REALLY????Yes. I tried it. Couldn't tell any difference.
- Must be because you have bad hearing because I clearly heard a difference. It was night and day. The peppered record sounded so much darker and spicier. Had vastly more PRaT, SLAM, KaPLuNK (or whatever other meaningless term).
Tom
When I tried it the sound I got is like scratching the needle along some poured cement floor, only slightly less damaging to it.
It lasted some 30 seconds instead of two.
Maybe that´s an improvement.
Oh, and I also got something like white noise, but then I was using ground white pepper.
Tomorrow I´ll try black ground pepper, to get much more Audiophile approved Black Noise.
I´ll also grind it twice, to improve Microgranularity.
Wow, amazing! You realize that you just call three senior audio designers as half-descent, uncalled for, and in my book disrespectful to Curl, Pass and Borbely. I know very little about your ability but your contribution to DIY audio community pales in comparison to theirs. Have a nice day.... we get those when exceptional marketing folks work with half-decent engineers....
I said nothing about any of those guys. In fact I did not make any personal attack at all. I made a general comment about how half-decent engineering combined with great marketing can result in "legendary" audio companies. Rather than taking the religious perspective I suggest that we evaluate these companies by the objective performance of their products.
Sorry if I poo-pooed your Gawd. Have a nice day.
Tom
Sorry if I poo-pooed your Gawd. Have a nice day.
Tom
Then you should read posts a bit better, use reading glasses or something, I did not say companies, but stuff of legend and gave exactly three samples designed by three people known to members of DIYAudio. As one of DIYer, I respect kind people who contribute to the advancement of knowledge for us garden variety mortals. Pass A40 was the first power amp I made during my college years in the early 80s. He explained the how to so well in detail that it works the first time without a hitch, works for a very long time, sounds better than any ready made amps I and my buddies purchased off the shelf. Never buy any amp afterward, only DIY for me.I said nothing about any of those guys.
As a side note, I think measurement of acoustic output is vital to understand significance of change in perceived sound. Measurement on voltages of amplifier output is somewhat related but miss a good portion of the whole picture. Of course I do not expect you to publish any of your findings, but I do object and find it unfair if you then dismiss without citing of any acoustic measurement when some regular mortals perceived a difference. It simply maintain a fertile turf for S-type oil peddler. Us mortals gain no further understanding from the vigorous handwaving exchange.
It is of course a different ballgame when some peddler try to promote a product or some pseudo scientific principle. Do as you wish, I'll support whatever you do 100%. 🙂
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And what exactly makes a legend? Hint: It's not always good circuit design or high objective performance. And, no, I'm not dissing anybody in particular by saying that.Then you should read posts a bit better, use reading glasses or something, I did not say companies, but stuff of legend and gave exactly three samples designed by three people known to members of DIYAudio.
Have a look at the works of Olive & Toole. Not all differences in perceived sound quality are related to the stimulus that reached the ears of the participants in their studies. Hence my comments about psychology earlier.As a side note, I think measurement of acoustic output is vital to understand significance of change in perceived sound.
For example: In sighted trials better looking equipment is judged to sound better. More expensive equipment is judged to sound better if the prices are known by the participants. Harman Kardon gear was perceived to sound better by Harman employees in sighted trials. Etc., etc. Harman used to make this research public, but removed it from their website some 10 years back, so you'll have to dig through the AES papers or Sean Olive's blog for the results.
So in this case you expect me to publish a research paper with a proper scientifically controlled experiment that shows no effect of placing an unconnected transformer atop a connected one. Without this research you say that my claims are invalid. And by contrast all your claims are valid because they haven't been disputed in a scientific experiment - never mind that you provide no evidence to back up your claims. Wow. Good luck with that.Of course I do not expect you to publish any of your findings, but I do object and find it unfair if you then dismiss without citing of any acoustic measurement when some regular mortals perceived a difference. It simply maintain a fertile turf for S-type oil peddler.
If you claim that voodoo works I think you should back up those claims with evidence or at least a plausible explanation of why/how it would work.
Then why are you waving your hands so vigorously? Maybe try holding yourself to your own standards. Just saying...Us mortals gain no further understanding from the vigorous handwaving exchange.
Tom
No, I expect you to say that you measured the acoustic output and found less than -60dB, unmeasurable difference or something similar. I trust you enough not to lie about that Tom. People regard you as expert, not a regular mortal like the rest of us, but saying things that you have no known facts to cite is simply unfair....So in this case you expect me to publish a...
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There are things that some people can hear that cannot be measured with todays equipment. Maybe some day we will.
