Audio Systems: Thanks, grado sr80 headphones, external vibrations

Question
Thanks for all your help.Just need to know how to thank and rate you,It will be high,Just got the Audio Advisor catalog in the mail the lunatic fringe indeed.They were selling some sort of isolation cones you replace the rubber feet that come with CD players,Amps and the review goed something like this,"the music seemed to jump out of the loudspeakers ,taking on a 3D quality with extended highs clearer more defined midrange and improved bass" right! They also had $400 power cords,$600 interconnects by Cardas I think or Tara Labs,the 6ft version was $1099! Plus $199 damping mats I guess the isolation feet only are half the thing needed under a amp or CD player supposebly placing it under something else improves the sound more.I bought mty Grado SR80 headphones from them that is why they send me thier catalog,I read it for laughs though they do have some good equipment in there.

Answer
Dear Peter,

When allexperts sends you the link to a response, it also directs you to the rating mechanism. If you don't get to it, don't worry. I don't do this for the ratings.

Yeah, I just got the Audio Advisor catalog as well as the Music Direct catalog. There's nothing inherently wrong with anything they sell--as least from what I know and can intuit. The problem is their pricing and the lack of correlation between price and performance. For instance, isolating a CD player or turntable from external vibrations is a good idea. However, spending a couple of hundred bucks for a "dedicated isolation device" (i.e., a brick) may not be such a good idea, especially when you can buy a patio brick at Home Depot for $5, and it'll do the same job.

Certain industries create value by creating myth. In this regard, audio is a lot like automobiles. If you drive a rented Cadillac to your high school reunion, you'll immediately have two model-quality babes on your hip. Similarly, if you spend mega-thousands on cables, your friends will be in awe of your audio perspicacity. Although others will be in awe of your prodigal spending. In neither case is the myth true. It's just marketing.

Kindest regards,

Kevin