Cables - one of the most taboo subjects in audio

Joe Mac said:
It’s nothing to do with the system though. It’s a physiological effect. These loopers were arguing about refractions off the lens and all sorts of bullshit like that.
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@Joe Mac, do you wear glasses? Try it for yourself if you haven’t already. Same with the VPI brick, they impart very subtle changes that can be detected with focused listening. With over 50 years of listening experience I’ve learned to keep an open mind. Look at the pleasure ultrasonic record cleaners have brought to so many here in this last year or so by uncovering signals as small as a billionth of an inch. The small things, while not as impactful as new speakers or a new cartridge, can affect what we hear. I bought a brick back in the late 80s and today it sits on top of the Rega power supply and I take my glasses off when I’m really trying to concentrate on a piece of vinyl. CDs not so much.
 
OMC said:
@Joe Mac, do you wear glasses? Try it for yourself if you haven’t already. Same with the VPI brick, they impart very subtle changes that can be detected with focused listening. With over 50 years of listening experience I’ve learned to keep an open mind. Look at the pleasure ultrasonic record cleaners have brought to so many here in this last year or so by uncovering signals as small as a billionth of an inch. The small things, while not as impactful as new speakers or a new cartridge, can affect what we hear. I bought a brick back in the late 80s and today it sits on top of the Rega power supply and I take my glasses off when I’m really trying to concentrate on a piece of vinyl. CDs not so much.
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I do. I can’t say I’ve ever noticed a change and any change I would put down to an atmospheric change given my eyesight is not as clear. Similar to dimming the lights or listening by candlelight. It’s psychological.

I am absolutely willing to bet the entire house on it having zero effect on the sound waves coming from the speaker and how they interact with the room and me physically when I am wearing them as opposed to when I take them off.
 
Joe Mac said:
I do. I can’t say I’ve ever noticed a change and any change I would put down to an atmospheric change given my eyesight is not as clear. Similar to dimming the lights or listening by candlelight. It’s psychological.

I am absolutely willing to bet the entire house on it having zero effect on the sound waves coming from the speaker and how they interact with the room and me physically when I am wearing them as opposed to when I take them off.
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Turning the lights off makes sense if it is a shared circuit. Candlelight would introduce noise.
 
Pitch black listening. ZERO OUTSIDE STIMULUS. I do this. I hate having to get up and turn the light on to change the album though. Might have to get a headlamp, just submit to the inevitable and go fully down the rabbit hole.
 
Mather said:
Pitch black listening. ZERO OUTSIDE STIMULUS. I do this. I hate having to get up and turn the light on to change the album though. Might have to get a headlamp, just submit to the inevitable and go fully down the rabbit hole.
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RECORD BUNKER!
 
Joe Mac said:
I do. I can’t say I’ve ever noticed a change and any change I would put down to an atmospheric change given my eyesight is not as clear. Similar to dimming the lights or listening by candlelight. It’s psychological.

I am absolutely willing to bet the entire house on it having zero effect on the sound waves coming from the speaker and how they interact with the room and me physically when I am wearing them as opposed to when I take them off.
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You calling me a psycho? 😉 Happily, we all hear differently on our varied systems.
As for the brick, VPI introduced them when high end audio was in its infancy. Many pieces of gear were far from the polished products we mainly see today. Transformer buzzes and other assorted vibrations were not uncommon and could be reduced or even eliminated entirely with the addition of a brick in the right spot. I think I paid $25 for a used one way back when. I wouldn’t buy one at the current asking prices as my gear is all property sorted by the manufacturers. It’s used on the Rega power supply as a reminder of the early years when my audio experience was becoming a fetish. Saul Goodman.
 
OMC said:
You calling me a psycho? 😉 Happily, we all hear differently on our varied systems.
As for the brick, VPI introduced them when high end audio was in its infancy. Many pieces of gear were far from the polished products we mainly see today. Transformer buzzes and other assorted vibrations were not uncommon and could be reduced or even eliminated entirely with the addition of a brick in the right spot. I think I paid $25 for a used one way back when. I wouldn’t buy one at the current asking prices as my gear is all property sorted by the manufacturers. It’s used on the Rega power supply as a reminder of the early years when my audio experience was becoming a fetish. Saul Goodman.
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Not at all.

So here’s the things. So much of how we interact with our systems and art in general is psychological. Some improvements are measurable and appreciably different and we can understand why. Better internals, clever design etc. Others cannot be. Stuff like taking your glasses off isn’t objective or measurable or explainable. It doesn’t affect two people the same. It’s just one of those things. It’s setting the scene under which you interact.

Plus psychologically realised changes are still changes, it’s just your system, room etc has no input in it and they guy next to you is just as likely to not experience it, or experience it in a different way, as he is to experience it the same as you.

