Someone will try to say this is actually true.
I have found out why new cables and tweaks actually work!
The issue is now solved via irrefutable scientific data and rigorous validation after unprecedented levels of physical effort. I now know why swapping cables works, and why a great deal of other tweaks work too.
I spent a great deal of time over the weekend cleaning my entertainment center. I used a Swiffer with the extending wand attachment. Immediately afterwards I went to watch a movie and the sound was clearer, cleaner than I’d ever heard it before. The video didn’t change, but the audio, it was so good I stopped playing the Fellowship of the Ring for the 10th time and went to listen to music.
Oh my goodness, what deep and extended soundstage! Not only could I hear deeper into all of my music but instruments had bodies and height! Diana Krall was so palpably present I wanted to buy her dinner. But what had changed?? Every single cable was left as it was, but I had cleaned!!
That’s when it hit me. All my tweaks and all my cable replacements did nothing. It was the cleaning I did every time I replaced a set of cables that actually caused the revolutionary transformations I was experiencing. Same for every other audiophile!! You've ignored the cleaning and ascribed changes to gear. We've been fooled!
On a completely unrelated note, I will soon be releasing my own line of advanced, jitter free, cleaning solutions, in peach, evergreen, unscented and Axe Body Spray fragrances.
120 responses Add your response
I know you’re joshing, erik, or trolling, but it is true that cleaning has both physical and psychological benefits on audio. I remember having a discussion with a friend many years ago when we used to drive beat-up old cars, my friend was baffled by how washing his car (the exterior, not the engine) made it run better. I was doing experiments in perception at the time and I told him it had to be perception, that washing your car could not make it run better. He insisted that somehow washing it did make it run better. I experienced the same phenomenon with my cars. |
I'd like to share what the AI program ChatGPT can do in relation to audiophile conversation. QUESTION: Explain why tube audio amplifiers sound better than solid state amplifiers Tube amplifiers use vacuum tubes as their active components, while solid state amplifiers use transistors. Tubes tend to produce a more "rounded" and "analog" sound, while transistors tend to produce a more "sharp" and "digital" sound. This is because tubes have a more gradual and linear response to changes in input signal level, while transistors have a more abrupt and non-linear response. In addition, tube amplifiers tend to produce more harmonic distortion than solid state amplifiers, which can give the audio output a more "natural" and "organic" quality. Some people prefer this sound because it can be perceived as more "musical" and "pleasing" to the ear. However, it's worth noting that these generalizations are not universally true, and the perceived sound quality of an amplifier can be influenced by a wide range of factors, including the specific design and construction of the amplifier, the quality of the components used, and the individual preferences of the listener. Overall, while tube audio amplifiers are often said to produce a "warmer" and "smoother" sound compared to solid state amplifiers, the perceived sound quality of an amplifier is subjective and can vary widely depending on the specific design and construction of the amplifier and the individual preferences of the listener. |
And here's a poem from ChatGPT: QUESTION: write a poem about tube amplifiers ANSWER: Tube amplifiers, oh so fine Their warmth envelops, a comforting embrace Solid state may be efficient and fast So here's to tube amplifiers, a true treasure |
@erik_squires I've used a Swiffer with the extension for a couple of years. Do you use the Heavy Duty or Standard? I find the Heavy Duty gives more detail and the extension more air. |
I’ve taken the opposite approach. The new “Sonidust”, works wonders at softening, and warming up your audio experience. Amazing product, containing a carefully curated collection of dust and hair. Simply grab a handful, sprinkle behind your stereo on all wires and listen as the warmth you had come to love (but was removed by your ever cleaning partner or cleaning person) listen, as that glorious sound returns. Caution is advised, the dust has been shown to be highly flammable in California… |
Great poem!!! I thought you were going to say that removing your cables , cleaning their connectors & also the jacks or terminals on the equipment & replacing them all made a sonic difference because it most definitely can! That’s worth doing every once in a while. I have the opposite theory on dust though & believe a good layer of it protects the electronics from outside evil forces….. |
Told ya. |
It’s called starting a conversation, @Fuzztone I do that but hopefully in meanignful and humorous ways that add to the otherwise droll litany of shopping choices and technology. I like those too, but I do think that this site benefits from not having just such a mindset. Also, i do try to be honest, even if sarcastic. :) I want to remind you and others, make Audiogon yours by starting the conversations you'd like to see. |
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So what exactly is your problem if I do?
