Its the best!
Earwax rules.
Ohrenschmalz, everything sounds better in German
Not really, maybe you should read some of JC's posts for a negative vibe towards us unwashed... As to the rest he pops up regular on many threads supporting the true believers even when the claims are ridiculous, I am just a Yang to His Ying or visa versa... Maybe a Beeswax Bybee next
Marce Babee,
You gotta chill. John is spreading light, but due to the phase shift you see it as dark. Now countering that with the dark is the Shure road to mid-fi or even worse MP3s!
Now the neuro whatsit folks tell us that in the lower parts of the physical brain is where we form habits and once formed they are like.. forever. The only cure is to form a new habit.
Let me relate a bit to you involving the light, habits and John.
Monday before I left the beach I had a chance to sit and soak up some rays with of course my palms upraised. A bolt of enlightenment hit me and the only price paid was a bit of skin turning red etc.
Now Tuesday on the drive home my car radio started acting funky and with an electro-mechanical adjusment what do you know John's voice started coming over the radio. Shades of "My Mother the Car." But John wasn't reincarnated as a 2012 Ford Fusion, rather it seems we had reached the same Astral plain of whatever and were able to communicate!
As we chatted he mentioned that he thought my designs had too many parts. focusing in we got to the snubber capacitors across the rectifier diodes. Shades of my Monday enlightenment!
You see when I started doing arena and stadium sound systems the noted consultant doing them insisted on using build out resistors on all signal level gear to match a true 600 ohms output impedance and then shunt resistors on all the inputs to lower that to 600 ohms. He had learned in college (where all new knowledge ends) that maximum power transfer occurs when impedances match. It was impossible to relate to him the difference between maximum signal to noise and power transfer issues. So as a result I got a bit of bad vibes whenever the issue of matching impedances arose.
Now for a bit I have been working on power supply design and requirements. Don't really know how long as you know sometimes a year can seem like seconds and while waiting in line seconds can seem like years. Well back to the power supply issues. One of which is that when you place the typical 10 nF snubber capacitor across a rectifier you end up letting in more line noise than the diode spike created. So this is where the enlightenment came. By letting go of the impedance matching bias I came to realize that if the capacitor had a junction capacitance rating of 25 pF then the snubber capacitor should match that to minimize the pass through and limit the diode spike to 6 dB. Bigger didn't really do much to the spike and only let in more line noise.
So while communing on the same plain I related this to John who got it instantly. So our differences on parts count vanished in a cloud of beautiful harmony.
So try to keep the chill and maybe the phase shift between your plains will drift closer. But do try not to invoke the nasty bad reactions of the lower animal, ascend to the higher cosmic plain.
Billy,
I hope that my mentioning the possible evil signs of hearing voices didn't cause you any angst.
To my more studious engineering friends... well...
Scott,
Yes I saw the bit on spin. It seems they don't know to put spin in the power supply specifications. I personally only like spin up before the summer solstice and spin down after.
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This spin-talk was obviously written by a spinner.
Spinner is the german word for nutjob.
Spinner is the german word for nutjob.
It means something rather different in colloquial American English.
Marce, we all understand and respect that you are expert in your area.Not really, maybe you should read some of JC's posts for a negative vibe towards us unwashed... As to the rest he pops up regular on many threads supporting the true believers even when the claims are ridiculous, I am just a Yang to His Ying or visa versa... Maybe a Beeswax Bybee next
The vibe that I detect from JC is never negative towards others, and indeed I interpret his inputs as overwhelmingly positive and borne of long and interesting experience....old school experience that we can all learn from.
As for his supporting 'odd' ideas, he is just expressing his trust in his own ears.
Marce, JC has been involved in audio for far too long to be easily fooled.
All conductors, devices and materials used in typical audio systems introduce noise, each with characteristic noise spectrum.
Assuming reasonably low distortion performance, audio system final subjective signature is the resultant of these noise spectrums...each material brings it's own spectral admission, reflection, modulation and intermodulation behaviours.
When viewed in this light, it is to be expected that cables, caps, tweaks etc will influence system subjective sound.
