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88h88 posted:I run 12awg for my PA setup and I'd consider that over the top for home use. Yeah, I use 12 for big PAs, and smaller audio setups are fine with 18/2 shielded (I've even seen 20/2 used). 10awg is just a general pain in the rear end to work with.
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Mar 22, 2014 00:01
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Is there anywhere to buy screen printed cable sheaths from? I think I found the niche to target...
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Mar 22, 2014 06:48
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Neurophonic posted:Why not? For long cable runs to high power low impedance driver combinations such as subs it's far better to use 6mm soldered into the NLT range of SpeakOn connectors to minimise power loss. For a residential theatre or sound system, the 10ga stuff stops working with normal banana plugs etc. Plus it can be a pain to run in wall. I used to install rooftop unit style HVAC stuff and wiring 10ga was always lovely. Mine you that was single solid core wire but still. I use a 3kw amp to drive my theatre subwoofers and I use 12ga runs to the speakon connectors. The voltage drop between 14ga and 10ga in a household distance is so little that I don't even think 12ga is needed other than looking cool (phat cable!)
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Mar 22, 2014 16:27
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Is the high end audio industry growing with rampant increases in wealth inequality or was it hit hard by the recession? I have a friend who is interviewing with a botique gear distributor and I can't decide whether to tell him its a silly industry or to take those suckers all the way to the bank.
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Mar 25, 2014 04:00
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Ethanfr0me posted:Is the high end audio industry growing with rampant increases in wealth inequality or was it hit hard by the recession? I have a friend who is interviewing with a botique gear distributor and I can't decide whether to tell him its a silly industry or to take those suckers all the way to the bank. I thought the growth of the audiophile market was based solely on stubborn ignorant idiots? Edit: said industry, meant market.
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Mar 25, 2014 13:24
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All I know about good audio is ATH-M50 and HAM750 headphones. If you have any questions about the two, feel free to ask!
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Mar 25, 2014 17:05
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Ethanfr0me posted:Is the high end audio industry growing with rampant increases in wealth inequality or was it hit hard by the recession? I have a friend who is interviewing with a botique gear distributor and I can't decide whether to tell him its a silly industry or to take those suckers all the way to the bank.
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Mar 25, 2014 19:02
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Is the Sonos stuff audiophile garbage or it ok? My roommate got one of these for free from his company since they sell them. It's pretty neat, but $350 for what is basically an Apple TV that does less seems kind of crazy.
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Mar 25, 2014 19:11
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eggsovereasy posted:Is the Sonos stuff audiophile garbage or it ok? My roommate got one of these for free from his company since they sell them. It's pretty neat, but $350 for what is basically an Apple TV that does less seems kind of crazy. They mostly do whole house audio stuff. Its not really "audiophile" more like "overpriced"
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Mar 25, 2014 19:27
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I got two Play 1s for my bedroom and they're great. Sonos stuff is not cheap but the setup is miles simpler than any comparable product I've used [I had three generations of Squeezeboxes]. It's the first actual easy streaming system I've ever used. The Connect is overpriced given that a $200 Play 1 has all the same stuff and a speaker but they know that people who need that functionality will pay more. in fact, sometimes people will distrust things if they're too cheap, Slim Devices made a $2000 "audiophile" Squeezebox and it actually sold OK despite the fact that the $300 already one had bit-perfect output.
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Mar 25, 2014 20:13
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Yeah, I have a connect on my big stereo and a Play 1 in my kitchen. It is ridiculously easy to use. I didn't intend to have a set up like this, originally I had a wireless DAC and played from my computer but it was such a pain in the rear end and received a ton of interference. I'm planning on getting a second connect and some active speakers for the bedroom.
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Mar 25, 2014 21:40
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Ethanfr0me posted:Is the high end audio industry growing with rampant increases in wealth inequality or was it hit hard by the recession? I have a friend who is interviewing with a botique gear distributor and I can't decide whether to tell him its a silly industry or to take those suckers all the way to the bank. From what I can gather, the high-end market is shrinking in the US, together with the shrinking of the middle class. It's one of the reasons why prices are skyrocketing, as companies move to target the 1% exclusively. The real growth is in Asia, where newly-minted millionaires and billionaires are looking to spend their money as conspicuously as possible. Exceptionally expensive equipment (the Naim Statement amp comes to mind) are basically built with the idea that they will sell less than 10 total, and all in Asia, but the markup is so insane that it will be profitable for the company.
