The King Snake Oil awards
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Galliardist
Major Contributor
Hearing things, and saying it's down to EMF and/or RFI is standard fare and happens from the big boys downwards. The thing is that it is difficult to measure, so any customer only judges it subjectively.
The fact that the blurb says "you know the drill" should really be enough to make the writer think about this. So many different fringe products, always exactly the same benefit!
Hearing is indeed about believing, but as always if a company makes a remarkable claim they should measure and verify it.
The name of the company, '' Audio Magic '' is pretty straightforward, they definitely know their crowd. You know what? I think I'll start selling aluminium paper helmets for these guys and get rich, cos after all that's what these products are.
Attachments
Yep, it seems just when you think you finally hit rock bottom of audio-phoolery, another even deeper layer of stupidity gets added
Killingbeans
Major Contributor
Not only that. They also literally describe themselves and their clientele as 'alchemists', as if it's a good thing. If that's not a red flag, I don't know what is.
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Your off-the-rack AC cables aren't thick enough! The explanation of the "magic" sliding sound-changing part of the cable occurs pretty early in:
This channel is focused on cables like I have never seen. Here's a tour through a high end dealer, and the camera and graphics seem to treat the speakers etc as an afterthought, each system more an excuse to prowl around seeking and documenting whatever cables are being used in every system!
I think anyone can follow his/her bliss and approach this hobby however they want. Still, the cable emphasis thing still leaves me baffled. Which is one reason why I appreciate Amir is out there offering technical information as counterbalance what some audiophiles are telling their audience.
This channel is focused on cables like I have never seen. Here's a tour through a high end dealer, and the camera and graphics seem to treat the speakers etc as an afterthought, each system more an excuse to prowl around seeking and documenting whatever cables are being used in every system!
I think anyone can follow his/her bliss and approach this hobby however they want. Still, the cable emphasis thing still leaves me baffled. Which is one reason why I appreciate Amir is out there offering technical information as counterbalance what some audiophiles are telling their audience.
Brilliant Corners #9: a DAC and a Streamer from France's Totaldac
To misquote Morrissey, some knobs are better than others. The Manley Neo-Classic 300B amplifiers that I've been listening to, for example, have a knob marked "feedback" that goes from 0 to 10. I've learned so much from using it that I've come to believe that if your amp doesn't have such a knob...
www.stereophile.com
...
He starts this review with.Brilliant Corners #9: a DAC and a Streamer from France's Totaldac
To misquote Morrissey, some knobs are better than others. The Manley Neo-Classic 300B amplifiers that I've been listening to, for example, have a knob marked "feedback" that goes from 0 to 10. I've learned so much from using it that I've come to believe that if your amp doesn't have such a knob...
...
"A home audio component works the same way. Its purpose isn't to play back music accurately—however you might define that—but to provide enjoyment."
Huh ????,
And of course not a measurement in sight.
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This is a genuinely challenging task - building a circuit that allows the user to dial NFB in or out.Brilliant Corners #9: a DAC and a Streamer from France's Totaldac
To misquote Morrissey, some knobs are better than others. The Manley Neo-Classic 300B amplifiers that I've been listening to, for example, have a knob marked "feedback" that goes from 0 to 10. I've learned so much from using it that I've come to believe that if your amp doesn't have such a knob...
...
I wondered about doing something similar years ago to measure and hear whether there is an optimum amount of NFB vs distortion (given that we appear to be able to tolerate distortion hundreds of times higher than the best DACs measure). But I realised that simply changing the gain through the feedback loop had so many other consequences (not least stability) that I decided not to bother. I do wonder whether people are actually hearing differences due to different levels of NFB or they are hearing the device misbehave because NFB is no longer adequate.
To be fair i don't remind him specifically talking about ''hifi''.
I had a look at his CV, he's a pure Bullsh*t artist, a very common press writer specie, and clearly he was on fire that day.
Speedskater
Major Contributor
on ViaBlue ROCKET Cable Lifters
lets see:
protect cables from resonance and vibration. ~ NOPE
the formation of capacitance between the cable and the floor can be avoided ~ never a problem
for a decoupling of the cable from the floor ~ just the opposite
to reduce vibrations within the cable ~ NOPE
to avoid the formation of capacitance between cable and floor ~ unmeasurable in any case.
VIABLUE™ cable lifters reduce:
Distortion and noise ~ NOPE
Coupling capacitance in cables ~ NOPE
Effects due to electric interference fields from floors and walls ~ NOPE
lets see:
protect cables from resonance and vibration. ~ NOPE
the formation of capacitance between the cable and the floor can be avoided ~ never a problem
for a decoupling of the cable from the floor ~ just the opposite
to reduce vibrations within the cable ~ NOPE
to avoid the formation of capacitance between cable and floor ~ unmeasurable in any case.
