What's the biggest rip-off in high end audio??

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PeteG

Re: What's the biggest rip-off in high end audio??
« Reply #520 on: 11 Jul 2012, 10:34 am »
Grey balls??   :scratch:

George
George,
How does Rclack know you have grey balls.   :o

JohnR

Re: What's the biggest rip-off in high end audio??
« Reply #521 on: 11 Jul 2012, 10:57 am »
Let's pile on RClark  :green:  :lol:

If I was even slightly disappointed I would move on in a hurry, not contemplate an entire system stack with their gear. Like I said, they will be feeding into NCores, so we'll see how well they do.

If you are getting an "entire system stack" from Emotive, why are you getting NCores? I read that the modded Emo monoblocks are awesome.

Letitroll98

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Re: What's the biggest rip-off in high end audio??
« Reply #522 on: 11 Jul 2012, 03:36 pm »
In many fields, the exact opposite is true. Medicine comes to mind as one: would you really want to take medicines based purely on anecdotal evidence? I would bet not. I certainly wouldn't.

Here's a list of medications that you can sue for damages if you have used in the past:

Accutane, Actos, Advair, Ambien, Aranasp, Aredia, Avandia,Baycol, Bextra, Botox, Byetta, Carbamazepine, Cefepime, Celebrex, Cialis, Cipro, Crestor, Cytotec, Depakote, Digitek, Duract, Duragesic Fentanyl, Ephedra, Epogen, Femara, Fen-Phen, Fluorquinolone, Fosamax, Gardasil, Gadolinium, Gleevec Hismanal, Heparin, Ketek, Lamisil, Leukine, Levitra, Levaquin, Lotronex, Meridia, Mifeprex, Mirapex, Mobic, Ortho Evra, Paxil, Permax, Phenergan, Pondimin, Posicor, Pradaxa, Prempro, Prilosec, Procrit, Propulsid, Provigil, Prozac, Quinine Raplon, Raptiva, Raxar, Redux, Reglan, Rezulin, Risperdal, Ritalin, Rituxan, Seldane, Seroquel, Tequin, Trasylol, Tysabri, Viagra, Vioxx, Vytorin, Xolair, Yaz/ Yasmin/ Ocella, Zelnorm, Zencore Tabs, Zicam, Zoloft, Zometa, and Zyprexa.

Most were cleared by the FDA after exhaustive testing costing millions of dollars.  (I copied the list from some lawyer site, so there may be some OTC's in there)  Some of them are banned from the US market.  Not trying to jump on you for anything, just pointing out that the pharmaceutical industry is prolly not the best example to use when touting DBT and other measurement paradigms.     

TONEPUB

Re: What's the biggest rip-off in high end audio??
« Reply #523 on: 11 Jul 2012, 04:18 pm »
Now that's pretty funny, but true.  Good one!

jackman

Re: What's the biggest rip-off in high end audio??
« Reply #524 on: 11 Jul 2012, 06:16 pm »
I don't care about high prices.  If someone wants to pay it, go for it.

In my opinion what is a rip off is the manufacturers that don't provide measurements on their equipment.  Some may say that doesn't tell the whole story.  Maybe true.  I say this though.  Without measurements it is impossible to make small positive changes based on listening only.  There are many times that you can make what you think will be a positive change and it actually hurts it.  You need science and experience not one.    The lack of providing them and showing them and then explaining them is a rip-off IMO. 

 If you don't, you really are just ripping yourself off.   :wink:

Aren't you the guy who raved about the Dude preamp?  I checked the website and the only "measurement" they seem to provide is "Dude preamp. Five tubes, $4000 direct"  Are you saying this preamp is a rip-off?   :scratch:

Rclark

Re: What's the biggest rip-off in high end audio??
« Reply #525 on: 11 Jul 2012, 06:25 pm »
Let's pile on RClark  :green:  :lol:

If you are getting an "entire system stack" from Emotive, why are you getting NCores? I read that the modded Emo monoblocks are awesome.

 :green:

 I wasn't aware of that, cool if true. But I think I'm done having things shipped off to be modded for a while, though.

 Ultimately the "stack" will be a jumping off point for better pieces as "it" will retain high resale. Another thing is I hope to benefit from automatic "synergy" as all the pieces are from one company. Experiment later.

thunderbrick

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Re: What's the biggest rip-off in high end audio??
« Reply #526 on: 11 Jul 2012, 06:44 pm »
Aren't you the guy who raved about the Dude preamp?  I checked the website and the only "measurement" they seem to provide is "Dude preamp. Five tubes, $4000 direct"  Are you saying this preamp is a rip-off?   :scratch:

Quote:  "Without measurements it is impossible to make small positive changes based on listening only."

