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Woolie Wool posted:That's still only six years. It was a pair of 500GB WD Raid Edition II in a mirror. I've retired them not too long ago, when I built my NAS. In which I'm running WD RE4's. Woolie Wool posted:For $200 you'd think they could get a better finish on the wood. Combat Pretzel fucked around with this message at 16:50 on Dec 22, 2015 |
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Dec 22, 2015 16:48
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Combat Pretzel posted:For $200 I'm surprised that no one bought and gutted it yet, to have a laugh about it.  No caps, no coils, no resistors...sounds like there's nothing to gut from it  e: I think the TunnelBridge is the most fascinating one. On the surface it sounds like they're transforming a single-ended signal path into balanced, but in reality it's probably less than that quote:The Tunnelbridge is an elaborate, powered interconnect system. It features a stand-alone power supply unit that powers the Tunnelbridge interconnects for two purposes: first, to clone the incoming audio signal in real time, and second, to enable the two isolated circuits within the interconnects to create the conditions that allow distortion to arise only in relation to the cloned signal. This way the audio signal remains perfectly preserved, unaffected by distortion at all points through the entire cable length. The cloned signal, purposely created to be subjected to all distortion, is then intentionally discarded, never able to enter your gear. Panty Saluter fucked around with this message at 17:24 on Dec 22, 2015 |
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Dec 22, 2015 17:16
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Panty Saluter posted:No caps, no coils, no resistors...sounds like there's nothing to gut from it Didn't you know that running your cable through a expensive looking
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Dec 22, 2015 17:46
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Panty Saluter posted:The Tunnelbridge is an elaborate, powered interconnect system. It features a stand-alone power supply unit that powers the Tunnelbridge interconnects for two purposes: first, to clone the incoming audio signal in real time, and second, to enable the two isolated circuits within the interconnects to create the conditions that allow distortion to arise only in relation to the cloned signal. This way the audio signal remains perfectly preserved, unaffected by distortion at all points through the entire cable length. The cloned signal, purposely created to be subjected to all distortion, is then intentionally discarded, never able to enter your gear.
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Dec 22, 2015 17:50
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Combat Pretzel posted:Wait what? Pretty much. Ignoring the fact that active components always have a higher noise floor than passive ones, it's all vaguely plausible gibberish. Don't waste too much brainpower on it. edit: the cloned signal is a decoy that distracts the distortion from the real signal, duh 
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Dec 22, 2015 18:02
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Panty Saluter posted:edit: the cloned signal is a decoy that distracts the distortion from the real signal, duh I can just imagine a bunch of electrons going "hey, distortion, over here! look at us! La lalalalala!" While another bunch of electrons slink past in single file with their little electron heads ducked down.
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Dec 22, 2015 18:32
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BANME.sh posted:SSDs die too and often catastrophically with no warning signs I love SSDs for the speed but if they fail your data is gone. If a HDD fails, you have a lot of recovery options. Mind you, any data you care about should exist in more than one place anyway.
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Dec 23, 2015 02:43
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Combat Pretzel posted:Wait what? It was described ages ago by another goon as the Picture of Dorian Gray for audio signal, and I cannot think of a better summary.
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Dec 23, 2015 09:14
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Just saw a great quote: A music lover uses their sound system to listen to music; an audiophile uses music to listen to their sound system.
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Dec 23, 2015 19:29
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I use my sound system to listen to test tones. RENOWNED MASTERING ENGINEER STEVE HOFFMAN ENDORSING THE HALLOGRAPH AT CES 2003 Activated panels generate a musically complimentary reflective energy that transforms your listening room by overshadowing typical room distortions which muddy the bass, overbrighten the presentation and blur the soundstage. "I received the Hallograph the first week of January, and found it very easy to set up. My wife's visual reaction was "it's not as bad as I thought it was going to be"" http://www.shakti-innovations.com/hallograph.htm
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Dec 23, 2015 22:44
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Read this review of some analog optical signal cables, then look at the measurements later and the letters that resulted. http://www.stereophile.com/cables/805harm/index.html#IJVjC0P2UDJw5DLe.97 Afterwards, reflect on just bad one of the foremost audio reviewers actually is at telling whether audio gear is good or bad.
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Dec 23, 2015 23:12
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KozmoNaut posted:Read this review of some analog optical signal cables, then look at the measurements later and the letters that resulted. So, anyone who actually has to use fibre will be  at that whole cavalcade of bullshit, because there's literally no way whatsoever anything they're claiming can possibly be true, but it's fun how anyone even vaguely familiar with audio processing should also be able to see it's utter bullshit too - and yet a person who is paid money to review these things still managed to write this:quote:When you're powered up and ready to play music, you'll hear a very slight hiss coming from the speakers. If this freaks you out, no CyberLight cables for you. "If you dislike the emperor's mighty imperial dong slapping in your face, maybe his new clothes just aren't for you!"
