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Upgrades It's funny.  Laugh. Networking Hardware

Denon's $499 Ethernet Cable 719

Guysmiley777 writes with what looks like a very late (or very, very early) April Fool's joke: "Denon's $499 Ethernet cable 'brings out all the nuances in digital audio reproduction.' Sure, that seems plausible. After all, nuances in digital signals are so subtle. Oh, and 'signal directional markings are provided for optimum signal transfer.'" Considering that $499 will get you a competent laptop these days, I wonder how big the market is for such a thing — then I look at Stereophile magazine's annual list of recommended components. The "view more images" link shows that they take cable porn seriously at Denon.
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Denon's $499 Ethernet Cable

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  • by Marcion ( 876801 ) on Saturday June 14, 2008 @08:20PM (#23795771) Homepage Journal
    ...until your cat chews through it.

    Ah well, there is a mug born every minute. I start selling $500 USB cables, anyone want one?
    • by sakusha ( 441986 ) on Saturday June 14, 2008 @08:30PM (#23795875)
      ..or until you pull the end through a snarl of cables and the plastic tab breaks off.
      • by fm6 ( 162816 ) on Saturday June 14, 2008 @09:46PM (#23796455) Homepage Journal
        So, you just secure it in place with duct tape. And for that, you want high fidelity duct tape...
    • by Blakey Rat ( 99501 ) on Saturday June 14, 2008 @09:14PM (#23796221)
      My audio cables are temporally-shielded to prevent interference caused by the EM wake of time travelers. A steal at only $800. An inch.
    • Try $550 (Score:4, Interesting)

      by mako1138 ( 837520 ) on Saturday June 14, 2008 @09:23PM (#23796295)
      http://www.audioasylum.com/forums/pcaudio/messages/2/28626.html [audioasylum.com]

      They're treated with "quantum tunneling".

      "Is the Synergistic one meter USB cable worth $550? No, it is worth twice this amount."

      Sigh.
    • by Usquebaugh ( 230216 ) on Saturday June 14, 2008 @09:26PM (#23796313)
      In free advertising for Denon

      1 Advertise cable with crazy price
      2 Post story to /.
      3 Hordes click to laugh
      4 Some buy other cables
      5 $$$
      • by History's Coming To ( 1059484 ) on Saturday June 14, 2008 @10:40PM (#23796787) Journal
        Hmm...I'm not an audio geek, but my flatmates make a living from music with a lot of talent and little technical knowledge. And I help them on the techie side. Suffice to say, Denon have made their brand very clear, and very un-buyable to me, and hence to a group of musicians.

        • by ShieldW0lf ( 601553 ) on Saturday June 14, 2008 @11:26PM (#23797107) Journal
          Dude, you're missing the point. You hang iPods off the end of them, then hang them on your rear view mirror, like fuzzy dice. It's geek bling.
    • by donguru ( 595418 ) on Saturday June 14, 2008 @09:50PM (#23796477)
      There is, however, a significant difference between using two point and four point barbed wire for speaker cables. Per http://www.tinaja.com/glib/marcia.pdf [tinaja.com]
    • by niko9 ( 315647 ) on Saturday June 14, 2008 @10:03PM (#23796553)
      Don't laugh.

      Check this out: http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2008/03/300_audiophile_grade_power_cable_is_really_worth_15-2.html [gizmodo.com.au]

      And the actual thread at Head-Fi: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f21/my-cat-tore-up-my-virtual-dynamics-power-3-a-293165/ [head-fi.org]

      What's surprising about this is some of the comments made by the company rep.

    • by TechForensics ( 944258 ) on Saturday June 14, 2008 @11:58PM (#23797323) Homepage Journal
      Hey, don't joke! This is dead serious! Take a look at this note from the designer of the Tesla Cable series:

