[brj]

I don't know about fuses working or not but I agree with trying them in a blond test

Huh... so what's the protocol for that exactly?

[dBe]

Huh... so what's the protocol for that exactly?

First you have to determine if they are a natural blonde and proceed accordingly.   

[stevenkelby]

Huh... so what's the protocol for that exactly?

I know it looks like a made a typo, but that's because I did 

I'm not aware of any way to test for audible differences in audio equipment by using blondes sadly. 

[dBe]

I know it looks like a made a typo, but that's because I did 

I'm not aware of any way to test for audible differences in audio equipment by using blondes sadly. 

Then it is up to you to come up with the methodology.  You may have to go through a few blondes to figure it out, but that is your problem.  I might suggest a good bottle of wine and dim lights as part of the process.

Wow, is this ever off track!!!  That's Ok.  That is why we are here, eh?   

Dave

[stevenkelby]

 

[ZLS]

    The double blond test is quite simple really. 

    You have two attractive blond ladies whispering sweet nothings in each ear while you try to determine if you can hear any difference between various components. 
    In fact, if you can hear anything at all other than the sweet whispering's; you should consider the component a keeper!

[dBe]

    The double blond test is quite simple really. 

    You have two attractive blond ladies whispering sweet nothings in each ear while you try to determine if you can hear any difference between various components. 
    In fact, if you can hear anything at all other than the sweet whispering's; you should consider the component a keeper!

Zach, have you read the disclaimer on the double blonde test?

" Do not attempt the double blonde test if you are over age 60.  Failure to do so may result in broken parts, incessant drooling, insanity or coma!"

Bummer.

Dave

[medium jim]

Okay then, what about a single redhead test?

Jim

[HAL]

LOL! 

[dflee]

Then we'll need to know about cryoing either two blonds and a red head.

[dBe]

Then we'll need to know about cryoing either two blonds and a red head.

Dude!  That's COLD...........

 

Dave

[medium jim]

I'm glad that I didn't mention brunettes

Jim

[rollo]

  Blind testing has its merits and issues as well. Pressure to decide being the main issue. Lets look at blind testing in a different way. First the question of why ? Second, Does it really matter ? Third, If perception of the beholder is the most important issue why do we need proof of our perception ? Is not what we perceive the only thing that matters ?
     Chew on that awhile.


charles

[guest1632]

I'm glad that I didn't mention brunettes

Jim

Hi guys,

This is truly funny. now to get serious.

When I had my BNK 140 amp, I managed to blow out a couple of speaker fuses. I noticed one day having replaced both left and right sides, that somehow the image changed. Now you can believe me or not, but the fuses are all made slightly different. Some look like stretched out springs, while others are just straight wires. Now, I admit I don't remember which was better, but there was a definite difference in the sound depending on how the fuse was made internally.

I've lost a lot of my hearing, so those days are over. But other stuff like putting a material different than the one that comes with a metal box will make a difference there. Like putting some form of matting, or steel and glass together will help diffuse sound. There was quite a discussion when the promitheus TVC were the rage about putting matting on the transformers. It did work.

And then there is the question of breakin time. Stuff like cables and speakers need time to break in. Why, ... if the snakeoil reasoning is correct, it's aligning molecues so they flow in the same direction. Ask Charles about his Rad Shack cables. He can tell you all about them. Anyway, enough for now.


Ray Bronk

[tarquineous]

My opinion about Fuses is that they are not part of the tone circuit and common sense would say that they cannot improve the sound.  Maybe it would be a good one for a blind test.  However, it would be hard to disguise them. 

I can make power cords, cannot make fuses.   I agree about IC's and Speaker Cables, they do make a difference, but again, I wouldn't spend crazy on them. I do have some AQ Gibralter's, but I got them used...

Jim

I've tried many power cords, expensive, inexpensive, proprietary construction, different metals and materials. There are so many on the market today, that it's possible to get three in a row that are mediocre sounding or even bad sounding. then the opposite may happen, three very good ones with the third one being a little bright.

With that said, I get the best results from audio gear by selecting power cords, interconnects, and power conditioning ( one of them is the UberBuss ). These three are above all the tweeks I have tried, which range from an OK improvement to absolute fraud and false advertisement. I won't mention any companies right now, but you can ask.

Regarding the "good" ones (tweeks), ALL of them make a Small difference for the better. Which brings me to specialty fuses. I hated to do it, but I bought five different brands of audiophile fuses. To make a long story short, they change the sound similar to power cords ( from worse to mediocre to good ), but affect the sound about half as much or less.

So I would say forget the fuses and dial your system in with cables and power conditioners. If you insist on special fuses, Acme sells cryoed ones for a low price, and PS Audio a jump higher.

Two tweeks I haven't tried, and therefore cannot say how well they work, are the Stein Harmonizers and the IPC Proton alignment products. They both get good reviews but will cost a minimum of $4K to get "started".

Best of luck, and fun !

