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See how a stupid "audiophile" wastes $485

referenceaudiomods.com — This is a KNOB to control the volume of your stereo, nothing more. However, to "audiophiles" it is a $485 "performance upgrade." From the product listing: "The sound becomes much more open and free flowing with a nice improvement in resolution. Dynamics are better and overall naturalness is improved." From a freaking KNOB!!!!???

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  • samstafford, on 10/12/2007, -1/+102Oh my god, that's SEPARATE from the potentiometer
    • mfratt, on 10/12/2007, -17/+81I was trying to talk someone out of spending $6000 on some surround sound -software- and another $10,000 on speakers. Christ, a $200 SoundBlaster and a $500 set of speakers is more than enough.
    • NUBxKILLA, on 10/12/2007, -55/+14Its the magical kind of a knob...maybe if you buy it you wont even need a stereo..maybe you can con troll stuff like in the movie Click.......or maybe this is just the greatest ripoff of 2006 besides the empty xbox360 boxes on eBay
    • eplawless, on 10/12/2007, -4/+85Now I begin to question everything. Do the LEDs in my speaker system detract from sound quality?
    • FlyingLlama, on 10/12/2007, -3/+83**whips out credit card**
    • Casedot, on 10/12/2007, -2/+49lol, funny stuff.

      This is my favorite audiophile gimick.
      http://www.machinadynamica.com/machina28.htm

      it is a "super tweeter" that reproduces frequencies up to 100khz!!!! lol, too bad NO HUMAN can hear anywhere near even 30khz (even that number is rediculous).
    • undercoverdave, on 10/12/2007, -26/+2You know you all want a pair of Sony R-10's though. Come on!
    • nazsco, on 10/12/2007, -15/+128If it were white, with a firewire cable maybe, and had a bitten apple on top, 90% of the folks here --who haven't got that it was a joke, would be already taking their credit cards out
    • HoboMaster, on 10/12/2007, -23/+12I think it says something that almost all of Digg seems to be too dense to get the joke.
    • FlyingLlama, on 10/12/2007, -5/+20^^
      not even 100khz, 1ghz!! hah, my dog can't even hear that!

      probably doesn't even do anything, just sits there
    • umrgregg, on 10/12/2007, -2/+41You think a knob is stupid, how about $58,000+ for 50' of 'premium' speaker cable?

      http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm#expensive
    • AndrewLZ, on 10/12/2007, -4/+30@mrfratt - it really depends on what you're using the speakers for. I personally enjoy classical music and there is a HUGE difference between DACs (digital audio converters), speakers, headphones, etc...) A soundblaster will not produce a good sound compared to this thing ($300 list - really really hard to find though).

      Personally I use an M-Audio Super DAC 2496 ($300, got it for $220) and a pair of Sennheiser HD600 headphones ($450, got it for $270). Using the SPDIF from my laptop I hookup to the Superdac which hooks up to the headphones.

      Speakers on the other hand, are much trickier than headphones with respect to cost. My piano instructor has a pair of $1600 stereo induction speakers that are WAYYYY better than a $500 pair of Bose stereo speakers (which are really quite crappy). I forget the brand, but they are far from the best speakers.

      For some people, good sound really matters; that's the bottom line.
    • RubeusEsclair, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6Im all about quality, but thats rediculous. Higher performance speakers will make a difference, but only as far as the media you are playing. If I remember correctly, the high range on CD's isnt even as high as the old records.
      As far as 100 khz? Thats rediculous-- but not to say you cant sense it. I know I get a headache when someone nearby start blowing an ultra-sonic whistle.
    • Phaedruss, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8Well, this deserves a digg just for the social experiment aspect. Based on how many people believe this is a serious product, I think we can safely gauge that the average Digger has lost all faith in humanity (seriously... no one would buy this!)

      Just in case people haven't made the connection - the knobs are only compatible with the Silver Rock Potentiometer ($6,820), "sold" exclusively by Reference Audio Mods. http://tinyurl.com/274rc
    • bobbknight, on 10/12/2007, -18/+3This little bit of stupidity has been on the net for over a year, and I think it was on slashdot last year. So lame, no digg.
    • AndrewLZ, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Sorry I had an awkward sentence that I need to correct:

      Speakers on the other hand, are much trickier than headphones with respect to cost. My piano instructor has a pair of $1600 stereo induction speakers that are WAYYYY better than a $500 pair of Bose stereo speakers (which are really quite crappy).