      On the dawn of discovery I was hoping to develop cables that would be small, light and flexible while maintaining the same levels of performance obtained in our X2 Series cables. What I was not prepared for was the break-through that would become the TESLA Series. After a long trial and error process in developing an electromagnetic lens geometry we arrived at what would become the TESLA Tricon in the summer of 2006. I remember in vivid detail that afternoon when I first connected two interconnects comprised of two TESLA Tricon geometries in parallel, (now the Precision Reference) and listened to a recording I've been using since 1995. Fifteen seconds into the first track I shot up and ran from my listening chair to find Eliott (my co-developer in the TESLA Series). I could not believe my ears and wanted to find out if something had been changed in our system that I was not aware of, (we love to tweak our system and I needed to know if he had changed something). What I heard was unbelievable! The sound stage had moved out so far past the boundaries of our listening room that I suspected a major change had been made to our listening room's acoustics. Furthermore, I was hearing subtle and not so subtle details and frequency extension from bottom to top that I've never before heard from this recording. The truly amazing thing was that this detail and signal speed was presented in a way that was also much more musical than it had been before. By comparison the sound we had been making was grainy, opaque, spatially compressed and slow with ill-defined bass. Now the sound was HUGE with amazing air that seemed to decay into infinity. The sound had a transparent "see through" quality and was absolutely effortless and grain free. The sound stage had also moved back several feet except when instruments were recorded front and center and these were presented further forward than before. I was beginning to realize that every cable I or anyone else had ever developed was spatially compressed- vertically, laterally, and horizontally. I was also hearing images in a near 360-degree sound field that "wrapped" around my listening chair. Before the Tricon we had hints of this envelopment but never to such an extent. Lastly low frequencies, (a long time virtue of Synergistic Research cables) were now tighter and went deeper with amazing power and control. This was major improvement in an area that I did not think could be improved upon.
      Sort of opens your eyes, doesn't it?
  • Cthulhu (Score:5, Funny)

    by Frosty Piss ( 770223 ) on Saturday June 14, 2008 @08:20PM (#23795779)
    Cable porn. Is that a sub category of tentacle porn? A giant Cthulhu-like monster made of Cat-5?
  • by linzeal ( 197905 ) on Saturday June 14, 2008 @08:22PM (#23795787) Journal
    Will they try selling us higher quality air to shoot the EM signals through?
    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by JDHannan ( 786636 )
      something has to connect to the wireless transmitter and receiver! And I'm ready to sell that something for $500!
    • by mikael ( 484 ) on Saturday June 14, 2008 @08:39PM (#23795937)

      Will they try selling us higher quality air to shoot the EM signals through?
      We Introduce our latest product, the Acme professional EF signal booster. Scientific studies have proven that high humidity levels reduce signal quality of EM signals. After years of painstaking research, our scientists have designed and patented a foolproof system for maximising the quality of EM signals within a internal area. Using our patented process of filtering the air molecules within a building, our system removes all impurities and excess humidity that would reduce the quality of EM signals in your building. Our system also reshapes the air molecules as well as adding specially designed EM friendly molecules which guarantee that your electronic equipment will always receive and transmit the highest quality EM signals wherever you are.

      Our system is available for immediate purchase. Just visit our website and select the number of filtering units that you require (ideally one unit should cover every 20 square metres, or one unit per corner of a room), and your order will be despatched within 24 hours.
      • by TheGratefulNet ( 143330 ) on Saturday June 14, 2008 @11:44PM (#23797225)
        my april-fools posting from a few years ago:

        http://groups.google.com/group/rec.audio.marketplace/msg/c1d47f6cc984588d?hl=en&dmode=source&output=gplain [google.com]


        Newly redesigned! Highest quality shielded fiber-optic cables. Will
        DEFINITELY make a difference in the way your CD's sound. Trust me.

        Why run just one media type when you can run two at the same time! Special
        connectors at each end allow you to connect to BOTH the fiber AND the coax
        jacks, concurrently. The end result yields a level of fault-tolerance that
        has never before been available to the end consumer.

        Note: these cables are significantly more transparent than ST, I2S, Toslink or
        coax, alone.

        This week, they're on special for $299.95 (for a 3 metre length). Other
        custom lengths are available on request.



        if you can believe it, a few people actually took that stuff seriously! they didn't even notice the 1-apr posting date.

        actually, my new idea is to use a non-ferrite bead (NFB) like device (as a 'bad waves' blocker) and combine that with the differential fiber optic cable. I'm still hoping to close first-round funding any day now. denon, are you listening?
    • by DarkOx ( 621550 ) on Saturday June 14, 2008 @08:57PM (#23796069) Journal
      Not EM, but I let me take a crack at the audio/air biz.

