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I just read this thread start to finish for fun. It seems like most of the posts are making light of stupid gullible people, not specifically audiophiles. It's like AI making fun of all vehicle performance enthusiasts when really they're only focussing on those that use Duralube. I consider myself an audiophile. quote:An audiophile, from Latin audio[1] "I hear" and Greek philos[2] "loving," is a hobbyist who seeks high-quality audio reproduction via the use of specialized high-end audio electronics.[3][4] Audiophiles prefer to listen to music at a quality level that is as close to the original performance as possible using high-fidelity components. I'd even say that MANY of the people in this thread are audiophiles by the above definition. Anyone who: a) Buys the perceived best equipment within their budget or b) Configures their equipment in such a way that it achieves a sound quality that is as accurate as possible given the equipment's limits is a genuine audiophile.
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Mar 9, 2011 03:12
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fahrvergnugen posted:Pretty sure this hasn't been shared yet, apologies if it has: What's funnier is "Customers Who Viewed This Item Also Viewed" 1. The Mountain Three Wolf Moon Short Sleeve Tee 2. Wheelmate Laptop Steering Wheel Desk 3. Inflatable Toast 4. Yodelling Yodel Pickle TOY Novelty Retro Gag Gift
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Mar 16, 2011 17:37
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http://www.quantumqrt.com/content.asp?ContentID=24 http://www.bmicable.com/oceanic_statement http://www.highendcable.co.uk/Nordost%20VALHALLA%20Power.htm Lifted from another forum I use: MattStolton posted:WTF. http://www.highendcable.co.uk/Audience%20Auric%20Illuminator.htm Jesus Christ. Neurophonic fucked around with this message at 22:06 on Mar 20, 2011 |
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Mar 20, 2011 22:03
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Neurophonic posted:http://www.bmicable.com/oceanic_statement And the logic behind it. Even if it is made of magic pixie dust with superconducting properties, I like how every audiophile falling for that poo poo kinda ignores the tens to hundreds of kilometers of power lines, converters, distribution stations and mundane copper hook-up to their houses.
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Mar 22, 2011 12:46
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You mean you don't have your own Hyperion Nuclear Battery or Toshiba 4-S reactor in the shed generating power for your house?
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Apr 2, 2011 23:39
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quote:We live underground. We speak with our hands. We wear the earplugs all our lives. Haha I love the troll reviews for this link.
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Apr 3, 2011 03:11
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Gromit posted:You mean you don't have your own Hyperion Nuclear Battery or Toshiba 4-S reactor in the shed generating power for your house?
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Apr 3, 2011 17:09
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Doctor Butts posted:What's funnier is "Customers Who Viewed This Item Also Viewed" I thought the $9.99 HDMI cable in the same list was pretty hilariously out of place too.
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Apr 5, 2011 01:18
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A lot of people hate on the expensive cables, but sometimes they're worth it rather than going to, say, Monoprice. For example, my headphone amp. I have a Woo Audio 6, which is a tube amp, and one morning while listening to it (with monoprice's 'premium RCA cable') I start to hear voices in between songs. I think I'm going crazy or something. So I stop the music and listen closely and yes, the voices are there. They're talking about how many times you've cheated on your partner and what happened when they found out. Then I realized what happened...I was in the audience at a Murray show. No. My set up was picking up interference from a local radio show and that's what I was hearing. A quick swap to some semi-expensive cables with good shielding means no more radio interference.
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May 3, 2011 18:43
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The people who buy these stupid power cables also buy stupid power conditioners designed specifically for stupid audiophile equipment. The idea is to preserve the stupid-conditioned energy in its perfectly stupid state to their stupid equipment.