      I forget the brand, but even at that price they are far from the best speakers you can get.
    • oGMo, on 10/12/2007, -2/+27@AndrewLZ/@mrfratt: Yes, however you are getting into *proaudio* gear, which is where spending a (relatively modest) bit of money actually gets you huge gains (no pun intended). Audiophile gear is a joke... huge amounts of money for things like fancy rubber casing or gold tipped connectors, which have next to no impact on the sound quality.

      Proaudio gear however is an entirely different class of equipment. Balanced inputs, for instance, help cut down noise dramatically, and the signal level itself is considerably higher. You don't need gold-plated anything, but if you spend a few hundred bucks on a decent amp, studio monitors (speakers), and a good sound card (like something midrange from M-Audio), you can get amazingly sweet sound. And you won't have to replace it for a very long time, if ever.

      So if you want real quality audio, hit your local Guitar Center or similar and poke around. Compare prices at 8thstreet.com and audiomidi.com. Anything at Best Buy, Circuit City, Frys, or similar is consumer level crap.
    • AndrewLZ, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3@RubeusEsclair - I fully agree that the need for really good speakers only goes as far as the quality of what you're listening to. You have to consider though, that people who do digital audio cleanup highly value such expensive equipment because all the flaws are much more visible and true-tone sound is very desirable.

      For example I have old recordings of Rachmaninoff performing recorded on gramaphone and it helps to hear everything as it is so the noise cleanup can be done properly. In all honesty though, I'm happy with the pair of heaphones I have as they likely achieve better sound than any speakers would.
    • AndrewLZ, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8@oGMo - you hit the nail on the head with that one :)
    • dbalaski, on 10/12/2007, -1/+29But this knob is better -- it goes up to 11, most knobs go up to only 10, so this one is a little louder!!


      (had to give my tribute to Spinal-Tap movie!!! couldn't resist)
    • spidoman, on 10/12/2007, -2/+12It costs more because it goes to 11.

      Gah, beat me by like 10 seconds.
    • akcoder, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5A buddy of mine whos and AV engineer always says in regards to "Monster" cable and what not: "If you have to gold plate it, it was sh*t to begin with"
    • krux, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4FlyingLlama: That reminds me of a line that someone said on a BBS I use to run back in the day, "Someone plays a CD with 44KHz tone and there isn't an audiophile around not to hear it, does it still make a sound?"
    • pintomp3, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4krux. while i understand where he was going with the joke, i must point out that cds don't have audio going up to 44khz, that's the sampling frequency.
    • DJSdotcom, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Man I'm totally going to buy that knob because it will make the MP3s I ripped from the audio tape I used to record from the radio sound WAY SWEETER.
    • shillbert, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2pintomp3: Exactly.
      krux: The sampling frequency of CD audio is 44.1 kHz. The highest frequency a CD can unambiguously represent (explained by Nyquist–Shannon sampling theorem) is slightly less than half of that (22 kHz), which is closer to the upper bound on human hearing.
    • joemawlma, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I'm sorry, but if the word "x-treme" isn't included on the sound equipment, NO SALE.
  • scrubadub, on 10/12/2007, -15/+144I find audiophiles shallow and pedantic
    • Player0ne, on 10/12/2007, -20/+45yes i have to agree shallow and pedantic
    • wordsnatcher, on 10/12/2007, -9/+190They're a bunch of knobs
    • punterfpc, on 10/12/2007, -46/+5Peter, you're an idiot...
    • Chasin_Fat_Kids, on 10/12/2007, -46/+15Had to look up "pedantic"
    • FishyJoe, on 10/12/2007, -5/+22Some of my best times have been listening to a beat up cheapo radio on the back porch.
    • Phaedruss, on 10/12/2007, -5/+44But can you imagine how much better your radio would sound with new knobs!?
    • missflibbles, on 10/12/2007, -2/+11My favorite are the ones with the spiky hair who, in describing themselves to possible future sex partners, say things like "music is my life!" Ooh, they crack me up.
    • mongrel, on 10/12/2007, -8/+3heh, knobs
    • maxsunset, on 10/12/2007, -3/+7Pedantic... maybe. Shallow? Well screw you Kevin. I am an audiophile, and will spend good money on gear because I like great sound. Personally, it helps draw me into the music (or movie) more and gives me more enjoyment. Whats shallow about that? It's certainly not as shallow as arguing about macs vs. PCs.

      Yeah, I do know a few audiphiles who are like that, and being an audiophile, it ***** me off more than anybody that they're giving all audiophiles that kind of image.

