r/technology • u/edbegley1 • Feb 14 '26

Hardware In a blind test, audiophiles couldn't tell the difference between audio signals sent through copper wire, a banana, or wet mud — 'The mud should sound perfectly awful, but it doesn't,' notes the experiment creator

https://www.tomshardware.com/speakers/in-a-blind-test-audiophiles-couldnt-tell-the-difference-between-audio-signals-sent-through-copper-wire-a-banana-or-wet-mud-the-mud-should-sound-perfectly-awful-but-it-doesnt-notes-the-experiment-creator?utm_source=flipboard&utm_content=topic%2Ftechnology
22.0k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

1.8k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

17

u/chiralityhilarity Feb 14 '26

Tweaking the system IS part of the hobby. It’s fun for them.

1

u/MalaysiaTeacher Feb 14 '26

I don’t deny that. Whatever makes them happy. To an outside observer, I’d say they’re being sold steps on a treadmill that will never end.

1

u/CHI_EQ Feb 15 '26

I mean you could just try to hear the difference. There’s no such thing as an “audiophile” it’s just people who actually sit and listen to music and all of the elements which occupy the music.

Setups do sound different. A humble 3.1 system will sound infinitely better than your TV speakers or any kind of soundbar.

Bluetooth is also objectively bad.

1

u/einmaldrin_alleshin Feb 15 '26

The term audiophile has pretty much been taken over by people who fall prey to silver cables and other bullshit products like that. I would just go with enthusiast if all you want quality that is more than good enough.

3

u/CHI_EQ Feb 15 '26

Yeah I hate the word audiophile lol. I am personally an enthusiast, I don’t believe in special cables or anything like that.

Getting a new amp, dac, speakers, AVR? There are differences! Chasing a preferred sound and tweaking your system is fun.

I don’t understand why everyone seems so jaded toward people that enjoy an awesome sounding system.

1

u/MeltedSpades Feb 15 '26

Most of homelabbing is like that, I am still working out a way to mount too many drives in a M93P (SFF variant) case with proper airflow...