WTF?  If it's by listening only, what place do measurements have in the equation? :scratch:

On second thought, never mind............. :duh: :lol:

medium jim

Re: What's the biggest rip-off in high end audio??
« Reply #527 on: 11 Jul 2012, 06:50 pm »
It's sort of fun watch "As RClark Turns". Or is the show called "The Evolution of RClark".

Jim

chrisby

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Re: What's the biggest rip-off in high end audio??
« Reply #528 on: 11 Jul 2012, 06:59 pm »
Now that's pretty funny, but true.  Good one!


actually I'd opine it's sad and scary exactly because it's true - big Pharma / Agro have essentially co-opted the entire regulatory process, and even when fines are assessed or group action lawsuits settled into the 8 figure range, the corporations simply add that to the cost of doing business - and of course guess who gets to foot that bill

totoro

Re: What's the biggest rip-off in high end audio??
« Reply #529 on: 11 Jul 2012, 07:56 pm »
Here's a list of medications that you can sue for damages if you have used in the past:

Accutane, Actos, Advair, Ambien, Aranasp, Aredia, Avandia,Baycol, Bextra, Botox, Byetta, Carbamazepine, Cefepime, Celebrex, Cialis, Cipro, Crestor, Cytotec, Depakote, Digitek, Duract, Duragesic Fentanyl, Ephedra, Epogen, Femara, Fen-Phen, Fluorquinolone, Fosamax, Gardasil, Gadolinium, Gleevec Hismanal, Heparin, Ketek, Lamisil, Leukine, Levitra, Levaquin, Lotronex, Meridia, Mifeprex, Mirapex, Mobic, Ortho Evra, Paxil, Permax, Phenergan, Pondimin, Posicor, Pradaxa, Prempro, Prilosec, Procrit, Propulsid, Provigil, Prozac, Quinine Raplon, Raptiva, Raxar, Redux, Reglan, Rezulin, Risperdal, Ritalin, Rituxan, Seldane, Seroquel, Tequin, Trasylol, Tysabri, Viagra, Vioxx, Vytorin, Xolair, Yaz/ Yasmin/ Ocella, Zelnorm, Zencore Tabs, Zicam, Zoloft, Zometa, and Zyprexa.

Most were cleared by the FDA after exhaustive testing costing millions of dollars.  (I copied the list from some lawyer site, so there may be some OTC's in there)  Some of them are banned from the US market.  Not trying to jump on you for anything, just pointing out that the pharmaceutical industry is prolly not the best example to use when touting DBT and other measurement paradigms.   

Sure, but there's no way it wouldn't be even worse without some kind of science. Snake oil was actually a medicine at one point :). And we're talking about science in general at this juncture in the discussion, not just dbt. The same holds for safety features on cars, etc.

The process for funding the r & d of pharmaceuticals may be corrupt and problematic. But are you advocating we go back to the way things were 120 years or so ago? Leeches, no antibiotics, the germ theory of disease in dispute, etc,etc?

I know it's fashionable in some corners to be against science as it's practiced today for all kinds of reasons, but the biggest difference between now and 1400 or so is precisely what we have gained through the creation of modern science.

Even the retro technology some people are so enamored of was cutting edge once, and wasn't developed through mysticism, but through solid empirical science and engineering.

wushuliu

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Re: What's the biggest rip-off in high end audio??
« Reply #530 on: 11 Jul 2012, 08:30 pm »
Sure, but there's no way it wouldn't be even worse without some kind of science. Snake oil was actually a medicine at one point :). And we're talking about science in general at this juncture in the discussion, not just dbt. The same holds for safety features on cars, etc.

The process for funding the r & d of pharmaceuticals may be corrupt and problematic. But are you advocating we go back to the way things were 120 years or so ago? Leeches, no antibiotics, the germ theory of disease in dispute, etc,etc?

I know it's fashionable in some corners to be against science as it's practiced today for all kinds of reasons, but the biggest difference between now and 1400 or so is precisely what we have gained through the creation of modern science.

Even the retro technology some people are so enamored of was cutting edge once, and wasn't developed through mysticism, but through solid empirical science and engineering.

oh please. i wish people would stop throwing around the word 'science', like that's supposed to mean something. you can't just throw a word like that as a means to judge whether someone is for or against your belief system. What 'corners' is it fashionable to be anti-science? That doesn't even make sense. If you're anti-science, you're probably not on the internet. You know, just because we have the interweb doesn't mean one can take a word and divorce it from its meaning in order accomodate one's convictions - which is all the rage these days, whatever the subject matter may be.

hm, definitions.

science: systematic knowledge of the physical or material world gained through observation and experimentation.

vs. oh let's say

dogma: prescribed doctrine proclaimed as unquestionably true by a particular group

JohnR

Re: What's the biggest rip-off in high end audio??
« Reply #531 on: 11 Jul 2012, 08:31 pm »
 :lol:

wushuliu

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Re: What's the biggest rip-off in high end audio??
« Reply #532 on: 11 Jul 2012, 08:36 pm »
George,
How does Rclack know you have grey balls.   :o

