Funniest snake oil theories

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...your brain - which half the time is playing tricks on you...
Whatcha talking about, Jimmy? I just went outside, stood in a big field, and looked all around, and my brain tells me the earth is flat as a pancake. You gonna tell me that ain't right?

On more than one subjective-audio thread, I've brought up optical illusions as examples of how easily our perceptions can be tricked. I've even provided links to *auditory* illusions (such as this: Can You Trust Your Ears? (Audio Illusions) - YouTube ).

I don't think I ever changed anyone's opinions, though. People seem to believe what they want to believe. "Never let any inconvenient facts get in the way of your beliefs", as a friend of mine used to say. 🙂

-Gnobuddy
 
My solder flux has to hold the component in-place, as well as do the flux job. Oil wouldnt help me.

I once cyro treated a 3" Who CD, by visiting the thermal lab with it and a styro cereal bowl I got from the cafe. They had a tank of the stuff and I just filled 'er on up, dropped in the CD. Still sounds better today (just kidding).... That was back in the days of the green pen marking around the CD edge.

Anyone ever listen to a Grateful Dead sound board recording, where there's a drop-out in the original tape - and someone lovingly faded in someone's audience recording - and then back to the soundboard? That's the change in how it sounds I'd need to perceive, for any of this snakey stuff to be convincing. The sound board recording is how the engineer intended. The audience recording is how your system sounds in the room - relatively speaking.
 
I had a bit of time to burn and stumbled upon this. A 13 amp fuse for a UK plug

Only £90 vat included.

A bloke called Paul says this "These fuses bring profound improvement to the whole gestalt of the music"

I had to look that one up

Just imagine giving them £90, and it blows within a day.

https://www.analogueseduction.net/f...h-black-sr-quantum-reference-20x5mm-fuse.html

Apparently made of a custom alloy treated with 2,000,000 volts of electricity!

Do people really buy these things. I find it hard to believe.
 
I'm currently making a headphone amp for a work colleague, I'm going to add some square steel bar inside the enclosure to add ( physical ) weight, just for the placebo effect, but as I have two more of the enclosures for myself, I'm wondering if I should do the same even though I'll know it's just ballast, I mean it's cool to have hi fi that's got some weight to it, isn't it? Perhaps I'm going ( gone? ) mad.
 
I'm currently making a headphone amp for a work colleague, I'm going to add some square steel bar inside the enclosure to add ( physical ) weight, just for the placebo effect, but as I have two more of the enclosures for myself, I'm wondering if I should do the same even though I'll know it's just ballast, I mean it's cool to have hi fi that's got some weight to it, isn't it? Perhaps I'm going ( gone? ) mad.
I once got an am-fm clock radio from a friend.
It was cute in appearance, resembling a "vintage" radio.
And it had some "weight" to it, making it "appear" to be of some quality.
Inside, held in place by a metal strap, was a rectangular chunk of concrete wrapped in cellophane.
right next to the cheap radio chassis.

It's all about delusions.. AKA lies.
 
^How about tire weights?

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Hey, this trick was good enough for McIntosh. Back when I worked for a Mac dealer, some of their early remote controlled units (CD players etc.) had cheap plastic remotes, with a full-sized slice of 1/8" sheet steel contact-cemented to the inside of the bottom cover. Everything was copacetic until the adhesive failed and the damn plate started rattling around in the case, shorting stuff out. Our doctor & lawyer clients were NOT impressed.
 
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I have seen lead weights in toy air guns.

Also metal pieces in Cobra branded telephones inside the hand piece, from the 80s.

Weight is expensive is also a perception, is it not?
In some cases, a stabilizing weight improves use and//or performance.
Look at table or floor lamps - they use a heavy weight to keep them stable.
Cast Iron bases, etc.
Even table telephones to keep them on the table.

But a hunk of concrete inside a cheap chinese clock radio, to make it appear that it's got quality guts?
It's deception, plain and simple.
 
Hey, this trick was good enough for McIntosh. Back when I worked for a Mac dealer, some of their early remote controlled units (CD players etc.) had cheap plastic remotes, with a full-sized slice of 1/8" sheet steel contact-cemented to the inside of the bottom cover. Everything was copacetic until the adhesive failed and the damn plate started rattling around in the case, shorting stuff out. Our doctor & lawyer clients were NOT impressed.
Marketing and deception are the tools of the trade.
If you can take a step back, look at the reasoning and its influence on human emotions, the superficiality, it all makes sense.
 
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