News $500 Audiophile SATA SSD Cable With Superstar Crystals Listed

[worstalentscout]

In the past, I would sometimes flip through hi fi magazines just to look at the aesthetics and ogle at how bizarre and ostentatious some of the components look.

The last Hi Fi component I bought was a CD transport, more than 20 years ago. At the time, I had no way to get a bit-perfect signal off a CD to feed into my DAC, and instead of buying a player with a S/P-Dif out, I bought the transport because it had nice touches like lowering the volume during fast forward and rewind so the harsh crackling from skipping tracks wasn't so bad. It also advertised a 3-beam pickup to minimize errors when playing scratched or dirty disks. It was belt-driven, which seemed like a good idea, but I dusted it off and tried to use it 10 years ago and found the belt had dried out and it could no longer play discs. Well, at least I got it on sale.

CEC transport ?

 

[Deleted member 14196]

Oh, I had better run out and buy 16 of these. Even though I only listen to music as well, he wrote from my phone via BT

Audiophiles are a strange bunch

 

[dotpoz]

they can do it better
put some RGB led on it and sell it to gaming audiophile for $1000

 

[jmcgaw]

I'm sure you can make your own for a lot less money. Seriously, you could just thread a regular SATA cable through a larger jacket, put two blobs of epoxy or silicone on the ends, and then coat them in whatever you want.

Well, yeah, sure. But you don't have access to their mystical wood and plumbing flex and sparkly things. Those are what make the magic work. But of course you could go into business making your version and then sell them to carefully self-selecting fools. Apparently there are loads of them around.

 

[bit_user]

Well, yeah, sure. But you don't have access to their mystical wood and plumbing flex and sparkly things. Those are what make the magic work.

I already said I'm a testbench guy. If you can't show me the numbers, then I don't care what you're selling.

Aesthetics are a different matter. I will spend more money on a case, just because I think it looks nicer. Not a ton of money - I think probably well below 2x, if the differences are purely aesthetic.

 

[Lorien Silmaril]

What did I just read??

 

[PiranhaTech]

It's great for sound recording and mixing, since it has so much headroom and dynamic range. Bits are cheap enough, why not even go to 32-bit floats? With just 24 bits, you can even do silly things like digital volume control, and then get rid of your preamp.

BTW, for consumer playback, it's not 24-bits so much as the 96 kHz that's key. And the main reason was that you could use cheaper anti-alias filters with a really wide transition band.

Some labels like Nuclear Blast offer 24/44 albums but not 24/96. I still hear the difference in 24/44. It's sometimes only $4 more for the 24-bit and I have the storage, and I do this for my favorite bands like Avantasia. I'll pay the $4 to help me get the better version regardless of the 16-bit/24-bit, especially if there's a chance that 24-bit has a better master.

32-bit actually might be a good idea, but I doubt it would be noticeable at all. Basically the number range for 16-bit is -32,768 to 32,767. Going up to 24-bit brings that up to -8 million to 8 million (256 times the resolution). 32-bit is -2 billion to 2 billion if integer, even more insane for float. It goes from a ridiculous amount of discreet values to an even more ridiculous amount. For me, it's not about the range, but about the resolution.

Here's what I say about 16-bit to 24-bit, especially with that kind of difference in discreet values. If you say in terms of technology or software that you will never, ever hear a difference, my BS detector goes off. I code software, and there's too much weird stuff that goes on with software and hardware for me to believe when people use absolutes.

We have processors that handle 32-bit easier than 24-bit. Microsoft's game audio libraries actually operate in 32-bit float if you start doing complicated things with audio.

 

[Adaneshade]

Are people truly foolish enough to fall for this? Sata cables only carry digital information, which is immune to interference degradation... The signal makes it or doesn't, there is no in between. Need for high quality filtering and shielding is only applicable to analog signals.

 

[USAFRet]

Are people truly foolish enough to fall for this?

Well heeled audiophiles are a special type of idiot.

Given the right advertising, and a few people will buy this. And convince themselves it is "better".

 

[worstalentscout]

I already said I'm a testbench guy. If you can't show me the numbers, then I don't care what you're selling.

