And Todays Audiophool Product is................

[German_EE]

Cable Elevators

http://www.reddragonaudio.com/collections/cable-elevators/products/esd-xl-cable-elevators

" a spectacular tweak providing immediate benefits by removing a layer of grunge that rides the entire musical signal. Bass is tightened up, the midrange is smoother and the top end more pristine."

Just by lifting your cables off the floor 

[singapol]

To be fair have you listened or tried but I suspect because of your biases, no. In acoustics there is such term
called psycho acoutics this is not wishful thinking but the way the brain and ear interacts. There are papers on the subject. It is a fact that everything or object/element in this universe has a natural resonance even the planet earth has one it's called the Shumann resonance of late it is about 7 hertz. to pooh pooh anything
as audiophool is being closed or narrow minded. There are some things that cannot be scientifically explained currently although there is snake oil out there.

 Let's take a real world example, compare the sound of a wood violin with an electronic one made of metal and acrylic or a wood piano with an electronic one/synthesiser. It should be obvious. Why do violin players
sought after hundreds of years old violin made by Stradivari or  Guarnari? There are serious papers on this too. Even all the modern scientific instruments for analysis of these violin's acoustic properties NO one to date has manage to replicate the sound of the famous ancient luthiers (musical instrument craftsman). Is it just due to aging like fine wine or something esle? There is even speculation that the trees from a certain mountainous region in Italy that are transported down and then subsequently floated down in the sea ways to the place of trading due to this salt water emersion certain
chemical reaction took place and there are gold elements embedded in the wood fibres which could account for the specially sound quality and also the secret way the wood is being dried. All this even makes for the tendency to dismiss discoveries as make believe but you are entitled to your opinions.

PS: If you have the chance go visit the german Steinway piano company you will be surprised as to their ways of choosing the wood for their pianos. If music be the food of life play on. 

[Kilrah]

 

Wood differences and differences between a wood instrument and an electronic "recreation" of it are obvious.

Electricity however doesn't flow differently in a cable when it's 3cm above the floor. 

[rsjsouza]

This will be interesting...

You can surely have wood or mechanical design that influences the sound, but the product the OP mentioned is nothing but an overpriced cable holder. So yes, in this particular case it is intended to make an audio fanatic to be fooled into thinking this will improve its sound - the very definition of an audiophool product.

[ebclr]

It's a clear scam A very easy way to burn 149 USD with no tangible benefice

[janoc]

Singapol, a wall of text, but nothing really to the topic, I am afraid.

And yes, there is a scientific name for the effect - it is called a placebo everywhere else.

[singapol]

Wood differences and differences between a wood instrument and an electronic "recreation" of it are obvious.

Electricity however doesn't flow differently in a cable when it's 3cm above the floor. 

Tell that to Albert Einstein "Spooky action at a distance". He was also a violin player.
This is strange but true.

The spooky evidence:
http://www.nist.gov/pml/div686/20151105loophole.cfm

http://www.space.com/31562-weird-universe-revealed-in-quantum-entanglement-breakthrough.html

[BravoV]

So singapol, what say you on the product mentioned in the 1st post ? Please, that particular product only, don't drift the subject to wood, einstein etc.

Again, just that cable elevator only.

[Kilrah]

Tell that to Albert Einstein "Spooky action at a distance". He was also a violin player.

How off topic is that?

In acoustics there is such term called psycho acoutics

this is not wishful thinking but the way the brain and ear interacts. There are papers on the subject. It is a fact that everything or object/element in this universe has a natural resonance even the planet earth has one it's called the Shumann resonance of late it is about 7 hertz.

So just like with this thing we could come up with any kind of bullshit "product", write some completely made up "esoteric sounding explanation" for it and could unload you of $150 for a $2 piece of foam because you believe so strongly that this random description relates to something real, then because you have to live up to your beliefs you'll be 100% certain it made a difference... i.e congrats, you're a perfect example of an audiophool 

[Muttley Snickers]

They have succeeded in creating just another trip hazard, a clear example that some people should not be elevated but hung instead.

 

[wblock]

Pretty sure I saw a PBS show years ago where they did manage to duplicate the sound of Stradivarius violins.  As I recall, it was the finish, varnish or something.

The thing is, the way this was done was with scientific tests and measurements.

[helius]

"psychoacoustics" does not mean what it has been purported to mean in this thread.
It is the science of the perception of sound, including frequency masking and stereo perception. Psychoacoustics is what makes lossy audio compression possible, as well as the equal perception of tones at different sound pressure levels for reproduced sound (why your stereo has a "loudness" control)
It has absolutely nothing to do with snake oil bullshit like cable elevators, magic pebbles, etc

[andersm]

Why do violin players sought after hundreds of years old violin made by Stradivari or  Guarnari?

