Audiophile Forum

[Gordon]

Not for the faint hearted!! In researching a posting on another thread I came across this forum for audio enthusiasts. It seems to have regular posters from major audio firms [mainly if not all USA] and also has some very good and interesting threads and posts in it. What's also good is that it uses the same software as this forum and so is easy to move around!!

Here's the link to one page of posts that discuss analogue vs digital sound [yes that old chestnut] but the simple experiment described and the results reported are worth looking at [if you like that sort of thing] and are quite telling. It seems that the experts were not able consistently to tell the difference between an analogue and digital version of the same thing. Another interesting feature is the choice of a 1959 Kenneth Wilkinson Kingsway Hall Decca [for RCA] recording of some classical orchestral music as a representative "audiophile" example!!

See what you think ...if you're interested that is, if you have good broadband you can have a vicarious chance to do the experiment yourself by downloading all the examples [as .wav files] they heard with the obvious caveat which the guy who set it all up is very clear about:

http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showthread.php?2632-The-Digital-Analog-Dialectic/page19

The flaw is that he seems to tell you the answers before you try the samples! so you can cheat.

[Mahlerei]

Gordon

Looks interesting. Trouble is, so many audiophile forums are terribly toxic places so I tend to avoid them these days :(

[Gordon]

Gordon

Looks interesting. Trouble is, so many audiophile forums are terribly toxic places so I tend to avoid them these days :(

Not to mention toxic to the wallet if you get too enthusiastic!! Also they are places where people of a delicate mental state live too.

[PJPJ]

Gordon

Looks interesting. Trouble is, so many audiophile forums are terribly toxic places so I tend to avoid them these days :(

A very good description!

[remdataram]

Something I've always found unique to HiFi and Audiophiles is how we can become dissatisfied with our sound reproduction just by reading someone's words.

I gave up listening to HiFi and started listening to music.

[Mahlerei]

Precisely. One forum that comes to mind features long-running battles between two sets of entrenched posters who turn each other into toast on a daily basis. Very little about the music and lots about half-baked theories and strange loyalties. One such poster covers the windows of her listening room with tinfoil, for heaven's sake. Soooo depressing. PJPJ knows whereof I speak :)

[remdataram]

I trust she wears thick jumpers when she listens, or does she wear a foil outfit to 'sharpen' the sound?

[MrGongGong]

and there's as much woo as at a homeopathic convention
like this !

http://www.analogueseduction.net/product/Furutech_GT-2_Audiophile_USB_A_to_B_Cable_FGT25

eeeer £185 worth of faith then ! (someone is now going to appear and tell me that if i orientate my amp in line with the obvious ley energy that passes thought the house it will sound less "muddy"..................as would judicious application of a cotton bud !)

[Stunsworth]

Some people may remember Peter Belt...

http://www.belt.demon.co.uk/faq/faq82000.html

[PJPJ]

and there's as much woo as at a homeopathic convention
like this !

http://www.analogueseduction.net/product/Furutech_GT-2_Audiophile_USB_A_to_B_Cable_FGT25

eeeer £185 worth of faith then ! (someone is now going to appear and tell me that if i orientate my amp in line with the obvious ley energy that passes thought the house it will sound less "muddy"..................as would judicious application of a cotton bud !)

If you orientate your amp in line with the obvious ley energy that passes thought the house it will sound less "muddy"........ ..... and have you heard of shakti stones?

http://www.shakti-innovations.com/audiovideo.htm

No, I haven't invested.

[MrGongGong]

Wonderful stuff
I particularly like
"Black really has a special sound on its own: that's the sound of LP. The BAD LP, played on BAD equipment. Closed miked, no treble, no air, no life."

Pure Tufnel ("how much more black can you get ?")

[MrGongGong]

do they use Mclaughlin biomorphic resonance energy by any chance ?

[remdataram]

Wow! I was sure I was getting degradation via my USB cable, only £185 too!

I had the room energies checked and had to rotate my speakers 180 degrees. I get a much 'warmer' sound now that it reflects off the radiators (cooking foil covered). My therapist also suggested I wear a rubber suit to minimise sound reflecting off me.....

[Gordon]

I get a much 'warmer' sound now that it reflects off the radiators (cooking foil covered).

Have you noticed how Tesco foil has a better transient attack than Sainsburys? I wonder if gold foil would give that bit more, well, golden glow to the sound?

My therapist also suggested I wear a rubber suit to minimise sound reflecting off me.....

Well what you and your therapist get up to is no business of mine but I'd be suspicious of her intentions if I were you. Has she suggested smearing you with chocolate yet? Darkens the sound I find. Cadbury's has lost it silky top after the Kraft takeover of course and perhaps Rowntrees is now best buy? Avoid that American Hershey stuff, it's brash and OTT.

Seriously though folks [Why!!?] it's as well that these audiophile people have something to keep them indoors otherwise they'd be out and about on the streets causing who knows what mayhem. Come to think of it, same goes for message boards too!

[Ferretfancy]

A friend of mine who designs excellent valve amplifiers has a fellow enthusiast who we called Blue Tack. He believed that small blobs of blue tack placed in various spots in the room seriously improved the sound, and of course you must never have a telephone anywhere nearby as it ruins the acoustic. Naturally, he used a green ink pen to mark the inside spindle of all his CDs, although of course he did not approve of them!
Some of my BBC colleagues back in the 1980s wrote to a number of exotic cable manufacturers inviting them to take part in a double blind test. They all refused.