Snake Oil...

Tom_S

For whatever reason, I found New Record Day on YouTube. Danny Richie from GR Research is featured quite often. It's very basic stuff, but he did a redesign of the Klipsch RP-600 crossover - he offers the kit for sale, so doesn't disclose the parts values. That's fine, but he's also really pushing his Electra Tube Connectors, claiming night & day sonic superiority over any basic binding posts. Some gibberish about not having a large metal mass in the signal path. Of course there's no data at all to back up any claims. I'm sure he pays less than $1.00 for these things, but charges $59 for 2 pair. I used his M-130 woofers long ago and thought they were nice for the price, but trying to pass off these (high markup) things without any data is really suspect. 

Do you think he would endorse a double blind test at one of the DIY events? Probably not.

jr@mac

Yeah, he has some strange ideas now and then. He is absolutely not interested in our kind of DIY these days. 

dcibel

No different from the marketing behind any other "audiophile" connector. Do a double blind test of any expensive connector vs a basic 50 cent peice of nickle plated copper and see what conclusions are made

Tom_S

I've always hated people who peddle crap to the ignorant. It's just dishonest. I guess I thought he was a little more science based. Plus, these things just look chintzy.

Ed_Perkins

Yeah, Danny's videos are a strange mixture of science and audiophile phooey.  I had to laugh when he stated that his Electra Tube connectors make a huge difference in SQ.  And I remember the firestorm from Danny when Zaph tested the M-130 woofer and said "meh".

Wolf

As I've said before- avoid him like the plague.

GeoffMillar

As a relative newbie to DIY speakers, I find some of the GR videos interesting and instructive, e.g. the merits of DIY v retail.  But products such as the copper tube connectors, like other pseudo-science 'audiophile' products such as super speaker wire, speaker bullets etc sound like bollocks.

I really can't see why a set of  good quality binding posts would give an inferior connection to the copper tube. Perhaps, like wire, bullets etc, if people think there will be a difference, they will hear it.  That's how placebos work, isn't it?

Geoff

PWRRYD

"Nevermind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols!"  Man I skated many a half pipe ramp listening to that album and others like Black Flag, The Dead Kennedys, Circle Jerks, Suicidal Tendencies, Reagan Youth, etc...

Sorry for the side track, I saw "bollocks" and couldn't resist.  Back on track to discusion about said "plague" dude Danny.

squamishdroc

I watched a few of his cable review videos - I would like to see him do a blind listening test and see if he can hear the differences.

dcibel

GeoffMillar said:

As a relative newbie to DIY speakers, I find some of the GR videos interesting and instructive, e.g. the merits of DIY v retail.  But products such as the copper tube connectors, like other pseudo-science 'audiophile' products such as super speaker wire, speaker bullets etc sound like bollocks.

I really can't see why a set of  good quality binding posts would give an inferior connection to the copper tube. Perhaps, like wire, bullets etc, if people think there will be a difference, they will hear it.  That's how placebos work, isn't it?

Geoff

If you paid more for it, it automatically sounds better, that's just science

Audio quality aside, there are legitimate reasons to pay more for a connector, like appearance, build quality, repeatability, ease of use.

These Electra things are $59 for a set of 4, and that includes the mating ends. Compared to a cheap set of binding post at about $11 for 4, and a cheap set of banana plugs at $5 for 4, a total of $16, yeah they're a bit much, and not super pretty either. I might compare them to more premium products if they didn't look like the cheapest connector out there.

If I were to stray away from the standard binding post, the pro standard Speakon connector is much more attractive to me. It provides the convenience of bundling a multi-conductor connection into a single plug with a nice locking feature, and when you do disconnect them, there's no risk of shorting the amp unlike banana plugs. Cheap too!

Tom_S

I just find it funny that many audiophiles don't realize or won't admit the iconic studios that recorded their favorite music probably used 30 year old mic cables - cables that are just good old standard Belden shielded pair with $3.00 Switchcraft XLRs. Those speaker cable lifters some guys spend serious money on are just mind boggling to me. If static from carpet was an issue with audio cables, those studios would have figured that out long ago. 

tajanes

and likely in a digital domain, dsp eq'd,...

