[peakrchau]

I post this at my peril...many will think I that I was just discharged from the  "ayslum" and should be sent back...but here goes:

""Play the song before(i.e. track 3)  the one that you want (i.e. track 4)  for 15 seconds and then use the "skip" button to go to the next (desired) song(i.e. track 4). According to many post by Jerome Lang on AA...it should sound like vinyl replay but better!!!"

If you use the numerical keypad and puch "4" directly, it should sound less musical and more digital.

I tried it out this morning and was amazed:

http://db.audioasylum.com/cgi/m.pl?forum=digital&n=67012">AA link about CD skip access...courtesy of Jerome Lang and Todd Krieger

[nathanm]

Nurse, would you please give Mr. Peakrchau his meds and see that he is strapped down tightly?  Thank you.

Okay, I found the post despite the broken link, but is there any explanation for this alleged phenomenon?  My guess is that if anything, it has something to do with buffering or error correction of the data.  It should sound like vinyl then they say?  Wow, that is interesting.    So if you hit next you get surface noise and pops and if you hit the numerical keypad you don't?  Fascinating.  How bored are these people who come up with this stuff?  

Well okay, so I tried it.  Direct numeric entry vs. 15 second of previous track + Track Advance button to next track.  First Lisa Gerrad "Mirror Pool" and then a sampler CD with a bunch of psychedelic bands on it.  Result=same sound either way.   The track advance button did not seem to conjure the sound of any tonearms lifting and setting down for that inital scratch.

What does "vinyl replay" actually mean in sonic terms I wonder?

Geez, Tube-O-Lator is almost starting to sound rational after this one...

Perhaps I should be taking drugs when I do this experiement?  Which do you recommend?

[peakrchau]

Nurse, would you please give Mr. Peakrchau his meds and see that he is strapped down tightly?  Thank you.

Well okay, so I tried it... Result=same sound either way...

Fascinating. ...

The link is fixed. I'll wait for more datapoints from others before commenting further.  The initial post came about in Oct 2002 on AA but the technique has been distilled/refined with the linked post. For those who do not hear the "difference" it has been traced to system setup (use of very fancy power cords) and overall system transparency.

Most likely candidates to hear the delta are systems composed of known "good/classic/recommended" components" that are missing that "sweet" sound that they heard off and on in their system. I'll let the experience reviewers comment in the weeks to come. My guess is that for the rest, 60% will hear the difference/improvement.

I did not believe it myself when I first read it...so like I said up front..."post at at my own peril". Go figure...should be an interesting day.

[Carlman]

.....My guess is that for the rest, 60% will hear the difference/improvement.

So, we have odds... do we have any takers on what the findings of 'experienced reviewers' will say?

Maybe someone with more 'betting experience' would come up with the odds, amounts, and such...   You'd have to say who the experienced reviewers are, though.  

I'm in!  

[Hantra]

This reminds me of a support call I made to Dell on one of my salespeople's Latitudes.  

The guy from Dell says, "Turn over the laptop, and loosen all the screws one turn, and then re-tighten them."  Well, at first, I assumed he was just trying to see if I would do it, and I could imagine the guy betting with his buddies. . .  "Hey, listen to this fellas!  I am going to get this network engineer to loosen some screws, and retighten them while I look for a solution to his hardware problems."

Anyhow, that actually worked. . . But the CD skipping thing, you have to be kidding me. . .

[2channelguy]

I'm sort of a newbie when it comes to high end audio but I'm not a newbie when it comes to common sense.

I know where I'd place my bet.  

[nathanm]

Here's another tweak you might wanna try.  First listen to the song normally.  Then tap the CD player three times with your eyes closed.  Go to the northernmost corner of your room and perform a headstand.  Try to maintain this position for at least 3 minutes.  Next you will want to do 10 jumping jacks.  Sit back down in your listening position. Play 3 seconds of the last track on the CD and 3 seconds of the first track.  Stick your index fingers in your ears for at least 3 minutes while crossing your legs. Stand up slowly and go to the back of your rack.  Touch each cable with your pinky finger 3 times while saying the words 'klatu verata nikto'.  Now play the song after the first song you played.

I guarantee, if you following all these steps exactly, you WILL hear a dramatic difference!

[Bwanagreg]

I'm still trying to figure out why this is "nearly" free...    

Wait, I've got it!   And I know why it works!!    

By refiningrating the furshlugginer, I mean by playing the previous track for 15 seconds before playing the track you want to hear, you are using a tiny but measurable (take that you empiricist types   ) amount of extra electricity, hence the "nearly" free part.

OK, stay with me class. By using this small but statistically significant amount of extra electricity, you are rotating the little spinny guys on your electric meter (sorry for getting technical). Ergo cum sum guy, you have strategically repositioned the afore mentioned spinny to it's "sweet spot". This is the magic zone of electric meter truth, where all veils disappear and the listener becomes one with the power grid.

Yeah, that's it.

I used to think Enid Lumley in the old Absolute Sound had some wild ideas...

[JoshK]

... For those who do not hear the "difference" it has been traced to system setup (use of very fancy power cords) and overall system transparency.

Most likely candidates to hear the delta are systems composed of known "good/classic/recommended" components" that are missing that "sweet" sound that they heard o ...

I am so tired of hearing this lame rebutal anytime person X doesn't hear any change for some off-the-wall improvement that person Y rants about.  If it takes just the right system with X, Y and Z components to hear the difference then either, 1) the tweak is so insignificantly small to make no difference to 99.9% of even the most anal audiophiles, or 2) something is wrong with system X, Y and Z.