In the audio tweak world, yes there are plenty of hucksters, shiesters and robbers etc, but there are also those who are offering tweak products that are honest improvements.
That the inventors of these honestly performing tweak products give junk explanations and claims, is of no consequence actually.
What is significant is that multitudes give same/similar subjective findings of particular tweak products.
RF and digital is one subject, analog audio is another subject with important and with very particular characteristics and behaviours that are of little to no influence in RF/digital systems.
I ran an interesting experiment last night.
I now have a USB thumb drive with two copies of the same album, the kicker is that these two copies sound slightly different.
There is explanation for these differences.
Dan.
IMHO, subjective findings is not object of discussion. It is impossible to determine all subjective aspect of listening..music, gears...
What music?
Recorded in apsolute perfect studios, without noise, without mains, without groundings?
Or without nasty PN junctrions in their gadgets or gears?
We can listen LP(rather then vinyl), CD, blue ray, or..master tape...
I think, we are all in problems of perfection(some kind), and obvious, searching for sources of problems, and occasionaly solutions..maybe partially.
But, if mistic, magic or wrong conclusions are involved...i think it is simply not ok, somehow not fair...
What music?
Recorded in apsolute perfect studios, without noise, without mains, without groundings?
Or without nasty PN junctrions in their gadgets or gears?
We can listen LP(rather then vinyl), CD, blue ray, or..master tape...
I think, we are all in problems of perfection(some kind), and obvious, searching for sources of problems, and occasionaly solutions..maybe partially.
But, if mistic, magic or wrong conclusions are involved...i think it is simply not ok, somehow not fair...
Could be a good name for a new high end audio company. Can you imagine:-
Press Release - 25th May, 2016, New York
Priority - HIGH - for immediate urgent release
Ohrenschmalz Releases New Power Amplifier
Ohrenchmalz, the Minnesota based manufacturer of high fidelity systems for discerning hard of 'earing' audiophiles today launched their 1000W per channel audio power amplifier to rapturous acclaim by the US hi-fi industry. Mikhail Freema, Stereophool senior contributing editor, described it as the most significant breakthrough in audio history after he had picked up his dropped jaw off the floor of the Waldorf Hotel, where the public unveiling took place.
Designed specifically to 'blow your ears clean' the Ohrenschmalz features 2 nano second rise times and patented 'ear wax pulverizing air transmission technology', the outcome of a 3 year research project with Ohremschmalz partners at the University of St Paul under the auspices of visiting Prof. Herr Doktor Sei Sind Taub.
Further improvements were noted by the listening panel with the use of pure gold fuses, which improved bass slam and made the top end more airy.
/End
I'm for subjective findings. In fact, if I was limited to instrumentation results, I would have blind-sided myself about a number of design oversights that I made over the decades, and I would just make 'hit or miss' designs, depending on what would appear to be the 'luck of the draw'.
Let me give an example that is pertinent to what has been discussed here recently:
Back in the late 1980's my tech (at the time) brought in some surplus bridge rectifiers that were made of 'faster' diodes than normal. I told him then, in no uncertain terms that these diode bridges were apparently made for another application and would have NO effect on sound quality. I stated that the 50-60 Hz rep rates from the power line should be easily handed by more general diode bridges that were similar to what we used at the time, and I completely ignored his 'find'.
However, within a year or two, my Vendetta Research phono stage was criticized by HP in TAS as having a slightly 'electronic' or solid state sound. The review was so biased that I thought that he was just taking another cheap shot at me, but then I met a guy (Bob Crump) who had purchased a Vendetta Research phono preamp directly from me and he thought that the preamp DID have a potential problem with the standard diode bridges (2 per channel) that I used, and he was going to find a replacement. Now this is not easy because of lack of space, and/or finding a diode bridge that was made with faster diodes that would fit in the same location. He settled for some Harris high speed/ soft recovery diodes that he could actually make into a bridge with essentially the same footprint as the original diode bridges, with some effort, drilling out the circuit board holes to accept 2 leads instead of one, etc. and he went to work changing his own unit. Now by this time, this guy and I became great phone friends, and I trusted his opinion, so I tried it myself. Was the change overpowering? No, but there was a reduction in some 'signature' that made the phono stage sound like similar solid state equipment. I then decided to offer an upgrade to interested customers, based on our mutual experience. It was not an easy fix, but certainly, all my designs since then use hi speed diodes, if possible and practical. At about the same time, another telephone friend in Florida, Rick Miller, had measured some diodes in a power supply with an RF analyzer and Walt Jung and I got AudioXpress to publish his findings, since they showed significant differences between standard and hi speed diodes. This was outside my test equipment range, so it was important evidence for me, you know, something measurable.
