Outrageous Audio Equipment: A Call for Examples - Gizmodo Comments

Outrageous Audio Equipment: A Call for Examples

thepounder — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 16:24:35 EST

@ludwigk: You weren't kidding one bit about Machina Dynamica; what a load of crap. Their "Clever Little Clock" makes "all audio much more liquid..." what rubbish.
I just saw they have "special" outlet covers as well... for $30 a pop --
Now Available - Tru-Tone Light Switch Cover $30 each

Machina Dynamica's brand new product is the Tru-Tone Duplex Cover, a special audiophile-grade cover for all duplex wall outlets; they are intended to replace all types of duplex covers - steel, plastic, wood, etc. - in the listening room, including non-audio outlets - even unused outlets. We suggest a "baseline" of 3-4 Duplex Covers in the room. Tru-Tone Duplex Outlet Covers produce a remarkably powerful, detailed and focused sound. It cracks me up they "suggest a 'baseline' of 3-4" outlet covers... no kidding, really?

@keithmberard: While I'd definitely agree that a $4950 Theramin is way overpriced, this is indeed Moog we're talking about. I'd like to hear this Moog version in person; I bet it's pretty awesome. But yeah, not $4950 worth of awesome most likely.

thepounder

Outrageous Audio Equipment: A Call for Examples

skierpage — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 00:57:12 EDT

@Kaaspeer: The Kharma Grand Enigma tops this list of 10 crazy-expensive speakers. I'd love to hear the Infinite Wisdom Grande and save $400,0000.

This site has lots of exotic turntables but is slow and hard to navigate.

skierpage

Outrageous Audio Equipment: A Call for Examples

keithmberard — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 17:09:47 EDT

Nothing like 1920s meets 1980s for just under 5 grand.

Moog Ethervox MIDI Theremin

[www.moogmusic.com]

keithmberard

Outrageous Audio Equipment: A Call for Examples

benenglish — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 11:53:29 EDT

@Sukigod: About those rubber rings - I tend to think they could have worked. If you ever had a top-opening CD player like the first-gen Magnavox, you know that when they got worn (or if tolerances were sloppy to begin with), the spinning CDs would appear unstable. They'd, for lack of a better word, "shimmy" up and down as they spun. That had to introduce at least some data read errors. If a little added edge weight could damp that effect and ease the error-correction work being done by the player, there might be an improvement in the sound. Anyway, the theory is plausible and the rings were really cheap, so I wouldn't put them in the "overpriced snake oil" category.

benenglish

Outrageous Audio Equipment: A Call for Examples

Sukigod — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 09:35:37 EDT

More Snake Oil: The Tice Clock was a popular little topic of debate in the early 90's. Similar to the "Clever Little Clock" Marshall mentioned above but apparently better made as it sold for $30. "Messaged the audio signals put out by hi-end electronics" or some sorta BS like that. Funny.

Another snake oil bit from that time was the "Black Magic CD Markers" that made your brand new compact discs sound better. You basically markered the edge of the CD so no light could "escape" from the edged, thereby making the soudn better with less information lost.

Boy, I remember more.... rubber rings that you attached to your CD edges taht "stabilized" the disc to reduce wow and flutter in CD. Hahahahah...

Sukigod

Outrageous Audio Equipment: A Call for Examples

benenglish — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 08:18:37 EDT

What I find really cool is that some of these hi-fi folks have a sense of humor about all this. Check out everything listed under "other" on this page: [www.higherfi.com]

My fave is the $499,000 amp on sale for the total steal price of $4900: [www.higherfi.com]

But Giz readers will probably relate better to this subwoofer: [www.higherfi.com]

Or this boombox: [www.higherfi.com]

benenglish

Outrageous Audio Equipment: A Call for Examples

Jethro412 — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 06:44:41 EDT

^ +1 to that. They are marketing geniuses though.

Found this wonderful piece of Audiophilia as well...
[www.hometheaterhifi.com]

It is a $200 "3D Mat" that supposedly makes CD's sound better.

Jethro412

Outrageous Audio Equipment: A Call for Examples

Abouna — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 22:30:29 EDT

Well, I don't see anyone posting this link yet [www.machinadynamica.com]

It's not the most expensive but it might qualify as the most ridiculous.

