Awesome Audiophile Snake Oil

i'm actually buying a glass platter for my turntable. i might even buy that mat for it. i'm a sucka 4 luv.

actually the chair i'm assuming was a joke, but honestly i was suprised how much getting speaker stands and "correctly" positioning my chair i listen in and the speakers in the room made a HUGE difference in how good things sounded.

The chair's totally not a joke; it's expensive and comfortable and easily moved but it's not likely to make me fall asleep in it (no headrest); if I'm comfortable and awake, I can concentrate on listening more. I bought it (almost) with the sole intention of it being a 'headphones' chair.

But yeah, basic physics says position your speakers correctly and sit in the right spot; you simply don't get stereo-imaging without it.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/03/audiophiles-cant-tell-the-difference-between-monster-cable-and/

...a coat hanger.

that's AMAZING.
audiophiles are some weird people, man.

actually the chair i'm assuming was a joke, but honestly i was suprised how much getting speaker stands and "correctly" positioning my chair i listen in and the speakers in the room made a HUGE difference in how good things sounded.

-- M@tt He1ges0n, Thursday, December 13, 2007 11:39 PM

totally true

actually properly treating one's room acoustically would probably do a better job than moving your chair and speakers about

is there already a company selling audiophile interior house paint?

because if there is, I should start selling audiophile EXTERIOR house paint.

(xpost)
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/cb/Dbsts2.jpg

I was much, much less impressed with this enormous fucking Naim set-up than I should have been given how much it ought to have cost. Sure it went LOUD, but sound-wise I wouldn't swap it for my own system, I don't think.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/njsouthall/IMG_0126.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/njsouthall/IMG_0128.jpg

Is it just perspective on that first photo, or are your speakers nearly at shoulder height?

Oh, no - is that a Cyrus CD player? Or tuner? And why isn't everything on Mana shelves? That's why it doesn't sound that good. And has it been on continuously for five years? Another biggie with Naimists. (Seriously, that doesn't look like a great room for those huge - and amazingly ugly - speakers).

What's the turntable - Nottingham Spacedek or something? Oracle Delphi?

mp3s out a old marantz amp someone gave me and 15 y/o bottom of the line cambridge soundworks speakers all day babay

although i did love to read sudiophile magazines when i worked at a bookstore just for the lulz

The speakers are nearly to chest height - I'm 5'8".

The Cyrus is just a DAC for his wireless streaming thing. Dunno what the turntable is. The room is big but odd; it's a loft that used to be three bedrooms. There's a (low) double bed behind the speakers, plus a desk, which is where I slept (not the desk) (although that picture was taken at 6am so sleeping wasn't exactly urgent and key that weekend).

Yeah, I really wish someone had just given me a peek into my co-habiting/flat in communal block/married-with-kids future when I was handing over the moolah for all my gear in 1996-97. I wish I'd just got something good/2nd-hand with a small footprint (Cyrus CD/integrated, ProAc speakers, something like that; maybe a Pro-Ject record deck, old Marantz cassette deck, NAD tuner, cables from Maplin) and STOPPED there. Think of all the photographic gear I could've bought with the money saved if I'd just contracted that particular hobbyist bug a decade earlier!

(Ah, DAC for wireless streaming; the Naim box-stacking is kinda insane - external power supplies for everything. Makes my Audiolab pre/mono arrangement look positively understated).

The speakers are Naim DBLs. They weigh about 15st each. Retail these days at £15k. When he got them, in 2000, they should have been £12k. He got them for £4k cos they were "shop-soiled" - the band he's in had an arrangement with Naim and they'd been using them as a playback set-up when they recorded an album in a country house, and the guitarist's dog had taken a bite out of the bottom corner of one, or something.

I'm kind of glad I've had a brush with stuff that's seriously high-end because it's warned me off a bit. Our flat's not that small, but it's a flat nonetheless, and, you know, I want stuff on the walls and holidays and a new camera and stuff maybe too.