      For the record, no, I would never buy that knob!
  • cosulliv755, on 10/12/2007, -11/+48These guys are so entertaining, you could laugh at these freaking idiots all day. Next is the $150 power cord, (oddly matches the one on my electric kettle.. and magically improves the quality of the electricity that is delivered to the .59 Cent socket on my wall ) and the $160 sound refractor panel that improves the way sound travels in your home. ( a plank of wood to the likes of you and me). All this, so they can listen to Poison's talk dirty to me, like never before.. Moron's.
    • Chompy, on 10/12/2007, -9/+110"Moron's"
      IRONY!
    • Thud, on 10/12/2007, -3/+29$150 for a power cord??

      Come on, you should NOT skimp on the power cord.

      Go for something of reasonably high quality. For only 8 times the cost, you can have a GREEN power cord.

      http://www.audioconnect.com/html/pk10_palladian.html
    • drewman77, on 10/12/2007, -2/+20No, it's worse. They buy the $150 - $300 power cord to connect their audio equipment from the power conditioner they paid $5000 for that is in turn connected to the .59 cent wall plug (unless they replaced that with a $100 version).

      Meanwhile - inside the amplifier power is delivered to the amp board by stranded 20 gauge wire.....
    • karmakanic, on 10/12/2007, -3/+18Hey - even *I* know that electricity flows better through a green power cord. Haven't you been keeping up with the latest literature?
    • kunjan1029, on 10/12/2007, -3/+26How about a Monster USB cable? its a freaking USB cable. Its digital. Its not going to loose any more signal on a $10 cable then it will on a $89 cable. Its digital for christ's sake!
    • LenzM, on 10/12/2007, -8/+15Not everybody listens to Poison. There is a difference between $200 computer speakers and a really nice stereo. It's like all sorts of high end products, when you get to the best stuff you pay more for smaller improvements (my Corolla can get me anywhere your Benz can, anyone that spends that kind of money on a nice car is a moron, right?) So lay off the audiophiles, people that can afford it are going to spend it on some luxury anyway.

      And btw, IT"S A JOKE.
      And I'm not defending all purchasers of audiophile equipment, if you are listening to Poison you don't need it.
    • umrgregg, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4 "$150 for a power cord??

      Come on, you should NOT skimp on the power cord.

      Go for something of reasonably high quality. For only 8
      times the cost, you can have a GREEN power cord.

      http://www.audioconnect.com/html/pk10_palladian.html"


      Congratulation, you spent $1000 on the word "grain" ;)
    • gadgetlust, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6Reminds me of the $30 USB cables, $80 firewire cables, and $120 RCA cables which lately seem to be the only kind they stock at Future Shop & Best Buy.
      Dollar store? Anybody?
    • Tobey, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4$150!? All of the Romex used to wire my house didn't cost that much.
    • oGMo, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3@gadgetlust: Yeah, I was looking for an SVideo--RCA adaptor recently. Best Buy, Circuit City, etc... $24.95. $25 for an effing converter!

      Fortunately there is this awesome local electronics place, vetco. I think you can order from them online, too. I believe I picked up 2 converters for like $4.99 each.
      Check it: http://shop.vetcosurplus.com/catalog/

      Walking into the store is like geek heaven.
    • SmurfButcherBob, on 10/12/2007, -1/+16Not $150 for a power cord? But what if it's a DIGITAL power cord?

      Much, much faster than that crappy old analog electricity...
    • maxsunset, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1It wouldn't be a "refraction" panel, that's a optical thing. It would be a diffusion or absorbtion panel for acoustics, which make a tremendous difference in how an audio system sounds. Moron.
    • cjhammel, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0monoprice has the best price on cables 15 ft Clear USB cables go for $2.98 US if any one is paying more than $10 US then they are a fool.

      http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=103&cp_id=10303&cs_id=1030301&p_id=2098&seq=1&format=2&style=
  • Dradis, on 10/12/2007, -4/+60*Hides my $3880 worth of wooden stereo knobs*
    er.. yeah.. complete jackasses...
    ..
    I can hear the naturalness...
  • PAStheLoD, on 10/12/2007, -2/+24I love music, I love beautiful, spectacular, astonishing sounding systems.. but there has to be a limit of sanity.. and these thing are clearly on the other side :C
    • Thud, on 10/12/2007, -2/+60You eventually get to a point where it would be cheaper just to hire a real orchestra to come play in your living room.

