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

violi_doxari3a

The question that I don't think has been asked is this...how does the price of $90K equate to this particular product? 

It does if there are enough folks who don't care about the price of anything and will pay whatever is asked, so long as it is touted to be the best, or whatever. Which is why I wonder where this particular number (90,000) comes from...why is it $90,000- and not $9,000 or $900..or for that matter $900,000-? All of those price points are just as valid for this product. 

@daveyf. “How does $90K equate…..”

Good point!


Has anyone seen any in print reviews of this life changing power cable?
 

l have decided now to wait until there have been some well respected independent impartial tests. Best to be prudent before even considering if it’s a worthwhile upgrade for the eight l will require.

l hope no one will think l am appearing on here to be in any way slightly, or even a weeny weeny bit sceptical/sarcastic.

 

Perhaps Steve G may be consulted if the manufacturers nerves hold up? I hear he’s pretty well respected in these matters.

Hmm well in my defense I can only say that Norse gods are also famously known for having a good sense of humor. Thor alone was a regular riot (fact)!    Maybe that explains it?  

I completely agree with the OP's sentiments. This is a grotesque version of what the audiophile community is about.

That said, I was pumped to find an open box version of that Ansuz power cord without shipping charges at half price!

https://tinyurl.com/yrbdrzj5

Tim

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@westcoastaudiophile 

I've suggested that before: solder 10/2 wire directly to the amps' power supplies and run it straight to the electrical panel. No power cables, no wall receptacles, just two solid, uninterrupted runs of 10/2 all the way to the panel. From my interpretation it meets code as long as the amps are bolted down.

 

This has got to be a joke. 
 

if you can read this message, thank a teacher

If you can read it in English bank of veteran

well it is capitalism ! and hard core silly fanatics , addicts who insist they can hear differences that cannot be measured ! a virtual scientific impossibility ! 
the hucksters get legitimacy fr cult members who support the rip off artists ! examination will reveal lots of crooked testimonies and bribed reviews blatant lies. 
it;s like the moon deniers! such idiots , fools we say ( and we are right ! ) even if we took them to the moon in person they would say we drugged them or hypnotized them and none of the hardware left on moon is real "it is jus a movie set " 
no proof will satisfy them , the cable fanatics!  it is a TOTAL scam ! 
i frequently cite the excellent Audioholics tests of the big scam rip off AQ ( audio quest ) cables real measurements intelligent analysis by a real  honest, credible audio engineer and great YT you tube videos ! 
i am unfairly attacked as is Gene and the vicious ad homenin atacks are sad , unfair and stupid .How can otherwise intelligent people believe BS ? 
well the nazi party had a high % of PHD’s!  
some people have $ to WASTE ! let them! 
i’d like a new Ferrari mine is 17 years old ! 
i need to start a silly high end cable company make a cool mil or two ! lie about how they work,  bribe liars to swear they are great !
the fools who buy the do nothing cables become their greatest fans the scam becomes self-perpetuating darn them! 
for less than $100 you can get a 2 X 4’  DIY high end twisted  cable kit fr GR research that is awesome , tests well & is really ALL you really need ! 
a fool and his $ are soon parted ! spend your filthy lucre on BS who cares? 

A $90K audiophile power cable?  They should hang it on a wall, put a frame around it, call it art and quit insulting audiophiles.

This community earned The Gullibility Award decades ago, and it is in absolutely zero danger of losing it. The runner up is a very ver distant second.

This will change no time soon because of the unprecedented income inequality in this country. Engineers can and will design to the heights of what the market will bear, and those heights are very very high indeed,

dogma, some ppl think buying not really needed, ultra expensive, gears will buy them seat in audiophile VIP lodge, and market reacts.. my experience w/ rich folks is opposite, they count every penny! 

I am with westcoast on this one. Most wealthy people I know are more conservative with their money than their less fortunate brethren. Crazy, immoral stuff like building an estate for their children.

All these comments from enthusiasts who draw lines in the sand based on nothing more than cursory, at best, experience. I have never seen anyone suggest a dollar for dollar improvement.

Worst are the inevitable moral jabs at the wealthy. Very telling.

@westcoastaudiophile  How do you think they became wealthy? No the ones that worked for it are more fiscally conservative. The ones born with a silver spoon not at all they never earned a thing in their lives other tha frequent flyer miles going in and out of rehab with their $90k power cord.