      Are you looking to recreat the concert experience at home? Have you already asembled the stero system proffessionals dream of but can't understand why it still just won't sound like its live? The problem is the air in your home. Sound waves propogate through air from the speaker to your air differently depending on the exact chemical make up of the air. If you really want your live recordings to have that same special POP you heard at the concert you need to recreate the air. For only $500 our company can have a air delivered to your home form all major us cities representive of almost any time of day! You can finally recreate that perfect sonic experience you enjoyed at the club last year. Once our custom built to preserve, air canister arrives all you need to do is open the easily turn valve and you can immediatly start enjoying more prefect reporductions of live concerts! Its that easy!

      Still need that little extra? Well we also have special modifier canisters availible, that can be added to your order for only a small additional cost. These include botique air qualites such as smoke, and stale beer, which can also subtly change the way sound waves porogate and may be requried for the ideal experince. Stop trying to play your recorded sound into a medium it was never ment to be played in, start enjoying your recordings in the air they were ment for today!
  • Audiophools (Score:3, Insightful)

    by ylikone ( 589264 ) on Saturday June 14, 2008 @08:22PM (#23795795) Homepage
    Products like this are proof that audiophiles are not very intelligent and easily swayed to buying things they do not need.
  • by Skee09 ( 987325 ) on Saturday June 14, 2008 @08:23PM (#23795809)
    What's the point of using an $800 HDMI cable to connect my media center PC to my HDTV if the content I'm streaming over my network isn't in the high fidelity I can only get with this $499 Ethernet cable?
  • datasheet (Score:5, Interesting)

    by drakyri ( 727902 ) on Saturday June 14, 2008 @08:24PM (#23795815)
    Looking at the datasheet for that cable on their website, it seems like the only possibly unique thing they've done is to add a thin metal shield around the cable near the tip - from where it stops being UTP (with all the noise-protection that UTP tends to have) to where the plastic connector-to-NIC starts.

    The cable insulation and the rest looks mostly standard - I mean, it's cloth and heatshrink (probably PVC) instead of vinyl, but I can't imagine that the change would make such a huge difference, even in terms of so-called 'vibration protection'. Are electrical signals really that sensitive to normal sounds?

    So a huge markup for a very small piece of tin foil and some cloth. Whee!
    • by ozamosi ( 615254 ) on Saturday June 14, 2008 @08:34PM (#23795899) Homepage

      So a huge markup for a very small piece of tin foil and some cloth. Whee!
      That makes you think... How about high fidelity tin foil hats?
    • by sjf ( 3790 ) on Saturday June 14, 2008 @08:36PM (#23795911)
      You're forgetting the signal direction markings: who knew that electrical signals could read ?
      I know that before I put little arrows on my cat5 a lot of my ethernet packets were getting lost.

      Now I'm going to see if I can do traffic shaping by putting "Slashdot, this way ->" on them.
    • Re:datasheet (Score:5, Informative)

      by HaeMaker ( 221642 ) on Saturday June 14, 2008 @08:57PM (#23796067) Homepage
      Google: Shielded Twisted Pair (STP). Quite common. Probably can get a 1.5m STP cable for about $3.
    • Re:datasheet (Score:5, Informative)

      by mprindle ( 198799 ) * on Saturday June 14, 2008 @09:16PM (#23796243)

      Looking at the datasheet for that cable on their website, it seems like the only possibly unique thing they've done is to add a thin metal shield around the cable near the tip - from where it stops being UTP (with all the noise-protection that UTP tends to have) to where the plastic connector-to-NIC starts.

      The cable insulation and the rest looks mostly standard - I mean, it's cloth and heatshrink (probably PVC) instead of vinyl, but I can't imagine that the change would make such a huge difference, even in terms of so-called 'vibration protection'. Are electrical signals really that sensitive to normal sounds?

