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In a blind test, audiophiles couldn't tell the difference between audio signals sent through copper wire, a banana, or wet mud

⁨1628⁩ ⁨likes⁩

Submitted ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨muelltonne@feddit.org⁩ to ⁨technology@lemmy.world⁩

https://www.tomshardware.com/speakers/in-a-blind-test-audiophiles-couldnt-tell-the-difference-between-audio-signals-sent-through-copper-wire-a-banana-or-wet-mud-the-mud-should-sound-perfectly-awful-but-it-doesnt-notes-the-experiment-creator

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Comments

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  • DarrinBrunner@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    It was never about sound quality. Sound quality was the justification for spending money and showing off. Just like so much of consumerism.

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    • OwOarchist@pawb.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Yep. Just like the fuckers walking around with $2500 sunglasses.

      Those sunglasses don’t do anything that a $20 pair can’t do. And they don’t even look all that different.

      The important part is that they enable absolutely disgusting consumerist snobbery, allowing some very vapid people to think that they’re better than other people because they have the expensive sunglasses.

      In just about any kind of product you can think of, there are brands catering to this kind of conspicuous consumption.

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  • Megacomboburrito@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    If you can’t hear the difference, don’t pay the difference

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  • HugeNerd@lemmy.ca ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    I listen to QUAD 77-11L speakers from like a lifetime ago, and a cheap class-D thing from Aliexpress. It’s fine.

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    • SreudianFlip@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      HugeNerd is correct, 90+% of audio quality is in the mic and speakers. Transducers make electro acoustics real, everything else is support.

      Get really great used speakers cheap and an adequate amp just good enough to drive them. Your shit will sound excellent for anyone.

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      • HugeNerd@lemmy.ca ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        Well, I’d argue the placement and room are an integral part of it as well.

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  • mbirth@lemmy.ml ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    But did they use oxygen-free copper (OFC) wire? Because otherwise the results are skewed as regular copper sounds just as bad as a banana stuck in wet mud.

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    • HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      i’m into oxygen free listening lately

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    • squaresinger@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Nah, they used oxygen-free bananas though.

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  • fubarx@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Explains the Monster cable ‘gold-plated banana.’

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  • howler@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Im certain I could tell the difference between a $50,000 setup, and the one i have cobbled together for a couple hundo over the past decade… And i would love to have that setup. But that cost to performance is only worth it if you have way too much disposable income. Eff the audiophile market.

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  • melsaskca@lemmy.ca ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Delivery mechanisms and audio quality do not matter as long as it has a good beat that I can dance to.

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  • Zephorah@discuss.online ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    So, like the $5 Trader Joe’s wine tasting with wine enthusiasts.

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    • DickFiasco@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Two buck Chuck!

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    • MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      What, price? There’s good wine and not so good wine (and battery acid), that’s it.

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      • Zephorah@discuss.online ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        Freakonomics covered this back around their inception. The data shows wine tasters and critics generally rate expensive wine as better. In a blind trial where expensive was replaced with two buck chuck and a $5 option, researchers proved there’s not much difference in ratings when the price isn’t known. Tell them two buck chuck is the most expensive thing on the table and it’s then rated as such.

        I believe this was part of their coverage on experts not being experts, iirc.

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  • SocialMediaRefugee@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    It is almost as if the human ear is much less precise than electronics.

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    • JeeBaiChow@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Wont stop philes from bragging about the 0.000000905% signal loss

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  • SocialMediaRefugee@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    One of my favorite audiophile doo-dads were wooden knobs being sold as upgrades to regular device knobs. They were super special wood with all sorts of magic properties and a bargain at hundreds of bucks.

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    • uniquethrowagay@feddit.org ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Ugh, in the guitar community there’s this myth that the wood type, body shape etc. of an electric guitar influences the sound. If it does, it’s immeasurably small. It’s almost entirely about the pickup circuitry and string position relative to the pickups.

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  • Bluewing@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    I’ve had tinnitus since I was maybe 4 or 5 years old. A high end sound system is cool to look at, but wasted on me. Those $30 computer speakers are just fine.

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  • Bullerfar@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    This is the kind of info I would pay for

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  • three@lemmy.zip ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    They tested the stupid audiophiles apparently.

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    • Scipitie@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Which are all of them who claim to hear a difference.

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    • Steve@communick.news ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Try it yourself.
      Have a some switch between them for you. Bet you can’t tell either.

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      • infeeeee@lemmy.zip ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        We made test once with a friend, where we could hear a difference.

        The setup was a Denon reciever, and one speaker was connected with a random cable, the other one is a pure copper, braided audiophile cable. The pc was connected with toslink to the reciever. Played the music as mono, and we switched between the left-right speakers.

        The only difference we could hear were very high pitched glockenspiel sounds from a flac file. That’s all. Any other music sounded the same. But the point was, there is a very little difference, even it’s rare to find a song where you can actually hear it.

        This was the thing where it was clearly audible, but I guess you can’t hear it on youtube, as mp3 already cuts off that high pitches: www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Kh-3xkye6A

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    • FauxLiving@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      I love how autistic lemmy is.

      The Internet is a weird place where people know how to read without actually understanding what they’re reading.

