The US Justice Dept. should investigate Ansuz Cable Co. for wire fraud. :-)
Nice.
This is one audio company I do not ever consider, whatever the make. They seem to be taking it to the extreme now.
Case in point: a $90,000 power cord by ASUNZ
Open Letter to the Audiophile Community: When High-End Becomes High Farce
There is a line between excellence and exploitation. In high-end audio, we celebrate passion, precision, and engineering that bring us closer to the music. We accept that real performance costs real money. But every so often, a product comes along that crosses the line into absurdity — and, frankly, insults the intelligence of the global audiophile community.
Case in point: a $90,000 power cord. (https://eqaudio.ca/power-cables/ansuz-mainz-d-tc3-gold-signature-power-cable/) A blatant insult to the intelligence of the global audiophile community!!!!!
Yes, you read that correctly. A piece of wire dressed up as “innovation,” sold for the price of a luxury car. It is not just excessive, it is contemptuous of the very customers who sustain this hobby.
The danger here isn’t only to one brand’s credibility. When companies market cables at such outrageous prices, they make the entire industry look foolish to the outside world. They reinforce every stereotype: that audiophiles are gullible, that high-end gear is snake oil, that this pursuit is less about music and more about status symbols.
We, as music lovers, are not idiots. We know the difference between engineering and opportunism. We know when craftsmanship justifies a premium — and when pricing is simply a provocation.
If high-end audio is to survive, manufacturers must show respect for both the craft and the community. Otherwise, the “legacy” they leave will not be of sonic breakthroughs, but of arrogance, excess, and ridicule.
This letter is not just directed at one company. It’s a call for honesty, sanity, and responsibility across the industry. If the goal is truly to celebrate music, then let’s price gear like it’s made for music lovers — not billionaires with no sense of value.
Steve Pappas
A concerned audiophile
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@devinplombier I agree with you. I think the science around what is possible- and not- is important. This discussion can be carried on without name calling, which does nothing to advance understanding. Ultimately, we all get to decide. I’ve tried expensive switches, for example, and couldn’t hear a bit of difference. But, hey, if someone perceives an improvement, good for them- they get an improvement. We can hear differently and we can understand the science differently without making anyone an idiot. Denigrating people about how much money they choose to spend or not to spend is particularly offensive. It’s nobody’s business personally, I wish there was a competent, neutral organization doing properly constructed, blind testing of lots of this stuff and publishing the results I don’t say that’s perfect, but I think it would be very useful |
@nmolnar great pun! @devinplombier I agree generally with your point about the lack of receptivity, even tolerance, of different opinions in discussions of our hobby; though I think both sides of the debate you detail should back off a bit. Both hyperbole and the arrogation of an infallible technical expertise have inhibited productive discussions of issues in which I am interested, here and elsewhere. I regret it when either or both of these excesses undermine what might otherwise have been a useful discussion. But, I don’t agree this is this central point raised by the OP, who seems more concerned with the contemptuous attitude he thinks underlies the producer’s pricing decisions and the embarrassing effects on the general public’s opinion of audiophiles produced by marketing and purchasing ultra-expensive components. I don’t know how the OP gleaned the manufacturer’s motives, nor can I understand the two concerns he raises. First, I don’t consider that market in which a$90k PC exists to be predominantly an audiophile market, but rather a luxury goods market, which operates on another level, unrelated to standard measures of performance. Second, I can’t bring myself to be concerned about what folks not involved in the hobby think about how we evaluate the costs and benefits of the goods comprising the audio marketplace. I have acquaintances who have spent thousands of dollars collecting Stanley travel mugs and other consumer goods not initially marketed as collectibles. I don’t understand it, but they find it rewarding and that’s all that matters. We love our hobby and to hell with those who want to jeer from the sidelines. |
@devinplombier everyone knows the best sound ever occurred in Norse legend. |
@mapman Why the need to use sarcasm, despite your petulance regarding a $90k power cord when you have never heard it implemented in a AGD system? |
- 151 posts total