retroremakes
December 9th, 2009, 03:05
http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/4/2009/12/500x_cablespic.jpg (http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/4/2009/12/cablespic.jpg)I have a box of cables in my closet. I don't know what the hell half of them are for. What I do know is that I certainly didn't pay several hundred—much less over a thousand—dollars for them.
Here are some of the most overpriced cables (http://gizmodo.com/tag/mostoverpricedcables/) we've encountered over time. Feel free to chime in with any of your favorites that I might've missed (or with justifications for an $1800 wire purchase).
http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/4/2009/12/500x_catcable.jpg
$300: Virtual Dynamics Power 3 Cables
The Virtual Dynamics Power 3 Cable is actually on the cheaper end of this collection of overpriced wires, but to me it's a product straight outta Cable Hell.
Why am I so harsh about something innocently overpriced? Because once upon a time, some guy's cat torn up one of these cables (http://gizmodo.com/371536/300-audiophile-grade-power-cable-is-really-worth-15) and he discovered that the $300 pile of crap contained only about $15 worth of components.
http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/4/2009/12/500x_500cable.jpg
$500: Denon AKDL1 Dedicated Link Cable
When it comes to the Denon AKDL1 Dedicated Link Cable, a cool $500 gets you 1.5 meters of "high-purity copper wire" which speciallly structured to "thoroughly eliminate adverse effects from vibration." Seriously? I think I'd rather cope with my cables vibrating instead of listening to an empty echo in my wallet. [Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Denon-AKDL1-Dedicated-Link-Cable/dp/B000I1X6PM/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t)]
http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/4/2009/12/500x_1000cable.jpg
$1000: Wireworld's Platinum Starlight HDMI Cable
At $1000 per meter, Wireworld's Platinum Starlight HDMI cables oughta contain actual platinum conductors instead of solid silver ones. Don't worry though, you can get that "patent-pending DNA Helix conductor design" in versions up to 30 meters long.[Engadget (http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/08/wireworlds-platinum-starlight-hdmi-cable-is-only-1-000-better/)]
http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/4/2009/12/500x_1800cable2.jpg
$1800: Piezo Powerflux Power Cord
I don't recall hearing about the Piezo Powerflux Power Cord (http://gizmodo.com/5054825/furutech-thinks-you-are-stupid-enough-to-buy-an-1800-power-cable) ever actually being for sale since it was announced long, long ago. Maybe someone realized that whether it's the "Most Sophisticated Power Cord and Connectors in the World" or not, a $1800 power cord just won't fly.
http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/4/2009/12/500x_monstersuck.jpg (http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/4/2009/12/monstersuck.jpg)
Any Monster Brand Cable
I doubt that I even need to say why Monster's cables fall into the "seriously overpriced" category. After all, this is the company who thinks that lowering a cable's prices (http://gizmodo.com/5232677/monster-cable-lowering-prices-during-recession-uhthanks) down to $100 will make us jump for joy and race to the store when we could just as well use coat hangers (http://gizmodo.com/363154/audiophile-deathmatch-monster-cables-vs-a-coat-hanger) instead.
http://ads.pheedo.com/img.phdo?p=1 (http://ads.pheedo.com/click.phdo?p=1) http://a.rfihub.com/eus.gif?eui=2226 http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/qDVV4gxDZakCwtBXUTSo3ywK440/0/di</img> (http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/qDVV4gxDZakCwtBXUTSo3ywK440/0/da)
http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/qDVV4gxDZakCwtBXUTSo3ywK440/1/di</img> (http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/qDVV4gxDZakCwtBXUTSo3ywK440/1/da)
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?d=H0mrP-F8Qgo</img> (http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?a=Ljs-3UKVyps:-CTDz0ZNRdg:H0mrP-F8Qgo) http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?d=yIl2AUoC8zA</img> (http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?a=Ljs-3UKVyps:-CTDz0ZNRdg:yIl2AUoC8zA) http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?i=Ljs-3UKVyps:-CTDz0ZNRdg:D7DqB2pKExk</img> (http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?a=Ljs-3UKVyps:-CTDz0ZNRdg:D7DqB2pKExk) http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?i=Ljs-3UKVyps:-CTDz0ZNRdg:V_sGLiPBpWU</img> (http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?a=Ljs-3UKVyps:-CTDz0ZNRdg:V_sGLiPBpWU)
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~4/Ljs-3UKVyps
More... (http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/Ljs-3UKVyps/)
Here are some of the most overpriced cables (http://gizmodo.com/tag/mostoverpricedcables/) we've encountered over time. Feel free to chime in with any of your favorites that I might've missed (or with justifications for an $1800 wire purchase).
http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/4/2009/12/500x_catcable.jpg
$300: Virtual Dynamics Power 3 Cables
The Virtual Dynamics Power 3 Cable is actually on the cheaper end of this collection of overpriced wires, but to me it's a product straight outta Cable Hell.
