James Randi Offers $1 Million If Audiophiles Can Prove $7250 Speaker Cables Are Better

Gizmodo.com ^ | Oct 1 2007 | Charlie White

[Neidermeyer]

There is absolutely no difference between an original CD and your burned copy or a iTunes download of the same bitrate 44.1/sec .. the speakers in your car either aren’t up to the job or more likely the road noise is making the sound muddy... digital is digital , a 1 or a 0 , nothing in-between..

[JamesP81]

more likely the road noise is making the sound muddy

Definitely not the road noise. I've tested for that. Must be the speakers.

[bmwcyle]

I have been to the involved in Audio since 1998. I know what is better and what is hype. Ron Paul is about is an idiot. The generalizations in this thread and the apple and orange extremes are too many to sort. Some items in audio are better than others. It all depends on the standards you evaluate item. There is no better standard than putting any stereo up to live music. There is no equipment made that will produce live sound but there are many expensive items I would buy if I could afford them.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

I don't have an amp.

Sure you do.

You may not have a stand alone amplifier but the head unit in your dash has one built in.
Depending on make, year and model of vehicle (1997 ford Explorer for example) it may be a separate factory amplifier that is located under the front or rear seat and looks like nothing more than a black box.

Every radio/CD/cassette in-dash unit has an amp. Otherwise, you wouldn't hear much at all from your speakers.

[Phantom Lord]

When I got my HDTV, I was in the market for HDMI cables. Not knowing much about the new cabling, I went to Circuit City where I saw the Monster ones for $89.99. I was shocked. After a little research online, I found I could buy an HDMI cable for $12 that would do the same job.

Monoprice.com?

I purchase all of my cables there.

[SouthTexas]

That’ll work! However, I don’t think wife will let me get away with it.

[Phantom Lord]

I am no audiophile, but I love my audio gear. Have Marantz SR5600 and CC4300, NHT speakers, and an SVS PB12-NSD/2 sub. Will cave your head in.

All my connections were purchased for rock bottom prices at monoprice.com and I am certain they perform just as well as any high dollar, fancy cable people claim are superior.

Reading a cable review/cable buying guide a while back the author proposed several scenarios to query salesman with and ways to tell if they are lying. One of them was if they tell you the cables have a break in period, they are liars and immediately leave their store.

On cable comparrisons he had a great suggestion. Tell the sales guy to take his high dollar cables and the cheapest they sell into the listening room and that you will switch them out for each other several times and if he can tell you with accuracy which is connected at that time over and over, you will buy the higher priced cables.

Guarantee no salesman will take you up on it.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

You do know that those Bose head phones are actually USAF rejects right?

<Johnny Carson voice> "I did not know that." </Johnny Carson voice>

...none of their speakers are THX certified...

Not surprising given the extremely, extremely high standards required for THX certification....but I wouldn't say that their products all suck.
I've owned Bose speakers and have always been pleased with their performance. Overpriced? Yes. Over-hyped? Yes.

[Phantom Lord]

Speakers are one component that clearly there is a major difference in performance. As are sources such as the AV receiver, CD players, amp, pre/pro, etc...

But speaker cables? No.

[steve-b]

"The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy notes that Disaster Area, a plutonium rock band from the Gagrakacka Mind Zones, are generally held to be not only the loudest rock band in the galaxy, but in fact the loudest noise of any kind at all. Regular concertgoers judge that the best sound balance is usually heard from within large concrete bunkers some thirty-seven miles from the stage, while the musicians themselves play their instruments by remote control from within a heavily insulated spaceship which stays in orbit around the planet – or more frequently around a completely different planet.... Many worlds have now banned their act altogether, sometimes for artistic reasons, but most commonly because the band’s public address system contravenes local strategic arms treaties."

[Phantom Lord]

These cables are cheap. Randi just needs to check out the Nordost Valhalla interconnects at $3,300 a meter. He will immediately hear the difference and quickly fork over that Million to purchase the cables.

[Phantom Lord]

Oh, and since this is about speaker cables, I strongly suggest every immediately get a home equity loan and run out and buy the Valhalla loudspeaker cable: $4200/m pair.

Absolutely worth it.

[gjones77]

Actually there are quite a few reasonably priced speakers that are THX certified, Onkyo has a set.

Here’s the funny thing with Bose, ever notice that their display is always far away form all other speakers so you can’t compare them side by side, that and they’re always set up a certain way so they’re close to you.

None the less, they don’t honestly “suck” but most mid range speakers actually sounds far far better, I have a set of Jamo speakers that walk all over Bose.

[JamesP81]

You may not have a stand alone amplifier but the head unit in your dash has one built in.

That must be what I have then. Sorry, my expertise is software development and computer hardware, not car stereo systems.

[JamesP81]

What do you think of Bose headphones? I use headphones for my PC because the sub on my 7.1 system keep the neighbors awake if I use it in my office. I’ve got a set of Bose around ear headphones that are better than any headphones I’ve used yet, but I haven’t used a great many headphones either. If there are better sounding ones (around ear fit) I’d certainly like to know.

[Calvin Locke]

Reminds me when Bose sued Consumer Reports for saying something like "...and the sound from Bose's 301 speakers moves [appears to move?] around our test room...".

I believe Bose prevailed, btw.

[gjones77]

I’ll be honest and say I really don’t know, since I seldom if ever use head phones.

My advice is to poke around www.audioholics.com

They usually have great advice and info.

[ADemocratNoMore]

bttt

Let’s not forget quantum dots, the Tice clock and outboard cable break-in hardware, just to name a few.

[Calvin Locke]

There's not enough info. You didn't say what the various sources and origins of the various recordings were.

Were all the various media recordings made at the same time during a single performance/session from the same microphones?

[Billthedrill]

Of course they're better. They go up to 11, man.