Criticizing "Snake-Oil" Criticists

In this post i will criticize the audiophile criticists,the one who criticizes everything and turns everything into "Snake-Oil".

Anything you read expresses only my personal opinion which i got up with after ACTUAL testing that took up many hours for a single thing,and not whatever i've been told or talking in theory,or with what i believe like the anti-cable guys.

From what should i start? Cables? Biwiring?

I'm starting from Audiophile Speaker Cables:



I was an Anti-Cable guy before long time,i was believing anyone who was talking about difference in Audio Cables was crazy,till i decided to change my cables to get better as i changed my Speakers and i didn't wanted to have some 0.5$ Chinese ones on them.

The cable i got wasn't anything great but an Ixos Biwiring Cable that costs about 5$ per meter.

Once i put it on the one speaker i decided to keep the other one with the cheap cable and then test other cheap cables.

Notice: The Cables were having identical length,the old ones had ~30cm difference,the old ones were 0.75mm and the new ones 4x1mm if i remember right.

I played the songs that i know how they play on those speakers and this time on Mono.

Did i noticed any difference? With simple words,more than "a" difference!

The effect i got was almost as great as getting a better DAC,the sound really got lighted up instead of being dead and muddy,the detail of the sound improved but not magically,mostly because the Frequency Response changed so i boosted up frequencies i couldn't get,and i got mass in the whole range those speakers can play.

My Conclution: Three Cables - Three Sounds.
The difference in Sound between Audio Cables isn't necessarily an improvement even if you pay 10k for Cables,it really depends on the Sound you're looking for,but it can be a great improvement most times with a low budget like i managed to do with my setup.

Listening people saying i'm crazy and there's no difference because they believe there isn't really disturbs me.
If they say there's a difference but expensive cable doesn't worth the cost i will respect their opinion,if they say there isn't any difference and i'm crazy,i might be crazy but they are DEAF!

Biwiring:

Having the Biwiring cable i mentioned,i tested that too,and i also tested it Biwiring it with other different cable.

When the one speaker was Biwired and the other not,i clearly had a feeling that they were sounding the same,but the Biwired speaker's tweeter was more bright and more noticeable.

My Conclution: Biwiring sure does a difference when the same cable is used but it's not necessary,there are Singlewiring cables that can "sound" better than Biwiring cables.


Audiophile Powercords:

I really have no clue on that,i haven't made a test as all the amplifiers i owned or currently have,had or having unswappable power cord.

My Theory: There might be a difference and i have a lot of possible reasons of why.
For example if a cable is shielded it can deliver clean power (as clean as it gets on the outlet) than get dirty by interferences or by possibly tune to frequencies.

That's also the work of a Power Filter.

Sand in speaker stands,spikes,and such stuff:

Sand in speaker stands is being put to be heavy to reduce vibration/resonance.

Spikes bellow speakers because the smaller area that has contact with the floor,the less vibrations are transmitted.

Actually those are the most serious reasons,there are many others in which some of them will sound like a paranormal scam,and many of them that i admit i don't know.

Speaker breaking in,Cable breaking in:

I didn't noticed if there was any improvement after the theoritically breaking in period of Cables,in theory it supposed to have less skin effect,but discusing about Speaker Breaking in is at least stupid as everyone should know and have faced the truth.

After the speaker work enough the thiele/small properties are getting changed,that means it can produce lower frequencies as a breaked in suspension allows the cone to moves freely and the FS (Resonance Frequency) is going lower,sound more smooth and more detailed as the tweeter is being breaked in too and losses the dry,sharp annoying or even hassling sound that has on the start.

If you want to test it,grab a cheap woofer,test how "low" it sounds,record how far the cone-suspension goes with a voltage (for example 20v) and a frequency (for example 50hz),then after the "breaking in" period retest it under the same circumstances and you'll see much more excursion and more low sound.

Blind Tests:

Most people says that in Blind-Test no one can notice difference between Cables,DACs,or even speakers.

That is just silly,i'm used to the sound of my setup,if you change the DAC or something that will change the sound i will notice it and i can as i already tested it.

It's like saying if you're blindfolded or having 100 persons behind a curtain talking one at the time,you wont be able to identify a family member's voice,which is as i said,silly.

So where's the Snake-Oil and Scam?

There's everywhere and nowhere.
Cable manufacturers are often exploiting people selling overrated Snake-Oil which doesn't do anything more than a regular cheap cable for lights,but that don't mean any "expensive" or inexpensive cable wont be different because there are scammers out there.

Sand,wires,speaker breaking in are not scam,but you have the right to do the right thing: Make your own tests,believe your own ears,and come up with your own opinion as you should.