CD Transports
Amen, Frank! And it is hard to find all relevant specs on units which are reasonably priced...it is a real conundrum. There are some good reviews with detailed testing in TAS, Stereophile and others...especially on transports and D>As I cannot afford.
Howie
Howard Hoyt
CE - WXYC-FM 89.3
UNC Chapel Hill, NC
www.wxyc.org
1st on the internet
Amen, Frank! And it is hard to find all relevant specs on units which are reasonably priced...it is a real conundrum. There are some good reviews with detailed testing in TAS, Stereophile and others...especially on transports and D>As I cannot afford.
Howie
Howard Hoyt
CE - WXYC-FM 89.3
UNC Chapel Hill, NC
www.wxyc.org
1st on the internet
I find that tearing down reviewers, and tweaks and mods, is non-productive.
In my years of designing audio equipment, I have never found a proven real fraud. Perhaps I am naive, but I don't think so.
Now, do I believe EVERYTHING that is put forth as an audio 'improvement'?
No, I have been and still am skeptical of virtually ANYTHING that seems 'not reasonable'.
However, I do NOT condemn without examination, and this makes all the difference.
What happens when I 'forget' to both measure AND listen? I often fail.
What happens when I trust an associate that his IC is virtually 'transparent'? I fail.
No matter what other excuse comes up, like reviewer prejudice, etc. I still fail, if I can't make a product that people really appreciate. This has happened to me at least 3 times in the last 20 years, and I can't assign it to anything but my own 'loss of control' over the product's design and manufacture. Usually, it is found to be caused by just using the 'wrong' parts. The circuit topology is almost always the same, in my designs, yet some win awards, others are ho-hum. Attempting to make award winning designs is my main job, and I am always working toward keeping it that way.
In my years of designing audio equipment, I have never found a proven real fraud. Perhaps I am naive, but I don't think so.
Now, do I believe EVERYTHING that is put forth as an audio 'improvement'?
No, I have been and still am skeptical of virtually ANYTHING that seems 'not reasonable'.
However, I do NOT condemn without examination, and this makes all the difference.
What happens when I 'forget' to both measure AND listen? I often fail.
What happens when I trust an associate that his IC is virtually 'transparent'? I fail.
No matter what other excuse comes up, like reviewer prejudice, etc. I still fail, if I can't make a product that people really appreciate. This has happened to me at least 3 times in the last 20 years, and I can't assign it to anything but my own 'loss of control' over the product's design and manufacture. Usually, it is found to be caused by just using the 'wrong' parts. The circuit topology is almost always the same, in my designs, yet some win awards, others are ho-hum. Attempting to make award winning designs is my main job, and I am always working toward keeping it that way.
fas42, No. Usually I don't listen to the prototype.
Richard, it just depends. In one case, it was an IC. In another case it was the layout and wiring. In a third case, it was a steel chassis.
Usually almost nothing, out of the ordinary, can be measured.
I always avoid obvious problems like: poor topology, poor measurements (for the type of circuit), or poor caps, etc.
Richard, it just depends. In one case, it was an IC. In another case it was the layout and wiring. In a third case, it was a steel chassis.
Usually almost nothing, out of the ordinary, can be measured.
I always avoid obvious problems like: poor topology, poor measurements (for the type of circuit), or poor caps, etc.
Even the ones that claim action at a distance with no source of power? Or my favorite Geoff Kait's noises over the phone. This stuff does not become you, and these folks don't need defending.
So the snake-oil merchants genuinely believe in their product? They are not dishonest, just stupid? I can easily believe that some of them are stupid, as our Western education system has failed, but some claims are so obviously daft that surely they must know they are false?john curl said:
Completely agreed, for someone trying to sell fashion-driven gear, it is indeed nonproductive.
For those who care about actual sound and technology and aren't financially dependent on the whims of technically illiterate storytellers, it is useful to point out their inability to properly review gear, their propensity to promote frauds in order to sell magazines, and their dependence on the gullibility of their readers.
Dishonesty is stupidity - how else to describe denied pretence if not idiocy?
I knew that I would get a response from the same people with my statement.
I happen to live in an 'alternate reality'.
I believe in what I hear, I do not think I am EASILY fooled. Furthermore, I do NOT condemn any approach to improve audio quality, without first examining the product or tweak first, and THOROUGHLY.
This has been one of my strengths, and it is what has kept me successfully designing even better audio equipment, over the decades.
If someone does NOT believe that my designs deserve attention above mid fi, so be it.
Plenty of people do not agree with them, and they happen to be MY customers and colleagues.
I happen to live in an 'alternate reality'.
