Re: Tip for OPEN MINDED Audiophiles

Some snips for brevity:


soundhaspriority@xxxxxxxxx said:


This really saddens me.

No, this really amuses you, but you may be shocked to learn that I
don't find your insincerity very droll. I find it very predictable and
shallow, actually. Typical of a closed mind Flatlander. If you had
actually "come up with" interesting tweaks that you believed yielded
audible benefits, instead of pretended to because you take comfort in
the mockery of others, I would have been very open to trying them. But
you never even tried the ones I mentioned, nor did you try the one you
mentioned. If you have no interest in improving the sound of your
system and only in mocking and ridiculing what you don't understand,
then you should at least have the courage to say so. Because its as
plain as the aspirins on your forehead.


Which I removed, BTW (there were 3, remember?)
My wife complained about distraction during the sex.

But I still think this was a legitimate deviation from your
instructions, because when you remove something, you have to replace
it with something else. Not only does that seem logical, it also *is*.
If you don't, how can you ever expect a tweak to work?


I will point out again that that I did not "come up with" any of the
tweaks I mentioned here, nor did I say I did. Someone a lot smarter
than I (and a _hell_ of a lot smarter than you) did.


Without a doubt, I never said I am the sharpest pencil in the drawer.
But I am already way past the stadium where I have to try tweaks,
designed by others, however bright they may be.
I design my own.


I have 30+ years of tweaking experience behind me, I know of what I
speak.

Is that so? (rolling eyes...) It sounds more to me as though you've
never undertaken an audio test in your life. If you did have 30+ years
of tweaking experience, then that would suggest your listening skills
would be fantastic, whereas you described yourself earlier as
"tin-eared". But perhaps I'm wrong. Please elaborate on what you've
tested in 30 years of tweaking, and what conclusions you've made.


I'd be the last to describe my listening skills as "fantastic",
however I've been asked many times to evaluate hifi gear and to design
the most appropriate tweak for that certain component.
If you insist on knowing, the most recent request was from a company
called Ego Audio (!), which I don't expect you to know about since
your tweaking activities still seem to concentrate around the bottom
of the barrel, so to speak.

I highly doubt your experience beats mine in this regard.
But, even in the highly unlikely case that you actually *do* , your
approach to tweaking still leaves a lot to be desired IMHO.

I can tell from your reply below that you *never* actually tried the
drilling-the-volume-knob tweak, not even on your car radio.
Your out-of-hand dismissal of the paper-around-electrolytics tweak
further demonstrates your 'unwillingness' to boldly go where no one
has gone before (thereby avoiding the word "ignorance", which has such
a negative impact on my brain activities every time I read it).

I was also among the first to try cigarette paper around interconnects
(not on the inside, you fool!), years even before Peter Belt arrived
at the scene.

I have a shallow understanding of electronics as well, an area where
tweaks can be very beneficial, but also dangerous.

You probably know that insulation material around cables can degrade a
signal.
So, (and this is NOT for everybody!), by getting rid of the insulation
of your mains cabling, a veil, nay, whole trucks of cloth are removed
from before the loudspeakers.
Take care with pets and little children (but, as I adviced earlier, it
is best to not have them around in the first place because of system
balance).
Also, it's usually best to shut down electricity or pull the plugs
before removing the insulation from said cables.
The first time I tried this tweak, I didn't, and while my system
sounded shockingly good for the few milliseconds before I passed out,
I can't recommend this to the faint-hearted people out there.

But I know what you're after, my friend:
You're trying to benefit from my years of tweaking experience, without
paying anything for it.

That dog won't hunt, I'll keep my trap shut from now on, unless you're
willing to exchange tips of course.


Unlike you and your insincere retorts, I actually have done extensive
testing of markers of many colours, on CDs, and other objects over the
years. Including testing the green CD Stoplight marker, to which you
refer. The green CD Stoplight marker did make a definite positive
improvement to the sound of CDs. But the manufacturer did not
understand the operating principles of the Stoplight pen. They claimed
it worked on "absorbing excess infrared laser light" or some such
nonsense, which is utterly impossible. It doesn't even approach the
wavelength of a CD's laser, assuming stray light would even reach the
edge of the cd to have an effect. Proof that it doesn't work as
advertised, is in the fact that it was equally as effective improving
the sound of LPs, or compact cassettes. Neither of which have anything
to do with digital and laser beams.


Strange, my (also extensive) experience with red and black coatings
tells me that green doesn't work at all.
Unless applied to the CD tray as a resonance damer of course, but
that's not the point.
A black coating on the laser lens will result in absolute silence, an
increase of S/N of about 40 dB (my mV meter doesn't allow me to
measure anthing below -136 dB, so the actual number may be even
lower).

Especially when playing Cage's " 4'33 " , this tweak proved to be one
of the best I've ever designed.

Can you top that? Didn't think so!


Been there, done that, got the T-shirt.

Does the t-shirt, by chance, say "I'm With Stupid", with an arrow
pointing upward?


How did you know that???

Are you a mind reader of some kind, or did I forget to turn off my
webcam again?


Really? If you have seen and know it all Mr. deWaal, and its all "old
news", then please explain what are the operating principles behind the
4-legged animal with a tail suggestion, according to the person who
originated the idea?


While I must admit to not nowing what the inventor of said tweak was
thinking when he designed it, I must assume he was either drunk, or
stoned.

Every tweaker worth his salt knows that the four legs stand for the 4
corners of the room, with the tail at the sweet spot.
The purpose of pinning the picture behind a rectangular white *** is
to create the metaphor of a blind test.

Any more silly questions?


I don't know if you consider yourself a subjectivist...
but assuming you do, how does that make you any different than the
objectivists, who lie to themselves about what can and can't influence
sound perception?


I don't know how long you've been reading RAO, but you can google back
to 1996 and read about the mockery, derision and outright hostility I
had to endure from those you call "objectivists".

I consider myself a unique, which is a more than apt description.
Let's leave it at that.


Instead of making stupid sarcastic remarks every day that you think are
clever and original, do something smart for a change and try the toilet
paper tweak under your speakers. I am sure you'll find it sounds a lot
better than cucumbers.


Thanks, but I think I'll keep my speakers soaked in an aquarium, to
damp vibrations.
Toilet paper would be unneccesary and even a nuisance, because it
would get wet and hence useless.


Before you go off on a tangent with me again, be aware that my room is
decorated according to the best Feng Shui traditions, in combination
with speaker placing directions that Howard Ferstler himself e-mailed
me some time ago. That could account for differences in effectivity
for the various tweaks.

Howard Ferstler is not someone who could advise you correctly on how to
tie your shoelaces, much less how to improve your hifi system. So yes,
that could account for differences in effectivity, if you hear none.
Now there might be something to the Feng Shui thing, but personally, I
haven't ever delved into that.


I forgot to mention that I reversed every step in Howard's advice,
which proved to be a very rewarding idea.

Feng Shui comes in different flavors, I'll let you discover this on
your own.

--

- Never argue with idiots, they drag you down their level and beat you with experience. -
.