@sns That little "Buick" V8 is pretty special. Should pull nicely and make "good noises".
Have you ever solved a high end audio issue using non-audio technology? Or, visa versa?
Sometimes we just have to be creative to fix a problem. Our "bag of tricks" may go well beyond the usual "audiophile grade" tools of the trade to produce a positive result.
Here's one:
Years ago, I acquired a little British sports car. This, itself is an unusual story. I'm a performance car enthusiast with a 835HP vehicle is parked in my garage.
At any rate, the little 4-cylinder "tractor motor" had solid lifters that sounded like a Singer sewing machinegoing down the road above 3,000 RPM. It distracted from the driving experience. I was thinking how nice it would be to quiet them down a little.
Then I remembered the can of Acoustical Magic material I had in the basement. For those unfamilar with this material, it's used to dampen the vibration/resonance of turntable platters. I pulled the aluminum valve cover, cleaned and degreased it thoroughly, then applied a generous portion of Acoustical Magic. After a little curing in the oven and allowing it to set for 24 hours, the valve cover was reattached.
If I had it do over again, I would have measured before/after with a spectrum analyzer. But, my best guesstimate is that there was a 6-9db drop in the tapping sound, and I could hear the sounds around me while cruising. The driving experience improved exponentially. Thanks to Acoustical Magic for a cheap, effective solution to my "acoustical" problem.
I have to admit that a year later the true "hot rodder" in me required that I add a turbo to the little engine. The sound of the off-throttle blow off valve is music to my ears. And, driving something resembling a real sports car, as opposed to a British commuter car was a plus.
Showing 5 responses by waytoomuchstuff
You guys are definitely thinking outside the box. Great responses!! Okay, 2 more: I once used several 3" automotive exhaust pipes to vent an underground subwoofer into an outdoor firepit. At a (calculated) air velocity of 76MPH thru the ports, it burned thru firewood pretty fast. I wasn't happy with how my microwave popcorn was turning out. Cooked too short = unpopped kernals. Cooked too long = dry and tasteless popcorn. My solution: more/better power. So, I hard-wired in a custom "audiophile" power cord to the Panasonic microwave oven and ... I'm not going to reveal the (measured) results. I get beat up enough here from the guys who don't like premium power cords. But, I'll just leave you with this thought: Orville Redenbacher would have been proud. |
@thecarpathian "I have no idea what that means" Okay. See if this helps: We use subwoofer enclosure software to design custom subwoofers (in this case a bandpass enclosure). There's a lot of math going when parameters are keyed in. You get the expected frequency response, power handling, port diameter and length, etc. Another interesting goodie that is extracted is the speed of the air in the port(s). In our case -- 76MPH!! When the bass hits hard, the fire in the pit gets quite energized. A bit like pointing your leaf blower at the fire and pulsing the trigger. It's a lot of fun -- until all the firewood is consumed. Does that do it for you? |