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Old 9th Apr 2020, 1:36 pm   #1361
Ted Kendall
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Default Re: The Audiophoolery Thread.

For the avoidance of doubt, that is not the article. There's a bit of ad hominem creeping in here, which is at odds with the way we do things, is it not?
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Old 9th Apr 2020, 2:09 pm   #1362
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Default Re: The Audiophoolery Thread.

No, I don't go 'scouring' or even just looking for them. I enjoy radio and electronics as a hobby as well as a profession and you can't help but come across them by simple chance. Similarly we all come across flat earther stuff and all sorts of conspiracy theories. tHere was a news report on the latest stuff from David Icke and incitement for people to burn down new cellphone masts.

It's all around us and from time to time there's a post on here or an email from a friend pointing to the latest Russ Andrews thingy or little bags of polished pebbles.

On one hand I find it hilarious. On the other hand I feel sad about the people who have laid out large amounts of money on things that do nothing... money that could hav treated their family to a good holiday. They are the victims. It isn't always a scam, it may even rarely be an intentional scam. The people selling such stuff may be absolutely convinced, but the waste is real and the people affected could have been better off.

Sometimes the silly idea may even be right. It comes down to having enough curiosity to not just believe everything handed to you, to say 'wait a minute' and to investigate fairly to find out if there is any real basis.

I'm human. I'm sometimes wrong. I'm susceptible to suggestion and auto-suggestion. I simply don't trust myself without some checks.

Several years ago I was involved with a well known technical author to write a review of a new, let's just call it a hand-held impedance measuring device. The other chap was going to do the write-up, I was doing the measurements. What I found was mostly good, but over some impedance and frequency ranges it got it completely wrong, inductance was shown as capacitance and vice versa. The bounds of the error region were not stable and drifted. We discussed what we were going to say. The item wasn't useable for the intended purpose because without a trusted instrument for comparison, you didn't know whether to trust it.

The review was going to go in a magazine with pretty good circulation. We told the magazine what we'd found. It was going to be brought into the country by a large importer significant advertiser in that magazine. The importer wanted to know whether it was worth bringing in. It was an expensive little box and rather nice in a number of ways. We were lucky that the importer hadn't already committed and advertised the thing. We weren't going to give the thing a green light in a review. In the end he didn't bring it in, and no review was published. This may have been the best outcome for us. If it had gone on sale, one could have questioned the magazine's morals in not warning its readership by not publishing.

It was all OK right up to when another importer brought some of them in. 8-(

Now this was a purely objective matter. Other people could repeat our tests and everyone should repeat our results. Scientific method and reproducible results give confidence. A far easier world than subjective audio. But I didn't enjoy my brush with reviewing and publishing.

I'll just say that I do not frequent any audio websites or chat groups. Bunged up at home and bored off my chump I've just watched several videos by a rather nice American chap called Ron with a huge recovery vehicle (my father was in that business) and an Aussie drain unblocking operative. I've got the garage roof to repaint and a damaged alloy wheel rim to weld.

His admissions were that the magazine took a vinyl is best view and that a British is best view. That is bias. A better viewpoint would be to take each thing on its merits. I suspect many CD machines are somewhat better than those plastic Staar turntables. British is best? Which would you rather have rather had back in the day, a NEAL cassette recorder with its Wollensak tape drive, or a Nakamichi - not necessarily the Dragon? British isn't always best.

Britain has enjoyed having world class speaker and turntable firms. Electronics? well the Americans have done some decent amplifiers, and if you're choosy about Japanese ones, well there's a few that are competitive there.

Each product, wherever it comes from, should to sink or swim on its own merits.

I want a fair, free, open world.

People should be free to make silly things if they want to.

I should be free to laugh, if I want to.

Oh, I should add that in my lounge is an utterly stupid amplifier, far far beyond any real need. I have no rational justification for it, I did it simply for fun. What I don't do is claim it's better or try to justify what was a lot of effort by trotting out any pseudoscience or even real science. It's mine, I like it and I did it for fun.