I think my main response to audiophilia these days is that the best way to make your hi-fi sound great is to play better records on it.

actually properly treating one's room acoustically would probably do a better job than moving your chair and speakers about

How so?

the best way to make your hi-fi sound great is to play better records on it.

b i n g o

if anyone is looking for really great speakers that won't break your bank....i bought these about a year ago and couldn't be more pleased with them...they are really surprising given the price and size:

Epos ELS 3 mini monitors:

http://www.musicdirect.com/product/73457

i run them with a Cambridge Audio integrated amp w/Cambridge phono pre-amp.....

My turntable is a Rega P1 -- one thing on that i would recommend is buying a glass platter and also i replaced the original ortofon cartridge with a Denon DL 160 cartridge which is a fucking amazing cartridge for the price...

For CD player I run a really really old NAD one that I got off craigslist for $35...it works pretty well, has a hard time tracking CD-Rs but will play them after awhile (it's from 87 though so I guess there weren't even CD-Rs then)

Post more pics of slobs in garrets seasoned with with ridiculous sound systems and ugly furniture.

I really like the coffee table.

I think my favourite way / place to listen to music these days, rather than the big sofa and NAD / Cambridge Audio / Tannoy / proper rack & stands set-up in the living room, with everything anchored in a nice triangle, blah blah, equidistant from rear walls, speakers toed in, is the hotch-potch system in the back room, with the knackered Marantz CD, 20-year-old Marantz amp, DAC, and diddy Q Acoustics speakers. Cos I have space, peace, my comfy chair, books, headphones, no TV or console to distract.

Those are the kind of speakers you buy to justify having previously bought Monster Cable.

What's the sensitivity rating on those things? It might be all show, but they certainly look like they could bring on an involuntary bowel movement.

Specifications
Frequency response (in room)

17Hz - 20kHz 3dB

Sensitivity

92dB/1W/1m

Impedance

4 Ohms (minimum)

Power handling

200W (music programme)

Dimensions H x W x D

1200mm x 650mm x 400mm

Finish options include

Cherry
Maple
Piano Black [to special order]

like i said before, it's been my impression that tru-skool audiophiles think monster cable is for philistines and ppl that buy stereo equipment at best buy.

It's just a damn swindle, is all.

Tru-skool audiophiles do think that. I've never seen Monster cables mentioned in a hi-fi mag. Not that I read them that often. I have one Monster cable, and that's a 3.5 stereo mini-jack to 2 phono thing, for the iPod dock.

It's the new gold-plated CD.

The main rig's cabling: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/njsouthall/IMG_0267.jpg

The little rig's cabling: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/njsouthall/IMG_0268.jpg

my CD player connects and the connects for my phono pre-amp are monster...i got them for $7 a set from some online store...actually pretty good if you can find them for cheap, but nowhere near worth the money they usually charge.

it's a $500 ethernet cable!

http://www.usa.denon.com/ProductDetails/3429.asp

fucking ridiculous

actually properly treating one's room acoustically would probably do a better job than moving your chair and speakers about

How so?

-- Scik Mouthy, Wednesday, May 7, 2008 1:50 AM (1 month ago) Bookmark Link

i never answered this.. basically in a room with a balanced frequency response, the only difference you should theoretically hear by positioning yourself differently in a room would be volume changes based on how far you are away from the sound source. if your music sounds different by shifting yourself a foot to the left of your speaker, it's because the frequency balance is not even across the room. you could be sitting in a bass null or peak which may affect the sound positively or negatively to varying degrees

effectively in a room without a balanced frequency response, the room is affecting what you hear to a very large degree. probably 10000x more than expensive cables will in a million years

See, I was thinking more just about getting accurate stereo-imaging re; speaker placement, rather than frequency-response; you can't get proper stereo-imaging if the speakers aren't in front of you.

Just buy a fucking sixpack and listen to something good, jesus

What audio equipment uses ethernet cables?

http://www.musictoyz.com/images/jpg/gtfat2.jpg

Not sure if this quite belongs here, though is audio related and I suspect this is some serious snake oil.