      So a huge markup for a very small piece of tin foil and some cloth. Whee!
      I use shielded connectors at work every day. I work in the industrial sector so we must use shielded to keep external noise from interfering with the network. I wish I could charge my customers that much for shielded cables...
  • by gotw ( 239699 ) <ninjacyclist@@@gmail...com> on Saturday June 14, 2008 @08:25PM (#23795823) Homepage
    While they're at it they should just purchase this wonderful device to demagentize your CD's [6moons.com].
    • by jbrader ( 697703 ) <stillnotpynchon@gmail.com> on Saturday June 14, 2008 @09:10PM (#23796189)
      Oh man that's really classic. It says that tiny iron particles in your CDs get spun inside the player and create tiny electric fields that interfere with your gear. Awsome. I'm pretty sure that a person's electrical field is many, many times larger than any field produced this way. That's right all you audiophiles, if you leave the room your music will sound better than ever.
  • Some day... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Kjella ( 173770 ) on Saturday June 14, 2008 @08:26PM (#23795837) Homepage
    ...I wish someone would do a form of blind test - split a bunch of audiophiles into two different groups. Tell one group the price and quality of each system, while the other group isn't told anything and can only listen to the system. Or for extra fun, a third group that's telling them all sorts of wrong information. It'd be fun to see how much that would impact their impression of the system.
    • Re:Some day... (Score:5, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 14, 2008 @08:42PM (#23795965)
      Well here's your answer:

      http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jun/14/humanbehaviour

      "How being swindled can make you feel better" by the Guardian's "Bad Science" columnist, Ben Goldacre.
    • Re:Some day... (Score:5, Informative)

      by Achoi77 ( 669484 ) on Saturday June 14, 2008 @09:00PM (#23796101)

      This was done with wine, often with humbling results.

      • Re:Some day... (Score:4, Insightful)

        by maxume ( 22995 ) on Saturday June 14, 2008 @09:21PM (#23796277)
        I'm pretty sure there is a decay function. A $3 bottle generally isn't going to be as good as a $10 bottle, but even though a $10 bottle that you like is a better experience than a $25 you don't like, people need to feel like that $15 bought something, so they 'prefer' the $25 bottle.

        It works for spirits too, I'm pretty sure that $13 Smirnoff is more than 40% as good as $29 absolut or $35 Goose. Probably like 85%. 5 O'clock is probably about 5% as good.

        So a $100 DVD player may actually be quite a lot better than a $25 DVD player (perhaps the menus are sane, or it is more reliable), but the only difference between the $100 DVD player and a $500 DVD player is about $400 of profit.
    • Re:Some day... (Score:5, Informative)

      by Joska ( 78000 ) on Saturday June 14, 2008 @09:38PM (#23796393)
      This type of test has been conducted a great many times over the years. Notable is the work of Dr. Floyd Toole when he was head of the acoustics lab at the Department Of Physics at Canada's National Research Council in Ottawa. He was able to demonstrate that people of all sorts would recognize and prefer the sound reproduction that was most accurate in terms of having the lowest distortion, flattest frequency response and best loudspeaker dispersion as long as they did not know what equipment they were listening to. When they did know, their beliefs and preconceptions essentially determined their perceptions.
    • Re:Some day... (Score:4, Informative)

      by ucblockhead ( 63650 ) on Saturday June 14, 2008 @11:51PM (#23797275) Homepage Journal
      You don't need a blind test. Ethernet is digital. You cannot get better than "0 dropped packets" no matter how good the cable is, and given modern error correction techniques, even with some dropped packets, the actual bits that get delivered and turned into sound will be identical.
  • In other news... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Radium_ ( 150865 ) on Saturday June 14, 2008 @08:28PM (#23795855)
    A fool and his money are soon parted
  • Truth in advertising (Score:5, Interesting)

    by dn15 ( 735502 ) on Saturday June 14, 2008 @08:29PM (#23795859)
    I don't doubt that this is a well-made cable, but why don't they get in trouble for implying that it will even make a difference in your viewing experience? That is, wont *any* cable "bring out all the nuances in digital audio reproduction" as long as there's functional error correction and sufficient bandwidth to stream all data being transmitted?
  • by OzTech ( 524154 ) on Saturday June 14, 2008 @08:29PM (#23795867)
    These cable will be a great leap forward for Digital Audio.

    The arrows to indicate direction will mean that the Electrons wont have to look around before knowing which way they are supposed to be moving. This will allow them to get to their destination quicker and even take a moment to go back and get any stragglers who can't keep up. The end result being that all of the electrons will arrive at the intended destination and as you can imagine this will mean a much better signal.