      But then the audiophile might complain that the sound is not as natural.
    • TheCookieMaker, on 10/12/2007, -2/+23everyone knows that you can't hear the tiny little hisses and pops that come from the original recording if you use a live orchestra
  • D4RKfantasy, on 10/12/2007, -2/+17Hey, the rich have to find SOMETHING to spend thier endless supply of crappy movie money on, right?
    • freebirdpat, on 10/12/2007, -2/+35I thought that was why god made strippers and beer? Or was it hookers and coke?.
    • karmakanic, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3It's strippers and beer. And they are the very highest quality strippers.
    • DigiShaman, on 10/12/2007, -3/+11Just because your rich doesn't mean you're smart. Remember, the doors of capitalism swings both ways. If your poor and want to make good money, sell a product a rich person is willing to buy.
    • OBKenobi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6I'm going to start feeding rich people to my cat.
    • boomerxl, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I agree, like the aforementioned hookers and coke.
    • pintomp3, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4the knobs on the hookers cost even more. at least they are made of wood though.
  • Wilson, on 10/12/2007, -2/+25That's a mighty fine knob, Lou.
  • NinjAlt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+26This is kind of like Natural selection. They pay this money to keep them from buying other stuff, like gas for their car, or food, or soap. That keeps them out of the every day life of the rest of us. You should be happy someone is releasing this knob. I mean think of how many hours it keeps those people away from us while they're busy polishing their knobs...
  • mrASSMAN, on 10/12/2007, -2/+17I'm sure this is just a joke. No one is THAT ridiculous right?
    • ubermorph, on 10/12/2007, -3/+28mrASSMAN, you're right.

      Go on any audiophile forum, they WILL tell you that this is a joke. This has been a running joke in the commuinity, and if you think this is real, then the joke is on YOU!
  • wordsnatcher, on 10/12/2007, -0/+47Don't let this one bad product sour you on the whole after-market knob purchasing market.

    For instance:
    http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/powermate/ - One tenth the price of the wooden knob and it glows blue to boot. I don't know what it does, but it certainly out-knobs that other knob in the field of knobbing, as far as I knob. Er, know.
    • jaypee68, on 10/12/2007, -4/+7ROFLMAO! :-)
    • nazsco, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2i'd love to use that with video editing tought... not for sound volume, obviously
    • scottevans, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2now that was funny as hell!
    • TinFoil209, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Griffin knows how to knob!!! With most electronics being a male thing, even better!!! LOL.

      For video editing that would be clean, if it had a side selector for zoom in and out as u work it then it would be worth $45.
    • Gryffydd, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6The only problem with that knob is that you have to polish it all the time. (fingerprints you know)
  • ipen, on 10/12/2007, -0/+14We all know who the real knob here is.
  • subscribtion, on 10/12/2007, -8/+2There's nothing even that special about that knob. Honestly, is it me or is it just a piece of wood? I seriously could make that in my garage right now. I still have hope in the human race that no one would be dumb enough to purchase one of these; sadly, a part of me knows I'm wrong.
    • joelmole, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11Yeah, but it has several coats of lacquer!
  • justinhancock, on 10/12/2007, -42/+5How the hell does this make it to the front page?
    • Chompy, on 10/12/2007, -5/+42Do you really need someone to explain how Digg works?
  • Lacero, on 10/12/2007, -3/+28It's a joke site. You're all knobs!
    • artanis, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Is that why they have an order form where they take all of your personal info? :-[
  • sorbix, on 10/12/2007, -14/+2If I'm not mistaken, a lot of the time low-quality pentometers (knobs) can affect the overall sound. Replacing the kobs are necessary to get top notch sound, but yea this is just stupid since its not even a part of the circuit.
    • ImTheDarkcyde, on 10/12/2007, -5/+11the term "wastes" is pretty ignorant, how much money do all of you "waste" on your pc?

      Do "ext3m3 gam3rz" really need quad SLI cards?
    • TheCookieMaker, on 10/12/2007, -5/+12Yes
    • boomerxl, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6Not REALLY, but I have a tiny penis that I need to compensate for; should the occasion ever arise that I need to use it.
    • AnotherBrian, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Re: ImTheDarkcyde
      It's true that nobody needs to go from 100 FPS to 110 FPS, but those cards actually do affect the frame rate. The knob on the volume potentiometer has no effect on the music.
  • ianlellis, on 10/12/2007, -6/+1That has to be the biggest ripoff I've ever seen.
    Ya know, I hate Bose...but these guys are way overboard
    • lazydrumhead, on 10/12/2007, -8/+1I went into Best Buy and listened to every set of speakers (including the eight billion dollar bose 5 thousand speaker surround system), and the best frequency response I heard was from an $81 logitech 5.1 surround set of computer speakers.

      This all reminds me of digital coax / component video cable versus plain RCA A/C cables. They're 99% the same!