David
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Old 9th Apr 2020, 2:12 pm   #1363
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Default Re: The Audiophoolery Thread.

Ah, thanks, Ted. We crossed while I was two-finger typing..

Of course whatever he said could have just been a throw-away quip. The snag is anything anyone says indelibly is likely to get analysed to death for years to come.

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Old 9th Apr 2020, 2:47 pm   #1364
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Default Re: The Audiophoolery Thread.

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Originally Posted by Radio Wrangler View Post
People should be free to make silly things if they want to. I should be free to laugh, if I want to.
Speaking of which, I think I have this covered David!!!! Back in 2012 I made an utter daft pre-amplifier, using mostly oddments from previous failed projects, the up-purposing box duly ticked and learning curve taking an upward trend.

This silly pre-amp is all valve, unbalanced audio in, and in a fit of madness, balanced audio out! And why not, I had no idea how it would sound playing through a solid-state power amp, and no online review of such things was readily available. The amp wasn't used much, just a thing to play with, bit of a mess really, then left on the shelf, minus valves, to rot, only for me to bring into work some 8 years later with a view to ripping it apart, re-using the goodies, WEEE-skipping the rest.

Having made it 'safer', I repopulated the unit with a spare set of valves … 4 hours later, I now remember why I hadn't scrapped it previously …

It really is a stupid thing, it was fun, and I like it

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Old 29th Apr 2020, 8:48 am   #1365
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Default Re: The Audiophoolery Thread.

Audio grade IEC cable
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Old 29th Apr 2020, 8:54 am   #1366
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Daft!
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Old 29th Apr 2020, 9:30 am   #1367
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Default Re: The Audiophoolery Thread.

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Audio grade IEC cable
They only need to sell a few of those to make a decent salary. And there are people daft enough and rich enough to buy them.
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Old 29th Apr 2020, 9:36 am   #1368
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Default Re: The Audiophoolery Thread.

I bought one for my kettle, makes the best tea ever.

Pete
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Old 29th Apr 2020, 10:20 am   #1369
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Wink Re: The Audiophoolery Thread.

You'll now have to replace the wall socket too, as that could make the tea taste even better?

Regards,
Nick
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Old 29th Apr 2020, 10:32 am   #1370
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Default Re: The Audiophoolery Thread.

You're right Nick, I've been caught in the Teaphoolery trap, where's it going to end?

Pete
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Old 29th Apr 2020, 10:45 am   #1371
Ted Kendall
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Default Re: The Audiophoolery Thread.

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They only need to sell a few of those to make a decent salary. And there are people daft enough and rich enough to buy them.
A few? I'd settle for two. Utter bt.
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Old 29th Apr 2020, 11:04 am   #1372
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Default Re: The Audiophoolery Thread.

Lemme see... Bit of mains cable, bit of braiding nicked off a scrap length of RG213, bit of clear heatshrink over the top. A couple of plastic mouldings to dress up the connectors at the end... sell two a year and you're over the national average income.

Just wait 'til home 3-D printing hits the scene and you don't have the tooling for the mouldings to worry about.

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Old 29th Apr 2020, 11:07 am   #1373
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Default Re: The Audiophoolery Thread.

The relationship between Nordost and Hi-Fi+ has been, erm, interesting...

https://www.stereophile.com/content/...work-nordost-1
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Old 29th Apr 2020, 1:22 pm   #1374
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Default Re: The Audiophoolery Thread.

And it won an award from What Hi Fi !

Is this a hoax?

Aub
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Old 29th Apr 2020, 1:45 pm   #1375
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Default Re: The Audiophoolery Thread.