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Dec 23, 2015 23:38
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You are clueless, Mr. Twisto. Your comment makes no sense. I am glad you'd never recommend a product that introduces audible distortion. neither would I. Their superiority to anything else out there that I've heard is undeniable. A Lone Girl Flier fucked around with this message at 00:09 on Dec 24, 2015 |
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Dec 23, 2015 23:57
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Jago posted:I can tell you that Leipai amp he's using is a piece of crap that doesn't come near its' rated wattage. I have one bolted to the top of a home made boombox and it is... sufficient. 30 bucks! I have one of those little things powering some shaky things in my couch 
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Dec 24, 2015 00:32
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goddamnedtwisto posted:So, anyone who actually has to use fibre will be Itll be covered up by the surface noise, its fine
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Dec 24, 2015 19:24
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I have now achieved the dubious honor of being a scary boogeyman to a couple of diehard audiophiles. In a thread started to ask for advice on amplifier shopping in the circa NAD C375BEE price and performance range, the very first reply was one of the diehards specifically telling the OP not to listen to anything I said.quote:You just buy the cheapest 50-watt amplifier you can find. And then use the cheapest "licorice cables" in the market. Then you're in the fast lane and everything else is a waste of money ... The very first reply in a new thread, that's almost flattering. And kinda creepy. The best/worst part is that the guy is a former moderator at the site. I wonder what the current moderators will think of his antics. KozmoNaut fucked around with this message at 06:13 on Dec 25, 2015 |
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Dec 25, 2015 06:10
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The hilarious part is that the advice he claims you're going to give is probably decent advice. That NAD is overkill for 99% of setups; not that I wouldn't love to have one. Also, I'd trust a guy with a lot of telecom experience and theoretical knowledge over someone who's credentials are "Buys lots of expensive equipment." But that's just me.
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Dec 25, 2015 07:06
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He was asking for amplifiers to use with his Dali 850s (unknown sensitivity, can't find the specs) as a replacement for his Denon PMA-1315r (2x115W) which has started acting up*. Considering I recently bought a 2x20W Fisher amp ($7) and the guy I bought it from had been using it to power a pair of large floorstanding speakers just fine, 2x150W may be ever so slightly overkill. Then again, there really is no kill like overkill. Now the fringe audiophile crazy segment of the forum has resorted to calling me a wuss, a chicken and a coward because I refuse to go to some guy's home and listen to his fancy-pants cables, since he wants to prove to me that they sound different. Of course, we all know what the end result will be if I show up. I'll listen patiently to the absolutely identical sound produced using both sets of cables, he'll ask me whether I heard the "massive night and day difference", and when I say that I didn't hear any difference, he'll call me deaf, biased and ignorant etc. And obviously, he refuses to even do a basic RMAA test on the cables, which I've set as the very low bar for justifying a (non-blind, probably rigged) "listening test". *I may actually consider buying the Denon from him, it can probably be repaired. E: And predictably, they have now started attacking the quality of my gear and my (lack of) hearing. KozmoNaut fucked around with this message at 12:31 on Dec 25, 2015 |
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Dec 25, 2015 11:57
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Could you even agree on a test method? Edit: A couple of sources agree on 92db at 2.83V/1m for the 850s. http://www.hifi4all.dk/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=94036 A Lone Girl Flier fucked around with this message at 12:35 on Dec 25, 2015 |
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Dec 25, 2015 12:30
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Waldo P Barnstormer posted:Could you even agree on a test method? I highly doubt it. And considering how hard it is to get a proper double blind test correct even with 100% willing participants, it will literally never happen.
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Dec 25, 2015 12:32
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See what he suggests as a test method, it will probably be worth a laugh or two.
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Dec 25, 2015 12:37
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Just the usual boring "you change wires while I listen* with my highly attuned audiophile ears". *And watch for obvious clues etc.
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Dec 25, 2015 12:55
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That NAD does look awful nice, and my Def Techs do seem to like a fair amount of juice. Plus the NAD is apparently stable into 2 ohms  1500 USD is a bit more than I should be spending on non-necessary items, though....
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Dec 25, 2015 15:27
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You will literally never have to upgrade your stereo amp again, though.
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Dec 25, 2015 16:00
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I bet it drives a pair of 2CE Signatures pretty well too.
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Dec 25, 2015 16:02
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I prefer amps that can be used as welding rigs in a pinch.
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Dec 25, 2015 18:08
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Krell monoblocks ARE pretty cool.
