Here is a “special Offer that I received from audio equipment retailer “Audio Trends” this afternoon, and the email I have just sent them:
Here is the text enlarged so you can read it:
Hello Audiotrends people,
I have been a recipient of your emailouts since purchasing a Tivoli Radio from you some time ago.
This afternoon, I will be clicking on the “Unsubscribe Instantly” link, but I wanted to write to inform you of why I am doing this.
I am an electronics engineer, and am qualified to make judgements about the credibility of claims for many of your products.
The claims made for the Isotek EV03 Premier Power Lead are so far into the fetid dingo’s kidneys domain, that it would amount to theft if you were to take a gullible customer’s money for this product. I do not wish to be associated with any company who would peddle such stuff.
Richard Schurmann
Well done Richard, my sentiments exactly. Sorry I missed you the other day we must catchup soon.
Cheers,
Alan Boyle.
But Richard, what about the placebo effect? In medicine pills containing say sugar have a significant and measurable effect on most patients due to the schpeel by the doctor writing the prescription. The patient believes in the efficacy of the pills and believes the doctor and usually gets better as a result. Nobody is lying here, yet there is no ingredient of consequence in the pills. The patient’s mind (and then body) does the healing.
Now this is measurable stuff I am told.
What about audio?
Words like 99.9999% (sounds pure), and 24 carat gold make me feel good about my music streamer (whatever that is) and now my existing cable makes me feel bad.
Feel good = sounds good (1)
=> feel bad = sounds bad (1a)
So I contend that the Isotek EV03 Premier Power Lead which should have no measurable benefit to any audio signal or sound will make the purchaser’s audio sound better (equation 1).
But it will make your system sound worse Richard (equation 1a).
Cheers Nigel
Dear Richard,
I thought you were going to launch into a detailed technical analysis of the Evo3 power cable and its likely effects on audio quality of equipment plugged into it. Yet you gave the retailer about as much credibility as a climate change denialist. All they deserve! Well done.
Cheers,
MJB
There is another variant on equation (1).
Feel good = sounds good (1)
but we all know brag factor is the root of feeling good.
Therefore,
sound good = brag factor^2