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Best Buy is selling a $400 "digital Ethernet" cable for "cleaner, clearer sound"
18 points by 34679 9 months ago | hide | past | favorite | 16 comments
"Enjoy cleaner, clearer, more naturally beautiful sound from Ethernet-equipped audio/video components with this high-quality AudioQuest Cinnamon RJ/E Ethernet cable. Meticulously designed for exceptional performance and outstanding value, Cinnamon RJ/E features Solid 1.25% Silver conductors that have been Direction-Controlled to efficiently dissipate high-frequency noise. High-density Polyethylene insulation further minimizes distortion and preserves dynamics. Optimize a wide range of audio streaming devices with AudioQuest Cinnamon RJ/E Ethernet cable."

Discuss but PLEASE do not buy.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/audioquest-cinnamon-rj-e-39-3-digital-ethernet-cable-with-rj45-to-rj45-connectors-black-with-red-stripes/5577904.p?skuId=5577904



I sometimes wonder how the people behind these things feel about themselves? Do they feel bad about essentially stealing but suppress it when they see how much money they can make? Or do they just have no conscience?

The same goes for any kinds of scammers, AI spam bot owners, etc.


I don't really see this as equivalent at all. Scammers, spammers and botnets etc. degrade the quality of life on Earth for many people with 0 consent. You could say that this product is disingenuous but ultimately it really only has an impact on dumb rich people. As a more general rule, it depends on the level of deception and the claims being made, but ultimately you are simply offering a product into the market. The other examples you mention are an extreme nuisance in general, but also have huge negative knock on effects from things like mitigation and general behavioral changes.

So it's really small potatoes to me. If some idiot willingly buys a cord for 50x the market price, that is largely on them.


Is this not the advantage of an optical sound cable? A 10 foot cable is $8 on Amazon.

1.25% silver doesn't qualify as "solid" in my mind either.


"digital Ethernet cable" is straight out of the Department of Redundancy Department. And even 100% silver wouldn't change the sound one lick. It is transmitting digital data. 4.6 out of 5 on the reviews tho. The positive reviews are classic cases of confirmation bias: if I paid that much I expect it will be better! Only two reviewers didn't appreciate being separated from their money for no discernible improvement.


Checking the reviews, my $399.95 is on them being fake


The Ethernet cable would presumably be sending digital data. As long as the environment that the cable is being used in is reasonable, the quality of the signal will not be improved because of better conductivity in the cable.


> optical sound cable

You’re probably talking about TosLink cables (what else could you be talking about?).

They have the bandwidth to carry two channels of uncompressed digital audio. Which is what they were designed for.

If you’re using one to carry 5.1 or 7.1 audio from your TV to your soundbar, it’s compressed. An HDMI cable can carry that uncompressed. And so could an Ethernet cable.


1. The Audiophile market caters to people who spend money to signal the importance sound plays in their lives. An expensive cable provides value in that regard.

2. I know this is not the motivation, but sending analog audio signals over twisted pair network cables works really well. This is often referred to as “audio over Ethernet” and these cables might be technically better for that (and they might not).

3.People with significant wealth don’t see $500 as a lot of money.

4. An audio installer with cost plus for materials makes more money installing it and avoids “aren’t these cables better?” questions from discerning customers whose discernment is driven by advertising, marketing, and online enthusiast forums.

Or to put it way $500 is not a lot to spend on something that makes you happy, even if it’s not what would make us happy.

Good luck.


To point 4-“aren’t these cables better?”

Any honest installer would give the honest answer: "No."


I have worked in hi-fi sales and something I learned very early on is if you talk someone out of something they want, then whatever you talked them into is on You. If a customer came in asking for my (considerable) expertise, that is very different and I would provide it. If someone asked me if this cable was better than that one, I would answer honestly in my expert opinion. But when someone is buying a $70,000 stereo and they want the ridiculous $900 speaker cables, I would sell them. And it made people happy. And it made me happy because the markup on Audioquest cables is generally around 67%.

The audiophile world is a lot like the wine world. Tell someone the bottle is more expensive and it does taste better. Serve a quality meal on a white table cloth in a dim restaurant with an attentive wait staff and it does taste better than if it's on a paper plate on the floor. That's how our brains work. Sound is a sense like any other and context matters a lot.

The shop I worked at was an Audioquest dealer. One day we did double blind A/B tests of cables like this alongside other quality cables that were maybe a tenth of the price. In our shop and under those circumstances both pros and customers alike couldn't tell the difference. We also did the same thing with the same results testing a $500 stereo amplifier against a $5,000 one.

The fascinating thing to me was when we knew which was which, everyone picked the pricier gear every single time. Even I, who organized and proctored these tests was able to be influenced this way. I could swear up and down the "better" gear sounded better when I knew which was which, but when someone else was proctoring the test and I was blind, then I could not.

I'm not defending Audioquest. They make good speaker cables, but the prices are outrageous. And the digital stuff is laughable. I couldn't write that marketing copy and sleep at night. But I do understand the market. In a way the marketing copy and the price is the value of the product. The mind is a funny thing.


And it made people happy. And it made me happy because the markup on Audioquest cables is generally around 67%.

The fact that wealthy people don't resent the price of expensive things because they can afford expensive things is a fact it took me decades to wrap my head around.

Significant wealth still wants salespeople to solve their problems, however the price of things is not among those problems. They don't mind someone else making money because it has no bearing on what they can do for their children.

More ordinary economic statuses come with many experiences of not being able to afford really nice things either outright or because it would limit what we might do for our children.

---

The other piece of the psychology is the pleasure humans can find in exclusivity/tribalism/etc. Brand identity can form a significant part of this and some people want to wear a Monster Cable dozer cap.


If they are what the client wants, they are better because the client decides what has value.

Part of what wealth pays for is other people’s agreement with their opinions. Telling them they are foolish to believe what they want to believe is not a hill worth dying on.

That’s pretty much true in general. But you do you.


I wonder what non-BS networking equipment would actually improve an audio experience. Maybe high bandwidth, low latency routers or network attached storage? Analog to digital and digital to analog converters with multi source synchronisation and interleaving over ethernet? A paid music performance livestreaming service catering to audiophiles?


A fool and his money.


Discuss but PLEASE do not buy.

Well, you know and I know but Monster cable was created in 1979 and somehow they and others like them still exist so I guess we will be seeing a lot more digital ethernet cables.


I prefer my sound to be organic, so its worth it \s

"An fool and his money are soon parted" applies so much here.

Reminds me of the overpriced Monster cables, but this is dialing it way up.




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