Anyone know about this fuckin thing?

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Groove-Tubes-Fat-Finger-Guitar-Sustain-Enhancer?sku=420270

lol i have used it

Denon's 1.5 meter (59 in.) ultra premium Denon Link cable was designed for the audio enthusiast. Made from high purity copper wire and high performance connection parts, the AK-DL1 will bring out all the nuances in digital audio reproduction from any of our Denon DVD players with the Denon Link feature. Attention to detail when building this cable was used by empoying high quality insulation, tin-bearing alloy shielding and woven jacketing to reduce vibration and to add durability. Additionally, signal directional markings are provided for optimum signal transfer. Rounded plug levers help prevent breakage.

It's a digital signal! Either you have a dropout or you don't! There's no gradual loss of quality that may happen with other signal types. Furthermore, with the error-correction that's surely present in whatever communications protocol is used here, the correctness of the signal is probably 100% minus whatever % is represented by the droppage of a single bit every 1,000,000,000,000,000 years. The PCB is going to corrode into unusability before a bad frame is transmitted.

signal directional markings are provided for optimum signal transfer

So there's an arrow on the cable telling you which way to plug it in? It has an RJ45 plug at each end, it shouldn't make any difference! But I can just see audiophile magazines doing A-B tests with the cable each way round, and solemnly claiming that "yes, the Denon ID-10T does sound better with the PEBKAC amplifier when the link cable is oriented this way around"

One of my friends likes to "burn in" new audio hardware. I can buy that the sound of a speaker changes with time and use: It's a moving part, so it's plausible that its bits can get rearranged with shaking. Also, the speaker's magnet might change somewhat (probably not for the better), and humidity and other environmental conditions probably change the responsiveness of the cone.

So, OK, no argument there, but I probably would be unable to hear the difference myself. However, my friend doesn't stop there. No, he burns in new cables with white noise for 30 days. I have no idea of what's supposed to change inside the cable during this process, but he says it makes a world of difference. At his insistence, I "burned in" new headphones for a 3-day weekend, but I couldn't tell any difference afterward. I'm probably just deaf or something.

I'm probably just deaf or something.

Probably, after listening to white noise for 3 days...

The comments on the Amazon page for the cable are awesomely hilarious.

http://www.amazon.com/Denon-AKDL1-Dedicated-Link-Cable/dp/B000I1X6PM

A caution to people buying these: if you do not follow the "directional markings" on the cables, your music will play backwards. Please check that before mentioning it in your reviews.

I was disappointed. I consider myself an audiophile - I regularly spend over $1000 on cables to get the ultimate sound. I keep my music-listening room in a Faraday cage to prevent any interference that could alter my music-listening experience. Sending any signal down ordinary copper can degrade the signal considerably. While ordinary listeners might not notice, to somebody with even a rudimentary knowledge of sound, the artifacts are glaring. Denon should have used silver wiring (hermetically sealed inside the rubber sheath to prevent any tarnishing, of course), which has a significantly higher conductivity than copper. Furthermore, Denon needs to treat the wires they use in the cable with a polarity inductor to ensure minimal phase variance.

Needless to say, I returned the cable and wrote an angry letter to the so-called engineers at Denon.

mp3s out a old marantz amp someone gave me and 15 y/o bottom of the line cambridge soundworks speakers all day babay

-- jhøshea, Tuesday, 6 May 2008 16:30 (1 month ago) Bookmark Link

MP3s out of an iBook with a noisy headphone connector (so I have to use an iMic USB thing), into a JVC amp I bought for £5 ten years ago (no lie). I win!

So did it DO anything?

oops, was responding to this:

lol i have used it

-- BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Saturday, June 14, 2008 11:44 AM (Yesterday) Bookmark Link

I'm retarded.