I think what is acoustically measurable today is beyond the capability of human ears to detect. Main issue to clarify revolves around how to interpret and correlate measured quantities with subjective hearing experience. Of course not everything that people can hear is related to acoustic event. Some people claim to hear voices from ghosts, the departed and other supernatural related event which may elude audio measurement tools available to engineers.
I don’t think it matters what it sounds like. if I ran into a transformer/supply which materially changed its output voltage, AC ripple or harmonic structure, regulation, etc. due to how much ferrous metal was sitting next to it, I wouldn’t be using it for and audio power supply application. It would have other serious problems - extremely poor regulation, horrible mechanical buzz and heat, lots of stray field which gets into your input/feedback circuits. I just hooked up a big 1500 VA toroid, and saw tenth of a volt changes as I put a big steel plate on the top of it, and then moved it away. Hell, just moving the ouput leads was changing it by that much so conclusions might not even be valid.
If you want to chase down what happens “subjectively” if the supply moves up or down by a tenth of a volt, fine. But that’s well inside the noise of the minute-to-minute variations coming off the power grid - which happen continuously without your knowledge.
If you want to chase down what happens “subjectively” if the supply moves up or down by a tenth of a volt, fine. But that’s well inside the noise of the minute-to-minute variations coming off the power grid - which happen continuously without your knowledge.
People can perceive differences between two identical stimuli if they're told there is a difference or if they believe there is a difference. It gets even worse when groups are involved. That's well documented in psychology. Have a look at Asch's conformity study for example.There are things that some people can hear that cannot be measured with todays equipment. Maybe some day we will.
Right. So I should go through every audio myth and show this. Meanwhile those who claim those myths make an audible difference should not be required to document anything. Sorry, dude. That's backwards. Extraordinary claims need to be backed up by extraordinary evidence.No, I expect you to say that you measured the acoustic output and found less than -60dB, unmeasurable difference or something similar.
Tom
Thanks for performing that test with the big toroid.I don’t think it matters what it sounds like. if I ran into a transformer/supply which materially changed its output voltage, AC ripple or harmonic structure, regulation, etc. due to how much ferrous metal was sitting next to it, I wouldn’t be using it for and audio power supply application. It would have other serious problems - extremely poor regulation, horrible mechanical buzz and heat, lots of stray field which gets into your input/feedback circuits. I just hooked up a big 1500 VA toroid, and saw tenth of a volt changes as I put a big steel plate on the top of it, and then moved it away. Hell, just moving the ouput leads was changing it by that much so conclusions might not even be valid.
If you want to chase down what happens “subjectively” if the supply moves up or down by a tenth of a volt, fine. But that’s well inside the noise of the minute-to-minute variations coming off the power grid - which happen continuously without your knowledge.
If the performance of any audio component changes audibly because of a tenth of a volt variation in supply voltage, I'd argue it's a broken design. But that's my opinion.
Tom
Tom
Does the "exceptional hearing ability" you refer to come with measurements, self assesed subjective opinion or lofty accolades?Sorry Tom, but you show no measurement of non significant acoustic effect, I think that it is not fair to the OP who simply asked other members. It has always ben a conundrum, those with exceptional hearing ability are not technically oriented while those with engineering background (like me) are not blessed as much in hearing ability. When one with exceptional hearing works hand in hand with an engineer we then have stuff of legend such as CTC Blowtorch, DH200 and Threshold.you refer to come with
The better-than-average effect is well documented in psychology as well. 🙂 85% of drivers rate themselves as above average. Go figure.Does the "exceptional hearing ability" you refer to come with measurements, self assesed subjective opinion or lofty accolades?
Tom
My driving ability is maniacally exceptional!The better-than-average effect is well documented in psychology as well. 🙂 85% of drivers rate themselves as above average. Go figure.
Tom

Contact Nelson Pass for hard data. He worked with Joe Sammut who had the exceptional hearing ability for a long time. My stuff got no AP logo on them, just laughable measurement made by garden variety mortal using noisy el cheapo laptop soundcard.So there is empirical data to be found?
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The other 15% shouldn‘t be allowed near heavy machinery. There are the few percent who cant operate a vehicle any better than your average drunk with BAL of 0.25, even if stone cold sober.
And if you had a transformer that changed its output 2 volts due to what’s happening with stray fields I’d say you have a broken transformer. In either case, if something is actually “broken” it’s going to be more sensitive to things than it is supposed to be.If the performance of any audio component changes audibly because of a tenth of a volt variation in supply voltage, I'd argue it's a broken design. But that's my opinion.
Tom
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