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Dec 25, 2015 18:28
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Lab.gruppen used to do welding demos with their power amps at trade shows. You have to admit, that's some pretty badass publicity.
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Dec 25, 2015 18:31
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KozmoNaut posted:Read this review of some analog optical signal cables, then look at the measurements later and the letters that resulted. I can actually see one and only one use for these, if they work: electrical isolation for a singing Tesla coil. However, fidelity is not that high a priority in this situation. On the other hand, most audiophile equipment has no circumstances where they are superior to stuff at reasonable prices, so this is a success.
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Dec 26, 2015 01:09
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So I guess the issue with those optical cables is a cheap, noisy IC on the output? Then again if you like vinyl and tubes euphonic distortion is sort of your "thing"
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Dec 26, 2015 01:12
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Has anyone ever done a double blind test where both A and B have been the same cabling? Like gently caress even changing them, just play passages of music multiple times through the cheap poo poo and have a set of expensive cables sat about unplugged, see what they say.
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Dec 26, 2015 02:27
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Zemyla posted:I can actually see one and only one use for these, if they work: electrical isolation for a singing Tesla coil. However, fidelity is not that high a priority in this situation. Nope; as you can see in the lower image here, there's power cables for the optical/electrical converters running alongside the fibre. You're actually just inserting a whole nother circuit into the equation.
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Dec 26, 2015 02:34
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Dude, optical obviously has less jitter. What can be more pure than light?!
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Dec 26, 2015 03:11
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Well in that case there's no jitter because it's continuous waveform
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Dec 26, 2015 03:13
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88h88 posted:Has anyone ever done a double blind test where both A and B have been the same cabling? Like gently caress even changing them, just play passages of music multiple times through the cheap poo poo and have a set of expensive cables sat about unplugged, see what they say. Luckily yes. Test showed the testers couldn't tell the difference between expensive cables and wires from a coat hanger.
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Dec 26, 2015 10:30
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Boiled Water posted:Luckily yes. Test showed the testers couldn't tell the difference between expensive cables and wires from a coat hanger. And yet, even in the face of that test and others like it, they still insist on hearing clearly audible differences. The usual excuse is that either the equipment used wasn't "resolving" enough, the ABX switching hardware muddled the sound, the test setup itself was stressful, a whole shopping list of bad excuses. One of the most stubborn myths they like to peddle is that A/V receivers are crap for listening to music, and that you need a separate stereo amp with HT passthrough to properly enjoy music on the same setup. I wonder how they listen to concert movies and musicals. KozmoNaut fucked around with this message at 11:27 on Dec 26, 2015 |
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Dec 26, 2015 11:25
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josh04 posted:Nope; as you can see in the lower image here, there's power cables for the optical/electrical converters running alongside the fibre. You're actually just inserting a whole nother circuit into the equation. Yeah, I mean if you were going to do it properly for noise isolation you'd have a DAC and an ADC at opposite ends of the cable, so there's two conversion steps for absolutely no good reason in your signal chain. The fact they talk about audible noise strongly suggests they're using cheap converters, but there's also references to it being analogue throughout which suggests they're doing analogue optical (more or less just wiring an LED into the signal and an LDR at the other end), and given how non-linear the response of both those components is the idea of using that for an audio signal is just absolutely hilarious. e: Holy poo poo looking again at the images - these are just cheap media converters for data use. There's literally no way whatsoever this wouldn't completely destroy an analogue signal.
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Dec 26, 2015 11:53
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I am actually amazed they got it to work as well as they did. The distortion is a full 40dB below the signal!
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Dec 26, 2015 12:03
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This is a pretty great article. Started out with me going to post it here because of Michael Fremer, then Ethan Winer comes in at the halfway mark and saves it. http://lifehacker.com/5883665/how-to-be-an-audiophile-on-the-cheap Also it has this picture of me in it: 
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Dec 26, 2015 12:09
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Ethan Winer has a massive hardon for room treatments (which he also happens to sell through his company Realtraps), but other than that, his head is on straight when it comes to audio. Here's an interesting comparison of hi-res audio to CD and MP3: https://www2.ia-engineers.org/iciae/index.php/icisip/icisip2013/paper/viewFile/160/146 In the comparison between hi-res and 128kbps MP3 (newest LAME version), 55.6% preferred hi-res over MP3. That's not exactly a resounding win for hi-res audio. Read through the paper and see how many questions you have for their testing methods and procedures, because holy hell there are a lot of iffy parts to it. Like for instance, why are they using CBR instead of VBR for MP3? Does anyone actually use CBR anymore except maybe 320kbps (and they really should be using -V0 or lossless instead)?
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Dec 31, 2015 17:47
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