Flutterby™! : Audio Scam? 2009-11-26 13:59:48.333583+00

Audio Scam?

2009-11-26 13:59:48.333583+00 by meuon 14 comments

We've had fun with audio grade power outlets and special cables, and then I found this: This $900 Gizmo. They recommend 3 of them, at $900 each. It might be worth it just to tell people what it does:

"addressing the interaction of your audio gear's circuitry with ambient electromagnetic phenomena and modifying this interplay. The Blackbody takes advantage of the quantum nature of particle interaction, and is therefore able to permeate metal, plastic, wood, and other barriers to affect the circuitry inside your components."

Ok, so it's an wide spectrum passive RF sink. There might actually be some measurable effect, maybe.

I'll contend that people that could afford this, buy electronics of a quality that don't have such issues, and then plug their lossy MP3 players or iPhone's into them.

Still, if you know an audiophile that has everything, and your pockets are flush with bank bailout bonus bucks, what else could you spend it on?

#Comment Re: made: 2009-11-26 15:09:07.270876+00 by: andylyke [edit history]

The device is matte black, with elegantly rounded corners forming a square shape somewhat smaller than a compact disc in size. It is marginally smaller in weight and size than two bars of gold. The surface of the Blackbody which is intended to make contact with your gear, furniture, or floor, is made of a perfectly smooth black sand-blasted alloy.

A sonogram, a test to measure the sound sensitivity in dB at differing frequencies for each ear, would be one of the best investments that a high level audio <s>sucker</s> roller could make. That, and learning the meaning and implications of the decibel scale.

if you got any money left over after investing in this snake oil, I have some nice swamp land and a couple of bridges for sale, reasonable...

It's an electron-accelerator. It speeds up the electrons passing through your cables to warp speeds (FTL), thus allowing those electrons not to be disturbed by other particles floating around at sub-warp speeds. Galaxy Class Starships, such as the Enterprise-D, will use similar devices to network the ship computer cores.

For better sound, I did just buy a pair of Sennheiser ear buds and upgraded my Sansa C250 to RockBox so I can play FLAC and OGG files on it. For noise reduction, I'm going to get some ear protectors, like these:

I got two pair of AO Safety Blockade noise isolating earbuds (Warning: Most annoying web site on the planet, with lots of broken images) for $20 including shipping in a Woot.com special. I've worn 'em a bit around the shop.

They go really deep into my ears. Getting them seated properly involves a level of intimacy with a device that I've previously only experienced with a "G-Spotter" attachment on a Hitachi Magic Wand, but they work pretty well. I'd believe the 24dB claim, which also means that if I'm going to be working on the router table I reach for the ear muffs. If I were going to pay full list price I'd definitely get a set of full on ear muffs with speakers in 'em, but these are working fairly well.

Well, rather than spending your money on a home Black Hole, you might do better to buy some of these products.

Those "TACHYON SACRED GEOMETRY ACCELERATORS" sure look like they'd make nice D&D dice!

#Comment Re: made: 2009-11-27 19:35:23.239777+00 by: ebradway [edit history]

The Tachyon Sacred Geometry Accelerators are quite a bit less expensive than the BlackBody! You could afford a small pile of these guys and still have money left for a bottle of Tachyon Aqua and some Tachyon Anti-Cellulite Gel!

Personally, I'm thinking a decent sound system (a litttle more than your $10 table radio) and the $50 bag-o-weed auditory sensation enhancer is the ticket.

The next level up is a live show (+bag-o-weed), where the energy of the crowd makes it even better.

The $50 bag-o-weed being the common factor at improving audio fidelity - sort of my point ;)

How 'bout this combo: $50 bag-o-weed plus Hitachi Magic Wand with G-spotter attachment...and forget the radio altogether...heh...