While I agree and appreciate the spirit of the article, fuck Amazon, if you're going to buy cheap cables at least buy Hosa or something like that, don't give money to that shit company.
this post was submitted on 29 Mar 2026
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I have a bunch of Hosa cables for music creation and also just for normal headphones and such. They haven't let me down yet!
Yep, same here as well, Hosa and Cable Matters, which I was buying from Amazon until I cut off Prime 2 years ago. I wish I could find the Cable Matters cables elsewhere because they are good quality and cheap, back to Hosa.
The thing about audiophiles is that you can’t tell them anything, they have to listen to the wires themselves.
This is the same tired thing that's been going on since I can ever remember. First establish audiophiles as some deranged group of people that are willing to spend the insane amount of money on ridiculous science and then point and laugh.
Real audiophiles don't give two flying fucks about their cables, for the most part, outside of fundamentals being solid, good shielding, etc.
This is just the electronics version of the same shit you see across every market. $2,000 steaks covered in gold foil - but we're not castigating steak lovers because a steak lover would not buy such a thing.
The world is filled with people who have so much money it's embarrassing, and it's hard for the average chucklehead to understand that.
It kind of pisses me off that they didn't compare against lamp wire tied to rounded nails. They had the gear.
lamp wire tied to rounded nails
Speakers that I have actually use something like that between the speaker with the powered amp and the other one. Just a cord that I needed to hook into springed connectors. It works fine.
It's a collecting hobby. It doesnt have to make sense. Collectors might believe a late 60s early 70s muscle car is better than a modern sports car, but objectively a modern sports car can outperform it easily. But there's the cool factor, the aesthetics, and the desire to be the one to have that are all equally important to collectors.
Fly fishing and Fly rods are pretty much the same deal, imo -- i have a 9wt Cabelas-specific fly rod that feels as good to cast as my 5wt Sage. The cost difference was hundreds of dollars. But flyfishing dude-bros with their simms trucker caps and name brand apparel from forehead to toes clamor to buy the newest and "best" flyrod they can get. It's silly. Dont get me started on Simms nippers. I love the sport but im not a collector.
All that said, let the collectors collect their expensive fancy shit. It's good to have hobbies.
Audio people collect equipment (amplifiers, receivers, turntables, subwoofers, speakers. modulators), not cables.
There are people who actually understand audio, and they are extraordinarily cynical and dismissive of these types of products. Then there are people who don't really understand their hobby, they just know they like to spend money on it. I'm describing the difference between an informed connoisseur / collector VS a gadget goof.
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Heh. Industry joke: why does thunder come after lightning?
Because, even God has to wait for the fucking sound guy.
former sound guy here. yep. needy high maintenance "talent/artists" are the reason every sound guy is permanently annoyed
Underrated comment right here
Hey, they annoy the lighting guys, too.
getting through the night saying "thank fuck i'm not that douchenozzle's roadie/tech/bus driver/any damn job involving working with him/her beyond this show..."
I started making my own cables. Now I only have to worry about my own shitty craftsmanship. And boy is it shitty.
But hey I get cables at less than half the cost. And it’s fun.
Is this like crimping your own network cables? Or are you talking more rudimentary?
Audio cables. I’m a musician and audio engineer. Soldering two or three conductor wire to 1/4” phono jacks.
90% of it is making sure you have heavy enough gauge wires, a proper solder join, and (if you are feeling itchy) cable shielding.
You could buy STP 2-wire, 4-wire, or 8-wire and have plenty for darn near any project.
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once you get a crimper it's really easy
couldn't be me...
This is actually correct. Gold doesn't corrode. Have you ever used a corroded plug?
I just don't use corroded cables. Seems to work.
What cables do you use for listening underwater? That's where I'm getting the most corrosion.
i don't. i use amethyst crystals
They have the full resonance frequency range!
and they're delicious during times of famine or video game!
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Doesn't really matter within normal audio frequencies. You're just as good with chrome plated ones as with gold plates ones.
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Likely. Just don't rotate the plug while listening.
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My experience is mostly in regards to headphones, but as an ASR-pilled audio enthusiast, Audio Science Review has been nothing but a great resource for anyone hoping to escape the audiophoolery nonsense that plagues audio "hobbies". I don't necessarily agree with every sentiment expressed there, but having a community that prioritizes objective, reproducible testing results as the basis for evaluating gear seems to be a rare thing these days.
Lately I've been going to bat for audiophiles. People get really shrill about how unpractical their gear is and how much smarter they are for knowing that cheaper cables exist. But ultimately it's a hobby. They like the exotic expensive stuff because it's fun. The value is largely extrinsic.
Is a really nice fountain pen worth a couple hundred dollars actually 2000 times better than a bic? Is a collectors vehicle safer, faster, or more practical than a modern one? Is the story better if it's a first edition?
