Urban75 Home About Offline BrixtonBuzz Contact

Do you consider yourself an audiophile?

Are you an audiophile?

  • Yes

    Votes: 31 13.5%

  • No

    Votes: 83 36.1%

  • Audiophiles are deluded bullshitters

    Votes: 116 50.4%
  • Total voters
    230
Enviro said:
That's interesting - in some of my posts I was tempted to draw a comparison to the placebo effect... But the placebo effect actually works so that didn't really support the point I was trying to make.... Maybe we should all invest in £20k speaker cables then ... as long as we believe they'll actually work! ;) :D
Click to expand...

I find it hard to imagine an increase in sound quality that could justify the Average Joe's year of wages on a speaker cable tbf, but then the brain is a bloody weird thing.
 
8ball said:
I don't dispute the actual sound (as in the waves passing through the air) is exactly the same, ....
Click to expand...

I would expect it's more than just that - if you take into account the audiometric traits that describe how we hear differently, I would have thought that the perception of sound would be practically identical up to a point, that point being the secondary stages of auditory processing after the electrical signals have been converted into the basic perceived sound... It's all a bit moot without having someone with more knowledge of neuroscience make comment... But yeah, I'd like to believe that the perception of sound is a deterministic system up to the point where emotions, mood and personality get involved.
 
Enviro said:
I would expect it's more than just that - if you take into account the audiometric traits that describe how we hear differently, I would have thought that the perception of sound would be practically identical up to a point, that point being the secondary stages of auditory processing after the electrical signals have been converted into the basic perceived sound... It's all a bit moot without having someone with more knowledge of neuroscience make comment... But yeah, I'd like to believe that the perception of sound is a deterministic system up to the point where emotions, mood and personality get involved.
Click to expand...

I think if you have an interest in electronics or computers it's tempting to think perception works in an input->pre-processing/manipulation->evaluation->output kind of way but I think that is carrying the brain/computer metaphor a bit too far.
We're kind of on a boundary of neuroscience/psychology/philosophy and I'd hazard that even if we got an expert from each field on the thread it would still mostly be an argument.
 
maomao said:
Innit. Standing next to the speakers at Sepultura gigs was great fun. Tinnitus not so fun.
Click to expand...

For me it was friday and saturday night "blues" in the late '70s and early '80s, mostly in SW London or Ladbroke Grove, plus going to too many gigs without ear protection (everything from punk to old-style rhythm 'n' blues to funk, and metal to moderate rock to Klezmer). For the last 20 years, what hearing I have left (I'm deaf in my left ear now) is accompanied by something that sounds like manic cymbal-playing under a waterfall, with some tin whistles thrown in. :)
 
I first noticed my tinnitus when I was about 6 - I think because of that I've been a little more careful than some contemporaries. Used to make my own ear plugs that would just cut down the high frequencies (just by carving the foam ones). I also seem to have a much lower sound pain threshold than most which has been a good reminder.

Very glad that the sound isn't so mad at most gigs and stuff these days (though small gigs can still be ear-shattering), and that parents look after their kids' hearing at festivals and stuff.
 
What the living fuck did I just read here?

http://www.mains-cables-r-us.co.uk/fuses/27-hi-fi-tuning-uk-gold-fuses.html#

It is well understood by most hi-fi lovers that a steady and clear power supply can significantly raise the performance of hi-fi equipment. However, the importance of a good quality audio-grade fuse is often neglected; and these fuses offer improvements in both three-dimensionality and soundstaging that are often quite staggering.
Click to expand...

Forget isolated qualities as beneficiaries such as much improved dynamics but everything else untouched. Shockingly, all aspects took the same small forward step which added up to an appreciable advance. True, dynamics gained and transients won energy. But inter-note separation improved as well and a rapidly plucked bass seemed simultaneously faster and darker without sacrificing definition. That was clearly way up my alley and much appreciated.
Click to expand...

These fuses cost £35. Each. For a fuse.

Maplin sells 10 for £2.19.
 
beesonthewhatnow said:
http://www.monoandstereo.com/2014/06/ipc-lp-energizer.html
Click to expand...

"After 6 seconds of treatment by the LP Energizer, the record will carry a PVA Field (Proton Vibration Alignment Field) that will last for 120 minutes. Once the record is placed on the record player turntable, the entire signal path and equipment in the AV system within 1 meter of the record player will be inuenced by the PVA Field. This means all the equipment will perform better."