    The next generation of these will probably contain filters to stop those pesky noise electrons making their way down the cable. This will really help the signal to noise ratio, although the commercial development of this is still a little way off yet.
  • Yay for Amazon.com! (Score:3, Informative)

    by Briareos ( 21163 ) * on Saturday June 14, 2008 @08:31PM (#23795879)
    Even Amazon.com sells them [amazon.com] - that means it can only be good, right?

    Right?

    *nudge nudge wink wink*

    np: Anthony Rother - Liquid System (My Name Is Beuys Von Telekraft)
  • by hirschma ( 187820 ) on Saturday June 14, 2008 @08:33PM (#23795895)
    I was thinking of buying a Denon AV receiver for my home theater upgrade.

    Then I see this. Are all their claims just sheer puffery? How can I take their brand seriously?

    If this Ethernet garbage is just an aberration, don't they know that doing it will have the reverse effect on consumers with clue?
    • by Xyrus ( 755017 ) on Sunday June 15, 2008 @12:43AM (#23797583) Journal
      Dear Friend,

      You should be aware that clues are classified as dangerous, and should only be used by trained professionals.

      The training to use clues is fairly rigorous and intense, and therefore few of the general public actually have clues.

      In fact, GWB has been a great forward thinker in this regard. The actions of his administration, along with help of the media conglomerates have almost eliminated the threat of untrained civilians accidentally stumbling upon, obtaining, or using clues.

      We must be ever vigilant in this matter, as clues are direct threat to our way of life. It may be hard to stop getting clues once you start, but think of your family and loved ones. They will help you through this trying and difficult time.

      Be aware that there are groups and individuals out there who knowingly distribute clues. They can be family members or friends. They may even be in our schools, despite our best efforts to eliminate clues before children get them.

      If you suspect someone of having a clue, here are some warning signs to look out for:

      1. Strange behavior, such as exhibiting common sense or disagreeing with a News personality.

      2. A peculiar need for facts.

      3. Indifference to important events, such as who is currently winning American Idol.

      If you, or someone you know has a clue, you should contact the Clue Crisis Center immediately. The people there are trained professionals and will be able to handle clues appropriately. Clues can spread quickly, without warning, and may cause sudden outbreaks of common sense if left untreated so speed is of the essence, especially if you may have come in contact with a clue recently.

      Once again I thank you for your support in this matter as a patriotic American. This is a War On Clues, and for the sake of our country we must be victorious.

      Sincerely,
      The Department of Homeland Ignorance
  • by Sponge Bath ( 413667 ) on Saturday June 14, 2008 @08:37PM (#23795919)

    The PDF user's manual does not specify if works with my 1975 Sears all-in-one turntable, tuner and 8-track console.
    You can't find that kind of fidelity anymore, at any price.

  • by Myria ( 562655 ) on Saturday June 14, 2008 @08:42PM (#23795955)

    Additionally, signal directional markings are provided for optimum signal transfer.

    That statement is quite correct. The plugs have arrows pointing in both directions.
  • by KarMann ( 121054 ) <karmannjro.yahoo@com> on Saturday June 14, 2008 @08:56PM (#23796059) Homepage
    While we're on the subject of their "attention to detail" like "empoying" that others have pointed out, I also see that if you click their "View new product warranty" link, you'll find that... it's not even listed in the products that have any warranty whatsoever! I had been thinking, "damn, if that's a $500 cable, it better either be a couple of football fields long, or have a several century warranty," but no, a crappy 1.5m and no warranty.
  • Confession: (Score:5, Funny)

    by regular_gonzalez ( 926606 ) on Saturday June 14, 2008 @08:59PM (#23796083)
    I actually own one of these. Unfortunately it got bent and now some of the 1s get stuck because they don't slide through the bent area as easily as the 0s :(
  • by analog_line ( 465182 ) on Saturday June 14, 2008 @09:00PM (#23796105)

    Additionally, signal directional markings are provided for optimum signal transfer.


    The first ethernet cable ever with racing stripes.