    • TinFoil209, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Plain RCA composite cables bleed a lot if used as component. Monster cables are stupid I admit. Anything digital the cables they may of came with the device are more than enough (if they even work).
  • amk29j, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Like D4RKfantasy said, If you're rich enough and it doesn't matter, then why not? Throw in that 4.8 million dollar TV from Amazon too. But maybe it's not good enough for audiophiles that would buy this knob...
  • PhilPrice, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5I wish I had a signature knob... Oh wait! I have a marker pen right here...
  • kimos, on 10/12/2007, -4/+8I sold electronics for a few years, and even in a pretty low-grade store people buy into all this audiophile BS. It's amazing. My two favorites were the eletromagnetically shielded fiber optic cable and the power adapters that cleaned the power before it gets sent to your equipment...

    PA always says it best:
    http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2002/11/25
    • chaosmachine, on 10/12/2007, -1/+20well, poor/intermittent AC power could ruin expensive equipment. there are legitimate uses for AC power conditioners..
    • lbjazz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Power conditioners, especially the $300+ ones are pretty useless, but there are circumstances where one is needed. First, they're surge protectors (damn expensive ones). Every once and a while someone will have an interference thing and they can get diagonal lines running across their screen or something similar. In a few cases the conditioner can help clean it up. Most people, though, don't need anything but a cheap surge protector.
    • iamexcite, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Yeah, you definitely want an AC power conditioner for expensive equipment--if only for insurance. They're a staple of musicians' racks (guitar, bass, keys) and are in many home AV setups as well.
    • zybch, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I run power conditioners on all my expensive gear. Regular surge protectors just stop big surges, they do nothing for the many little highs and lows that can negativley affect electronic equipment.
  • chaosmachine, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10these have been a running joke on music forums for a while. here's a few more:

    porcelain "cable elevators" to keep your audio cables from touching the ground..
    http://www.musicdirect.com/products/detail.asp?sku=AELEV

    small wooden discs you place on top your speakers and twist to "open the sound"..
    http://www.shunmook.com/text1.htm

    • karmakanic, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I am particularly excited by the Giant Diamond Resonators (U.S. Patent No. D364168). They just look so........resonant.
    • lbjazz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Unfortunately, some people actually believe in those cable elevators.
  • iMatt711, on 10/12/2007, -11/+3$8 logitech speakers make me happy
  • spike57, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1knob noobs
  • jaypee68, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3And my wife thought I was nuts for spending $500 on an Onkyo 1000W 7.1 home theater in a box.
    • nazsco, on 10/12/2007, -8/+6yep. she's right. now go clean some dishes.
  • Derphead, on 10/12/2007, -20/+1I dont know whats worst, the fact that so many people took this seriously or the fact that this made it to the front page of digg
    • jerr0328, on 10/12/2007, -6/+5I don't know what's worse, duping a comment about it making the front page or you being a moron for posting such a stupid comment or having every article have a comment "how did this make it to the front page?"
  • FlyingLlama, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2"It's all about vibrations!!"

    LOL
  • NeoPlatonist, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5I've seen worse. I once saw a review of a special chip you place on top of your audio components that supposedly improves the sound. This chip is entirely unpowered and does not electrically connect to the equipment in any way. If I remember the name, I'd look up a website on it.

    I have found that to a certain extent, tweaks can improve sound. I use some reasonably high quality cables in my system that does make an audible difference in the sound quality. Would I pay $3700 for a 1 meter pair of audio cables? I think not. http://www.musicdirect.com/products/detail.asp?sku=ANORDVHI1MR
    • rubberpants, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5It's ironically called "The Intelligent Chip"

      http://www.machinadynamica.com/machina27.htm

      For extreme laughs, read this guy's "explanation" of how they work:

      http://www.machinadynamica.com/machina64.htm

      Now that's Grade A BS.
    • SPARTACVS, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Well, I would assume it's BS. Apparently you put this orange piece of plastic on top of your CD player and it uses "quantum entanglement" to make it sound better. Seems to me they talk about quantum entanglement when referring to teleports in Half Life 2. Don't know what that has to do with a CD... :)
  • iSEPIC, on 10/12/2007, -7/+2in light of the Apple philosophy "you get what you pay for".
  • FlyingLlama, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2i love how they make it sound authentic by using "big" words so the naive believe.
  • ptrcd003, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Yeah I remember posting a link to this in one of the comments a few months ago. Some people are just stupid. Did you see that chip that you glue onto the cd? Apparently its an RDIF chip which communicates with the cd and "tells it to play better??"
    • ptrcd003, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Heres a quote from the description

      Each Intelligent Chip is "programmed" to dispense 10 upgrades (GSIC-10) or 30 upgrades (GSIC-30) -- actually a few more as some overhead is built in. Holding the orange wafer up to the light, it does look like there's some kind of electronic board inside - and perhaps a tiny battery. Could the Chip contain an RFID device capable of communicating with the compact disc in the player? If so, what data would be changed? Is there some sort of control code on the disc, maybe timing information that could that somehow affect the sound?