The notion isn't entirely crackheaded, Rabies. I mean, you get more sustain when the guitar's capacity to dampen vibrations is diminished. Adding intertia to one end would probably help accomplish this. If you played a guitar of solid steel or a very hard metal, it would have less effect on the sustain to add a weight at the end, but musician fools seem to prefer mushy wood guitars for some bizarre reason.

oooh I am definitely hesitating - once I would have been phone no question - but after tasting the succulent fruits of mid-fi sound reproduction it is hard to settle for tinny distortion and no bass

maybe this is just my body's way of telling me it is time to get better acquainted with the Supertramp discography

Scrolling through the Mofi artist list on the site there are about a dozen I'm interested in ever hearing again. I don't care if At Folsom Prison sounds like I'm in the cafeteria, I want to hear it once a year, tops. I will take my phone over becoming a Deadhead out of necessity.

I see hundreds of albums I'd gladly listen to (and this isn't the full catalog):

https://www.discogs.com/label/35095-Mobile-Fidelity-Sound-Lab

hi please feel free to make fun of me for asking a real question about a real thing in here but idk anywhere/anyone else that might have any clue what i'm talking about...

do ya'll know why (on mostly pre-digital) recordings in the "silence" before the song actually starts, you can still hear the song starting? on some really dynamic recordings (mostly jazz) that go from quiet>LOUD quickly in the middle of the song, you can also get a tiny, nearly inaudible, preview of the impending loud part just a second or two before it hits. what is this phenomenon? it seems like it was (is?) a vinyl thing?

anybody know what i'm talking about?

smdh at using "Godstar" instead of something off Dreams Less Sweet, the one they did with Zuccarelli holophonics

xpost I think that’s a tape thing

yes it's called pre-echo or something, basically bleedthrough, it's a tape thing

yeah, it's the tape head reading the next layer of the tape through the current layer (because tape is coiled around a dowel)

or however you'd say that, wound, words are hard

okay...
excuse my persistence, and ty for the answer, but i'm having a hard time understanding how that tranlates to me being able to hear it on john coltrane recordings when i listen on spotify.

the masters everything comes from are tapes right

^^

so wait... that "pre-echo" is in the master too? like if i was listening to the actual master tape, it would be there too?

that blows my mind in highly cosmic, existential ways but i'm weird. ty everyone for answering. would love any deepdives into the topic if you know any.

weird shit, man

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-echo

https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/pre-echo-present-on-lp.229120/

sleeve according to wikipedia at least preecho refers to digital compression artifacts. the tape phenomenon is “print-through” - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Print-through

thank you!

Digital tapes can also be affected by contact print effects in a phenomenon known as "bit-shift" when upper or lower layers of tape cause a middle layer to alter the pulses recorded to represent binary information.

/\freaking me out.

^^ one of many reasons why Albini hated DAT iirc #onethread

i am genuinely unsettled by it. in a purely wordless emotional way that i can only compare to the feeling experienced by the phrase "uncanny valley." but it's an entirely different vibe because it's some real ghost in the machine shit.

tyvm for those links btw

yeah this is a total rabbit hole

DuPont[3] in conjunction with Otari[4] invented a form of thermal magnetic duplication ("TMD") by which a high-coercivity metal mother master tape was brought into direct contact with a chromium dioxide copy (slave) tape. The coercivity of the mother tape is higher than that of the copy tape, so when the copy tape is heated and brought into contact with the mother tape, the copy tape gets a mirror image of the signal on the mother tape without the mother tape losing its signal. The recording on the mother tape was a mirror image of a valid video signal. Immediately before the copy tape came into contact with the mother tape, a focused laser beam heated it to its Curie point at which its value of coercivity dropped to very low values so that it picked up a near perfect copy of the mother tape as it cooled.[5][6] The mother tape was made using a special reel to reel video tape recorder called a mirror master recorder[7] and was held inside the machine in an endless loop. This system could achieve speeds of up to 300 times playback speed in NTSC VHS SP mode, 900 times in VHS EP mode and 428 times in PAL/SECAM tapes.[8]

DAT tape always struck me as a "worst of both worlds" idea

DAT was a godsend to concert tapers, so I can't disparage it - it totally had its uses.