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May 3, 2011 20:39
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Kung-Fu Jesus posted:The people who buy these stupid power cables also buy stupid power conditioners designed specifically for stupid audiophile equipment. The idea is to preserve the stupid-conditioned energy in its perfectly stupid state to their stupid equipment. Uh...not really. They provide more outlets, it protects your equipment from surges, spikes, blackouts, etc. and has enough battery to run your equipment long enough so you can safely shut everything down. If you're spending a couple grand on an audio set up a $200 power conditioner is worth it. I mean, it makes way more sense than pebbles or 1000 per ft audio cables. CheapImitation fucked around with this message at 20:56 on May 3, 2011 |
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May 3, 2011 20:51
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Power conditioners are great. Audiophiles buy stupid power conditioners that probably aren't better. I googled "audiophile power conditioner" and found this site that sells $5000 boxes of voodoo. http://www.audiofederation.com/catalog/power/
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May 3, 2011 21:13
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I wouldn't trust my valuable system to a mere $5000 worth of voodoo http://www.electronichouse.com/slideshow/products/1827/371
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May 3, 2011 21:28
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Blue Jeans Cable is my favorite source for premium cables at reasonable rates. They also have some very in depth and interesting articles on what makes a quality cable and why HDMI is a terribly designed standard. http://www.bluejeanscable.com/articles/index.htm
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May 3, 2011 22:35
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Opensourcepirate posted:Blue Jeans Cable is my favorite source for premium cables at reasonable rates. They also have some very in depth and interesting articles on what makes a quality cable and why HDMI is a terribly designed standard. $38 is not "reasonable" for a six foot RCA cable.
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May 4, 2011 00:15
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CheapImitation posted:A lot of people hate on the expensive cables, but sometimes they're worth it rather than going to, say, Monoprice. For example, my headphone amp. I have a Woo Audio 6, which is a tube amp, and one morning while listening to it (with monoprice's 'premium RCA cable') I start to hear voices in between songs. I think I'm going crazy or something. So I stop the music and listen closely and yes, the voices are there. They're talking about how many times you've cheated on your partner and what happened when they found out. Then I realized what happened...I was in the audience at a Murray show. No. My set up was picking up interference from a local radio show and that's what I was hearing. A quick swap to some semi-expensive cables with good shielding means no more radio interference.
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May 4, 2011 00:38
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qirex posted:$38 is not "reasonable" for a six foot RCA cable. The base cost (reflecting the connectors and the cost of production of a custom length cable) is $25. You're absolutely right that these cables are way overkill for most applications, but I think that the prices charged are reasonable given the quality of the materials and the cost of American supply and labor, as opposed to the price of Chinese manufactured cables from monoprice and other websites.
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May 4, 2011 09:20
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Opensourcepirate posted:You're absolutely right that these cables are way overkill for most applications, but I think that the prices charged are reasonable given the quality of the materials and the cost of American supply and labor, as opposed to the price of Chinese manufactured cables from monoprice and other websites.
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May 4, 2011 11:05
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Megiddo posted:Were your cables from Monoprice a different length than the other cables? It's entirely possible that the semi-expensive cables didn't have any better shielding, but were a length that wouldn't pick up that AM station because it wasn't close to a even fraction of its wavelength. They were both six feet cables.
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May 4, 2011 13:48
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CheapImitation posted:They were both six feet cables. I still have no idea why balanced interconnects aren't used as standard in any gear that calls itself hi-fi.
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May 4, 2011 18:48
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I've gone from hifi to pro gear, moving to 2.1 using a cheapo behringer analogue active crossover with the intention of moving my crossover to software on the pc, and yet: http://www.wildwestelectronics.net/moncabm1000i7.html
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May 5, 2011 14:02
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Kung-Fu Jesus posted:Power conditioners are great. Audiophiles buy stupid power conditioners that probably aren't better. I googled "audiophile power conditioner" and found this site that sells $5000 boxes of voodoo. You'd think that with the money these guys make from selling voodoo stuff to audiophiles they'd be able to afford a webdesigner.
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May 6, 2011 05:46
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Most audiophile equipment websites look like they were made in the '90s though. I think updating the site would actually hurt their image.
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May 6, 2011 14:11
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Ah yes, the fine art of vintage 90's websites, carefully crafted to match my expensive equipment. This here animated gif cost $500 and I had it custom-crafted to match the colors and minimize jagged edges.
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May 7, 2011 00:31
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I use some coaxial-like shielded cables from my computer to the stereo, because of how my sound card works I keep the volume turned up on the amp to maximize headroom (with the volume at max + eq. it might limit the signal, around 50% and this is a non-issue). A standard jack-jack cable picked up significant noise and had a very definite treble attenuation, the coax one eliminated this problem. It cost around  for a 3m cable.
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May 7, 2011 18:08
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qirex posted:I wouldn't trust my valuable system to a mere $5000 worth of voodoo At least that's a whole-house UPS and surge protector. It's probably still overpriced but it is doing something. Neurophonic posted:I still have no idea why balanced interconnects aren't used as standard in any gear that calls itself hi-fi. Because it requires an extra processing step that harms the warmth and musicality.