Because they're famous. A modern, well-made violin sounds just as good.

[mcinque]

Singapol, if any improvement in sound can be perceived (by a measuring instrument or by a "double blind" hearing test), it's real. Otherwise it's not.
Thinking that a 3cm cable elevator can improve the sound is nonsense.

[German_EE]

At nearly sixty my hearing is OK but nothing spectacular, but I did at one point meet someone who had AMAZING hearing. She was a violinist in the Budapest Radio Orchestra and she was able to tell the difference between a Stradivarius and a modern instrument by ear, every time. Could I hear it? Hell no, and that's after listening to classical music all my life.

A quick example of how good her hearing was. One evening we were listening to a CD of Beethoven's 5th and suddenly she got up, paused the CD, and then shifted it back ten seconds or so. Can you hear the sneeze she asked? I'd been listening to that CD since 1985, it was one of the first CDs that I bought, and I had never heard that orchestra member sneeze, but she did.

I can guarantee that she would not hear the difference between a cable on the floor and a cable elevated 3cm above it. The varnish and the wood used to make a Stradivarius are things that make a measurable difference on an audio spectrum analyzer and some (but not all) can hear the difference, even in a double blind test. Elevating a cable above the floor to improve the sound makes no electrical difference to the signal and thus is an audiophool product.

One final thing, I wired up her stereo system using 6mm shower cable to connect the speakers and she thought that it was wonderful, even though the cables were on the floor.

[amyk]

Elevating a cable above the floor to improve the sound makes no electrical difference to the signal and thus is an audiophool product.

It makes no audible difference, which is what really matters here. I'm sure it might have some very slight effect on very high frequency signals... anyone who knows microwave/RF voodoo care to comment?

[CatalinaWOW]

There are some plausible physics for this to make a difference in some situations.  For example a ferro-magnetic floor, poorly attached to the sub-floor so that it rattled under foot traffic.  The varying inductance as the cable bounced on the floor could result in intermodulation and other tones that could be heard by some golden ears.

Of course most of the rest of us would be hearing the rattle of the floor directly, and would fix that first if we had to listen to our music there.  Which would then make these devices worthless.   Same kind of logic applies to other plausible physics explanations.  Puts these cable elevators in the audiophool class for me.

[Brumby]

"psychoacoustics" does not mean what it has been purported to mean in this thread.

Maybe they meant "psycho acoustics"?

[R005T3r]

Honestly, I'd initially thought that it was a fool fish or some kind of joke... Then I saw "buy"... 

[madires]

"psychoacoustics" does not mean what it has been purported to mean in this thread.
It is the science of the perception of sound, including frequency masking and stereo perception. Psychoacoustics is what makes lossy audio compression possible, as well as the equal perception of tones at different sound pressure levels for reproduced sound (why your stereo has a "loudness" control)
It has absolutely nothing to do with snake oil bullshit like cable elevators, magic pebbles, etc

Exactly! That's why there's dB(A).

[station240]

Rather expensive for a block of foam with a V cut out of it.
The only slight benefit this could possibly have, is to prevent vibration transfer between the floor and speaker cabinet via the cable. But then who cares if the floor rattles a bit, the whole point of speakers is to rattle floorboards. 

Given the average Audiophool has 100% OFC copper, 1million strand count, ultraflexable cables, I fail to see how much vibration could be transferred anyway.
Lets be honest, this is a product for idiots that don't want their overpriced cable getting dirt and dust on it.

[djQUAN]

The advantage I could see with it is that the uber expensive audiophool cable is lifted off the floor so it does not get dirty, cosmetic wise.

[daqq]

Do they have ones for my optical cables?

[retrolefty]

Cable Elevators

http://www.reddragonaudio.com/collections/cable-elevators/products/esd-xl-cable-elevators

" a spectacular tweak providing immediate benefits by removing a layer of grunge that rides the entire musical signal. Bass is tightened up, the midrange is smoother and the top end more pristine."

Just by lifting your cables off the floor 

 I'm surprised that it doesn't also improve the 'sound stage' effect. Maybe that will be on the upgrade map? 

[rdl]

There was a time years ago, when I was a borderline audiophool. I have a pair of Audioquest speaker wires and some fancy RCA cables, but I bought bottom of the line and I wanted them mainly for the looks. I never did hear any actual improvement in the sound nor did I expect to.

I first saw "elevators" for wires being sold back in the 90s and I knew even then that they were pretty useless. The ones I remember were made of wood and not terribly expensive though. Of course 10 for $150 isn't all that ridiculous considering there are cables that run thousands of $$$ per meter.