VIABLUE™ cable lifters reduce:
Distortion and noise ~ NOPE
Coupling capacitance in cables ~ NOPE
Effects due to electric interference fields from floors and walls ~ NOPE
Galliardist
Major Contributor
A better formulation would be that the home audio component's job is as part of a system of components to play back music, and to maximise the benefit to the listener from the musicians' performance.He starts this review with.
"A home audio component works the same way. Its purpose isn't to play back music accurately—however you might define that—but to provide enjoyment."
Huh ????,
And of course not a measurement in sight.
That still allows for components to be inaccurate, of course, but it puts us all in our places. This reviewer's bigger mistake is the one in the second half of that formulation, not the first - the component is not there to provide enjoyment.
mhardy6647
Grand Contributor
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So, there I was, leafing listlessly through the Internet (as one does)...
www.head-fi.org
... now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace according to thy word.
For now I have seen it effing all...
(with apologies to Simeon and Luke 2:28-32)
DIY Ground Box Thread
These photos may be of interest of when l tested my mobile phone and placed inside a wooden box with G Shield, you can we when the box is close on both photos. l had to use two different apps,as one wouldn't work on WiFi, and the other on BT, but it's a great example of its effectiveness.
www.head-fi.org
... now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace according to thy word.
For now I have seen it effing all...
(with apologies to Simeon and Luke 2:28-32)
This gives a whole new meaning to audio tweak. Would explain how all the word salad gets in the audiophile/audiophool accessories' descriptions.So, there I was, leafing listlessly through the Internet (as one does)...
DIY Ground Box Thread
These photos may be of interest of when l tested my mobile phone and placed inside a wooden box with G Shield, you can we when the box is close on both photos. l had to use two different apps,as one wouldn't work on WiFi, and the other on BT, but it's a great example of its effectiveness.
View attachment 331937
View attachment 331938
... now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace according to thy word.
For now I have seen it effing all...
(with apologies to Simeon and Luke 2:28-32)
Edit: After checking out the link, I find out it's Rochelle salt (?), not drugs. Which apparently has some magical properties concerning electricity? Still bizarre anyone believes any of this crap.
2nd edit: Hm, after googling and reading
wikipedia, I am slightly more informed about potassium sodium tartrate. Still pretty sure that putting in a baggy and wrapping it around cords/cables or putting it in/against outlets wouldn't have any real effects.
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The whole thread is wild. I'm very tempted to create an account and come up with a new idea for them to experiment.So, there I was, leafing listlessly through the Internet (as one does)...
DIY Ground Box Thread
These photos may be of interest of when l tested my mobile phone and placed inside a wooden box with G Shield, you can we when the box is close on both photos. l had to use two different apps,as one wouldn't work on WiFi, and the other on BT, but it's a great example of its effectiveness.
View attachment 331937
View attachment 331938
... now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace according to thy word.
For now I have seen it effing all...
(with apologies to Simeon and Luke 2:28-32)
The claims would be more believable if it were crystal meth and some got out of the bag.
mhardy6647
Grand Contributor
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I believe that crystal phono cartridges (at least early on) used "Rochelle salt" as the piezoelectric transducer.
Looks like it based on the following reprint hosted @ radiomuseum.org
Crystal microphones (at least early ones) also use(d) Rochelle salt.
(crystallized as the tetrahydrate)
This particular 'tweak' is an element of the "seems kind of logical if you don't think very hard about it" set, so to speak.
We're dealing with electricity and Rochelle salt is piezoelectric. Indeed, I think the phenomenon was discovered via Rochelle salt.
Now, why piezoelectric material would absorb EMI or EMF or whatever that poster was on about from AC mains... that's where credulity is stretched into unrecognizability.
Hmmm... I wonder if hanging a couple of CTS (Motorola) piezoelectric tweeters in front of the breaker box would have the same effect? Maybe even work better? Would the precise style of the piezo tweeter matter in the magnitude or quality of the "effect"?
These are all testable hypotheses!
Looks like it based on the following reprint hosted @ radiomuseum.org
Crystal microphones (at least early ones) also use(d) Rochelle salt.
This particular 'tweak' is an element of the "seems kind of logical if you don't think very hard about it" set, so to speak.
We're dealing with electricity and Rochelle salt is piezoelectric. Indeed, I think the phenomenon was discovered via Rochelle salt.
Now, why piezoelectric material would absorb EMI or EMF or whatever that poster was on about from AC mains... that's where credulity is stretched into unrecognizability.
Hmmm... I wonder if hanging a couple of CTS (Motorola) piezoelectric tweeters in front of the breaker box would have the same effect? Maybe even work better? Would the precise style of the piezo tweeter matter in the magnitude or quality of the "effect"?
These are all testable hypotheses!