Here you go - from Nordost's site (note the 8-9's wire; really?):

"ODIN 2 POWER CORD
The Odin 2 Power Cord is constructed with seven silver-plated, close tolerance, 14 AWG 99.999999% oxygen free copper conductors. Nordost’s patented Dual Mono-Filament technology is then used so that the twisted pair filaments create a virtual air dielectric between the extruded FEP insulation and each individual conductor. These intricately wound and separately insulated conductors are aligned with superb geometrical accuracy and consistency, offering perfect conditions for mechanical resonances. To allow for a faster rise time in the 50/60 Hz cycle and negate any EMI or RFI influences, each conductor is then protected by a layer of silver-plated lapped ribbon shielding. Nordost’s TSC technology continues in the construction of its purpose-built, 100% shielded, HOLO:PLUG® connector, which is provided on both the IEC and plug ends.

The exceptional electrical and mechanical characteristics of this cable produce an overwhelming effect. Incorporating Odin 2 Power Cords throughout your system will result in a seemingly non-existent noise floor, an infinitely black background and the true depth in range that music calls for.

SPECIFICATIONS

Insulation: High purity class 1.003 extruded Fluorinated Ethylene Propylene (FEP)
Construction: Mechanically tuned spacing, length and Dual Mono-Filament, TSC design
Conductors: 7 x 14 AWG
Material: Silver-plated 99.999999% solid core OFC
DC Resistance: 1.33 Ohms per 1000ft
Overall Shield Coverage: 100% Individually shielded total coverage
Velocity of Propagation: 88%
Termination:

Odin 2 HOLO:PLUG® gold-plated US (Nema), EU (Schuko), AUS or UK to Odin 2 HOLO:PLUG® IEC-C15, IEC-C19, or Low Profile HOLO:PLUG® IEC-C15"
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Old 29th Apr 2020, 2:25 pm   #1376
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Default Re: The Audiophoolery Thread.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Aub View Post
And it won an award from What Hi Fi !

Is this a hoax?

Aub
Be careful (or not as the case may be) using the words hoax and What hifi in close proximity..
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Old 29th Apr 2020, 2:34 pm   #1377
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Default Re: The Audiophoolery Thread.

Looks like the twisted pair filaments was invented by 3M (US6,849,799). So in principle Nordost did not patent it. They might have bought the patent from 3M, or pay them a license fee.

Here is a dual monofilament reference

"IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin Vol. 32, No. 6A, November 1989 at p. 173-174, referred-to in U.S. Pat. No. 5,532,657, discloses a construction of coaxial cable where two individual filaments are spirally wrapped around a single center conductor in counter-directions and at different wrapping rates. The multiple crossings of the filaments are said to provide a stable symmetrical cross-section; and the interstices assure a large fraction of air dielectric in the cable."
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Old 29th Apr 2020, 2:53 pm   #1378
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Default Re: The Audiophoolery Thread.

Sounds like the 3M patent is referring to a coax construction where two insulating plastic filaments wrapped in opposite directions act as a spacer between inner and outer. Leaving air as the dielectric over most of the area.

Now does that mean that sort of construction supports an earthed shield around line and neutral in the centre? Hmm.... SEVEN 14 gauge copper conductors That's line, neutral, earth and four that don't do anything... just act sympathetically? "Perfect conditions for mechanical resonances" What!

No I don't want a faster rise time on 50Hz. Just the dv/dt of 240*sin(2*Pi*50*t) is exactly right. Anything faster is RFI.

They missed the idea of twisting the cores according to Walsh functions to null crosstalk. Still, next year's model, eh? and an extra 5k on the price.

David
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Old 29th Apr 2020, 2:56 pm   #1379
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Default Re: The Audiophoolery Thread.

Quote:
Originally Posted by stevehertz View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by Aub View Post
And it won an award from What Hi Fi !

Is this a hoax?

Aub
Be careful (or not as the case may be) using the words hoax and What hifi in close proximity..
There is a review on WHF's site, where they criticise a USB cable for having 'flaccid bass'. If you work as an audio engineer, be very, very afraid.
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Old 29th Apr 2020, 3:05 pm   #1380
Craig Sawyers
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Default Re: The Audiophoolery Thread.

Nordost almost as whacky as the British Rail flying saucer

Craig
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