    Someone PLEASE tell me that this is a huge joke.
  • by Chmarr ( 18662 ) on Saturday June 14, 2008 @09:08PM (#23796179)
    They're not wiring the cable using EIA-568...

    If you go to "other pictures" and then the "inside" view, see how they're connecting the cable pairs to the connector: rather than the green pair going to pins 3 and 6 (as per normal EIA-568), they're going to pins 5 and 6.

    That will actually reduce crosstalk the tiniest of smidgins (that's a technical term!).

    Now, of course, it's MORE likely just a non-impeccable representation, and they ARE wiring it up using normal EIA-568... but wouldn't it be funny if that's the difference they're claiming is "all worth it". Geez... for $500, they could have just commissioned AMP or Foxconn to make a custom connector for them, no?
  • Reviews (Score:3, Informative)

    by flanktwo ( 1041494 ) on Saturday June 14, 2008 @09:11PM (#23796197)
    Check out the Amazon reviews [amazon.com]!
  • by Dahamma ( 304068 ) on Saturday June 14, 2008 @09:20PM (#23796267)
    This is an RJ45 cable. Actually, to be precise it's an RJ45 connector with an 8-wire cable (unknown if it's even a twisted pair cable, though I'd imagine so). Actually, to be really precise it's not even officially RJ45 but why go into that...

    RJ45 cables are used for the ubiquitous 100BASE-TX Ethernet, of course, but also for plenty of other applications, some of them not even digital (for example, long distance transmission of component video signals).

    I'm not saying that a $500 RJ45 twisted pair cable is not absurd, just that there ARE applications where a higher quality cable would make a difference; try running a 100m 1080i (analog) component video connection over $1/ft RJ45 and see how it looks compared to something better built for the job.

    That said, looking at the intended use ("Denon-Link") it seems to be multichannel 192kbps PCM audio, hence $500 for 1.5m is obviously a total waste of money.

    Ok, end rant. Point is, nothing about this cable or any of its uses has the SLIGHTEST thing to do with Ethernet, but now everyone seems to think Denon is selling a cable to stream MP3s over your home LAN (yeah, a 1.5m cable would be really useful for that...) Sigh, why is it that I expect more from /. editors and readers on these types of stories!?

  • by Nullav ( 1053766 ) <moc@liamg.[ ]luN ['val' in gap]> on Saturday June 14, 2008 @09:21PM (#23796271)
    It is a pretty shade of blue. :o
  • by The Famous Druid ( 89404 ) on Saturday June 14, 2008 @09:25PM (#23796305)
    Check out http://www.dedicatedaudio.com/interconnect_cable [dedicatedaudio.com]
    The have several cables that make $499 look cheap.
    • by Fantastic Lad ( 198284 ) on Saturday June 14, 2008 @10:56PM (#23796921)
      I'd heard of this phenomenon before, but didn't really take it too seriously.


      So I took a wander over to the site you linked and discovered the following item description for one of their most expensive cables, (and this isn't even for signal balanced cable pairs, which actually do prevent the causing of inductance-based interference in surrounding cables. What's being sold here are just garden variety audio wires. Made of gold.)

      Details:
      Golden Reference is the latest evolutionary interconnect design by George Cardas. It features Cardas patented Golden Section, multi-gauge stranding in a symmetrical, helical tri-axial design. Thin wall, Teflon® air tubes are used as dielectric and provide air suspension for the conductors. Cardas patented, Constant-Q construction places the smallest of the Golden Ratio strands at the center of the conductor to reduce stored energy and conductor resonance. Cable resonance is further reduced with controlled propagation, Crossfield construction, matching conductor to dielectric characteristics with carefully computed strand layering. Multi-layer shielding and cross layered conductors reduce EMI and RFI to a new low. All conductors are individually coated to insulate and prevent oxidation. Golden Reference is a perfectly neutral reference cable. It sounds the same at any length, between any component, at any originating or terminating impedance. Golden Reference is perfectly symmetrical and non-directional. Like all Cardas cables, Golden Reference is individually inspected, and hand terminated using Rhodium plated connectors and Cardas formulated Quad Eutectic solder, for a lifetime of listening pleasure.


