I happened to be in a whimsical mood as I read this thread, which I found interesting. I've spoke with MF in the past, in fact he lives very close to me.
I don't think he's a MF'er either.
Regards,
barts
Source of Fremer's "1 arc second" claim?
In the latest TAS April 2025, page 34, Fremer reviews some Technics TT, and repeats his claim that "listeners in blind tests could hear arc second speed shifts". where one revolution ~1.3 million arc seconds. Anybody have any idea where this is coming from?
Basic math will make you wonder whether any listener can hear a difference between chamber a' = 440.00000 Hz and 440.00004 Hz, rounding the 1.3M to an even 1M. When tuning my violins, I can hear 2–3 cent difference, where 800 cents = 1 octave = doubling of frequency. At 2 cents, that is over 1 full Herz difference. Even playing a cord with tones at 1 Hz difference will result in an oscillation at 1 Hz, i.e. peak to peak 1 second. For easy math, assume even a 0.00005 difference, which would lead to an oscillation with frequency of 20,000 seconds = 33 minutes. Good luck hearing that.
"Golden Ears" being able to hear ten times better than a normal human, why not. But 20K better? We are off by several orders of magnitude. Maybe I don't understand that he is talking about, but I consider it complete BS.
Maybe it has to do with consistency (accuracy vs. precision), but then the a different unit needs to be used that includes time in the denominator. But even then the math/physics don't add up.
If anybody can provide any insights, LMK. Thanks!
The alternative is rather unflattering for Mr. Fremer.
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@antinn, thanks for clarifying. I misunderstood your comment "OMA of which MF owns". I also consider MF to be a boon to the vinyl revival, not a bad dude. @richardkrebs, you talk about "we" in regards to the OMA K3 turntable. So are you a consultant to OMA? For those not aware, Richard has developed upgrades for some of the Technics SP-10 series of tables. Or did I misunderstand that too? ;^) |
I designed the OMA K3 and K5 turntables. Jonathan then used an industrial designer for the aesthetics. My company provides the machined rotating parts and the K5 chassis. The cast iron chassis is made in the States. Both TTs are assembled by OMA. The "We" refers to a brilliant mechatronic engineer who helped to get the drive up and running and then a panel of enthusiastic friends who helped finesse the program. Cheers |
Please do not misunderstand my criticism. MF has been steadfast proponent of the vinyl playback and deserves the recognition and compliments he gets for that. But, on one more than occasion, he gets shall we say way ahead of himself regarding science & technology that he's not skilled in. That's all. Peace. |
@antinn, and peace to you. My mention of MF was not a disagreement with your comments, only an acknowledgment of his tireless vinyl promotion. I began listening to 45s, then LPs, long before digital, and I never gave up on them. But I don't have the credentials to question his technical statements.
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