      So, the author is questioning himself? Does he not know how his own magic chip works? But, it apparently makes cd's sound more human, less harsh. Hm..their tone arguments are really lost considering its a digital media. You can't really tune electric signals with only two options - 1/0
  • Robertsk8, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2Im so buying this now....
    • JimXugle, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1Robert Heron... is that you?!

      :-P

      On the off chance that it is, DLtv is awesome
  • comradevik, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1Pacific Coast Hellway.
  • Joe091, on 10/12/2007, -4/+12While this knob is retarded, I feel the need to stand up for some Audiophiles. There is a HUGE difference between a $500 set of speakers and a $5,000 set of speakers (there had better be.) It's easy to spend a lot of money on some good speakers and a quality pre/pro and music/video player, and most of the time, when you spend good money, you get a good product. However, there is a LOT of snake oil being sold to some dumbasses with too much money. But some things you might think are b.s. actually work... like some of those insanely expensive monster power centers, and even some of the monster cables help... even though they are waaaaaaaaaayyyyy over priced. And Bose is the worst product you can possibly buy for the money.
    • zeebo, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Yes there is probably a difference between a $500 sound system and a $5000 sound system (if the $5000 system is legitimately worth that much money.) However is this difference between these if they have the same number and arrangement of speakers enough to justify a 10x difference in price?

      Probably not.

    • ThinkFr33ly, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9That's certainly true. But what do you think about speaker cables? I know many "audiophiles" that absolutely swear that the low oxygen, gold tipped $500 or $1000 a meter cabling is essential. They basically say that you're negating all the money you spent on great receivers or speakers if you don't spend the money on cables.

      When I point out that simple tests show that the signal coming out of most of the "crappy" ($5 per meter) cabling is *identical* to the signal coming out of the expensive stuff, they cry fowl saying that it loses so much of the "feel". When I then point out that all that feel comes from the signal and the signals ARE THE SAME, they still deny it.

      The fact of the matter is that the power cord going to a lamp will produce an IDENTICAL SIGNAL as that $1000 per meter cabling at the power levels and distances used in home audio... even very high end home audio. Period. End of story. Anybody who tells you different is either a fool or is trying to sell you that cabling.
    • farrellj, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2Re: Cables

      Some good, thick cables are essential...paying $???-???? is stupid! So what if the same wire was used in missiles...that's what we told me about the casing on those Kirby vacuum cleaners. Both have nothing to do with the performance of their products. Sales gimmicks.

      Good quality is worth spending a bit extra for...but if it is 10x the price, you are probably being ripped off.

      ttyl
      Farrell
    • copperfryingpan, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4@zeebo

      It is entirely up to the person to decide if the extra money is worth it, it's like many things in life. As an example, a Kia has the same amount of wheels as a Porsche, can only legally drive at the same speed limit and probably has more room. The Kia costs less than the Porsche, maybe 3x or 4x. The Porsche may handle better, may accelerate better, may stop better, but is it 3x or 4x better? Objectively, probably not.

      A $500 stereo will not sound as good as a $5000 stereo. Will it measure 10x better? Probably not. Will it play 10x louder? Probably not. So, what is the benchmark for justifying the addition money?

      You can take the same approach to everything in life, art, wine, etc... The value comes solely from the customer perceiving the distance and recognizing the worth to them.

      I used to sell high-end stereo at my parents store, and there were certainly differences between all the equipment, but really, it's a law of diminshing returns. A $5000 pre-amp usually sounded better than a $2500 one, but the difference wasn't as big as going from a $500 to the $2500 one.
    • Joe091, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2@copperfryingpan:
      Well, put. It's all about the diminishing returns. As long as you do enough research to know your not getting ripped off, you'll do ok. When you start spending several thousand dollars on each piece of equipment, you'd better know what your getting into... don't just listen to the salesman.
    • ebunton, on 10/12/2007, -5/+7Too many people here comment based on theory and their own commonsense, and not on experience.

      I was a disbeliever once too. I mean a CD player is a CD player, and cables are cables right?

      If you haven't listened to the difference between speaker cabling, then please do before making such grand, over-arching statements on the stupidity of audiophiles.

      Audiophiles typically have very accurate or at least very sensitive ears, so if you as a non-audiophile can't tell the difference, then the conclusion is not that audiophiles are stupid, but that your ears are not as sensitive.

