Speaking of microwaves, there is this: https://www.mcintoshlabs.com/products/cd-players/MCD85 within this: Audiogon Discussion Forum. If you haven't seen this thread yet, enjoy.
Is the microwave the perfect model for audio marketting?
I remember the first time my mother got interested in a microwave oven. They were brand new, full of promises of fast, convenient cooking and baking. She ended up with a Toshiba with a built in magnetic card reader. You could put in a recipe card and automatically program it, or you could get additional cards and program your own "recipes." This was decades before the Internet, home routers or anything like Wifi.
Last week installers took away my 19 year old Maytag and replaced it with a brand new LG. Full of "features" where it automatically guesses the power and time based on buttons such as "potato" or "popcorn." These are not even very smart features. They don’t weigh the potato or take the temperature of the item you are heating or listen for the popcorn to stop popping. They just look up settings from a table and away you go.
Honestly of the hundreds of features in this microwave I need the light and fan the most. Then the power and time. The first two features are never very good in any microwave. The latter two are the only one’s most of us end up using out of sheer frustration with the automated features.
Is this a model or metaphor for modern audio marketting? Are we constantly being sold a list of features which in the end don’t really matter so long as the light turns on and the frozen Tandori chicken meal is safe to eat?
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@shtinkydog : Sir, this is a thread about microwaves, not toaster ovens. |
Spent a few days in South Korea before Lucky and Goldstar merged to form LG. Still remember those items when I look at them today. Most consumer electronics today are OEM, meaning it all comes from the same factory. My wife worked for an industrial robot company for ten years. OEM 24/7. That's why I am cynical about many audio products. As for microwave cooking you have to know the wattage of the machine and the behavior of the molecules in the food you are preparing. Certain foods can absorb tremendous energy and emerge cold. In others 4 seconds makes the difference between perfect and ruined. Set the time yourself and watch carefully. Ignore the programmed functions. |
I love the typical description of how microwaves make things hot! It goes along the lines that the microwaves make molecules vibrate, the vibration between the molecules causes friction, and the friction creates heat. Fortunately, most readers here know that temperature is a direct measure of molecular vibration. Microwaves excite vibration in water molecules - no other magic required. |
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