Today, I have about 500 1 amp bridges sitting in a bag, virtually useless for future projects. Oh well.
Now what does this mean to the development of audio products? If I was not given subjective feedback by both critics and colleagues, I would not have tried something myself, and I would have to wait for years until my competitors would force me to upgrade my diodes. That is the power of subjective input.
PS I apologized to my tech for ignoring his input in the '80's. A humbling experience. '-)
Let me give an example that is pertinent to what has been discussed here recently:
Back in the late 1980's my tech (at the time) brought in some surplus bridge rectifiers that were made of 'faster' diodes than normal. I told him then, in no uncertain terms that these diode bridges were apparently made for another application and would have NO effect on sound quality. I stated that the 50-60 Hz rep rates from the power line should be easily handed by more general diode bridges that were similar to what we used at the time, and I completely ignored his 'find'.
However, within a year or two, my Vendetta Research phono stage was criticized by HP in TAS as having a slightly 'electronic' or solid state sound. The review was so biased that I thought that he was just taking another cheap shot at me, but then I met a guy (Bob Crump) who had purchased a Vendetta Research phono preamp directly from me and he thought that the preamp DID have a potential problem with the standard diode bridges (2 per channel) that I used, and he was going to find a replacement. Now this is not easy because of lack of space, and/or finding a diode bridge that was made with faster diodes that would fit in the same location. He settled for some Harris high speed/ soft recovery diodes that he could actually make into a bridge with essentially the same footprint as the original diode bridges, with some effort, drilling out the circuit board holes to accept 2 leads instead of one, etc. and he went to work changing his own unit. Now by this time, this guy and I became great phone friends, and I trusted his opinion, so I tried it myself. Was the change overpowering? No, but there was a reduction in some 'signature' that made the phono stage sound like similar solid state equipment. I then decided to offer an upgrade to interested customers, based on our mutual experience. It was not an easy fix, but certainly, all my designs since then use hi speed diodes, if possible and practical. At about the same time, another telephone friend in Florida, Rick Miller, had measured some diodes in a power supply with an RF analyzer and Walt Jung and I got AudioXpress to publish his findings, since they showed significant differences between standard and hi speed diodes. This was outside my test equipment range, so it was important evidence for me, you know, something measurable.
Today, I have about 500 1 amp bridges sitting in a bag, virtually useless for future projects. Oh well.
Now what does this mean to the development of audio products? If I was not given subjective feedback by both critics and colleagues, I would not have tried something myself, and I would have to wait for years until my competitors would force me to upgrade my diodes. That is the power of subjective input.
PS I apologized to my tech for ignoring his input in the '80's. A humbling experience. '-)
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Subjectivity with or without some chemicals, before or after diet, before or after hard discussion...
Maybe personality...is important, mother or father, childhood...first love.. etc...
I would prefer measurement, at first place, and pleasure of diy, at last, pleasure listening music (music i like, not "audiophile sounds")..
If something is wrong in my subjective listening, i try to find technical explanation of problems.
But, I do not create statements based on subjective opinions, they are floating statements, without roots..
Maybe personality...is important, mother or father, childhood...first love.. etc...
I would prefer measurement, at first place, and pleasure of diy, at last, pleasure listening music (music i like, not "audiophile sounds")..
If something is wrong in my subjective listening, i try to find technical explanation of problems.
But, I do not create statements based on subjective opinions, they are floating statements, without roots..
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