      I would say that I have audiophile 'tendencies'. I have a set up at home which most people would never dream of spending.

      I have personally spent hours listening at audiophile stores to different combinations of expensive components, from $3000 power amplifiers, CD players, pre-amps, $9000 speakers, to $1000 speaker cables.

      I would like to say that to my ears, there is a difference between sound qualities, and IMO the setup is worth the investment, but for the average Joe, they aren't.
    • dhakbar, on 10/12/2007, -5/+5ebunton:

      You are ***** retarded. That is all.
    • copperfryingpan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2 @Joe091

      It's always good for people to be educated, but no one knows everything. So, people coming into a high-end store and expect the staff to be knowledgeable. I think people generally believed the salesmen at our store to be honest, mostly because we'd been around for many years and had a good reputation.

      When people could come into the the store, most of the time the high-end brands are largely unfamiliar to people. The view at the store was not just selling, but about education of the customer. In addition to saying, "This speaker sounds more open than this one because it has no box.", you actually play it for them so people can hear and point out things.

      One of the problems for mail-order (or Internet order) audio is that, you can't hear it first. There is no real education, and you can't grab a $500 pre-amp and compare it to a $5000 pre-amp to show a customer that, there really is a difference.

      Unfortunately, few people ever go to reputable high-end stores and are think that Circuit City, Best Buy or Fry's sell "good" equipment, and that all salesmen are idiots. Most don't even know there are other options or are completely close minded when other options are available and are pre-convinced that,
      "All CD players sound the same.",
      "All DVD players look the same.",
      "All amps sound the same.",
      "They all the same and the only difference is in features.",
      so they don't even bother to check when doing shopping.

      It's quite silly.
    • evilspoons, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1It's too bad the circuitry inside a $800 Monster Power Conditioner thingie is identical in function to a $200 APC UPS (the ones that include on-line power correction), yet costs $600 more and DOESN'T come with a battery!

      I enjoy telling people at my workplace that the $36 component video cable Costco sells is *identical* to the $120 Best Buy sells, except it doesn't have the Monster logo on it.
    • maxsunset, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Joe:
      100% agreed.

      To all the other kids ripping on cables and the like:
      The problem with that part of the audio industry is that you can not measure the performance of cables. There are real differences, and it is easier to hear than you think, so before you shoot your ***** mouth off, go to a high-end store and ask to hear the difference between lamp cord and something (anything) better. I have made a documentary on the subject which can be viewed here: http://hifi-enviro.com/Audiophiles.html (video link).
    • theducks, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2maxsunset : Your webpage says you made that in school. I assume high school. How about you go do a degree in electrical engineering and come back in 4 years and tell me all about this performance of equipment based on pieces of metal carrying electricity that "can't be measured"
    • maxsunset, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Hey "theducks",

      It was not high school, not that it matters, and the sound of cables can't be measured any more than the taste differences between a McDonalds burger and an In n' Out Burger can. Like I said, get off your ass and try it, then tell me they're the same. If they sound different, yet they "measure" the same, what does that tell you about the measurements?
    • ptrcd003, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Except, if you were smart enough to realise that sound doesn't transmit through wires as vibrations but as an electrical signal..and you can measure that.
  • Big_Poppa_K, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10It doesn't even go to 11!
    Really, this thing looks like it was done in a high school wood-working class with less than $5 of materials
  • Runningboard, on 10/12/2007, -7/+0dabbling in audiophilia (?) myself, i find "potentiometer" to be the gayest thing ever. my pathetic-strometer is in the red.
  • Skylander74, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3You know, the knobs might not do anything but if this guy sells 50 of them for $500, he's made a good $25,000. He may be on to something. *Goes shopping for a mini lathe and some wood*
  • IwahnTabier, on 10/12/2007, -13/+2why did this crap article even make it on digg?
  • Odweaver, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Meh, I'm happy with my Koss Pro 4AA headphones I purchased for $65
    • colol, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I love those headphones, especially since they're still so ugly after all these years.

      The 70s live!
    • farrellj, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1The Porta Pro headphones rock!

      ttyl
      Farrell
  • adalgiso, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3What the hell does a potentiometer do anyways?
    • IcanFLY, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potentiometer
      Turn knob, changes resistance. One of the contacts slides along resistive material to change the distance the power flows to get to other contact.
    • astrosmash, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4It's used for changing the dynamics of the sound from warm to punchy.
    • Skeuomorph, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1The name means a device to meter the voltage potential of a circuit, but the electric widget behind the manual volume control knob in a stereo with an analog volume control is also called a potentiometer. But this use refers to a component (usually arranged as a dial, but can also be a slider) with a user-adjustable resistance.