Aesthetics are a different matter. I will spend more money on a case, just because I think it looks nicer. Not a ton of money - I think probably well below 2x, if the differences are purely aesthetic.

i used to sell hifi long ago..............a young electrical engineer told me audio cables are <Mod Edit> and there's no difference due to same measurements, etc...............i let him listen to 2 different power cords............he was so shocked at the difference he heard, he left the shop mumbling to himself................didn't even thank me for enlightening him.........

 

[SyCoREAPER]

i used to sell hifi long ago..............a young electrical engineer told me audio cables are <Mod Edit> and there's no difference due to same measurements, etc...............i let him listen to 2 different power cords............he was so shocked at the difference he heard, he left the shop mumbling to himself................didn't even thank me for enlightening him.........

Not sure which is more atrocious, your grammar or attempt at being a troll.

The only difference between two cables is the quality of the materials and if they are shielded adequately. Copper wire is copper wire. Unless there is a physical defect or its copper coated wire, there will be NO perceivable difference. It's in ones head.

Show me data sheets and I mean real scientific ones by reputable sources that show perceivable differences I will eat my word publicly in front of everyone here.

 

[bit_user]

i let him listen to 2 different power cords............he was so shocked at the difference he heard, he left the shop mumbling to himself................didn't even thank me for enlightening him.........

I'd have to conclude that the equipment had a poorly-designed power supply and that one of the cables was far too narrow-gauge. The reason he was mumbling to himself was probably because he didn't want to say that out loud.

Show me data sheets and I mean real scientific ones by reputable sources that show perceivable differences

Logic analyzer probes - now there's a highly-engineered cable!

 

[helper800]

Well heeled audiophiles are a special type of idiot.

Given the right advertising, and a few people will buy this. And convince themselves it is "better".

Well of course they convince themselves it is better, the alternative is admitting to themselves they are prideful buffoons.

 

[helper800]

Not sure which is more atrocious, your grammar or attempt at being a troll.

The only difference between two cables is the quality of the materials and if they are shielded adequately. Copper wire is copper wire. Unless there is a physical defect or its copper coated wire, there will be NO perceivable difference. It's in ones head.

Show me data sheets and I mean real scientific ones by reputable sources that show perceivable differences I will eat my word publicly in front of everyone here.

I will buy him this damn cable if he can show anything reputable.

 

[worstalentscout]

Not sure which is more atrocious, your grammar or attempt at being a troll.

The only difference between two cables is the quality of the materials and if they are shielded adequately. Copper wire is copper wire. Unless there is a physical defect or its copper coated wire, there will be NO perceivable difference. It's in ones head.

Show me data sheets and I mean real scientific ones by reputable sources that show perceivable differences I will eat my word publicly in front of everyone here.

I'd have to conclude that the equipment had a poorly-designed power supply and that one of the cables was far too narrow-gauge. The reason he was mumbling to himself was probably because he didn't want to say that out loud.


Logic analyzer probes - now there's a highly-engineered cable!

question = have you guys listened and compared normal ac cords vs audiophile ones before ?..................or other cables like interconnects and speaker cables ?

 

[bit_user]

question = have you guys listened and compared normal ac cords vs audiophile ones before ?..................or other cables like interconnects and speaker cables ?

I never auditioned power cables, because I buy well-designed equipment. If you learn how a good power supply works, then you'll understand why you just need to worry about the gauge. The frequencies are far too low to worry about things like inductance or capacitance. Any EMI should be rejected by the power supply, which also has to be designed to cope with noisy power.

The audio industry learned how to design cables resistant to EMI, long ago. Look at mic cables - they use shielding and differential signalling to reject unwanted noise. Some professional and high-end audio equipment has balanced interconnects which adopt these same principles, although since interconnects use much higher voltage than unpowered microphones, induced noise only tends to be an issue for extremely long cable runs (esp. if you're running them alongside power cables or near things like fluorescent light ballasts). That's why most consumer equipment uses RCA-type interconnects which don't even have a standardized characteristic impedance (though, audio is so low-frequency and interconnects tend to be so short, they don't really need to).

What's funny is that most hi-fi cables are traditionally just dressed up versions of the same cable stock you can buy from places like I posted before:

Stereo Cables at Blue Jeans Cable

​

Some hi-fi cables can actually damage your equipment, because the connectors grip so tightly. A cool solution to this "problem" are twist-lock connectors, although I've not seen any quantitative data vs. a quality "springy" connector.