Abouna

Outrageous Audio Equipment: A Call for Examples

LastAndLeast — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 21:43:07 EDT

Anything Bose.

LastAndLeast

Outrageous Audio Equipment: A Call for Examples

luckypictures — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 19:10:30 EDT

@geeniusatwrok: Hey, that's reasonable AND DIY. Wrong article buddy, that's doing everything properly. For shame.

luckypictures

Outrageous Audio Equipment: A Call for Examples

geeniusatwrok — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 16:51:09 EDT

oh hell I made my own speaker cables from bulk (and not cheap) copper braid and Monster (shaddap) banana plugs. total maybe $100 for a 5.1 setup.

geeniusatwrok

Outrageous Audio Equipment: A Call for Examples

Kaaspeer — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 16:43:01 EDT

Kharma Grand enigma reference $1.000.000,- speakers

[www.higherfi.com]

Kaaspeer

Outrageous Audio Equipment: A Call for Examples

turbo.satan — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 16:35:48 EDT

I design pro audio gear for a living (and used to design audiophile gear, albeit reasonably priced stuff that actually worked). Here are, in my opinion, some of the more outrageous pieces of audiophile equipment...

AudioNote DAC 5 Signature ($59,000) D/A converter.

AudioNote AN-E Sogon Speakers ($130,000/pr.)

AudioNote Ongaku amplifier ($89,000)

[www.audionote.co.uk]

Burmester 969/970 CD Transport/DAC ($27.5K/$33K)

[www.burmester.de]

Any of the $10K+ cables from MIT and Transparent

[www.transparentcable.com]

[www.mitcables.com]

turbo.satan

Outrageous Audio Equipment: A Call for Examples

fauxestephe — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 16:20:54 EDT

Pretty pricey for a pair of variacs and an oak box.

[en.wikipedia.org]

Or maybe the transformers are hand wound by Buddhist monks using silver sitz wire coated with shellac from lac bugs fed only on the sap of east-facing Darjeeling tea bushes.

fauxestephe

Outrageous Audio Equipment: A Call for Examples

ganzhimself — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 16:18:53 EDT

@Slats:

Wow. Just wow. That review was so full of sh!t. People are dumb enough to buy into this dumb-ass stuff?

ganzhimself

Outrageous Audio Equipment: A Call for Examples

qbrad — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 16:18:47 EDT

@thegadgeteer: What on earth could you be talking about I wonder.

qbrad

Outrageous Audio Equipment: A Call for Examples

qbrad — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 16:16:57 EDT

@SeattleTed: It'ssssssss gonna get you. No really the picture is going to come out of your hyper realistic monitor and venomise you.
P.S. The boogy man is real too.

qbrad

Outrageous Audio Equipment: A Call for Examples

Jethro412 — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 16:15:31 EDT

Always thought these were insane... Acoustic Systems Resonators.

[www.avataracoustics.com]

Little wooden blocks (about 2"x2") with tiny cups on top made from precious metals that supposedly change the room acoustics. Don't laugh, they are $2,200 each.

Reviews raving about them:
[www.6moons.com]
[www.stereotimes.com]
[www.6moons.com]
[www.6moons.com]

Jethro412

Outrageous Audio Equipment: A Call for Examples

ReductiMat — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 15:56:25 EDT

Krell Evolution One monoblock amplifier... $50,000 for one (which as the name implies, powers one speaker).

[www.sixmoons.com]

Good times.

ReductiMat

Outrageous Audio Equipment: A Call for Examples

Slats — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 15:39:37 EDT

I thought the Margio Labs 3-D stabilizer would be a good candidate but it looks like the company website is no more. A BS review for your reading pleasure.

[www.enjoythemusic.com]

Slats

Outrageous Audio Equipment: A Call for Examples

Empire — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 15:33:39 EDT

@ludwigk: That site rules. Apparently, you can also improve sound by putting a drop of their special liquid on each side of a record or CD.

Tell me again why I work for a living?

