Interesting link on hifi stuff (2)


http://www.ethanwiner.com/myths.html

Here's another one.
cdc

Showing 3 responses by jcaudio

TWL and Sean are correct. This guy is clueless. No pun intended to our very own clueless:)
I took just one piece of his so called work which stated that:
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Myth: Replacing the resistors and capacitors in preamps and power amps with higher quality units can improve the sound of a system.

Fact: Unless your capacitors are defective (they allow DC current to pass through them), or have changed their value over time due to heat and other environmental factors, you are not likely to improve anything by replacing them. The same goes for replacement metal film resistors. It's true that metal film resistors have lower noise than other types, but that makes a difference only in certain critical circuits, such as the input stage of a high-gain mike preamp. It's also true that different types of capacitors are more or less suitable for different types of circuits. But if you think the designers of your amplifier or mixer are too stupid to have used appropriate components in the first place, why would the rest of the design be good enough to warrant the cost of improved parts? In fairness, extremely old gear often employs carbon composition resistors, and replacing them can make a difference in many audio circuits. But anything manufactured in the past 20 years or so will use carbon film resistors and decent capacitors.

If a mixer or mike preamp is already audibly "transparent" and its specs show nearly unmeasurable distortion with a frequency response flat from DC to light, how can it possibly be made better? Bear in mind that a distortion figure of 0.01 percent means that all of the distortion components, added together, are 80 dB. below the level of the original signal! Indeed, the single best way to maintain transparency is to minimize the number of devices in the audio path.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

This is nonsense:
For those of you who don't believe in the value good capacitors etc make in a curcuit I ask you to read the well written special report by Martin Colloms in the July issue of Hi-Fi News regarding their evaluation of Black Gate capacitors. For those of you who can't find it I will be happy to fax it. As an example: We have two transports. Both are exactly the same except one has Black gate caps and other improvements in parts quality. The difference between the two is staggering. Sounds to me like he deals in electrical theory which we all know seems to go by the wayside in audio. I don't know why but it does.
Seandtaylor, While I tend to agree that theory should be relevant in analyzing certain aspects of audio, my experience has been otherwise. As an example some theorists will say that a power cord brings ac to your component. How can this possibly affect the sound. Who knows, but it does. To a large degree I might add. There are so many things that engineers have tried to convince me that can't possibly make a difference in audio. Ultimately things like cables, transports, power supplies, parts quality etc.etc. do make a huge difference. To dismiss this fact leads me to believe that the system used to evaluate and make such claims is not very revealing.
His article seems more like his experience or opinions with a tiny bit of electrical engineering thrown in to substantiate his arguments. That is his opininon. I can respect that. I have mine also. I guess that is what makes this hobby so interesting is that not everyone hears or cares about the same things. Happy listening.
Hi Sean,
Are you saying that if they are not measurable and scientific that our ears are wrong or the findings irrelevant?
I am not a engineer. I am and have been a avid audiophile for 32 years. While I can't explain why power cords make a difference I know they do. Even on the same cd player 9 different cords will probably sound different in every case. In regrads to cheap cd players causing the change from power cords I find the reverse to be true. The better the components the more pronounced the differences.
I just tried new power cords tonight on a system I am intimately familiar. The bass was all but gone. It could be break in. Can you measure break in on a component? I encourage you to try some different power cords, speaker cables etc. Try to measure any difference then use your ears. Did you know most Sony receivers measure better than most of the high end equipment available. Specs mean very little if anything to me. That is just my opinion. I am not trying to take any of your money. Happy Listening (measuring):)