Tom_S

Now this is hilarious - https://www.monoandstereo.com/2015/01/telos-audio-quantum-noise-resonator.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+MonoAndStereoUltraHigh-endAudioMagazine+(MONO+and+STEREO+Ultra+High-End+audio+magazine)

jr@mac

That website is fun. 

BrannigansLaw

Danny has always been this way... I remember when he was hawking bybee filters to 'clean' digital signals back in the day. He is a good designer, and I'm sure knows this stuff is nothing more than jewlery. But he also knows this is where the profit margin lies in high end audio. It's a matter of business ethics if you want to pursue it, and how you do that. 

squamishdroc

This thing messes with your brain waves

https://telos-audio.com.tw/quantum-acoustics-diffuser/

GeoffMillar

Tom_S said:

Now this is hilarious - https://www.monoandstereo.com/2015/01/telos-audio-quantum-noise-resonator.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+MonoAndStereoUltraHigh-endAudioMagazine+(MONO+and+STEREO+Ultra+High-End+audio+magazine)

So I decided my system wasn't quite good enough to satisfy the blizzard of advertorial which told me what I was missing out on.

Receiver performance was dramatically boosted with the addition of new 'WTF' branded LED faceplate and wiggly line generator.

With the help of home loan redraw, oxygen free, activated speaker wire was combined with carbon fibre carpet isolation bridge technology and platinum impregnated male, and beryllium impregnated female direct speaker connections, to provide hyper opinionated signal to the speaker crossover. 

For optimum sound, lithium based foil capacitors from Blitzen of Bulgaria were matched with hand wound, medicinal grade copper inductors and Wowee brand resistors from S.N. Oil and Co.

Speakers were then located in a new, purpose built  listening room with each wall painted a different colour to better  enhance reproduction of  frequencies over 20kHz.

And the 1926 recording of the Beethoven Violin Concerto by Fritz Kriesler still sounded awful!

Seriously, that really gave me a laugh, thank you!

Geoff

Ron_E

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/audioquest-diamond-10-toslink-fiber-optic-cable-black/6278258.p?skuId=6278258

How about a toslink fiber optic cable with silver conductors?

"Diamond HDMI incorporates AudioQuest's highest-performance, lowest-distortion Perfect-Surface Silver conductors. Silver is known for its high conductivity and its "colorless" sonic presentation."

Ron

dcibel

The "HDMI" should tip you off that it might not be the right product description.

Turn2

I'm not sure which is more troubling, that description or the fact that they're sold out.

NavyGuy

Yeah, Danny has some "interesting" ideas

GeoffMillar

WRRYD said:

"Nevermind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols!"  Man I skated many a half pipe ramp listening to that album and others like Black Flag, The Dead Kennedys, Circle Jerks, Suicidal Tendencies, Reagan Youth, etc...

Sorry for the side track, I saw "bollocks" and couldn't resist.  Back on track to discusion about said "plague" dude Danny.

Still the best 'punk' album, a great antidote to the bland drivel that continues to plague the airwaves: no autotune on that record. There's a level of energy on the album which lets you ignore many of the nasty (in places) lyrics. For me, 'Pretty Vacant' is the best thing they ever did. 

The record company was taken to talk for obscenity for using "bollocks" and they had to employ a QC to prove it was an ancient English word which was in widespread usage and not regarded as obscene.

On the topic, Jimi Hendrix once said that he'd like to play a note and have it come out a colour, but I'm not sure that he had the audio quantum noise resonator in mind.

Geoff

Kornbread

GeoffMillar said:

On the topic, Jimi Hendrix once said that he'd like to play a note and have it come out a colour, but I'm not sure that he had the audio quantum noise resonator in mind.

Geoff

    LSD?

GeoffMillar

Kornbread said:

GeoffMillar said:

On the topic, Jimi Hendrix once said that he'd like to play a note and have it come out a colour, but I'm not sure that he had the audio quantum noise resonator in mind.

Geoff

    LSD?

Oh no, I'm sure Mr Hendrix never took drugs of any kind......

Geoff

PS I made a typo in my rave about the Sex Pistols: they were taken to Court, not "talk" . That's what happens when you type at 1.30am and can't work out how to edit a post!