$10,000 Ethernet cables
Reply #32 – 2015-02-11 06:37:46
I wish I could remember the name of the book, and it might've been more anecdotal evidence than anything else, but I recall reading that highly-educated people (specifically doctors and lawyers) tend to be poor investors. And the reason cited was that their high IQs and skills in their field gave them confidence rely on their own judgement, rather than calling upon the skills of an investment specialist. I remember (very vaguely, it was decades ago!) a "quiz" which, I think, was aimed at the medical proffession. They had to not only answer questions,but also rate their confidence in their answers. The winner was not necessarily the one with the most right answers, it was the one with the most appropriately placed confidence. Maybe this is a well-known procedure? Comments from members with statistics knowledge please?On audiophile boards, I'd periodically see "$10,000 to spend on an amplifier, what should I buy?" types of messages. And often it seemed like this person had already decided that his new amplifier must cost $10,000 (or more perhaps) and this aspect was not debatable. If not pure ego, I wonder if it's much the same sort of I-know-what-I'm-doing attitude here too. I find that that is the rule rather than the exception. Maybe I'm still a bit of a "recovering audiophile" on this one: it is not unnatural to have a budget, and most of us go shopping for any item knowing what we are prepared or able to spend on it. Even the most ardent objectivists must know that there are things that money buys, if they are the things that one wants. The include things like beautiful cases and knobs, and that's fine if it what a person wants. They should include things like simple manufacturing/engineering quality, but, sadly, that may not be the case at all. Yes, I still (or would, if I had any money) go shopping with a budget, but the adoption of the price tag as part of the specifications is the audiophool thing. This is particular prevalent with the nonsense products, with claims that, for instance I may not notice the difference with a $50 cable, but I will with a $200 cable, and over $500 will make a big difference . Not even a reference to specific products: just price ranges! What do they do? Stuff the cable with dollars? Do they make good shielding, or something? And is there any difference using pounds? euros? yen? Do exchange rates affect audio quality? I also see the condemning of reports that a piece of equipment is bad, as in, "How can that idiot dismiss a $2,000 DAC?" Hmmm... What's worst: sighted listening test, or unsighted price-tag evaluation?