@larryi +1 LOL

I can see all points here.  Yes 90k is ridiculous.  Yes it's their choice it's a free country.  Yes it would be better spent elsewhere, as someone said you can buy a pretty insane system for 90k and there are a lot of people and causes in need.

Is the issue this company or the system itself that is allowing this while people don't have basic needs covered?  Survival of the fittest?  Fittest being the most wealthy?  Strange world when some can't afford basic necessities and others can buy 90k cables.  Although I got a guy that can get it for 30k 🤫

I have to admit Ansuz has balls. Check out the $6750 record weight.

It will "Create a live concert of your music."

I thought I was living large with a $385 HRS. 

https://eqaudio.ca/turntable-accessories/ansuz-d-tc-record-stabilizer/

The only thing that annoys me about any of this is the piss-poor marketing copy and imaging. Maybe they just put the decimal point in the wrong place.

@macg19 ”piss-poor marketing…”  “Maybe they just put the decimal point in the wrong place” 

I wondered myself if there could a two decimal points error. $899.99 maybe would be a bargain possibly?
 

This discussion is bordering on the insane.

Two things to consider……

1. This IS all quite laughable, an error, or a publicity stunt.

2. If the $90,000 is true and there is an uptake, most readers on here will have a pretty good idea where arguably the direction a last laugh may come from.

I think it's still possible to get a decent power cable for $45,000. 

@mylogic Ha! +1

This IS all quite laughable, an error, or a publicity stunt.

If it’s a publicity stunt it’s definitely working. I never heard of them until I saw this thread and now we have 3 pages and counting.

@macg19 ”…. it’s definitely working”

@violi_doxari3a “Open letter…” has a winning subject here.

“….3 pages and counting….”

Most discussions never get to 100 posts.

Yes this is pure entertainment value, must not be taken seriously, but if it garners plenty of laughs, and no damage done, then run with it.

The danger is always if entertainment gets taken far too seriously (like WWE) where there should be laughing, but it turns into runaway frenzied idolising hysteria.

Let's make our life simple and happy,

by ignoring the cable/company!

Meaning that "Let's not buy it".

I’ve always used the power cord supplied by the equipment manufacturer.

I’ve always used the power cord supplied by the equipment manufacturer.

Can someone please inform us if someone buys it. Just curious. Thanks all.

Can someone inform us if someone buys the $90000.00 power cable. It would be very interesting.

I completely agree with you 100%. I use optical from one streamer, gold plated RCA to another. The RCA cost about $50 for the pair.The optical cable is generic.  I have an 1800w power conditioner regulator, filter that is powered by a Furman filtered power strip. Nothing extravagant.  I have heard a lot of expensive systems, much more so than mine.  The cost difference I could not afford, and not everything sounds better than my cheaper system. There are varied opinions on how much sound gain for the dollar is worth it. I know that interconnects, speaker cable make a difference in the sound. I even wired my DYI speakers with 10Ga 100% Oxygen free cable El cheapo from Amazon. It all sounds great. That is what every stereo Hi Fi enthusiast needs to determine. Can you be happy with the sound with budget parts? Not everyone has a thick wallet, but that does not mean a cheaper system cannot sound great. Component matching, room Acoustics make a huge difference. 

Cables DO make a difference but the laws of diminishing returns is alive and well...  Personally, I am thrilled with sub $50 cables and save/invest for the future...

Anything at any price will make a difference in sound quality in a system/room...

But not all system/room are enough well balanced acoustically to make the location of  "a straw" or little tube as the neck of a resonator, audible in a positive or negative way ...

it is my experience, one single straw can change S.Q. relating to his dimensions and location ( it is evident if you mechanically tune an Helmholtz resonator)

Then a power chord too will change for the better  or the worst any system/room experience, nevermind the price (for sure at some level better design cost more generally speaking ) 

A spring under speakers  well damped and well compressed or not so well will also change the timbre perception and even spatial characteristic of sound to some extent ...

The price has nothing to do with the perception  of sound here ...

When Nelson Pass stops recommending the fat generic power cord supplied with his amps (like my beloved XA-25), I may try whatever he recommends next. Or not. I recently bought a beefy power cord for my previous power conditioner and it was so stiff and unwieldy it now resides in my "cable museum" as useless crap.

I recently bought a beefy power cord for my previous power conditioner and it was so stiff and unwieldy it now resides in my "cable museum" as useless crap.

What cord is that? As the saying goes one person's piece of crap is another's prized possession..... (or something like that). Someone will surely take it off your hands.

I don't care if people are willing to spend a million on their hi-fi system. Just don't think that said system necessarily sounds better than a more regularly priced setup. Also, the criticism towards companies like Bose sounds ridiculous when some fellow audiophiles feel it's okay to buy a $5000 cable (the 90k cable is more an exercise of consumerism, not even worth considering). 

If you think this is bad, the people who buy this are spending money on other things in life that would make your head spin, detach, and fly up in the air like a child's toy.

