Do you consider yourself an audiophile?
- Thread starter Doctor Carrot
- Start date
ViolentPanda
Hardly getting over it.
Jesus fucking shitChrist!! Iread it, but I can't believe anyone would be loco enough to take that pseudo-scientific douchewater seriously, and yet people seem to!!
john x
Well-Known Member
So why doesn't he have a picture of a Behringer or Allen & Heath as his profile pic?No, that's because Bees is a sound engineer.
john x
ViolentPanda
Hardly getting over it.
ItWillNeverWork
Messy Crimbobs, fellow humans.
I don't know if this has been mentioned (it's a pretty big thread and I can't be bothered reading it), but I once saw a device for sale that polished CD's. It was claimed that this device would make the music seem 'clearer' and more 'crisp'. Absolute claptrap. Audiophile's are those people who have no understanding of the technology they claim to be experts in. Pseudo-scientists the lot of em.
john x
Well-Known Member
Why would a pro use a Behringer, btw?
But he claims there is no difference between the two so why not use the cheaper (and much smaller) desk?
john x
ViolentPanda
Hardly getting over it.
The Behringer doesn't have the durability for long-term high-intensity use. Me, I'd rather have a mixer with pots rated for 10 million uses than one rated for 100,000, same with switches etc. Why use a desk that you're going to have to replace far more often than another make of desk.
By the way, he claimed there's no difference between cables, hence him saying "wire is wire". He didn't say a thing about mixing desks.
beesonthewhatnow
going deaf for a living
*sigh*
I'll start off by ignoring the fact that the Vi is digital, let's pretend it's an old series 5, stuffed full of copper
The tracks of copper on the circuit boards don't make any difference to the sound. Neither does the copper in the power cable. The way the circuit designer had them connected to all the resistors and capacitors on those boards does. The quality of the frame and the amount of screws holding it all together affects the sound, insofar as things will sound better when it's on one piece when you take it out of the truck at the next gig.
As for smaller, it's a bit hard to mix a 40 input/24 output show on a 16 input/4 output desk.
Really not that hard a concept to grasp.
john x
Well-Known Member
By the way, he claimed there's no difference between cables, hence him saying "wire is wire". He didn't say a thing about mixing desks.
Mixing desks don't work in isolation. They need to be connected to other stuff.
If you connect a good source to a Behringer desk via a shit cable (shit meaning low quality, NOT broken) and then play it through a budget sound system you may not hear any difference if you swapped the cable out for a high quality cable. If you used the same two cables into a Vi (well the Studer I/O interface to be precise) and played that through a decent system most people 'should' immediately hear the difference.
Cables do matter, both signal and speaker.
john x
ViolentPanda
Hardly getting over it.
Please quantify for me "shit" and "high quality". What are the physical qualities that separate them? What are the materials differences?
fractionMan
Custom Title
Another mug with 'better quality ears'
beesonthewhatnow
going deaf for a living
Utter bollocks.
john x
Well-Known Member
That's not good from someone who is claiming to be a professional sound engineer!
john x
ItWillNeverWork
Messy Crimbobs, fellow humans.
^ This
ViolentPanda
Hardly getting over it.
That's not good from someone who is claiming to be a professional sound engineer!
john x
Please answer my post #730. Thanks.
john x
Well-Known Member
Why?
I've no idea what the physical qualities that seperate them are! Do you have to know how the engine management system on your car works before you can drive it?
john x
ItWillNeverWork
Messy Crimbobs, fellow humans.
You know I get the feeling that prior to john x spending ten squillion quid on a pair of phono cables, he was hooking up his hifi with these:
I can see how that might be a problem.
I can see how that might be a problem.
fractionMan
Custom Title
Do you know why your 50 quid or whatever cables cost 50 quid where others cost 5?
ViolentPanda
Hardly getting over it.
Analogy fail, john. An engine management system is a software controller of hardware. A speaker cable is copper wire in an insulator, an interconnect is coaxial wire in insulators.
You're saying that X cable is better than Y cable in a given situation. I'm asking you to outline why this is this case. As it probably isn't down to anything esoteric, I'm asking you to explain the difference via the only thing that would cause variation - the physical and mechanical properties of the "shit" and the "high quality" cable.
If you can't do so, then just say so, rather than forming another non-applicable analogy, please.
beesonthewhatnow
going deaf for a living
Ah well, every other engineer I've ever worked with must be "not good" as wellThat's not good from someone who is claiming to be a professional sound engineer!
stuff_it
Too skool for cool
Analogy fail, john. An engine management system is a software controller of hardware. A speaker cable is copper wire in an insulator, an interconnect is coaxial wire in insulators.
You're saying that X cable is better than Y cable in a given situation. I'm asking you to outline why this is this case. As it probably isn't down to anything esoteric, I'm asking you to explain the difference via the only thing that would cause variation - the physical and mechanical properties of the "shit" and the "high quality" cable.
If you can't do so, then just say so, rather than forming another non-applicable analogy, please.
My opinion: More expensive cable is sturdier, wtf do you do in your house that you need sturdier cable? (and are we all invited?)
gentlegreen
I hummus, therefore I am ...
I could probably do with rat-proof speaker cable :-
ATOMIC SUPLEX
Member Since: 1985 Post Count: 3
Oh my, if only I had not vowed to never use facepalms etc.
John man, get a grip.
John man, get a grip.
...and being able to tell the difference!
john x
I can tell the difference, but I am not a true audiophile because if it sounds bad, I couldn't even begin to tell you whhat to do to make it sound better. The only thing I know is that someone once told me that if you've got two inputs (?) say you're playing a computer through a stereo, have the volume on the first one (the computer) turned up to maximum, and adjust the volume using the second one (the stereo). I don't know if this is true though.
I suspect it might be a lot like wine. It's not really worth spending loads of money you can't afford for everyday drinking and a lot of people can't tell the difference at first between a £7 bottle of wine and a £30 bottle. But some people can, and in the case of wine at least, £3 bottles almost invariably taste grim. And, like wine, what you get in pubs and clubs is often pretty shoddy.
beesonthewhatnow
going deaf for a living
Arrrrrrgh.
I worked in a pub with the worst piped music ever for six months once. The music itself wasn't that bad, but the relentless in-your-head sound quality nearly drove me insane. On the other hand, i've recently got a fairly cheap and shitty new stereo which makes listening to music a pleasure again after listening on my computer for a long time. So I think I can tell the difference thank you.
Years ago on a R4 sketch show there was one skit where an Audiophile is explaining his system upgrade to a curious friend.
It starts with a 96 bit cd player... The friend asks if it makes a difference... The audiophile says, well, to really get the benefit... And then explains the next part of the upgrade, and it progresses.
"I've moved the wife and kids out, and had all the upstairs rooms filled with foam"
"Oh, so that helps?"
"Well, not entirely. I've also bought all the adjacent houses, and have filled them with concrete"
"Err, oh..."
"But really, to hear the difference... See these?"
"Oh MY GOD what are they?"
"Bat's ears. I've had them surgically transplanted. It's the only way to get the quality."
