How many rich gullible customers do-you think he can get each year ?
Last edited:
Zaphod, it is good that you are still repairing discrete audio products. Most techs cannot do it and make a living.
However, when it comes to Jack Bybee, you have no idea what is behind his product or what it is made of. Nobody here has EVER taken one apart to the degree that they ACTUALLY know what it is made of exactly. That is just a fact. I know from my association with Jack that much of what goes into one can be very costly, both in primary cost, (like gold leads) or QM parts acquired from some 'black' manufacturer who usually makes stuff for the military. These specific components CANNOT be made in some garage somewhere. The people here have severely criticized Bybee's products, but they don't really know what they are comprised of, and I doubt if they ever will, (at least at this rate). An open mind about such things can be helpful.
However, when it comes to Jack Bybee, you have no idea what is behind his product or what it is made of. Nobody here has EVER taken one apart to the degree that they ACTUALLY know what it is made of exactly. That is just a fact. I know from my association with Jack that much of what goes into one can be very costly, both in primary cost, (like gold leads) or QM parts acquired from some 'black' manufacturer who usually makes stuff for the military. These specific components CANNOT be made in some garage somewhere. The people here have severely criticized Bybee's products, but they don't really know what they are comprised of, and I doubt if they ever will, (at least at this rate). An open mind about such things can be helpful.
Absolutely no argument from me. I am closely associated with a local amplifier designer and have been for several decades. His designs were radical back in the 1970s, but not so radical today (though he is still well outside mainstream amplifier design). Zero global NFB, oversized power transformers, large, multiple capacitor banks, 1% matched semiconductors, etc. All pretty novel back in the mid 1970s. Over the years I have been one of the many test subjects to his ideas. One of those ideas was requested by me, in response to an average review in a local audio magazine (THD was around 0.08% and was not brilliant when compared with other amps). I requested that the designer incorporate some global NFB to lower THD. He did so and provided two, otherwise identical, amplifiers to several listeners (myself included). Without hesitation and with unanimity, all listeners preferred the zero global NFB variant, despite distortion being significantly lower.
Numbers can be very helpful, but, taken in isolation, some numbers (THD) can be misleading.
And, unlike John, I rather like blind testing. I have been a subject in many such tests. They can be highly challenging, but are the ultimate test for pretty much anything.
One such test stands out in my memory. A client setup the test, hoping I would fail. And, to a point, I did fail. Anyway, he had three amplifiers for the test:
Amp 1: Same as the one I've used for the past 40 years. Designed by the guy mentioned above. 180 Watts @ 8 Ohms, 2.5kVA, split wound power transformer, zero global NFB, current limited at 100 Amps, 8 Watts Class A, 170,000uF filter capacitance, consisting 52 X 3,300uF caps.
Amp 2: VERY highly regarded 50 Watt pure Class A (actually, 75 Watts Class A/B) solid state amp.
Amp 3: Highly regarded 120 Watt, push pull valve amp.
Testing was performed such that all amps were level matched and maximum levels ensured that clipping could not occur. Source was a high end SOTA turntable, MC cartridge and high end arm. Speakers were high quality (can't recall which ones).
Testing commenced and I rapidly picked out amplifier 1 and the best. I also knew that it was the same amp that I used. I then selected amplifier 3 as my next preferred amp. I picked amplifier 2 as a very distant third. I was stunned when I was told that I had selected amplifier 3 as my second preference.
I do have an open mind. I can hear no audible difference under blind testing regimen with or without ByBee products. I know of no blind tests that show that ByBee products make any difference outside a simple resistor of the same value. Can you point to any independent blind tests of ByBee Quantum Purifiers?
Lastly: ByBee's claim of "In addition to being near-superconductive, Bybee Quantum Purifiers are electrically passive and stable in any circuit."
Just plain bunk. It's a RESISTOR! Resistors are not even close to being superconductive. Also, this may prove instructive:
Bybee Quantum Purifier Measurement and Analysis
Examine the last post on the page.
Neither you, if i had read-you well. Those things are mysterious things that are made of mysterious elements that can -sometimes ?- produce mysterious effects based on mysterious laws of physics.
Only the price is not mysterious. I think i will wait to the full-moon sales to get them ;-)
YouTube
Last edited:
Honestly, I have no idea. Enough, I should think. Shakti, Telos and the others seem to be still in business selling nonsense. Then, of course, there are the guys who have elevated their snake oil to the mainstream. I am, for instance, in awe of Monster Cable, who began by selling thick wire, with no other redeeming features at a high prices. All the more surprising, when one considers that long before Monster Cable came into being, there was at least one cable manufacturer, who made REALLY, REALLY good speaker cable. Stuff that actually measured and sounded better than figure 8 cable. I speak, of course, about the magnificent Tocord™. AFAIK, Tocord™ just disappeared from the market. Probably a result of too many Naim owners buying it.
The closest 'rich gullible customer' that I know locally is a guy who lives in the Oakland Hills. He is an eye surgeon who owns his own practice with several doctors working for him. He is rich, partly from his profession, but I think that he comes from a rich family. He has a very nice house, with at least 1/2 million $ invested in his hi fi system. I haven't gone to his place for awhile, but he still buys from Jack Bybee in 'bulk' like 5-35 at a time for what he likes. I have heard his system, and it is one of the best that I have ever heard. He apparently likes what the Bybee devices do for his system, and I'm sure that he just listens, rather than measures.
By habit rich men are not gullible, and gullible not rich ;-)
Did he tried blind tests with those Bybees ?
Last edited:
Are you really that dense? QSC and Crown are the two largest and both have the issue as do virtually every other switching amplifier. The ones that don't are the topology of a linear amplifier swinging off of switching power supply rails.
I prefer HSPICE when I can get access. It's got all the latest semiconductor device modeling equations (called "LEVEL=nn" in .MODEL statements), it's got pole-zero analysis, it's got Monte Carlo analysis, it's got a sophisticated rerun mechanism (".ALTER") and it's got built in optimization using the Levenberg-Marquardt nonlinear algorithm. Good but not cheap.
You fellows whom are pulling $80k a year or whatever, and tell other people not to do it for the money because you won't be getting rich... perspective is important here. There isn't a person in here whom has any idea what it is like to make as little as a young person today.
Sure the hobby may be evolving & never made you filthy rich, but that doens't mean you should be hating on what has been your livelihood for so many years that allowed you to live a middleclass life.
Sure the hobby may be evolving & never made you filthy rich, but that doens't mean you should be hating on what has been your livelihood for so many years that allowed you to live a middleclass life.
Simon, what is the correct way to deal with this sort of thing? Is it as simple as choosing the correct wiring for long runs? Or more complicated, like some sort of tuneable circuit at the speaker(s)?
The best technique is to get rid of the artifacts before they leave the amplifier.
- Status
- Not open for further replies.