Those with monies spend how they like, the Products they buy can be easily recognised as a justified price, who's going to question the cost of a Super Yacht or a Limited Edition Super Car.

Then there are the Products that will be given exposure solely in the circles of selected individuals who have no constraints on how monies are spent. As long as Mr ' Rolling in Dough ' has their selected representative, who is tasked with spending on their entertainment, make purchases which they believe is the best for the Client, then that is it and nothing else is attached to the sale. Usually by the time the representative has been wooed to the signing of a check ' Mr Money Bags ' is already remunerated for the outlay.

During COVID ' Mr Money Bags '  and ' Mr Loads of Dough ' were chartering Private Jets to go on a Short Break when the World was in Lock Down. They were heading off to Islands owned by other ' Mr Filthy Richs ' at a Covid Special £200K for the week.

Company Disaster Recovery Policies are clear,  ' Mr Money Bags '  and ' Mr Loads of Dough '  are not able to Fly Together, flights must be separate.

The Private Jets being Chartered had never had it so good. A one way Flight up to  4 Hours was a cheap £200K 

A Week away for $£ Million when most were in locked down, and the above figures are not fantasy. 

What's also not fantasy is that the monies were not being drawn from their personal accounts, a share holder or other avoidance method will be footing the bill somewhere. 

Folks. Time to cut this/the cord!

I said few times already that no company knows how to make the power cable correctly, except me. The sounds of $90k PC and a stock PC sound different, just different, but which sounds better is still the question. It's very hard to make the power cable correctly that there is no luck to have a right one, not in a million. Good luck. Alex/Wavetouch audio

IT appears that more and more component designers have come to realize the value of built in, ultra-high grade power supply design and filtering, for a lot less than a $90,000 power cord...  YES, some of the audio industry has definitely gone way off the deep end. Furthermore, there are several high-performance AC ISOLATION / FILTERING supply modules available for much lower a price that this idiotic power cord. Even at half the asking price, it is still an absurdity.

Lol, it worked. Yeah, I clicked the bait, and saw they primarily deal in reasonably overpriced wire. You're either associated with them, or now a free advertiser for them.

Hey! Look over here, I've got $1M turntable! Oh, and I also happen to have $1K turntables. 

I did not realize how many people slept through high school physics.

Acoustics and psycho-acoustics is not mere physics...

If i can hear the difference between a piece of shungite on a cable or a piece of quartz instead is it just  physics ?

Psycho-acoustics is surprising matter very different than physics not reducible to it.

I did not realize how many people slept through high school physics.

The man behind this cable is Michael Børresen, ex-Nordost and ex-Raidho. The Borresen speakers cost up to $200.000 and his Aavik amps up to $70.000. 

Ansuz were advised by their rep to price the cable at $30 Million, but thought better of it.  The rep assured them he had a market for the higher priced option, and was quite disappointed when they decided to attach a 'give away' price. 

The $90,000 power cord is like the $40,000 toilet seat. Ask the US army procurement. Never heard of more of a ridiculous price for anything.

Ansuz should get some rap stars to wear them around their necks! 

As stated, if a Purchasing Representative of Mr ' Rolling in Dough ' , brought this back as the best Coffee Maker Power Cable to be used on the Super Yacht, who would question the Purchase, the Coffee must always be at its best.

I would like to think they do have a capability to express that they do show a little Prudence and share the PC with the Electric Kettle. The best steep available to infuse Tea, is surely at its best when the Kettles PC is with a cost that is also steep. 

"They reinforce every stereotype: that audiophiles are gullible, that high-end gear is snake oil": It is not a stereotype, it is a fact. The entire industry is built on that fact. 

It’s stuff like expensive cables that make me want to quit my audiophile journey, it’s just embarrassing. 

The next powerful speakers with huge bass may cost peanuts:

Listen to this with English translation from French : 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oa4I1HKynBs

Engineering will make disappear  audio ignorance about cable  exceeding the price of a car...

I don’t understand the outrage. They give free shipping .

Seems reasonable if it’s 1000 feet long….. 

Another fascinating thread about money, and for some, the apparently critical issue of how other people choose to spend their money.

For me, these power cables are of no interest, and I can’t imagine they would ever represent value to me. But by the same token, I have no interest in buying crystals to put on my amplifiers, regardless of the price because that would not represent value either,  For me. But some see that differently, and if it represents value to you, all the power to you. It’s great that you found something that you think works for you. Just because we differ, I would not refer to you as an idiot. 

Certainly, these cables are an unnecessary  extravagance. A $500 amplifier is an unnecessary extravagance for that matter. It’s not something that any of us “need.“ I don’t see a fraud or a scam. They are offered for sale. Anyone with that kind of money would surely have the opportunity to audition before they bought if they wished. They can buy it. Or not. 

it’s a shame that the way people choose to spend their money in this hobby is so divisive. What I think is completely overlooked, is that all of it is relative. Yes, it’s easy to say that these power cables are ridiculous, just meant for people who are showing off or, as  some have so eloquently put it, made for “idiots.”