[Elizabeth]

Near free/cheap tweaks I like and use...
Amp stand: Concrete patio block 20" by 20" or so.. I use size 10 chemical butyl rubber bottle stoppers under it (and bring the powercord under it too) Then half dome sorbothane between the feet of my amp and the concrete surface.

Most of my equipment uses the #10 Butyl bottle stoppers.. Locally from American Science & Surplus (though they are NOT in the catalog. $1.25 each.. I must own five dozen of them..

The same sort of approach for my turntables.. On the shelf I place several 2" tall 5" diameter round patio bricks (with a rubber pad under them) and more #10 bottle stoppers then the shelf with the TT resting in that assembly. Both my Rega P5 and Kuzma Stabi/Stogi S are set up like that.

I use plenty of small baggies filles with 'treated' quartz crystals. (the treatment is ANY product which can permanently coat the crystals with a non-conductive thin coating. I used  automotive dielectric grease Others use all sorts of techniques... but the idea is the same)
Placing the baggies around A/C stuff. Like plugs.. The cyrstals if properly trreated soak up the RFI EMI.. (Using a "Non-contact A/C voltage detector like GreenLee $22 from Amazon allows one to find leaking RFI EMI and block it. PS: The GreenLee was the better of the cheap detectors)
I spent a lot on 15 pounds of small crystal bits from eBay So this cost me over $100. But even a few 1/2 pound assortment will let one try the effect. As long as it is quartz..
The effect cleans up the sound a tiny bit.. So it is not very cost effective.. but fun to play with.

The teflon plumbers tape on the blades of all A/C plugs: wrap the tape say five turns around base of blades. Allow pushing in the plug to crush the teflon to the base. Seems to seal the plug to the wall, reduces vibtation, and from my experience slightly reduces power consumption.. yeah yeah I have no idea why.. All I can say is it does reduce a few %. I stuck the teflon on every plug in my possession. lights, frig, besides audio equipment.

The pigtail tweak. many names for sticking a short bit of metal on the negative terminal of the amp. The metal is not connecteed to anything at the far end. Some are short bits, some long.. A whole pile of variations.. but the one common factor is some metal added to the negative terrminal. I made some devices with ferrite and silver plated copper which look a bit like mushrooms for mine. I have them at the amp and the speaker end. Plus one on my headphone amp output.

Lifting cables off the floor. i currently use a few blocks of wood i had laying around. But had used empty toilet paper tubes to good effect. Free. the tubes are scrap. For my 7 meter pre to amp IC i have woven a cotton rope around and through to hold the wires a bit away from whatever they are wandering through.

Using Deoxit. Main thing is to wipe it off some. It only needs a molecular coating. not a dribble.. Most problems with Deoxit or Tweek were due to leaving way too much on the surfaces treated.

[Speedskater]

The 'American Science & Surplus' store in Milwaukee (not all that far from the speedskating ice rink) is an interesting place. But they have too much fun in their catalog and not enough facts.

'American Science & Surplus'
http://www.sciplus.com/

[bside123]

By cutting these into discs of various measurements, I've successfully used these high-density, foam pool noodles in various applications such as: footers, isolation devices, padding, baffling and damping, etc. Really cheap, easy to work with and colorful... although I find a way to hide them, so that audiophiles will still take me seriously. 

[geowak]

Here is a tweak that might work. Don't believe "hype" about products. When an AC member wets his pants over his new speakers or amp, he's just a kid with a new toy and hyper excited. Also when the manufacturer states his/ her product is better than everyone elses, his head is too big. We have encountered and been a part of this. Best to listen yourself, learn, and take it slow. Unless you have bundles of cash to burn through...

[jessearias]

When it comes to system improvements, it is a case of diminishing returns. There are basic improvements in equipment (pre-amp, amp, cd, DAC, speakers, power supply etc.) that will improve the sound quality over basic, mass market audio equipment. You can certainly see improvements of 5-10% or more over the mass market stuff. A good example are inter-connects. A base Morrow cable is way better than a Radio Shack cable for example. But when you start going up from there, the improvement starts decreasing rapidly. The next step up might gain you another 2-3% improvement. The next step after that maybe 2% and so on until you are in the thousands and the gains are like .5 %. The same goes for stereo equipment as well. How much better can you make a Class A, gold and silver plated w/Russian tubes amp than an amp that is Class A, gold and silver plated with Russian tubes? I bring this up as I read a test between a set of 5K interconnects and a set of 10K interconnects in Audiophile. The reviewers, who are no stranger to high end audio equipment, half could tell no difference and half could perceive some improvement. Is spending the extra 5K worth it?

So the point of my rant is; that some basic improvements to your equipment will yield some significant improvements in sound quality. But once you go over that cost equals better mark as previously noted in other posts, you are just wasting your money. I know some people feel that spending that last dollar will yield vast improvements, but in most cases not. And as noted in previous posts, hearing is subjective.