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May 9, 2011 16:07
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So apparently this is getting so out of hand someone did a study on the subject.
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May 17, 2011 11:50
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Sagacity posted:So apparently this is getting so out of hand someone did a study on the subject. I love the starting anecdotes. I'll have to read the rest of it later. Thanks for posting this!
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May 17, 2011 13:36
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I flew over it, and I didn't see any tables or numbers. Much of a study this is.
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May 17, 2011 15:52
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Combat Pretzel posted:Much of a study this is.
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May 18, 2011 11:57
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Sagacity posted:Numbers don't mean much in this context. If you read the study, you'll find it is simply more relaxing and airy than normal studies. When numbers are cut off too quickly, some primitive mechanism is tripped in our minds. No wonder bad studies are so horribly exhausting to read. After I read one of those, I usually have to go and take a nap.
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May 18, 2011 13:53
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This video pretty much sums up what I believe audiophiles talk like http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o22otFayLRw&feature=related Especially that first minute. The snakeskin cables especially. Love it.
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May 24, 2011 10:26
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eddiewalker posted:You're trying to say that the first thing you lose with low-end equipment is visceral bass? You're wrong.
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May 24, 2011 15:28
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I'm pretty sure I've had more than one cheap headphones where ALL you could hear was the bass.Fists Up posted:This video pretty much sums up what I believe audiophiles talk like Did this kind of music humor with weird voice start with Adam02 or was there someone before him?
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May 24, 2011 16:46
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Well let me clarify what I was saying. On a decent set of fullrange speakers turned up loud, play this track: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-1udKAjhqo Then play it again with the treble cut, then again with just the bass playing through. When you're hearing the full range, you feel the beat like an impact against your chest. When you're just hearing the bass it's somewhat dulled, more of a shaking than an impact.
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May 24, 2011 17:54
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That has more to do with amplitude than anything else. Bass at high amplitude is going to thump your chest, but I can't see many people with the living arrangements where they can get away with playing music that loud in their own home. Most people I know do not want or need a very powerful sound system. I have a pair of 100 watt desktop monitors (Dynaudio BM5as) for production work and I barely ever used them at home. I never cranked them because it would just piss everyone off. You can get desktop speakers that go much louder but if its for home use, whats the point? My house isn't designed to be an auditorium and they sound like poo poo in small rooms anyway. For the past year, me and a couple of buddies have been renting studio space and now I just leave my desktop monitors in the studio. WanderingKid fucked around with this message at 15:17 on May 25, 2011 |
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May 25, 2011 15:12
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WanderingKid posted:I can't see many people with the living arrangements where they can get away with playing music that loud in their own home.  people don't know how it is, being addicted to bass. It seems no matter where I go, I can't get my fix without the man holding me down. In warehouses in empty industrial districts, in valleys in the middle of nowhere... always there seems to be someone to complain.
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May 25, 2011 15:26
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Socket Ryanist posted:When you're hearing the full range, you feel the beat like an impact against your chest. When you're just hearing the bass it's somewhat dulled, more of a shaking than an impact. Well yeah, 'bass' is a huge range of frequencies (~60-250Hz), even if you don't include harmonics and stick to fundamentals. If you count harmonics then a kickdrum is still making noise at around 4kHz.
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May 25, 2011 18:50
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Wouldn't the standing waves in a particular room affect dynamics as well? It might mask the transient frequency to an extent and reduce the contrast of the "thump". Even worse it might just cancel it out.Neurophonic posted:
If you want more beater head sound you want to look at 6-7k. That can help draw out the kick but it won't do anything for impact.
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May 25, 2011 18:54
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The point I'm trying to get at is that although a sound may only have bass in terms of how we perceive it, it still has higher frequencies in terms of how it behaves in a dynamic system. The fourier-type spectral analyses only somewhat approximate how we perceive sound. For example, if you were to take a 400 Hz sine wave and modulate it with a 4 Hz LFO, everyone would agree that they perceive only one frequency: 400 Hz However if you take the fourier transform of this signal, you find it has two peaks at 396 Hz and 404 Hz, and is in fact zero-valued at 400 Hz. If you run this signal through a notch filter that cuts out 400 Hz but leaves 396 Hz and 404 Hz intact (I'm not sure if such a thing is possible or feasible to create), it will get through just fine, whereas an unmodulated 400 Hz sinewave will not.
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May 25, 2011 19:15
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