How is what I do or don’t do any of your business? And what makes you feel like you know anything about real life better than anyone else, because if you think you do I have many many questions of how you got that idea in your head.
Really? Because most of what I see you do is post shade. |
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@erik_squires - As I was reading your original post, I was thinking that this concept, however tongue and check, aligned with your room first perspective, then I saw you were the OP and was entertained.
@tomcy6 - Depending on how your friend washed his car, if any of the suspension components got wet it's possible that it could have a positive effect, at least temporarily, on the ride quality. Also, wet tires should be slightly softer (they certainly cut easier) and that could also temporarily soften the ride which would feel good. |
So all this time you were happily listening with one or more cables having a connection problem? Hmmmmmm…..
Don’t laugh. I have been to a guy’s home showcasing his amp he had put up for sale. The entire left channel was off, and he seemed to have no clue. 🤦♂️.
I have also experienced several times people having stuff connected out of phase, with no knowledge something was terribly wrong. Go figure |
I believe there was actually a “myth busters” type test done by a few different sites. Both used coat hangers vs. “audiophile” speaker cables. They used both testing equipment and human subjects for the testing. Although the testing equipment picked up a slightly better (though unintelligible to human ear) response curve with the audiophile cables, when it came to the human subjects 50% said the couldn’t tell a difference, 25% said they liked the coat hangers better and the other 25% liked the speaker cables better. One of the commenters claimed they actually challenged Kimber to switch speaker placement in a listening room where he had just a/b’d his speaker cable with cheap speaker wire. When the speaker placement was flip flopped the cheaper speaker wire then sounded better. Food for thought. |
@galvarado69 : source of this controlled test? |
Hey galvarado, I actually did my own single-blind test with music lovers who were audiophiles. One pair of speaker cable was Mogami soundrunner, and the other I believe was one of the Wireworld Eclipse models. The interesting thing was. without prompting, we heard the same changes, but the prefernce was markedly different. Wireworld was darker and had better imaging. Since I paid the most money for it I preferred it! :) My neighbors prefered the brighter, faster sound of the Mogamis. Tonally we all heard exactly the same thing. My neighbors did not hear the changes in imaging until I asked them to listen for it. They agreed with which imaged better, but really wouldn't give up on the better mid-treble output. Maybe because of that all my speaker cables now are made from Mogami. :D |
@thyname here is one of them. Hopefully the link works. |
@galvarado69 : did you actually read the article you posted? Everyone has a Google Machine these days.
It was not a controlled test. It was an Internet poll. Which are typically only attended by cable deniers like yourself. Copy / paste: ———- In order to determine if people could hear the difference between a coathanger and a cable, we posted a poll in an earlier version of this article. We asked readers to listen to ten audio samples—two head-to-head at a time—and rate which ones sounded better than others, or if they were the same. In every single one of the five comparisons, one sample was recorded over a coathanger cable, and the other was recorded with a high-end cable. On SoundGuys, the “both sound the same” option won every single poll question handily. While we didn’t have a large sample size, it’s more than the 2008 study’s sample set, so I’m happy with this.
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My friend and I didn’t feel that our cars RODE more comfortably, we felt the engines and drive trains RAN better. Two different things.
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@thyname you seem to have a dog in this fight or at least expensive speaker cables both of which I do not. Nor do I plan too have. I absolutely love music so for me, my equipment is just a means to an end. Cheap or expensive is relative to the buyer. So long as the music I’m playing sounds pleasing to me I don’t really care what was paid for it. |