      Reading everything literally has to be the most confusing thing in the world. Though it does make The Onion a bit better.

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  • ian@feddit.uk ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    I want some of that mud!

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    • SocialMediaRefugee@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      I can sell you audiophile quality mud with “quantum mineral particles” for $500 per ounce.

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      • ian@feddit.uk ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        Does it come in a special container to attach to some huge headphones. So people can see how serious I am about perfect sound whilst on the underground trains.

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  • Jarix@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Good cables are shielded well. That she makes them expensive. That’s not transmission, that’s shielding. I don’t think they tested that but for digital audio is not surprising

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    • Halcyon@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Even the shielding technologies are way overdone and overpriced in the high end audio market. They act as if they’re running their cables through microwave ovens or magnet resonance machines. If you have strong electromagnetic fields around your audio equipment then somethings wrong in the room.

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  • enbiousenvy@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    onion title 😭

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  • SapphironZA@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    The only reason for reasonable quality speaker cables, is so that you get consistant volume between left and right channels if the volume is the same. That and so they don’t break when you pull on them.

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    • gwl@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Nah it’s literally only the latter. Cheap and expensive will give the same quality.

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      • chiliedogg@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        It matters in digital signals more than I expected.

        A bad-quqlity HDMI cable over a long run will start getting a bunch of noise on some of my displays that shows up as random green specs popping off due to signal loss, whereas better cables will give a clean signal.

        And back when more broadcasts were analog and I ran tech for a road show, I’d occasionally pick up random stations on poorly-shielded cables that would get amplified by powered speakers. The cables essentially became antennas. Though I haven’t run into that in over 20 years.

        Poorly-shielded cables and speakers also used to have a lot of issues with cell phones. Anyone else remember the series of 3-beeps you could sometimes hear on speakers a few seconds before a phone in the room started ringing?

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      • SapphironZA@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        I am referring to voltage drop consistency over distance.

        Say you are running two 15 cable runs for rear surround speakers. If you run very cheap cable, the amount of voltage, and thus volume, will not be the same across the two channels. In short runs, not enough to notice, but on longer runs you can.

        But there is no need for super expensive cable. You just need something durable and consistent enough.

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  • Evil_Shrubbery@thelemmy.club ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Did the banana have gold plated contacts??

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  • KulunkelBoom@lemmus.org ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    The speaker is what they hear, not the signal to it. Regardless how it’s transmitted.

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  • Mwa@thelemmy.club ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    would analog make a difference instead of digital?

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  • Sam_Bass@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Without a good DAC, even the cleanest input gets muddy

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    • Steamymoomilk@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Ewww, why dont you just jack into your private opera in your living room

      /S

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      • Sam_Bass@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        Had one for the last 20 years, but all good things must come to an end and so it was with mine. Got burned out due to all the power fluctuations the ice storms brought us. Surge protectors can only cope with so much I guess

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  • 13igTyme@piefed.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    I consider myself an audiophile-light. I’ve never been one to nit pick over minor things, but I can just tell the slightest difference between some brands.

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    • Gumus@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      So which brand do you prefer? Chiquita or Dole?

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  • Gigdragon@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    I just want DECENT audio quality and metal construction so that it lasts and the plastic doesn’t break from light wear&tear

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  • ignoble_stigmas@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Why have I bought airpods two months ago? I should’ve just stick bananas in my ears

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    • 13igTyme@piefed.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Charlie the unicorn was right.

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  • SeeMarkFly@lemmy.ml ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    I have a nice setup at my home. The one thing I noticed is when you have a high fidelity setup, EACH song needs a different volume setting. You can’t just turn it on and go about your day. You have to run to the living room and adjust EACH song. It’s a pain unless you just want to listen to JUST ONE song.

    A couple of cheap speakers in the ceiling of the kitchen is “better”.

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    • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      I imagine it’s more by album than by individual song

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      • SeeMarkFly@lemmy.ml ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        Ooh, you’ve got records.

        Yea, that’s right, by the album.

        I started my day today with the song “In the Garden of Eden”…I’m sorry “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida”. The full 17 minute version. That drum solo is INSANE.

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    • bridgeenjoyer@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      What you’re describing is called dynamics, which much music today lacks. You should listen to full albums. That’s the point of a mastering engineers job, make the album flow Usually when you have a dedicated listening setup, albums are the point…

      Or get a transparent rack compressor and put it inline with your amp. That will even it out for you. Supermarket muzak setups have this built in so music is always the same level. Its why you hear modern songs on supermarket speakers clipping, because the systems were made for 90s mixes. But for active listening, that kills a lot of the impact and enjoyment.

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      • SeeMarkFly@lemmy.ml ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        I had a compressor on my older setup. For what I listen to that’s a good idea.

        THANKS!

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  • Alpha71@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Anybody else read the beginning of the title as “Blind taste test”?

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  • Chais@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Oehlbach knows.

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  • Avicenna@programming.dev ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    hmm interesting, if guesses were completely random would expect more like %50 mistakes. does this mean that mud actually transmits audio better than copper (assuming everyone marked the best sound they thought was as copper).

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  • m3t00@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    but what cables did they use; www.whathifi.com/best-buys/…/best-audio-cables

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