Air is definitely directional. Anyone who walked out around here today would tell you so. It did change directions from time to time, but was it windy.
Do speaker cables need a burn in period?
I have heard some say that speaker cables do need a 'burn in', and some say that its totally BS.
What say you?
What say you?
Showing 50 responses by glupson
There is a live album on which a performer says something to the effect of "Merle Haggard just happens to be known for probably the only bad song he ever wrote." In a similar way, on Audiogon forum, Richard Feynman is quoted way more often than necessary with probably the only quote that has no real meaning, substance, or explanation of anything. Quoter's fascination with that one single quote is revealing, though. |
"The rats went immediately to the door where the food had been the time before." "He finally found that they could tell by the way the floor sounded when they ran over it."There seems to be another variable that has been missed for the last 80 years. The one that made rats know in advance how the floor would sound when they ran over it. That may be what made them run immediately to the right door instead of tapping around searching for the right sound. |
For whatever it is worth... "Limited information exists to the precise identity of Mr. Young, though it’s likely that Feynman was referring to animal scientist Paul Thomas Young. Young, did, in fact, work with rats, but no study as Feynman describes is listed in his published works. So we’ll have to take Feynman’s word that the study was indeed conducted." https://www.realclearscience.com/blog/2014/02/the_rat_experiment_you_dont_know_about_but_should.htmlNow, given that Mr. Feynman has been extensively quoted here by the likes of....(you put your favorite poster here)…., you have to decide for yourself if you will take his word on anything that is not strictly physics. |
I have read teo_audio's post from September 25, 2018 at 8:34 am five times so far. I have been trying to gather points from it, minus Richard Feynman's speech regarding some mysterious untraceable experiment. In the end, or at least so far, what I have concluded about that whole post is... "And that is psychology ---not science, not the scientific method." At the same time, someone might argue against proclaiming that psychology is not a science, but that is certainly a matter for some other forum. I am not sure how it all relates to speaker cable burn in period, but I found that post more interesting and informative than most around here. |
"How many customers of (directional) aftermarket fuses are there since they first came out 15 years ago? 100,000? That’s a whole lot of typical people who can hear wire directionality."As with any epidemiological approach, it would be interesting to see the changes in new-fuse-buyers incidence in general market and their relationship to current marketing trends. Often, probably always, objects of hallucination are related to common names/events surrounding the affected subject. 100 000 new customers over 15 years is between 6000 and 7000 a year, assuming that someone actually knows how many different people bought such fuses. It would be hard, if not entirely impossible, to know how many individual buyers exist. However, given the very specific nature of such a purchase and obvious dedication to the subject, it is safe to assume that each buyer has bought more than one fuse. Which would greatly decrease the number of people interested in fuses and hearing those differences. In the world where number of iPhones may be approaching one billion, a few thousand people who, for whatever legitimate or not so acceptable reason, hear differences in fuses can hardly be considered "a whole lot of typical people". To begin with, people who buy aftermarket fuses are not typical and carry a heavy burden of, admittedly good-natured, potential bias on their findings. |
>>Speaking of different approaches you ought to consider trying some, you know other than your usual bland blah blah blah. No offense.geoffkait, You do have a talent. The only one you have, it seems. Your posts are frequently exact words that others would tell you. You know yourself well and project. I cannot try some other approach than usual bland blah blah blah. Had you not put the request for "no offense", I could try. This way, you limit my honesty. |
I bought an overly expensive RCA interconnect today ($19-20). I replaced a trusted and time-proven skinny one that came with some piece of electronics at some point in the distant past. New one has small arrows on it, or what seems to act as arrows. I tried them in both directions and there was no difference in sound. Not to practice audiophiliac blasphemy, I conducted this experiment with no blinding. I knew what I was changing and in what way. I am still not sure why that is better than single or double-blinded testing in these woods, but so be it. This thread is about speaker cables and my experiment was about interconnects. Both are, in general, wires. The conclusion is that wire directionality does not matter when dealing with wires of relatively short length (50 cm). Amen. |
I apologize to everyone for posting my tiny little experiment about reversed interconnects here but I thought it may not be that misplaced. Wire directionality has been polluting this thread, via geoffkait’s repeated posts insisting on it, for many days now. csmgolf, I agree with your view of my interconnect trial but a person has to start somewhere. Not to mention that any kind of blind testing is frowned upon so my experiment was as flawed as they get. Still, been there, done that, did not work, good if it works for someone else. For me, suspicion was sufficiently proven by a lousy experiment. |