      Wow! I got scared just reading that. They sure know how to make you feel insecure about your audio signal! --The price for security in plugs and wires? $4358 for twenty feet of cable! I bet you could sell some of these around the White House. (Just had to get a political dig in.)


      I am stunned. I am clearly in the wrong business. I should be selling wires to rubes. Of course, I can't imagine that would do much for one's self esteem. George Cardas either doesn't sleep well at night, or he can talk up a real shit-storm when you challenge him on his ridiculous product line. . !


      -FL

  • Randi to the rescue! (Score:5, Interesting)

    by jpbelang ( 79439 ) on Saturday June 14, 2008 @09:50PM (#23796475) Journal
    James Randi: http://www.randi.org/jr/2007-09/092807reply.html#i4 [randi.org]

    When challenged, Pear cables chickened out.

    I checked. Pear cables did not go out of business.
  • by speedtux ( 1307149 ) on Saturday June 14, 2008 @09:56PM (#23796525)
    I'm an audiophile, and I have to tell you, these cables are AMAZING. They bring out nuances in the sound that you never knew were there. Listen to a recording of the Brandenburg Concertos in the classic 1972 vinyl recording with the Berlin Philharmonica, and you'll swear you're sitting there with Christian Ludwig right in the room, hearing his every borborygmus and flatus. These cables are so subtle that they even allow you to separate the overtones from the bass notes of his snart! And the Goldberg Variations with Glenn Gould... just breathtaking. You hear every note he sings (and the piano is pretty good, too).

    Usability is great, too: you'll never spend half an hour wondering which way to plug these things in, since the marking on them finally make it clear that it doesn't matter; now, why didn't anybody think of that before?

    If you're an audio professional, these cables will pay for themselves in a week. And if you're a serious amateur, they'll give you an audio experience you won't soon forget.

    (-; for the humor impaired)
  • by John Jorsett ( 171560 ) on Saturday June 14, 2008 @11:28PM (#23797123)
    It gets me closer to the Lord [amazon.com]:

    If I could use a rusty boxcutter to carve a new orifice in my body that's compatible with this link cable, I would already be doing it. I can just imagine the pure musical goodness that would flow through this cable into the wound and fill me completely -- like white, holy light. Holding this cable in my hands actually makes me feel that much closer to the Lord Jesus Christ. I only make $6.25/hr at Jack In The Box, but I saved up for three months so I could have this cable. It sits in a shrine I constructed next to my futon in Mother's basement.

    I only gave it four stars in my review because I can't find music that is worthy enough to flow through this utterly perfect interconnect.

    Disappointing quality [amazon.com]

    I was disappointed. I consider myself an audiophile - I regularly spend over $1000 on cables to get the ultimate sound. I keep my music-listening room in a Faraday cage to prevent any interference that could alter my music-listening experience. Sending any signal down ordinary copper can degrade the signal considerably. While ordinary listeners might not notice, to somebody with even a rudimentary knowledge of sound, the artifacts are glaring. Denon should have used silver wiring (hermetically sealed inside the rubber sheath to prevent any tarnishing, of course), which has a significantly higher conductivity than copper. Furthermore, Denon needs to treat the wires they use in the cable with a polarity inductor to ensure minimal phase variance.

    Needless to say, I returned the cable and wrote an angry letter to the so-called engineers at Denon.

  • Confusion (Score:4, Interesting)

    by DeanFox ( 729620 ) * <spam,myname&gmail,com> on Sunday June 15, 2008 @08:33AM (#23799445)
    I was watching _HomeTime_ a generic DYI TV show and they were doing a home theater. When it came to the cables the host is shown choosing Monster cables from the shelf pretty much saying it's best to go with the higher quality just to be sure. Less expensive options were available but his explanation and tone was one of better safe than sorry.

    On their show recap Monster is listed http://www.hometime.com/TV/pastshow/pastshows/1995/theater.htm [hometime.com] as the cable supplier.

    Monster is probably a paid advertiser but no other explanation was given for the high price other than better safe than sorry. I cringed but not everybody understands this magic called technology like most /. users do. They're confused and most expensive is generally related to better.

    And Monster cables are better quality. It's not like they're lying. It just doesn't matter. If they'd compare it to something they understand something like the light bulb doesn't care about the quality of the light switch.

    -[d]-

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