 

[drivinfast247]

To make sure you get the best sound possible use a proper grounding box. https://www.entreq.com/products/ground-boxes-17667704 /sarcasm

 

[SyCoREAPER]

question = have you guys listened and compared normal ac cords vs audiophile ones before ?..................or other cables like interconnects and speaker cables ?

Yes thanks to Amazon's gracious return anything policy. I bought at the time considered amazing audio cables and I couldn't hear a damn difference. Other than a song on top of the one I was listening too. Lyrics went along the lines of "I'm and idiot for not listening to myself and letting others convince me otherwise"

There is only so far that you can improve a turd or good equiptment and even then it's diminishing returns.

Best example, mp3. You can't make something that's not there sound better by simply spending money to improve it. mp3 will always be missing audio data. The only way you can fix that is upgrading the audio file and buying a true flac. Same goes for equiptment, the only way you are going to get "better" audio is upgrading, be it headphones or speakers, themselves respectively or maybe the amp and dac if it's poo-poo quality.

 

[bit_user]

To make sure you get the best sound possible use a proper grounding box. https://www.entreq.com/products/ground-boxes-17667704

I just use a quality surge suppressor/powerline filter.

Rack-Mount and Component Power | Panamax

Check out our Pro Series and PM Series of rack mount and component power products to protect, control and automation equipment for maximum performance.

www.panamax.com

Back in the days of CRT monitors, I had a nice but aging Sony GDM-FW900 that would sometimes suffer from a wavy interference pattern. It disappeared when I tried running its power through my Panamax. Later, I got an APC Smart-UPS for my PC setup, and that worked as well.

 

[USAFRet]

I suspect some of the fanbois will have issue with this, but...this:

Cable myths: reviving the coathanger test

Today, in our speaker cable blind test we're going to try to prove one way or another whether or not high-end speaker cables make a difference for your equipment.

www.soundguys.com

 

[drivinfast247]

I just use a quality surge suppressor/powerline filter.

Rack-Mount and Component Power | Panamax

Check out our Pro Series and PM Series of rack mount and component power products to protect, control and automation equipment for maximum performance.

www.panamax.com

Back in the days of CRT monitors, I had a nice but aging Sony GDM-FW900 that would sometimes suffer from a wavy interference pattern. It disappeared when I tried running its power through my Panamax. Later, I got an APC Smart-UPS for my PC setup, and that worked as well.

I actually do use a Panamax.

 

[bit_user]

I suspect some of the fanbois will have issue with this, but...this:

Back when I was young and dumb, I bought a fancy $50 cable with banana plugs for my center speaker. When I moved, I found the cable showed signs of serious overheating, as the grey-colored jacket was brown and melty, near one of the connectors. What's funny is that I always kept the volume low, so as not to disturb my neighbors. I wonder what would've happened had I cranked it up.

I did contact the manufacturer, and they replaced it free of charge. They offered no explanation, though.

 

[paulbf1]

Having been involved with professional and high end audio for the last few decades, I can unreservedly state that there is no bigger sucker than an audiophile with a valid credit card!

 

[bit_user]

Having been involved with professional and high end audio for the last few decades, I can unreservedly state that there is no bigger sucker than an audiophile with a valid credit card!

In defense of audiophiles, back in the analog days, every link in the chain could limit the end-to-end performance of the system. And mass-market audio equipment wasn't nearly as good. So, by carefully selecting and optimizing each component, you really could unlock a whole new level of fidelity. In the days of vinyl and tube-based electronics, all this stuff was way more fussy, and higher-maintenance as well.

 

[SyCoREAPER]

In defense of audiophiles, back in the analog days, every link in the chain could limit the end-to-end performance of the system. And mass-market audio equipment wasn't nearly as good. So, by carefully selecting and optimizing each component, you really could unlock a whole new level of fidelity. In the days of vinyl and tube-based electronics, all this stuff was way more fussy, and higher-maintenance as well.

That's fact, way back in the day it did make a difference.
The blind and frankly ignorant fanboi movement of spending money without an ounce of scientific or its out of habit (just like we still shoot cinema at 24fps despite it looking like <Mod Edit>). So not sure, it's either stuck in the past or blind following mentality.