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Mar 26, 2014 06:18
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It doesn't help our cause when standards bodies that should know better post poo poo like this.quote:Up to 1536kHz audio sample frequency for the highest audio fidelity http://www.hdmi.org/manufacturer/hdmi_2_0/ 
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Mar 26, 2014 23:44
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The nouvelle riche in countries like China aren't exactly known for smart purchasing decisions because, from my impression, its entirely for bragging rights. While working in a consumer electronics store, I could pretty much push anything to the those sort of customers so long I assured them that was the best. Even if it was clearly very cost inefficient. We're talking about quad SLI desktop systems with an assembly fee inflated by 5x. They didn't even bother to ask about the insane assembly fee or whether or not the desktop was cost efficient, they just asked me the total price so they could hand me the correct amount of $100 bills. I imagine its the same with audio products. They have a pretty huge boner for expensive vacuum tube amps right now. jeffreyw fucked around with this message at 00:57 on Mar 27, 2014 |
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Mar 27, 2014 00:36
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jeffreyw posted:The nouvelle riche in countries like China aren't exactly known for smart purchasing decisions because, from my impression, its entirely for bragging rights. It's not even localized to one race or income bracket. Consumers want the best but generally don't know enough to know what qualities make "the best" for their application; therefore, they will believe whatever they are told constitutes the best from endorsements of salespeople or celebrities, e.g. Beats by Dre are considered good by consumers because Dre is a producer, therefore a product by him would be a quality desired by producers. Things start getting out of hand when consumers are armed with incorrect knowledge; a budding audiophile considers Beats and asks some hobbyists if they're good, and is warned away from them because of various reasons. The newcomer will often come away from this experience confused and now tries to resolve his problem with information that is incomplete or wrong -- money = quality, only if obscurity is greater than x. Wasabi the J fucked around with this message at 01:20 on Mar 27, 2014 |
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Mar 27, 2014 01:14
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New game: Take  from video games / movies and turn them into audiophile products.quote:Ionic polymeric gel myofibrils are woven into the wire strands, increasing the speed at which signals propagate through the medium. Points are awarded for correctly guessing the game / movie the reference came from. You automatically win if you manage to sell a product based on that description for >$50. KillHour fucked around with this message at 14:24 on Apr 21, 2014 |
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Apr 21, 2014 14:15
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KillHour posted:New game: Take This Anticrénelage-brand speaker cable is a bargain at $399 per foot! The anti-aliasing it does to my vinyls is incredible, and when I'm done listening I can plug the cable into my computer and mine bitcoins faster!
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Apr 21, 2014 14:29
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quote:When clamped to the frame of most amplifiers, a harmonic balancer dampens the vertical motion produced by current oscillations, resulting in increased tonal accuracy. Each upgrade improves the base accuracy by 10%.
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Apr 21, 2014 14:42
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KillHour posted:New game: Take Deus Ex
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Apr 22, 2014 00:30
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I am a member of a local group of audio gear enthusiasts. The conversation is pretty boring but it sometimes gives me access to good deals on used equipment before it hits local classifieds. Anyway, quite a few members are typical audiophiles. One of them just posted this article about how double blind tests don't work for audio. I figured it's worth reading if you enjoy torturing yourself - http://audiophilereview.com/audiophile-news/why-double-blind-testing-cant-work-for-audio.html tl;dr - Music is so complicated, it can't possibly be scientifically tested!!!
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Apr 24, 2014 16:32
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BANME.sh posted:I am a member of a local group of audio gear enthusiasts. The conversation is pretty boring but it sometimes gives me access to good deals on used equipment before it hits local classifieds. Anyway, quite a few members are typical audiophiles. One of them just posted this article about how double blind tests don't work for audio. The problem is not that his article is wrong; it's that it completely misses the point. Yes, it's impossible to get two people to agree on something as subjective as "Does A or B sound better?", but that's not what double blind testing is supposed to do. Double blind testing is supposed to help decide which system an individual prefers, and whether that individual can even tell the difference without needing to worry about any bias from brand, price, or other external factors.
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Apr 24, 2014 22:29
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A double blind study would actually be if a trained panel would be able to tell two different sound systems (or headphones or whatever) apart with any statistical certainty. And by trained I mean trained like a taste tasting panel is: Accurately being able to explain sensory input.
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Apr 24, 2014 22:42
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Double blind testing means the person conducting the test is to be blinded just as well as the test subject.
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Apr 25, 2014 01:42
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Terminal Entropy posted:Double blind testing means the person conducting the test is to be blinded just as well as the test subject. "I don't know which one I'm giving you and you don't know which one you're getting." ABX tests can be double blind: "Here is sample A. New here's B. Here's X; was X either A or B?" where X is contorted by a computer/randomizer, and does not give any differentiating information between A or B.
