# You too can be an Audiophile **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [April 19, 2021, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-too-can-be-an-audiophile/940278 "2021-04-19T02:23:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hatchie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hatchie/32/3983_2.png) [@Hatchie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hatchie)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-too-can-be-an-audiophile/940278/1 "2021-04-19T02:23:04Z")
Follow this handy step-by-step instructional. 1. Buy your sixth “newly remastered” reissue copy of (pick one) “Kind of Blue” / “Dark Side of the Moon” / “Brothers in Arms” / “Aja”. 2. Play it and compare to your other five copies. Take notes. Decide which is best, while admitting they all have their weaknesses. Lament what “could have been”. 3. Next day, tear up your notes. Do it all over again, and arrive at completely different conclusions. 4. When finally satisfied you have found the obvious winner, go to Steve Hoffman Music Forum and make your case. 5. Wait for person who owns 12 copies of “Kind of Blue” / “Dark Side” / “Brothers” / “Aja” to tell you how wrong you are, and blame your turntable / cartridge / D-A converter / speakers / ears, all of which obviously need an upgrade. Wait for other person to tell you you have to find an “original pressing” of 50-plus-year-old album in new, unplayed condition. It’s a special kind of crazy. Go nuts! ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-too-can-be-an-audiophile/940278/2 "2021-04-19T02:54:34Z")
1. Get your own powerpole installed so you aren’t sharing your mains power input with all your neighbours, for “clean power”. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-too-can-be-an-audiophile/940278/3 "2021-04-19T02:55:03Z")
I have one phrase I like to use but no one will know where it came from: Years ago, Todd Rundgren critiqued one of the Rolling Stones albums. He was merciless. Mick Jagger’s response – **Who’s Todd Rundgren?** ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-too-can-be-an-audiophile/940278/4 "2021-04-19T03:17:40Z")
Spend $120 on RCA cables that are ‘Oxygen Free’ ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-too-can-be-an-audiophile/940278/5 "2021-04-19T03:32:31Z")
$120? Don’t be ridiculous. You need to buy [these cables](https://www.amazon.com/Audioquest-Elements-Analog-Audio-Interconnect/dp/B00KX9TLF8/). ---
**Author:** ![Hatchie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hatchie/32/3983_2.png) [@Hatchie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hatchie)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-too-can-be-an-audiophile/940278/6 "2021-04-19T03:35:26Z")
Worth the money! Those ones plug themselves in. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-too-can-be-an-audiophile/940278/7 "2021-04-19T04:20:10Z")
You are never going to experience high fidelity with that cheap rubbish. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-too-can-be-an-audiophile/940278/8 "2021-04-19T04:57:34Z")
This thread hurts my sides a’laughin’. I was involved in this ‘industry’ for a while. ---
**Author:** ![Hatchie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hatchie/32/3983_2.png) [@Hatchie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hatchie)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-too-can-be-an-audiophile/940278/9 "2021-04-19T05:12:55Z")
Really! Loan me money. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-too-can-be-an-audiophile/940278/10 "2021-04-19T05:31:06Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > $120? Don’t be ridiculous. You need to buy [these cables](https://www.amazon.com/Audioquest-Elements-Analog-Audio-Interconnect/dp/B00KX9TLF8/). Maybe you are right. At least they haven’t been [tested against coat hangers](https://consumerist.com/2008/03/03/do-coat-hangers-sound-as-good-monster-cables/) yet. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-too-can-be-an-audiophile/940278/11 "2021-04-19T13:02:41Z")
Yeah you guys are laughing but the last line of that article makes a damn good point that you skeptics miss: > Of course, a coat hanger doesn’t have a Monster Cable lifetime warranty, so if your coat hanger breaks, you’ll have to go out and buy another coat hanger. Cop that smart-asses. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-too-can-be-an-audiophile/940278/12 "2021-04-19T13:30:37Z")
And I wouldn’t _dare_ power my amplifier with anything other than a [Nordost Odin Supreme Reference Power Cord](https://eandt.theiet.org/content/articles/2011/11/20k-audio-power-cable-introduced/). It put me way behind on my mortgage, but it’s still the best $20K I ever spent. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-too-can-be-an-audiophile/940278/13 "2021-04-19T14:05:07Z")
Back in the early days of CDs and CD players, a guy I worked with spent a good chunk of the family savings on a fairly pricey unit. I remember him telling me rather proudly that he told his family “We’re not going on vacation this year. I spent the money on this CD player. Don’t touch it.” ---
**Author:** ![Wolf333](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf333/32/3460_2.png) [@Wolf333](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolf333)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-too-can-be-an-audiophile/940278/14 "2021-04-19T18:11:14Z")
I can hear the future! ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-too-can-be-an-audiophile/940278/15 "2021-04-19T18:23:03Z")
Don’t miss the thread where someone has listened to and rated _17 different pressings_ of Metallica’s “Ride The Lightning”. No doubt there are trenchant opinions expressed on even more versions of death metal albums. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-too-can-be-an-audiophile/940278/16 "2021-04-19T18:28:18Z")
I guess you get it in English, but the product description in German is priceless. Must be a machine translation from Chinese waxing lyrical. Unfortunately the cables are just out of stock and do not quote a price. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-too-can-be-an-audiophile/940278/17 "2021-04-19T18:55:09Z")
You all laugh, scoff, and openly express your derision, but my Litz Oxygen-Free wires are _why_ my “Dark Side of the Moon” MFSL LP _turned_ into a “Kind of Blue.” ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-too-can-be-an-audiophile/940278/18 "2021-04-19T19:39:33Z")
I only listen to my limited edition master pressing of DSoTM on my Vibratone 250 turntable with my Nichisound amp and my very rare Mosiahacki speakers. Thank you Del Murdock!! ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-too-can-be-an-audiophile/940278/19 "2021-04-19T19:51:03Z")
Cables? Coat hangers? Bah! You’ll never experience truly great sound until you paint the edges of your CDs with a green marker. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-too-can-be-an-audiophile/940278/20 "2021-04-19T20:39:20Z")
> [@erysichthon](#): > > You’ll never experience truly great sound until you paint the edges of your CDs with a green marker. I used the marker not only on CDs, but on. all my vinyl, my 8-tracks, AND my iPod! It really does make a difference! Though coating the edge of an 8-track tape is a lot of work, it is worth it! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-too-can-be-an-audiophile/940278.md?page=2)