I hardly know where to begin or end with this one. I guess, firstly, I know quite a few people who have made a lot of money in their lives. But almost without exception, it took considerable effort and/or ingenuity on their part to do so. I know far more people who have not made much money in their lives. From my experience, the ratio of schmucks to non-schmucks is much higher in the latter group than in the former. As a general rule, idiots don't become wealthy. The reward systems in life are heavily stacked up against that outcome.
Here's a perfect example of a friend of mine from Audiogon who has labored for 30 years in this hobby to gradually (after many trials and tribulations) put together one of the most amazingly realistic and impactful 2 channel audio systems you could possibly lend your ears to:
AudiogoN Forums: Albert Porter's System
While Albert does not use any Virtual Dynamics cables in his system, if you were to click on some of the links he provides (above), you will see that his cables are not at all cheap (at retail at least, I don't know what he paid for them).
Does that make him and his MBA (I can only assume that he has one, for he must if he's spent this much on cables) a schmuck? In your eyes?
Well, maybe so. But consider the alternative hypothesis: perhaps after 30 years of being
extremely active in the high end audio hobby, he may have accidentally stumbled across something of real value to his ears! Maybe in an utterly remarkable system such as the one he has assembled, cables really
do make an audible difference, and one that he values in proportion to his overall investment in that system.
As to Albert's level of schmuckness, judge for yourself:
Albert Porter Photography
Now, if someone without an MBA (and all of the free money that I'm now just learning comes from it) were to spend $10,000 on cables to be fitted into his mediocre system, then I think quite clearly we would have identified our schmuck.
Just my opinion, of course, but I'm a 40-something MBA who happens to own some expensive cables, many of which are Virtual Dynamics cables if truth be told. But honestly, I'm not "attached" to them in any way. They're not at all part of my identity. I don't pet them before going to bed at night. I've got nothing to "lose" other than perhaps a tiny bit of pride (but even then, it wouldn't be much of an ego blow) if it were to be scientifically proven that my cables are in fact made out of snake oil.
I'd imagine, even if that were the case, I'd still break in no time. I'd just invest a good chuck of money in snake oil futures and watch the market react. If snake oil improves the sound of my system as much as my Virtual Dynamics Master Series cables suggests it does (if indeed snake oil oozes out when they're cut), then I might even consider making an additional investment somewhere along the supply chain. Perhaps a snake farm or a snake oil refinery? Damn MBA. Makes me think too much sometimes.