Re: Record demagnetizers

In article <t7%Zi.251221$E%2.89101@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Iain
Churches <IainNG@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

"Jim Lesurf" <jcgl@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:4f3c67dc70jcgl@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

However they do seem to make claims for things like "one way cables"
for which they provide zero in the way of relevant measured evidence,
and 'technobabble' in place of any explanation based on known physics
or engineering for how the cables can have any audible effect.

Jim. The one-way cable is something from analogue broadcast which the
hifi fraternity have latched onto, without really understanding why.

I'm not sure if the purchasers lached onto it for that reason. I suspect
they'd never have seen what you describe below. More likely someone simply
tried swapping a cable round and decided they "heard a difference", and
made the usual assumption in audio that "it must be because..." No idea if
this was a user or a maker/seller, though. But the problem I fear is the
common failure to check the conclusions jumped to. The only "understanding"
is based on this so far as I can see (or hear). Although I think some fancy
cables have deliberately included networks of components which make the
result 'directional' for reason which have zero to do with cable per se.


It was common in broadcast and studio racks to see cables (coax,
balanced and speaker cables) marked with arrows. This was simply to ease
the task of maintenance and show the direction of flow (upstream to
downstream) so that one could follow through when checking connection
integrity.


I've also seen many such cables, for similar reasons. Not in TV studios,
but in complex lab arrangements. e.g. For instrumentation at JET when
heaven knows how many cables are in use, and run into an area inaccessible
when the torus was on. Also, of course all indentified in the usual ways
with letter/number rings, colour codes, etc. Gets to be fun with many
research groups, loads of instruments (plus seriously high power lines and
microwave plumbing) and half-a-dozen languages as people argue. :-)


There are plenty of hifi dealers who try to sell one speaker cables with
arrows marked on them. They also (if you ask) have the same cable
without the arrows, some 25% cheaper. But then you only have a 50/50
chance of getting the cable the right way round:-)

Surely only 25%. It would obviously be a problem if you used the 'hot' and
'ground' wires in place of one another. Likely to confuse the electrons.
On that basis, worth the money. ;->

The root problem for me is the "jump to conclusions" pattern of behaviour I
outline above. Plus the technobabble which is then used in an attempt to
'explain' the 'effect'.

Slainte,

Jim

--
Electronics http://www.st-and.ac.uk/~www_pa/Scots_Guide/intro/electron.htm
Audio Misc http://www.audiomisc.co.uk/index.html
Armstrong Audio http://www.audiomisc.co.uk/Armstrong/armstrong.html
.

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