Do you believe in Magic?

Geoffkait (esoteric tweak vendor), OK once again you've impressed me with your world class mastery of the insignificant. I'll take that for what its worth.

Bryon,

I do not recall the details of how your computer is connected to your audio system, but assuming it is via wires, then I would most likely attribute the difference to a change in the computer generated noise domain resulting from a configuration change to the computer.

I'd be very interested to know if a difference was heard changing drives if the computer is isolated from the stereo using a wireless connection. I would predict not, but it would not be the first time I was wrong if so.

"if you have confidence in your perceptions, there may be occasions where there is no rational explanation for what you hear."

Translation: you are deluded!

I do not believe in magic when it comes to home audio. Though it may often seem that way, there is always a reason why.

"My use of the word "magic" isn't meant to imply that the audible effects we've been discussing have no basis in physical laws. It's simply meant to refer to audible effects that are difficult to explain."

"Magic" may or may not be a suitable term for something that cannot be explained in that "supernatural" influences are often cited as being responsible for observed magic.


I'm just not sure I'd want to provide an opportunity for the supernatural to be cited as a cause regarding how things sound.

Albeit typically elusive, with home audio, there is always a reason or reasons why something sounds exactly the way it does.

But at some point, one practically just has to punt rather than worry too much about establishing cause and effect to great detail, as I'm sure you well know from experience.

"The problem with many tweaks that can't be explained or have difficult to swallow explanations is that knowledge or expertise in the sciences of electronics and acoustics is no longer sufficient to judge them."

Yep, that sure is the problem.

When one does not know, the double whammy then is one may not be able to determine who to trust when another claims they do.

Luckily, most of the really important core principles of home audio are fairly well understood by many, so that is less of a problem practically.

"The so-called experts - the "many" - still don't understand wire directionality (or dismiss it), why one cable can sound better than another one that measures better, why tiny little acoustic bowls have such a dramatic impact on bass frequencies, why cables must be "burned in" to sound their best, why cryogenically treated CDs and LPs sound better than stock CDs and LPs, why degaussing improves CDs and LPs, why degaussing improves cables, why deionization improves CDs and cables, why the Schumann Frequency Generator works, etc. in fact, I suspect most of the so-called experts - the "many" - have never even heard of these things."

Geoff, in that case, assuming you are right and everyone else is wrong, the you should help educate them. What better way to build credibility? That's kind of how higher learning works in general.

OR you can continue to keep your secrets to yourself and convince people that you are right and that the rest of the world has their priorities wrong.

Either way works for me. I can only speak for myself.

Well, a belief in magic in its truest sense will certainly come in handy I suspect with a device like that!

Magic may be the modern frontier of audio tweaks after all! When all else fails......