I believe in what I hear, I do not think I am EASILY fooled. Furthermore, I do NOT condemn any approach to improve audio quality, without first examining the product or tweak first, and THOROUGHLY.
This has been one of my strengths, and it is what has kept me successfully designing even better audio equipment, over the decades.
If someone does NOT believe that my designs deserve attention above mid fi, so be it.
Plenty of people do not agree with them, and they happen to be MY customers and colleagues.
I’ll have Lorenz, thank you
Anything else on the menu?
Just because others say they are being watched... doesn't mean you're not paranoid..
.
Hump? What hump?
George
You don't think it's sad when someone with the talent of Charles Hansen puts "speaker cables up on myrtle blocks (must be myrtle!)" as equally important his own hard work?
Alright, everyone. I would like to 'reset' or 'baseline' as some people like to imply that I don't do, to get a better understanding of my participation on this thread.
I realize that many people don't think that some or virtually all, my inputs as to how to 'improve' your amp or preamp, are really useful. Some here have presumed that the human response to audio quality is suspect, UNLESS a certain sort of test is used. AND it has been shown for the last 35 years that the recommended test almost always shows NULL results. The conclusion derived from this is: Only a few things matter, we can remove all kinds of 'extra' information (usually in order to conserve storage space) and nobody, or at least the vast majority of people will NOT miss it. You know, MP-3 or even CD!
Well most may ignore it, but there are audiophiles are still sensitive to the 'losses' in the original sound. That is the public that I try to serve.
I realize that many people don't think that some or virtually all, my inputs as to how to 'improve' your amp or preamp, are really useful. Some here have presumed that the human response to audio quality is suspect, UNLESS a certain sort of test is used. AND it has been shown for the last 35 years that the recommended test almost always shows NULL results. The conclusion derived from this is: Only a few things matter, we can remove all kinds of 'extra' information (usually in order to conserve storage space) and nobody, or at least the vast majority of people will NOT miss it. You know, MP-3 or even CD!
Well most may ignore it, but there are audiophiles are still sensitive to the 'losses' in the original sound. That is the public that I try to serve.
many, if not most, of the things a huge number of people say they hear changes to/with have been 'proved' later. RFI getting into audio and increasing in-band thd of the amp - not absolute prove its audible.... just another correlation, i suppose. before that was the infamous Tice clock. i bought one and measured the Z looking back into the clock. Guess what? it had a notch filter affect in the audio range. I measured a lot of other clocks and small appliances and they all had a resonance in the audio somewhere with varying Q. I traced that to the small analog transformer/rect/filter inside. That lead me to make a series of over-lapping filters across the whole audio range and listened. Wow! big affect on the sound. The way I did the filter and app was unique and thus a patent was granted. It presents a non-reactive -resistive- very low Z termination to the ac line Z (approx 100 Ohms) above 60Hz. Power line filtering is now a seperate product catagory [now full of BS, as well]. And, as progress would have it, I and others built ac line filtering into thier products now. So, now the affect of an external ac line filter is minimal except on cheaper products where the extra cost isnt warented.
Moral to the story... when a LOT of people hear the same thing, from cultures all over the world, check it out as wacko as it may sound from the untrained trying to explain it. -thx Dick Marsh
Moral to the story... when a LOT of people hear the same thing, from cultures all over the world, check it out as wacko as it may sound from the untrained trying to explain it. -thx Dick Marsh
Last edited:
That's thoroughly untrue. DBTs show null results when listeners can't distinguish two things by ear. When they can hear the differences (which they do for all sorts of variables, just not the ones you're selling), not peeking doesn't change that.
Not all reader's intent is to be informed either for purchasing new equipment or on technical matters.
(Consequently, not all audio reviewers take money for to inform customers).
Some may buy it for to read it as a lifestyle magazine, an aid for relaxing (everyone can confirm such a beneficial effect in WC, and in bed before sleeping for nice dreams afterwards).
Some may buy it for to see how far the sickness progresses each month.
Some may buy it to strengthen/reconfirm their illusions.
Fleetwood mac - Little Lies - Tell me lies - YouTube
George
Hear, hear, to the comments by John and Dick!
Getting to the last stage of audio excellence, in my experience, only comes about when all these nasty, poorly understood, second order effects are dealt with in some fashion. The fact that a nice, neat explanation for what's going on is not available on Wikipedia has nothing to do with the reality of their influences ...
Frank
Getting to the last stage of audio excellence, in my experience, only comes about when all these nasty, poorly understood, second order effects are dealt with in some fashion. The fact that a nice, neat explanation for what's going on is not available on Wikipedia has nothing to do with the reality of their influences ...
Frank
- Status
- Not open for further replies.