profit for BB from one cable. You've gotta be kidding me.[/QUOTE] No what the black body will do is take a spectrum of interference and maybe (im not sure) give off waves that are directly out of phase with the interfering wave, which cancels them both out and creates Electro Magnetic silence. Same shit as noise cancelling headphones brosef.

[QUOTE=bravehat;22734786]No what the black body will do is take a spectrum of interference and maybe (im not sure) give off waves that are directly out of phase with the interfering wave, which cancels them both out and creates Electro Magnetic silence. Same shit as noise cancelling headphones brosef.[/QUOTE] Except it doesn't. It apparently turns EM waves into Blackbody radiation through what I can only describe as magic, because I haven't a fucking clue how it actually would work. [QUOTE] [B]Ok, then. Name the principle of operation in one sentence. What is the core idea?[/B] In summary, because the energy association between two electromagnetically interacting proximate objects must always, through nature's design, be related, it is the object of the LessLoss Blackbody to divorce completely the spectral aspect from this mandatory interaction to provide an elegant solution to the problem of spectral interaction of proximate materials and their associated coloration of the resulting sound quality in high fidelity sound systems. [/QUOTE]It's all high sounding techno-babble for a bs idea. [QUOTE][B]What will it do to the sound?[/B] Percussive strikes have never been cleaner and more musically comprehensible. You can feel the muscle power in the bow arm and sense the smile's quality in the voice of the lead singer. There is something about mind before matter which is revealed to the listener, and everything takes on a more genuinely human sound quality. Discern age and maturity of tone as never before. In a word: the sound will be improved in a way that has not yet been addressed. Tubes sound less tubey and transistors lose their twinge. A local audiophile who usually speaks only in terms of highs and lows could only put it this way: "When I remove the Blackbody, the attractiveness of the music is gone." [/QUOTE]See they can't even describe it in concrete terms, it's just "it sounds more like music" Tubes sound less tubey, my god [QUOTE][B]Is there really an invisible beam coming from the Blackbody? What is it?[/B] The "beam of light from a flashlight" analogy is easy to grasp, but the truth is that the opposite is happening. The Blackbody is more akin to an "anti-projector" -- in the sense that it is actually the gear which is "shining the light," and the Blackbody’s 35 degree angle “line of sight” modifies the gear's "shining" so that it ceases to affect the audio. This is not sci-fi. The Blackbody does not set up a "force-field." It alters the ambient reflections of actual EM fields originating from and affecting the gear. The Blackbody interacts with these fields, creating a different reflection pattern. Consider the Blackbody a narrow angle conditioner for electromagnetic ambient conditions. The completely neutral "projector-like" functionality of the Blackbody causes audible changes in sound when one person holds it in two hands (for it is heavy) and pans it slowly in proximity to and across the gear. The listener can sit and report sometimes drastic, sometimes less drastic, changes in the sound's neutrality as the Blackbody travels, affecting key areas of the circuitry in the gear. The Blackbody’s effects easily traverse equipment cases, furniture, and other obstacles, for photon energy is pure energy that can go directly through all these substances. This might seem somewhat uncanny at first, but think of a toy magnet under the table moving another magnet on top of the table: what is happening here is similar, only instead of drag or lift, we get cleaner sound. [/QUOTE] PURE PHOTON ENERGY!

[QUOTE=BmB;22734743]Well, to be fair you still need cables rated for a certain datarate at its length if you need 1080p for example, but largely this can be accomplished fairly cheaply still. And HDMI v1.3a brings certain quality improvements too, so while those might be more expensive too you're not paying for nothing in that case.[/QUOTE] That's an issue of bandwidth/codecs. Doesn't matter if the cable is made out of some fancy crap or simple copper.

Wait so it absorbs the EM waves and dissipates it as heat and light. [img]http://gallery.fanserviceftw.com/_images/7e562eb6531f881332ada0dfa99e4972/927%20-%20dat_ass%20pikachu%20pokimon.jpg[/img] Dat application of astrophysics. [editline]10:39PM[/editline] [QUOTE=Tu154M;22734897]That's an issue of bandwidth/codecs. Doesn't matter if the cable is made out of some fancy crap or simple copper.[/QUOTE] Depends on the type of signal, analogue can benefit from gold wiring and the like and ridiculously awesome conductors, useful for audiophiles and musicians but pretty pointless for your average man on the street.

[QUOTE=bravehat;22734953]Wait so it absorbs the EM waves and dissipates it as heat and light. [IMG]http://gallery.fanserviceftw.com/_images/7e562eb6531f881332ada0dfa99e4972/927%20-%20dat_ass%20pikachu%20pokimon.jpg[/IMG] Dat application of astrophysics.[/QUOTE] And it does it all without wiring, a cord, or even batteries. It is quite literally a magic box.

[QUOTE=Xen Tricks;22734997]And it does it all without wiring, a cord, or even batteries. It is quite literally a magic box.[/QUOTE] Well yeah, what, did you think it would be connected up to anything? then it would just transmit stronger interference. If it works the way I think it does it basically acts like a decoy that absorbs the radiation and dissipates it as heat and light. Mind you could be a hazard depending on the black body spectrum.

[QUOTE=bravehat;22735068]Well yeah, what, did you think it would be connected up to anything? then it would just transmit stronger interference. If it works the way I think it does it basically acts like a decoy that absorbs the radiation and dissipates it as heat and light. Mind you could be a hazard depending on the black body spectrum.[/QUOTE] But how would it absorb the radiation just by pointing at it? Apparently you can set it 3-5 feet away and it works perfectly. I could understand it it was laying on the box, but what does it have, an EM vacuum or something?

[QUOTE=bravehat;22734953] Depends on the type of signal, analogue can benefit from gold wiring and the like and ridiculously awesome conductors, useful for audiophiles and musicians but pretty pointless for your average man on the street.[/QUOTE] HDMI is completely digital.

Talk about :downs:

[QUOTE=Xen Tricks;22735107]But how would it absorb the radiation just by pointing at it? Apparently you can set it 3-5 feet away and it works perfectly. I could understand it it was laying on the box, but what does it have, an EM vacuum or something?[/QUOTE] Cause it's black. Black absorbs a lot of different types of light/radiation then the material of the box's active part will probably have an effect as well so effectively what happens is any light or radiation that strikes it under goes witch craft I can't be bothered reading/assimilating just now and good things happen. :science:

true audiophiles use analog so I don't really see why they'd buy this

[QUOTE=Tu154M;22735135]HDMI is completely digital.[/QUOTE] I know but i mentioned that as an over all thing to mention that depending on use and signal better connectors are valid.