Hold a controlled test (i.e. make sure it is not just letting the caps charge enough after turn on) and yourself who reports to hear such things can do a double blind test 20 times and we'll see if you really hear it.

[Bwanagreg]

If it takes just the right system with X, Y and Z components to hear the difference then either, 1) the tweak is so insignificantly small to make no difference to 99.9% of even the most anal audiophiles, or 2) something is wrong with system X, Y and Z.

One more option: the person's wallet and/or psyche is so wrapped up in their system that it is not posiible for them to admit that they can't hear a difference. The placebo effect is well documented.

[byteme]

From the original post on AA:  "I find that the best "lock-in" sound is achieved when the CD or SACD has been played in its entirety once or twice in the player. Somehow it has a "lubricating effect on the mechanical gears which improve reading accuracy the second time around. I also notice that the sonic quality is affected by some data-reading program of the player. For instance, why would SKIP BACKWARDS work better than the numercal keys?

After the disc had spunned in the player for more than one round, I would stop play, select the track by numerical key Then I would repeat the track using the SKIP BACKWARD key within time window of 10 - 12 secs. Any later or earlier, it would not lock in as well. If I miss the time-window, then I have repeat the procedure using numerical keys again. Pressing SKIP BACKWARD keys more than once is not good for sound. Selecting the track from STOP position would give the best lock-in. "
***********
Bolding is mine.  Can this guy really be serious?  Let me get this straight, for each of your CDs, you can make them sound as "good as vinyl" if you first suffer through listening to them once or twice in the player the "normal" way and then going through the whole ridiculous dance of playing only 10-12 seconds of a track (no more no less, otherwise you have to start over   ) and then skipping forward to the track you really want to listen to?  You have got to be f'ing kidding me!  

I've heard some seriously wacky crap from audiophiles in the past but I think this takes the cake!!

[OBF]

Hhmmm, but what if you use a Bedini Clarifier?  Its "properties" only hold for a single listening of the disc?  So if you have to listen to the disk once or twice to "lube" it up, then you would be working these two "effects" in oposite directions.  Then, like FR at a crossover in a 2-way, maybe you'd get perfect sound as both effects rise and fall in proportion to each other  

[hmen]

I know this sounds crazy, but I've just discovered another incredible tweak. I play the first 10 seconds of the song I want to hear. Then I hit the Skip backwards button, pause the CD,  then turn the volume knob on my preamp clockwise and then hit the play button. This increases the output of the CD almost every time.  

[Tonto Yoder]

Hold a controlled test (i.e. make sure it is not just letting the caps charge enough after turn on) and yourse ...

I'm thinking now that my lead shot tweak where all the slight deformations of the individual shot are oriented towards the moon isn't SO far-fetched.

[BikeWNC]

I've always adjusted the antiskate on my TT to coincide with the phases of the moon.  

[subhuman]

Figures people would make fun of this... it does sound rather odd and some of the proposed reasons for why come off as .. crazy.

But, try this, grab a cd with an ambient sound with reverb on it that happens within the first 15-20 seconds of a cd.

1. insert the disc, press play, and listen to the first 15-20 seconds.
2. press the back key (do not press a number key, do not press stop, do not rewind).
3. play the track again, listening carefully to the reverb tail or space around the instrument.

It's uncanny, but I definitely hear it, and so do other people I've done casual experiments with so far.  It's definitely better the second time around, and seems to stay better throughout the whole cd then.

If you can't hear it - good for you.  Seriously, be happy.

[BikeWNC]

I'll admit I did make fun of this post.  But last night I did the tweek as described in this post and this is what I heard when I used the next or skip key on my remote.  Please don't laugh me off this board.  

I used Tord Gustavsen Trio - Changing Places track 7 for the test.  When I used the next key to access the track, I noticed better dynamics, more rounded piano and more relaxed top end - cymbals in this track.  I thought it was the scotch I was drinking, but my wife noticed the changes also.  My transport is a Pioneer DV440 with Modwright level 2 mods.  This is crazy!  I will try a different track tonight.

Thanks in advance for not ripping me a new one.  

[nathanm]

The only thing I could imagine happening is a difference in the exact start time of the track with the two "different" methods of track selection.

play the track again, listening carefully

The key word being "listen carefully".  Your brain is the only thing processing different data each time, not the DAC.  Can you imagine if digital equipment gave a different result every time it was turned on?  Sheesh!

Come on people, April Fool's Day is already past!

[subhuman]

nathanm -

did you bother trying it?  let me guess - you're one of those people that believe all transports are the same, and that "bits are bits" right?

well ... that's entirely true.  if it wasn't true, you wouldnt be running an OS on your computer, if the bits weren't exactly right it just wouldnt work.

but with music, the TIMING of the bits makes a difference.  i proved this to myself by inserting an Audio Alchemy DTI v2.0 between my ($100 5-disc sony high-jitter) transport, and my DAC.  perhaps you need to try one of these devices to more easily see that yes, bits ARE bits, but timing is not absolute!

and if you don't hear this on your setup - seriously - be happy - and don't bother making fun of people here.  just enjoy.  however - if you do hear it - helping to find a way to eliminate it or at least bring it to the attention of people who could elimate it - that would be a lot more useful than brushing it off as some april fool prank.

anyway - perhaps you're right.  perhaps it IS psychological - but it's easy to try it.

[Malcolm Fear]

I wonder what happens if when you play it the first time you turn the volume down so that you can't hear it. When mucking around with cables etc, I sometimes hear more the second time around.

BTW have you played around with black cds?
Try http://www.genesisloudspeakers.com/newsset.html and look for White papers.