      Behind a simple stereo volume knob, the dial's base (which is wired) contacts a graphite ring (wired at the other end). This graphite ring doesn't carry voltage easily, so every position around the ring lets less or more current through depending on how close the dial's base is to the end of the ring. Turning the dial clockwise moves the base contact around the graphite ring, closer to the wired end, allowing more and more current through, turning up the volume. (Not really important to go into the 3 resistor potential divider, for this wood knob prodect.)

      In this product, he's claiming that bakelite or plastic knobs on the dial shaft of the potentiometer cause a vibration which might be audible: if the volume knob has micro-vibrations that affect its micro-positioning, that could yeild micro-variances in audio levels, while the wooden knobs would aborb those vibrations.

      If he'd just place the stereo and speakers in an anechoic chamber, that should reduce the audio impurities considerably.
    • ptrcd003, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Come on guys..tech site..this is the most basic tech.
  • smegthelight, on 10/12/2007, -6/+2This is proof that the collapse of civilization as we know it is near.
  • evanbooth, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Charities all across the world hate you.
  • omgwut, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2A stupid piece of cardboard with a pinhole through the middle would've done the same damn thing.
  • nepawoods, on 10/12/2007, -5/+3there's a sucker born every minute. nothing new here. show's over, move along folks.
  • sammykrupa, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2I noticed this out earlier.
  • gridbread, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2Knobs don't turn me on.
  • andersonmanly, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3This is my favorite....The Superclock II oak mounting block and cable tie. For the low low low price of 16 dollars, you get a tiny piece of wood and a zip tie. Wow. Oh...don't forget shipping!

    http://www.referenceaudiomods.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=SCLK2_MT_KIT&Category_Code=MISC&Product_Count=9
  • skinwill, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Ouch, my head hurts. Why cant I make money off of quackery and the stupidity of others. Oh wait, I work in IT!

    Anyways, I hear there is this company that makes meters for measuring somthing called TOTAL HARMONIC DISTORTION!!!
    Measure the THD before and after, if it is less with this damn piece of wood. I will gladly perform fellatio on Dr. Bose.
  • Cinder6, on 10/12/2007, -6/+2Oh boy, a site that's trying to rip people off! Like we haven't ever seen *those* before. Honestly...

    What has digg come to if this is what I see as the first thing on the front page? This is just like that $4 million LCD on Amazon: utter crap that isn't news. If the product had a high rating, with a boatload of *serious* reviews saying how great it is and how you can really hear the difference when using that wooden knob, then it might be fun to laugh at the nubliness of some people who will buy into anything. But even then, it wouldn't deserve to be on the front page.
  • luservegas, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3Actually, spending money on a decent pot isn't that stupid. It's the guys that get the "oxygen-free super gold cables" or some other crap like that. A pot like this usually has all of your audio running through it, so a ***** $5 pot can really screw up the audio. The pots on SSL's (large format analog mixing consoles) that handle the audio for the mains are easily a couple of hundred bucks. The other thing that your paying for on stereo pots is that they are matched gain-wise on the left and right through the whole range of the pot. Crappy pots will be louder on the left or right at certain levels - crappy pots are optimized where the gain is equal at a certain position.

    As far as hearing over 20k, human beings can't. However, there have been some pretty serious old-school audio guys that have shown that we perceive harmonics above that. Interesting article by Rupert Neve: http://www.prosoundweb.com/chat_psw/transcripts/rupert.shtml.

    He's basically the godfather of fat sounding recording consoles.

    I think you could have found something a lot dumber for more money if you're looking for silly audiophile expenditures.
    • skinwill, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Actually a properly engineered amplifier should have NO AUDIO information at all going through the pot, but merely a signal voltage to control the amount of attenuation in the circuit. If it is a good amp there will be some math performed on that signal voltage to filter out pops and fast changes caused by dirt or a weak connection. But hey, if you hadn't ever had anything apart then your consumer AIWA combo unit or an antique superhetrodyne you wouldn't know that.
    • Nesh, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Agreed. I stopped buying crappy pot when I was in high school.

      Oh wait....
    • luservegas, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I would much rather have audio passing through a resistive pot than having everything run through another IC that has a control voltage applied by the volume pot. Much, much, much cleaner going through a resistor than an IC.... But that's a whole different discussion.
  • EtherGnat, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5The only knobs I'm paying $485 to twist belong to some stripper named Candy..and then only if I'm drunk.
  • zixel, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1...but it goes to 11...

    nigel
    • EvilBadger, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Thats 1 more then 10, so its better.

      I was waiting for the spinal tap reference
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