Ultimately audiophile stuff is more like collectibles than tools. Sounding good is important, but also important is just geeking out on something. And don't think there aren't function-first audiophiles who buy purely utilitarian gear and get super deep into room treatment and such. But there are also people who value aesthetics too. Branding, finish, novelty. And ultimately they're rich. Splurging on audio equipment for them would be like a regular person splurging on expensive stadium food or something. Or perhaps even more appropriate, stadium beer, which is the exact same beer that can be purchased much more easily and cheaply under different circumstances.
Is a really nice fountain pen worth a couple hundred dollars actually 2000 times better than a bic? Is a collectors vehicle safer, faster, or more practical than a modern one?
The difference is that collector vehicles are not seen or advertised as having higher safety than a modern vehicle and a fountain pen is not seen as being more convenient or even as reliable as a bic.
(Certain) Audiophiles regularly confuse people not part of the hobby, convincing them that they need a fancy cable or else their equipment won't work. Monster cables preyed on this for years.
You don't see people doing the same for buying a pen. Nobody goes to a store intending to buy a bic and accidentally getting talked into buying a mont blanc.
If they didn't prey upon those not interested in the hobby, then I'd agree with your take.
There are some really elitist audiophiles who think they always know best and that their preferences are "objectively correct"
Then there are people like z-reviews who fall in love with $30 headphones and mention in the same breath as $3000 ones. Another thing I like about him is that he also recommends buying aftermarket cables quite regularly, but I don't think I've ever heard him talk about them effecting the audio: it was always about aesthetics and comfort/feel, like how the sheathing feels or how soft and flexible a braided rope cable is over the stiff and scratchy out-of-the-box factory-cheapo one
If truth in advertising is what you seek, I've got bad news for you.
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While I get that, tolerating absolute bullshit pseudoscience (or anti-science) and letting people think it is a fact is exactly why there is a huge western general anti-science sentiment harming millions of people.
You have to call them out and shame them for spouting disinformation bullshit as "science" and facts.
The difference in your analogy is that fountain pen enthusiasts never* spout pseudoscience and disinformation as justification and/or discount actual science and blind tests. Audiophiles do that regularly...
Yes, if they say that they love designs, collections, how it makes them feel, whatever, sure. Don't tolerate lying and pseudoscience though.
There's a difference between "audiophiles" that just want nice things and "Audiophiles" that believe in deranged pseudoscience. Why they bought it matters,
Overpriced but well made equipment (that doesn't pretend to be anything else) is fine. It's stuff like this or cables like these people make fun of.
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I started in the record business back in the 70s, primarily handling classical records, and even worked for Telarc Records, the leading audiophile record label in the vinyl/CD eras, so I've had a LOT of contact with the high-end audio world.
Articles claiming that there are no differences in cables (and other audiophile doodads) have been running the entire time, and nobody ever listens. Audiophiles don't want to listen, they want to indulge their fantasies, and don't mind paying for it.
They aren't much different than the Sociopathic Oligarchs who are blowing their money on rockets. Audiophiles are guys who don't have rocket money to waste, but they've got audio gear money to stimulate those dopamine receptors, so whaddaya got that's expensive?
And the worst part is, in most cases these cords are hidden behind the equipment! It’s not like you can even peacock with them!
You do cable management correctly, and all you can do is, “trust me, bro, I have these skookum cables that cost a shitton hidden back there…”
🤣🤣🤣
Just ask an audiophile for a tour of their rig, and they're happy to have you stick your head against the wall to peer back there and see his $2000 worth of stupid cables. He'll even hold the flashlight.
And it's definitely a "Him," no other pronouns required. I've never encountered a female audiophile. The woman of the house (if there is one) is always in the other room, rolling her eyes, and sighing. Audiophile gear already has a very low WAF - Wife Acceptance Factor - an actual audiophile thing - and expensive cables are among the lowest WAF of all.
I mean, what else are they going to do with it, besides show it off? Play music? They've only got three records, and two of them are German sound effects, and the other is the 1812 Overture that skips when the (Actual! Real!) cannons go off.
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I've never seen audiophiles actually care about cables. The discussions are around speaker accuracy, room acoustics and treatment, listening position, and recording/mastering quality.
You haven't gone far enough down the rabbit hole then. Good, keep it that way.
I've seen some wild takes that get propped up by some snake oil lovers like "breaking in" their cables for a few hundred hours before they sound ideal. The rabbit hole goes deep
Hahah yeah, the breaking in thing is also ridiculous.
It may (arguably) make some sense for speakers and headphones, since they actually have moving parts, but I've recently read a review for a portable digital audio player that the reviewer felt the need to "break in" before testing. ???
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I saw a video a while back where they routed audio through a banana, and nobody could pick out the audio that went through said banana. I can't find it, but here is a guy expanding on that video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fmCy686IC8
I dug up an article about it: https://www.zmescience.com/science/news-science/audiophile-banana-blind-test/
Reminds me of a vintage stereo repair shop near my old place. The guy would give you a free length of lamp cord with every purchase because "its good enough".
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