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Reader Dale Miner seemed to have pertinent comments and opinions, which he sent to me:

I want to thank you for helping expose the tremendous amount of misinformation and actual fraud in the "audiophile" world. The damage that these "experts" have done to the hobby and business of high performance audio is huge. The problem of "techno-quackery" is only getting worse as products for the home get more sophisticated and therefore more mysterious to the average consumer.

The non-sense that we have seen in the audio community is now in the video field as well. The $1000 video cables (directional, of course!) to connect a DVD player to a monitor are on the market as are any number of other miracle devices to make "tremendous improvements" in video performance.

Thanks again for trying to get these frauds to prove and justify their ridiculous claims.

Not knowing how authoritative this man might be, I inquired of him, and received this:

I have an engineering degree (BSEE) and I have worked in the field of video and systems design for almost thirty years. I am a member of SMPTE, (Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers), AES (Audio Engineering Society) and IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers). I have been involved in the design and construction of several notable projects such as Lucasfilms' "Tech Building" at SkyWalker Ranch In Marin county and the "Experience Music Project" in Seattle. I have also worked as an engineer at several television stations and production companies.

It has been my privilege and good fortune to work with some of the most knowledgeable people in these fields. I have never heard anyone say that we should utilize some of this subjective techno-voodoo in a real world professional facility. Believe me, anything that can be shown to be effective in improving sound or picture quality is tried and often used. It just really bothers me that these "audio/video-philes" often go unchallenged by their own editors, let alone getting any sort of proper peer review. I'm waiting to see a paper presented at a conference or published in one of the technical journals explaining the principles of these "wonder devices."

I suspect I will be waiting forever.

No test, measurement, fact, demonstration, discussion or logic will get these fanatics to alter their views. You must have much more patience than I!

Well, Mr. Miner, that patience often wears thin, and I'm glad to have the support of a genuine professional, experienced, knowledgeable, expert like you. Thanks.