Empire

Outrageous Audio Equipment: A Call for Examples

xThadd — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 15:21:33 EDT

Can we also just include the concept "listening fatigue", on the grounds that it's silly. An audiophile friend of mine claims that he gets listening fatigue from CDs but not from vinyl. A sound mixer friend of mine has never heard of the concept.

xThadd

Outrageous Audio Equipment: A Call for Examples

thegadgeteer — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 15:07:39 EDT

This one kills me. A 16 gb portable $400 device that plays music and movies but requires you to be tethered to it to enjoy it. On the other hand, the 160 gb version costs less.

Yup, that sounds like a great business plan.

thegadgeteer

Outrageous Audio Equipment: A Call for Examples

Vexorg — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 15:05:48 EDT

I seem to recall hearing a quote about these things once to the effect of "spending $50,000 to reproduce sound that originally came out of a $50 amp."

Vexorg

Outrageous Audio Equipment: A Call for Examples

benrobNU — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 14:58:37 EDT

If you think Pear Anjou cables were bad, perhaps you should check out silversmith audio's cable pricing. I swear these people have the same marketing strategy as Monster Audio, only taken to a whole new level.
[www.silversmithaudio.com]

benrobNU

Outrageous Audio Equipment: A Call for Examples

ludwigk — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 14:53:21 EDT

Ooh, another snake oil site:

PWB Electronics:
[www.belt.demon.co.uk]

They sell 'foil' tape that you stick on things and it makes the sound more better! I mean, you can place it on your electronics stand, or your cat, or your refridgerator, and it'll improve the sound of equipment that's not in the same room. Amazing stuff.

ludwigk

Outrageous Audio Equipment: A Call for Examples

Keebler — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 14:52:03 EDT

What's funny about all this stuff is that I was just at the Audio Engineering Society Conference in New York where tons of companies exhibit their various professional and consumer audio related products and there certainly were lots of extremely expensive items there...

but all were justifiably expensive like 64 channel state of the mixing boards, etc etc. Nobody was there selling stupidly expensive stuff considered "audiophile" quality (read: people that only understand enough about audio to throw out catch phrases about why they're multi-thousand dollar purchases are the "best").

Anyways, the point is that audio professionals and researchers would laugh at this crap just as much as the Gizmodo writers.

Keebler

Outrageous Audio Equipment: A Call for Examples

Wilcry — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 14:51:07 EDT

Monster cables...

Wilcry

Outrageous Audio Equipment: A Call for Examples

ludwigk — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 14:48:43 EDT

Most of what's on this website: www.machinadynamica.com

I mean, isolation tables are fine. You have wobble in your phonostage, it will probably affect the playback.

But quantum dot intelligent chips, and jars full of rocks? WTF? This stuff is only $30-200, but it's complete rubbish.

ludwigk

Outrageous Audio Equipment: A Call for Examples

Aaron Marshall — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 14:46:33 EDT

The Ultimate has to be the "Clever Little Clock". It's a travel alarm clock that "has no direct or indirect influence on the "audio signal" per se -- not on house wiring, audio components, cables, interconnects, power cords or acoustic waves in the room. Yet the Clock has a pronounced affect on the sound heard by listeners in the room." Get your $10 travel alarm clock for only $199!

[www.machinadynamica.com]

Aaron Marshall

Outrageous Audio Equipment: A Call for Examples

SeattleTed — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 14:40:55 EDT

Please dont use snakes for anything ever again. Snakes are my kryptonite.

/chills up spine

SeattleTed

Outrageous Audio Equipment: A Call for Examples

ctthoqqua — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 14:32:49 EDT

Got one for ya: Harmonix TU-201 IMP "Tuning Feet", aka rubber-and-wooden feet for a single audio component.

$1,190 for a set of four.

ctthoqqua

Outrageous Audio Equipment: A Call for Examples

Symbiotic — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 14:24:17 EDT

How about a $90,000 turntable? The stand alone is $25,000
[www.stereophile.com]

Symbiotic

Outrageous Audio Equipment: A Call for Examples

BurstAneurysm — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 14:15:10 EDT

I was gonna bring up the Silver Rock Signature Knob, but you guys already featured it in 2005.
[gizmodo.com]

BurstAneurysm

Outrageous Audio Equipment: A Call for Examples

92BuickLeSabre — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 14:13:09 EDT

This post reminds me of Kevin Nealon's Subliminal Message guy.

We're not necessarily making value judgments

Snake Oil Salesmen

about whether any of these products actually make any difference or not

92BuickLeSabre