Category Archives: Mysticism

Cable claim grading

I’ve been in contact with the Australian Skeptics about its $100,000 prize for proof of paranormal abilities. No, I don’t have any such abilities. What I am hoping is that they will extend eligibility to at least some of the … Continue reading

Posted in Cables, Mysticism, Rant | 7 Comments

Just about as dumb as an audiophile USB cable

Been away for a couple of days, folks. In my absence it turned out that the Power Balance Band isn’t capable of delivering the health and performance advantages so many people have attested to, at least according to the Australian … Continue reading

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Imagining colour

On the most recent Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe podcast the normal ‘Science or Fiction’ segment was run by Richard Saunders, the famous Australian skeptic, known for amongst other things The Skeptic Zone podcast. His first science or fiction question … Continue reading

Posted in Mysticism, Video | 2 Comments

Silly audiophile claims … 2

Once I went into a hifi shop, which shall remain nameless. The owner was one of those who believed analogue to be clearly superior to digital. The same shop, at another time, insisted that a high quality composite video cable … Continue reading

Posted in Analogue, Audio, Mysticism, Rant | 3 Comments

Silly audiophile claims … 1

I’ve been into HiFi since I was a callow youth, well before digital audio was even being recorded by the major studios, let alone made available as a consumer format. I was thrilled with the introduction of the compact disc. … Continue reading

Posted in Analogue, Audio, Mysticism | 7 Comments

If Audiophile USB cables are valid, then …

… surely we need audiophile network cables — CatAudiophile, perhaps? — to make sure the packets of precious audio digits are streamed without degradation from server to client. But, OMG, what about wireless! If you’re streaming over an IEEE 802.11n … Continue reading

Posted in Audio, Cables, Mysticism, Rant | 2 Comments

Appalling: ‘audiophile’ USB cables

The gains in low-end body and punch, midrange spaciousness and detail, and high-end smoothness alone are significant. So sayeth What Hi-Fi. Apparently if you spend 50 UK pounds on the Wireworld Ultraviolet USB cable (I’m assuming one metre), that’s the … Continue reading

Posted in Cables, Mysticism, Rant | 13 Comments

Perhaps Not So Evil Monster (Formerly: Evil Monster)

In my last post I issued a tepid condemnation of Monster Cables’ litigation practices. This evening I followed a link in the show notes for Dave Hitt’s podcast to get a sense of how much Monster Cables seems to be focused … Continue reading

Posted in Cables, Mysticism, Rant | 8 Comments

Fine music and fine wine

Sometimes I think the art of listening to hifi — not for the music, but for the performance of the system — is somewhat like the art of tasting wine. Long time readers would realise from that association that I … Continue reading

Posted in Blu-ray, Giveaway, Imperfect perception, Mysticism, Testing | 4 Comments

Homeopathy vs Science

Nice optical illusion. Nice discussion. Nice bit of web programming. Definitely worth a look. Via Yet another weird SF fan.

Posted in Imperfect perception, Mysticism | Leave a comment