But we, as a community, are severely, lacking in self- awareness. The great majority of people, millions of people, I suspect, who listen to music every day and would say that they really enjoy music just as we do, are most likely using cheap earbuds or a Bluetooth speaker that cost 100 bucks or less. Lots of these people likely would say those of us who have a $5000 system, hell, maybe less, are “idiots” foolishly spending our money on an unnecessary extravagance because they really groove on listening to their music on the Bluetooth speaker and don’t need to spend any more to enjoy their music. These things come down to individual preferences, and the relative nature of what represents values to each of us.

Unquestionably, people have a right to characterize others as idiots, etc., because they choose to spend their money differently than someone else. At least until the Audiogon moderators exercise their plenary authority, in some arbitrary fashion and remove the thread.There is something that would be helpful. if you denigrate someone for the price they choose to pay for a product or a vendor for the price they ask, tell us, for each component, at what price does the consumer become an idiot. For speakers, is it $5000? $10,000? $30,000? $1000 more than you chose to spend?That would make the comments much more meaningful and would help the readers put your point of view, which you are certainly entitled to, into proper context. 

like a lot of folks, I find some of the prices of these products startling. But not insulting. Certainly not insulting enough to in turn insult people that might choose to buy them or who might offer them for sale. Because I’m free to make my own choices. 

I think discussions of the relative merits of products are interesting and helpful. The focus on how other people choose to spend their money, not so much. That’s just me, and it’s great that we are free to express differences of opinion. At least until the omnipotent moderators decree otherwise.

I don’t care if some or even most audiophile products are snake oil. I trust my ears.

I don’t care if a lot of audiophile products are overpriced. I have a budget.

I don’t care if a lot of audiophile products are marketed as status symbols or eye candy. I am interested in sound quality and, when I find it, a high bang for the buck.

I don’t care if there is a market for stratospherically priced audio equipment in which bang for the buck, or even sound quality, is irrelevant. I had a friend who asked me 40 years or so ago to help her buy a stereo. She was awash in dough and could afford all but the most highly priced components. As we were driving to the first audio store we visited, she told me she wanted a really good stereo, “you know, one that looks really sexy.” She spent a lot of money, and got just what she wanted, a sexy looking system that I thought sounded mediocre. Her criteria were different from mine, but totally valid. I don’t see any reason why I should suffer the fact that her criteria are different from mine. And, I don’t see any reason why any of us on this forum should suffer that that market exists.

It you can afford it and you value for whatever reason its contribution to your quality of of life, knock yourself out: buy the $90k PC. It’s presence in the market and the presence of consumers who will buy it bears no implications for me. I’m neither embarrassed nor humiliated by it.

I know some of you think this point ridiculous, but what offends me about Mr Too Much Dough spending $90K on a power cord is that it seems obscene when so many of our neighbors and compatriots can’t feed their families today.  I am disturbed by the unbridled capitalist impulses that drive our culture today and advocate every day for a more equitable distribution of resources. But, as long as we live under the current rules and incentives, let the ultra rich spend their money as they will, as long as they don’t hurt anyone in the process.

I recognize that the OP is making the case that the marketing and purchase of a $90,000 power cord does hurt us, the audiophile community, by perpetuating an image of the audiophile as an audiofool. I simply do not agree.

The US Justice Dept. should investigate Ansuz Cable Co. for wire fraud. :-)

@hce1 

@kerrybh 

Good posts, but you guys leave out the most important point, which is not so much the cost of the object as the claims to sound quality. 

In other words, anyone should be free to spend, say, $8,000 on a couple of Ethernet cables if they wish. It’s still a free country, after all, for the most part.

Maybe their kids will put them under conservatorship if they find out, but that’s ok.

The problem starts when some of these people come on here and start making grandiose, absurd claims of HUGE sonic improvements due to the Audiophile CAT-6 cables.

Worse, when highly educated folks with careers in computer science-related fields make polite attempts to gently educate them as to why that’s just not possible, these people get all hissy and start assailing the so-called "naysayers" with charges of subpar hearing; mediocre, non-resolving systems; and more generally blinkered ignorance of "science" that conveniently has yet to be discovered.

Calling these people "idiots" is both hyperbolic and medically incorrect. Most of them seem to possess average intelligence; and, in reality, the reasons why they propagate false claims and sow division are far more complex than just idiocy, but that’s another conversation.

Suffice it to say that we should probably refrain from just calling them idiots. We can, and should, be more inclusive than that.

devinplombier

... The problem starts when some of these people come on here and start making grandiose, absurd claims of HUGE sonic improvements ...

Why is that such a problem? This is an audio forum. Why shouldn't people here be able to discuss what we hear on our systems?

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.

@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?