Let me guess, you cup them to make an anti-vibration device while they hold up your... component. :scratch:

Sorry, it was there. I went for it.

totoro

Re: What's the biggest rip-off in high end audio??
« Reply #533 on: 12 Jul 2012, 02:19 am »
oh please. i wish people would stop throwing around the word 'science', like that's supposed to mean something. you can't just throw a word like that as a means to judge whether someone is for or against your belief system. What 'corners' is it fashionable to be anti-science? That doesn't even make sense. If you're anti-science, you're probably not on the internet. You know, just because we have the interweb doesn't mean one can take a word and divorce it from its meaning in order accomodate one's convictions - which is all the rage these days, whatever the subject matter may be.

hm, definitions.

science: systematic knowledge of the physical or material world gained through observation and experimentation.

vs. oh let's say

dogma: prescribed doctrine proclaimed as unquestionably true by a particular group

WTF, are we even in the same conversation? One of the posters opposed science to anecdotal evidence and proposed that if we accepted "science" over anecdotal evidence, then something was wrong. Before you get on your high horse, you might want to make sure it has some damn legs.

And no, science isn't a body of religious dogma. Humanity tried that for a long time, and we never could figure out how to deal with things like food poisoning, cholera, etc. And no, science isn't just random pseudo-empirical puttering around by the unschooled. It just doesn't work that way. By this time in human history, "science" for the most part does have an established meaning as a body of knowledge that's been heavily systematized over the last few hundred years. Sure, there have been some big breakthroughs by people outside the main body of "scientists" as defined by universities and research labs. But that's become increasingly rare, and even something like the discovery of h. pylori, while it was against the grain of the mainstream, was still done by someone we would all think of as a "scientist".

And I never said that the anti-science position was consistent, or that there is only one possible one. At least one such position has clearly been expressed in at least one post in this thread, so your rather sanctimoniously put claim that nobody here takes such a position is nothing but empty gasbaggery.

OzarkTom

Re: What's the biggest rip-off in high end audio??
« Reply #534 on: 12 Jul 2012, 02:43 am »
Doctor's surgical mistakes and their prescription dugs is #1 cause of death today.

totoro

Re: What's the biggest rip-off in high end audio??
« Reply #535 on: 12 Jul 2012, 02:44 am »
Doctor's surgical mistakes and their prescription dugs is #1 cause of death today.

Source?

OzarkTom

Re: What's the biggest rip-off in high end audio??
« Reply #536 on: 12 Jul 2012, 02:52 am »
Source?

Our local radio station said that early this year.

But you can google it.

Andre2

Re: What's the biggest rip-off in high end audio??
« Reply #537 on: 12 Jul 2012, 02:58 am »
Are we discussing science vs experience vs dogma now, starting from ripp-off in audio?  What a thread!

saisunil

Re: What's the biggest rip-off in high end audio??
« Reply #538 on: 12 Jul 2012, 02:58 am »
I'd say china (on the most part) and (gulp) lawyers are the biggest rip-off ... :duel:

Big manufacturers go to china with all the knowledge about their products and teach the Chinese manufacturers how to make them, test them etc.  the same factory turns around 24 hours later stamping another brand on the same product they just learnt how to make ...

The lawyers in the west go crazy with million dollar suits in response to violation of agreement and to protect intellectual property etc. etc. but what can they do In china? nothing ...

And we (myself included) buy Chinese products ... I don't even think we have a choice anymore - even most American flags are made in china btw. 

They steal your r and d and build you a cheap or cheaper product and now the entire world has become used to and dependant on Chinese made products. The rest of the world cannot compete with china.

What is going to happen to the rest of the world 5 years from now, 10 years from now, 50 years from now when most of the manufacturing would have transferred to china?  Would we have forgotten how to make things?

I have nothing against Chinese people - it is about policies makers. There are some honest companies there ... Some ...

The Chinese govt has become rich - they are strategically funding key initiatives around the world and no one has the 'grey' balls to stop them ...

Except zybar  :lol:

totoro

Re: What's the biggest rip-off in high end audio??
« Reply #539 on: 12 Jul 2012, 03:00 am »
Our local radio station said that early this year.

But you can google it.

Here is a link to the leading causes of death in the US in 2009 according to the CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/lcod.htm/

For those too lazy to link:

Number of deaths for leading causes of death
Heart disease: 599,413
Cancer: 567,628
Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 137,353
Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases): 128,842
Accidents (unintentional injuries): 118,021
Alzheimer's disease: 79,003
Diabetes: 68,705
Influenza and Pneumonia: 53,692
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis: 48,935
Intentional self-harm (suicide): 36,909

I have no idea where your radio station got its information, but that is the first time I have seen such a claim being made.