Sorry geoffkait, millions have not heard that difference. You heard it, I did not. You are wrong, I am right. I have no interest in scolding you. By the way, I noticed you changed your repetitive statements about portable CD player system from "no speaker cable" to "no long speaker cable". I am glad you considered what I suggested. |
koan2, As prof said, do not let it keep you from dinner waiting for an answer. Forget about objective or measurement. That is not accepted. The inconvenient thing is that you are a nay-sayer or some worthless skeptic if you have doubts it works. Then you try it yourself, and, if the result is not "blacker blacks, a little violin player started dancing in the room" or some other poetry, you are no good and your result is worthless. In short, there is no way you can be right, if you just do not say "burn-in and other activities are Heaven's gift". By the way, if you have to look/listen too hard for something, it is probably not there. At least not to some meaningful extent. |
I think that gainainm is asking for hypothesis. Very inconvenient thing in all these discussions is that any kind of testing to support the view, one way or another, is not allowed. Those who ask for measurements get attacked for asking for such a ridiculous thing as measurements. Those who suggest blind tests get ridiculed for such a flawed thing as blind tests. It is puzzling at times, to say it softly. Only quasi-technical babbling seems to be allowed. |
geoffkait, Only quasi-technical babbling seems to be allowed.If you paid more attention, you would notice that I do not engage in strictly technical discussions. I do ask basic questions about them, though. It is because I am aware of my limitations on that turf and I try to learn. That is a skill you may find hard to learn, but education does not stop after you get a diploma. You can still try. |
cleeds, "I don’t see that happening here at all."As the thread is getting long, I cannot say for certain that I remember this thread itself has all the features of "ridiculous to measure" and "ridiculous to do blind testing" I mentioned, but it is frequently mentioned all over Audiogon forums. Just try to mention that something is or is not happening because double blind testing resulted that way. Or ask for measurements (few posts above are heading in that direction). You even have a poster who dismisses measurements and blind tests at the same time. I am not sure what is left then. There was, for example, a thread with a person claiming that majestic changes happen when you take a cover off of an amplifier. For pure entertainment and with mind open (I do not belong to any camp in any way), I did it to one old amplifier I have around. It was simple enough so I thought why not. I reported that there was no difference. The response? It did not count and I was a troll. No other discussion was possible. My result was invalid only and exclusively because it was not what the person wanted me to find. |
"And - as I already mentioned - the measured differences are consistent with listening tests." ...says the person who repeatedly bashes people for requesting measurement results and/or blind listening tests. Besides, what measured differences, what listening tests? Performed by who? Where? Under what circumstances? Lots of room for operator error noted. |
You may find this forum more suitable in your quest for Internet fame. Audio forums do not seem to work that well. http://www.fanforum.com/f98/cinderella-2-dream-wish-your-heart-makes-63013040/ But, before you switch your focus, could you elaborate on those 80 000 people and their results? Where could we find some legitimate proof of their existence? |
"..obviously the listening tests were done by folks who weren’t hearing impaired." It is not obvious at all. We are still waiting to find out who those people were and how they did it. For the initial simplicity, we can assume they were not hearing impaired although the solidity of that assumption is not that great. "And the results correlated with wire direction. I.e., they weren’t random." What results? Whose results? When and where results? "There is no operator error when 80,000 hear it." Which 80 000? Where did that number come from and how was the study conducted on such a large number? Even if all 80 000 exist, your favorite reference might suggest the possibility for a multiple-operator error. |
geoffkait, Based on your statements, it is hard to guess you are an audio insider. However, it is clear that you do have great imagination and talent for constructing stories with barely any connection to reality. Pumpkins, flying elephants, and other natural phenomena are always in fashion. Disney may been hiring and I can write you a letter of support. That is not to say that some of the physics implied by posters other than you may not be correct. I do not drink coffee and do not smell it when I wake up. |
chazro, I have to disappoint you. Those three deleted posts were mine and were actually only one. Something was wrong with Audiogon and it would give error message while posting it. It put it out three times with one click. I tried to delete two but all got deleted so I gave up posting. Sorry, it was not that exciting after all. |