Why am I so harsh about something innocently overpriced? Because once upon a time, some guy's cat torn up one of these cables (http://gizmodo.com/371536/300-audiophile-grade-power-cable-is-really-worth-15) and he discovered that the $300 pile of crap contained only about $15 worth of components.
http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/4/2009/12/500x_500cable.jpg
$500: Denon AKDL1 Dedicated Link Cable
When it comes to the Denon AKDL1 Dedicated Link Cable, a cool $500 gets you 1.5 meters of "high-purity copper wire" which speciallly structured to "thoroughly eliminate adverse effects from vibration." Seriously? I think I'd rather cope with my cables vibrating instead of listening to an empty echo in my wallet. [Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Denon-AKDL1-Dedicated-Link-Cable/dp/B000I1X6PM/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t)]
http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/4/2009/12/500x_1000cable.jpg
$1000: Wireworld's Platinum Starlight HDMI Cable
At $1000 per meter, Wireworld's Platinum Starlight HDMI cables oughta contain actual platinum conductors instead of solid silver ones. Don't worry though, you can get that "patent-pending DNA Helix conductor design" in versions up to 30 meters long.[Engadget (http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/08/wireworlds-platinum-starlight-hdmi-cable-is-only-1-000-better/)]
http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/4/2009/12/500x_1800cable2.jpg
$1800: Piezo Powerflux Power Cord
I don't recall hearing about the Piezo Powerflux Power Cord (http://gizmodo.com/5054825/furutech-thinks-you-are-stupid-enough-to-buy-an-1800-power-cable) ever actually being for sale since it was announced long, long ago. Maybe someone realized that whether it's the "Most Sophisticated Power Cord and Connectors in the World" or not, a $1800 power cord just won't fly.
http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/4/2009/12/500x_monstersuck.jpg (http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/4/2009/12/monstersuck.jpg)
Any Monster Brand Cable
I doubt that I even need to say why Monster's cables fall into the "seriously overpriced" category. After all, this is the company who thinks that lowering a cable's prices (http://gizmodo.com/5232677/monster-cable-lowering-prices-during-recession-uhthanks) down to $100 will make us jump for joy and race to the store when we could just as well use coat hangers (http://gizmodo.com/363154/audiophile-deathmatch-monster-cables-vs-a-coat-hanger) instead.
http://ads.pheedo.com/img.phdo?p=1 (http://ads.pheedo.com/click.phdo?p=1) http://a.rfihub.com/eus.gif?eui=2226 http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/qDVV4gxDZakCwtBXUTSo3ywK440/0/di</img> (http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/qDVV4gxDZakCwtBXUTSo3ywK440/0/da)
http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/qDVV4gxDZakCwtBXUTSo3ywK440/1/di</img> (http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/qDVV4gxDZakCwtBXUTSo3ywK440/1/da)
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?d=H0mrP-F8Qgo</img> (http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?a=Ljs-3UKVyps:-CTDz0ZNRdg:H0mrP-F8Qgo) http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?d=yIl2AUoC8zA</img> (http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?a=Ljs-3UKVyps:-CTDz0ZNRdg:yIl2AUoC8zA) http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?i=Ljs-3UKVyps:-CTDz0ZNRdg:D7DqB2pKExk</img> (http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?a=Ljs-3UKVyps:-CTDz0ZNRdg:D7DqB2pKExk) http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?i=Ljs-3UKVyps:-CTDz0ZNRdg:V_sGLiPBpWU</img> (http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?a=Ljs-3UKVyps:-CTDz0ZNRdg:V_sGLiPBpWU)
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~4/Ljs-3UKVyps
More... (http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/Ljs-3UKVyps/)