[website] The £228 SATA cable

[pcstru]

*ahem*

I am a music lover, I also love the hifi kit required to play music

I'll blame the pain killers for my not reading carefully enough! I'd say much the same - although these days I love the equipment less and I think I've probably fooled myself about a lot of things in terms of improving sound quality over the years. My favourite way to listen to music now is on a pair of decent headphones through a respectable dedicated A/D & Headphone amp (O2/ODAC). Luckily I don't often want to dance round the room.

 

[ETA - if you like that sort of thing, it's worth reading about NwAVGuy - his quest for objectivity in design and measuring audio equipment, his design of the O2 and ODAC and his subsequent disappearance (no doubt at the hands of Big-HiFi in black helicopters)].

Edited February 20, 2015 by pcstru

[jinnantonnixx]

This has been doing the rounds for years, but worth another airing.

 

Do Coat Hangers Sound As Good Monster Cables? – Consumerist

 

Seven songs were played while the group was blindfolded and the cables swapped back and forth. Not only "after 5 tests, none could determine which was the Monster 1000 cable or the coat hanger wire," but no one knew a coat hanger was used in the first place.

 

Further, when music was played through the coat hanger wire, we were asked if what we heard sounded good to us. All agreed that what was heard sounded excellent, however, when A-B tests occured, it was impossible to determine which sounded best the majority of the time and which wire was in use.

[jinnantonnixx]

It's definitely not on a par with a "Gold-Plated" Optical Cable

 

Buy SANDSTROM AV Gold Series S2OPT314X Digital Optical Cable - 2 m | Free Delivery | Currys

 

Oh lord. I just had a look at that product. It says "With the optical fibres surrounded by wire insulation that helps to shield and protect the signal". Protect the signal from what? From nonsense, perhaps.

 

Besides, what's the attraction of gold connectors? They're far worse than silver connectors. Even tarnished silver oxide is a better conductor than gold.

http://www.mains-cables-r-us.co.uk/sitefiles/15/2/2/152201/On%20the%20Conductivity%20of%20Selected%20Metals.pdf

[flyinghaggis]

Oh lord. I just had a look at that product. It says "With the optical fibres surrounded by wire insulation that helps to shield and protect the signal". Protect the signal from what? From nonsense, perhaps.

 

Besides, what's the attraction of gold connectors? They're far worse than silver connectors. Even tarnished silver oxide is a better conductor than gold.

http://www.mains-cables-r-us.co.uk/sitefiles/15/2/2/152201/On%20the%20Conductivity%20of%20Selected%20Metals.pdf

 

Yeah, I saw these for sale in a Curry's store a couple of years back and it made me laugh!

 

"With the optical fibres surrounded by wire insulation that helps to shield and protect the signal, the Digital Optical Cable also benefits from precision-polished terminals and durable gold-plated connectors which help to ensure the best possible connection."

 

Edited February 22, 2015 by flyinghaggis