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Apr 25, 2014 08:00
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Someone explain to me what the advantage of a three way speaker system in in-ear headphones is supposed to be good for? Samsung announced something like this.
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Apr 29, 2014 01:06
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Product differentiation?
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Apr 29, 2014 03:38
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So just for the sake of it? I'd figure the tiny drivers in in-ears can cover the frequency spectrum just fine?
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Apr 29, 2014 03:44
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Combat Pretzel posted:So just for the sake of it? I'd figure the tiny drivers in in-ears can cover the frequency spectrum just fine? They can, but in theory you can get slightly better sound reproduction with the three separate drivers. But they're earbuds so I'm not sure how much that impact will really matter.
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Apr 29, 2014 03:47
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Combat Pretzel posted:So just for the sake of it? I'd figure the tiny drivers in in-ears can cover the frequency spectrum just fine? It comes from the idea that using multiple drivers tuned for different frequency responses is more effective than a single driver. In a broad sense, think of using a tweeter and a woofer in a cabinet instead of only full-range drivers. It's really more popular with balanced armatures as BAs have traditionally had a harder time with a wide frequency response than dynamics due to having a much smaller diaphragm. The results have borne out the method to this point - multi-BA setups generally show advantages over single-BA designs. However, as time goes on BAs are getting better at covering the entire frequency range and dynamics are getting better at reproducing detail.
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Apr 29, 2014 04:01
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I was just being snarky. Thanks for the informative posts; my faith in consumer audio products is mildly restored.
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Apr 29, 2014 04:26
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Today I was thanked by no less than six people after being forced to speak up at a seminar to point out that a well respected audio industry figure fundamentally misunderstood digital audio. He was trying to A-B test a cheap USB cable against a ridiculously expensive one to show how much warmer and more detailed the expensive one was. Whilst telling people which was which. On a PA system, which was purple. The cable was purple too. By unplugging one and plugging the other in whilst a tune was playing continuously. Of course he was using Fidelia. And a £4000 soundcard. And mentioned skin effect as a potential cause. On the whole it was good but you could blatantly tell that he drank the audiophile kool aid.
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Apr 30, 2014 18:13
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I occasionally browse audio gear photos on flickr and I came across this ridiculous battery powered phono stage: I am assuming the point is to reduce noise from a transformer, but is there any benefit over just putting the power supply in an external brick like literally every other piece of consumer electronics?
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Apr 30, 2014 22:55
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BANME.sh posted:I occasionally browse audio gear photos on flickr and I came across this ridiculous battery powered phono stage: Straight linear DC to feed the amp. No possibility of noise or power deviations. No need to worry about power outages? As to external transformers, I say gently caress manufacturers who use them. I've often find them to be a huge source of rf noise that leaks into analog audio cables and raises the noise floor of my ham radio.
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May 1, 2014 00:01
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HFX posted:No need to worry about power outages? So your phono stage stays up, but all your other gear goes down? Unless those are also full of massive batteries...
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May 1, 2014 00:26
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EL BROMANCE posted:Unless those are also full of massive batteries... You seem to have a fundamental misunderstanding here... What's the point of having a battery powered phono stage if everything else is just going to ruin its alkaline warmth with their mains noise?
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May 1, 2014 01:49
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Maybe the idea is to run them down, like how guitarists enjoy the sound of some 9V pedals when the battery is starting to go. Lo-fi approach (somehow I doubt it though)
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May 1, 2014 03:11
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I am assuming that thing costs no less than $1000 (likely much more) I wonder why they didn't go with some kind of rechargeable li-ion battery instead. Sixteen D cells just seems so clumsy.
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May 1, 2014 03:26
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BANME.sh posted:I am assuming that thing costs no less than $1000 (likely much more) I wonder why they didn't go with some kind of rechargeable li-ion battery instead. Sixteen D cells just seems so clumsy. You need pure alkaline current! The warmth of the soundstage you can only get from manganese dioxide!
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May 1, 2014 03:29
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HFX posted:Straight linear DC to feed the amp. No possibility of noise or power deviations. No need to worry about power outages? Hey hey, ho ho, wall warts have got to go.
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May 1, 2014 04:39
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Is anyone selling audiophile batteries yet? I mean those aren't even Duracell Procell just the regular scrub ones what the gently caress is that guy thinking? Duracell Procells are just regular Duracells with different printing. Also cheaper. 3D Megadoodoo fucked around with this message at 07:25 on May 2, 2014 |
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May 2, 2014 07:22
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