I have no opinion on the brick. Transistor hum is real and is a bitch though!
 
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OMC said:
Have you ever had a magic brick in house to test it out?
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No and I don’t intend to. I put it in the same category as the green markers that were once used to color the edges of CDs. They work because you believe they work, not because there is plausible, science-based evidence of working. They fade when the fans fade.
 
Angsty said:
No and I don’t intend to. I put it in the same category as the green markers that were once used to color the edges of CDs. They work because you believe they work, not because there is plausible, science-based evidence of working. They fade when the fans fade.
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Some say that if you can’t measure it, it must not be a concern. Others say if you can’t measure it you are using the wrong measurements. 🤷
 
Joe Mac said:
Not at all.

So here’s the things. So much of how we interact with our systems and art in general is psychological. Some improvements are measurable and appreciably different and we can understand why. Better internals, clever design etc. Others cannot be. Stuff like taking your glasses off isn’t objective or measurable or explainable. It doesn’t affect two people the same. It’s just one of those things. It’s setting the scene under which you interact.

Plus physiologically realised changes are still changes, it’s just your system, room etc has no input in it and they guy next to you is just as likely to not experience it, or experience it in a different way, as he is to experience it the same as you.

I have no opinion on the brick. Transistor hum is real and is a bitch though!
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Did physiologically get inserted instead of psychologically in your second paragraph? If so I agree with you completely that we all hear differently. No need to scoff or call names when someone says something that disagrees with our perceptions. That’s all I’m trying to get across. An open mind is more susceptible to learning than a closed mind. Also, is it transistor hum or transformer hum that is a bitch? Not trying to catch you out here, Joe, just making sure I’m understanding correctly what you’re saying because I value what folks here have to share.
 
OMC said:
Did physiologically get inserted instead of psychologically in your second paragraph? If so I agree with you completely that we all hear differently. No need to scoff or call names when someone says something that disagrees with our perceptions. That’s all I’m trying to get across. An open mind is more susceptible to learning than a closed mind. Also, is it transistor hum or transformer hum that is a bitch? Not trying to catch you out here, Joe, just making sure I’m understanding correctly what you’re saying because I value what folks here have to share.
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Yes. I meant psychologically throughout.

I’ll never scoff at anyone extracting more enjoyment out of their system in whatever way they do it for themselves. Personally I prefer to listen by low or candlelight with a tipple. It makes me engage more and so it sounds better to me. Subjectively the audio is the same as at midday in full light with a glass of water.

I think where scoffing is deserved is when people try to recommend such things as silver bullets or universal improvements across the board without little evidential basis. Particularly when they ain’t cheap. Or when a change is clearly totally psychological and someone makes up some bullshit reason why it’s not. Pseudo science should always be scoffed at lol.
 
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Mather said:
Pitch black listening. ZERO OUTSIDE STIMULUS. I do this. I hate having to get up and turn the light on to change the album though. Might have to get a headlamp, just submit to the inevitable and go fully down the rabbit hole.
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Get a smart plug and hook it to a voice linked hub then it’s just a quick ‘alexaaaaah. Turn the fucking lights on’. Up, flip it and reverse. Zero hands needed
 
Agree with you completely in paragraph one and mostly with the second. If someone said that removing your glasses results in “massive” improvements, that’s a bunch of bull. My experience with this suggests that a very small change is detectable only under the right conditions such as you cited with low or no light, and a bit of alcohol. Any more than a little bit and all bets are off on hearing subtle differences and it’s time to turn Humble Pie up to eleven!
Ever hear of Peter Belt? If you want audio wackiness at its finest check him out. An example: write your name on a piece of paper and place it in your freezer for better sound. Really!! 🤪
 
OMC said:
Some say that if you can’t measure it, it must not be a concern. Others say if you can’t measure it you are using the wrong measurements. 🤷
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I’m inclined to go with the idea that electromagnetism is pretty well understood after 160 years of continuous study.

I’m also inclined to believe Roger Russell of McIntosh when he said: “Believing is hearing. That's right, if you believe you will hear a difference, then there's a good chance that you will.”
 
OMC said:
Agree with you completely in paragraph one and mostly with the second. If someone said that removing your glasses results in “massive” improvements, that’s a bunch of bull. My experience with this suggests that a very small change is detectable only under the right conditions such as you cited with low or no light, and a bit of alcohol. Any more than a little bit and all bets are off on hearing subtle differences and it’s time to turn Humble Pie up to eleven!
Ever hear of Peter Belt? If you want audio wackiness at its finest check him out. An example: write your name on a piece of paper and place it in your freezer for better sound. Really!! 🤪
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I’ve posted similar before but this is how my evening listening sessions look.

I just find it helps me relax and enjoy listening. It’s all subjective ambience beyond the system itself!

IMG_6726.jpeg
 
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