Audiophiles Are Selling $500 SATA Cables That Claim to Offer Better Sound

Tsing

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Audiophiles have been criticized as being a weird bunch that spend immense amounts of money for exotic equipment that may present little to no differences under blind testing, but that isn't stopping some from profiting off of the extremes of the hobby. Over on eBay, some have begun selling $500 "Superstar" SATA cables that claim to be the best Hi-Fi options ever built for computer listening, featuring a crystal formula that's complemented by other novelties that include wood and black quartz crystals and a 25-mm thickness. According to the installation instructions, improved sound can be achieved simply by plugging one end into the SATA port of a motherboard.

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Come on they sell NETWORK SWITCHES that promise a more neutral sounds profile for audio passed through them. Why would anyone be surprised about Sata cables?
 
I feel like there's a buck to be made for minimal effort just by sourcing some cheap SATA cables from overseas, then paying a little more for a custom message/logo indicating for Hi-Res audio, and then voila you've got a profitable venture in the works.
 
Peter_Brosdahl said:
I feel like there's a buck to be made for minimal effort just by sourcing some cheap SATA cables from overseas, then paying a little more for a custom message/logo indicating for Hi-Res audio, and then voila you've got a profitable venture in the works.
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Yeah this news post had me thinking I'm in the wrong business.
 
Peter_Brosdahl said:
I feel like there's a buck to be made for minimal effort just by sourcing some cheap SATA cables from overseas, then paying a little more for a custom message/logo indicating for Hi-Res audio, and then voila you've got a profitable venture in the works.
Click to expand...
More like you have a scam in the works. I never had the stomach for that.
 
Reminds me of the audiophile switch that was doing the rounds a while back, that was just a netgear switch with some glued on nonssense in modified packaging, that someone was trying to sell for a ridiculous amount of money.

I'm not necessarily the worlds biggest Linus fan, but he is right about this one:

 
My thought on these SATA cables is as follows:

These are probably an intentional scam, but they might be sold by someone who actually believes they are selling an upgrade with added isolation.

The combination of lack of understanding how things work, and cognitive bias can be a hell of a drug.

I can only think of one area in which maybe there would be a marginal benefit of added added isolation to SATA cables.

If you have a poorly isolated HD audio front panel cable running close and parallel to a sata cable there could in theory be some induced currents in the HD hd audio cable, buut...

1.) The SATA voltages here are probably way too low for that, especially compared the the relatively high power in that front panel HD audio cable that allows for driving basic headphones over a 3.5mm port.

2.) No self respecting audiophile is going to use internal audio anyway. They are going to have some sort of external DAC, or at the very least use the output straight from the back. Everyone knows those front panel cables are the worst.

That said, in all realistic use cases this is complete snake oil.

Even in realistic use cases it is highly unlikely to make a difference.

But, people will still "hear" differences, because of human bias.
 
Zarathustra said:
It's a scam if you know better.

Many of these idiots actually believe in the horseshit they are selling though. :/
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Between my and job personal stuff, I have to deal with quite a few salespeople and can totally verify this. Those people don't seem to last long either. I'm not afraid to tell them when the facts don't align and I/we'll hold them to it when something comes up. I think tech sales have faster turnover rates than most fast food these days. I almost feel sorry for them because I believe many are just trying to pay the bills and just don't have the education, time, or desire to research the validity of the claims they're paid to make.
 
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