Awesome :cool:
 
beesonthewhatnow said:
http://www.audiostream.com/content/synergistic-research-ect-electronic-circuit-transducer
Click to expand...
Fucking unreal isn't it!
Every time I see something ridiculous like this, I ask myself how these pricks think they'll possibly sell any of them... Then I think of all the people who buy the directional, oxygen-free copper cables, etc, and It's pretty clear these snake oil salesmen already know their target audience, and won't have a problem selling their woo woo.

I used to think audiophiles were just a bit deluded but after seeing some of the shite they're buying into, it's quite obvious they have severe mental health problems.
 
£150 behringer power amp shits on my mates krell £5000 amp. And I've got the tests to prove it. But will he admit it? Will he fuck. But it looks pretty.

Edit: proper test with graphs and shit, not "sweetness to the treble and a dash of bloom to the bass."
 
Poi E said:
£150 behringer power amp shits on my mates krell £5000 amp. And I've got the tests to prove it. But will he admit it? Will he fuck. But it looks pretty.

Edit: proper test with graphs and shit, not "sweetness to the treble and a dash of bloom to the bass."
Click to expand...
You lost me at Behringer :D

But seriously... It doesn't matter what scientific data you provide. His ears will always be better than the instruments used to take the measurements.

You can't win with these people. It'd be easier to convince religious nut-jobs that there isn't a god.
 
i think what shows it is nonsense is that these things always have a positive and oddly human-centric effect. It's always 'it made vocals a bit lighter' or 'the soundstage was more holographic' rather than 'the stones caused this weird wibbly sound'.
 
tbtommyb said:
i think what shows it is nonsense is that these things always have a positive and oddly human-centric effect. It's always 'it made vocals a bit lighter' or 'the soundstage was more holographic' rather than 'the stones caused this weird wibbly sound'.
Click to expand...
Yup... hints of a warm chocolatey undertone with a broader soundstage and an enhanced euphoric field, which encapsulates the full frequency spectrum. If these 13 Amp fuses were a drink, they would be Café au lait.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee_(color)#Caf.C3.A9_au_Lait
 
Poi E said:
£150 behringer power amp shits on my mates krell £5000 amp. And I've got the tests to prove it. But will he admit it? Will he fuck. But it looks pretty.

Edit: proper test with graphs and shit, not "sweetness to the treble and a dash of bloom to the bass."
Click to expand...
What tests are these and what, exactly, do they prove?
 
Poi E said:
That the amplifier is closer to the ideal of a wire with gain than others at higher price points.

Eta: e.g. http://www.theaudiocritic.com/plog/index.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=22
Click to expand...
That review doesn't tell us anything about the sound quality of your amplifier relative to your mate's.

Nor does it prove that it is better than most cheaper amps.

Someone with a cheaper amp than yours could well accuse you of the same delusional beliefs that you ascribe to your mate.
 
teuchter said:
That review doesn't tell us anything about the sound quality of your amplifier relative to your mate's.

Nor does it prove that it is better than most cheaper amps.

Someone with a cheaper amp than yours could well accuse you of the same delusional beliefs that you ascribe to your mate.
Click to expand...

He does claim to have magic ears. He's probably also put phase-inverted tantalum fairy dust on his transformer, too. His krell is an excellent heater in winter, being class A, which I am assured makes it better than a class AB. He also has a valve set up which must be good, too, because it costs a fortune and breaks a lot.

I get what you are saying. someone thinks something sounds better and it does, to them. It's like this whole earth is sort of spherical thing. Doesn't seem it to me but I'll let science have that one.

Course the answer is to switch all the shit off and go a listen to some live music.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Bus Honeygun
Bands You Like... But Do You Really?
Replies
7
Views
301
Idaho
Idaho
K
Synthesists! How do you ear candy?
Replies
8
Views
338
hash tag
hash tag
savoloysam
Unpopular Bands - An Amnesty
Replies
4
Views
248
ATOMIC SUPLEX
ATOMIC SUPLEX
Bus Honeygun
Do you skip the slow songs?
2
Replies
33
Views
808
May Kasahara
May Kasahara
Voley
  • Poll
How many Band T-shirts do you own?
2 3
Replies
68
Views
2K
Lazy Llama
Lazy Llama
Back
Top Bottom