9 hi-fi tricks you might not believe affect sound quality (but they do)

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davidc

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It took more effort to denigrate the suggestion than to try it out. Hardly seems sporting.
I don't really think you know what you just said. It took me approximately 15 to 30 seconds to post my previous comment. I think it would take much longer to try out any of these suggestions. Some of them are legitimate, some of them are freaking ridiculous.
 

elvisizer

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hmmmm, some of the things in this article are reasonable, some are VERY sketchy.
From the top!
  1. Running in: for anything that moves (speaker drivers) or has a suspension (cartridge cantilevers), sure. For anything without moving parts, just bring it up to operating temperatures and it shouldn't change over time. So this one I'd say isn't as widely applicable as is being claimed, but it's not crazy.
  2. Turning off the display: meh, I have receivers that do this- I've never heard a difference with them on or off and neither has my measurement mic or REW software. In the end, this claim is HIGHLY equipment dependent- if the display doesn't cause noise to leak into the audio's path, then there will be no difference. YMMV. Same with turning off unused digital outputs.
  3. Listening in the dark: sure, makes sense.
  4. Listening at night: possible, sure. but it's never going to be a big issue.
  5. Squash balls under all components: seems like overkill again. components that are sensitive to vibration will always benefit from isolation, but many don't.
  6. Cables off the floor: the copy in this section is just confusing. "But when you think about how cables can transmit vibrations into your electronics...." Uh, what? Those cables carry electrical signals, not 'vibrations'. no, just no. if you're THAT worried about vibrations in the floor traveling through the cable into your equipment, then why are all the cable risers made out of rigid material? Shouldn't they be made out of Sorbothane or something if vibrations are the concern? silliness.
  7. cables: people definitely use differently voiced materials in cables to tune the sound of their systems. whether that's a good idea or if they'd be better served by choosing components that match the desired sonic signature in the first place is another question. I like to stick to quality cables that don't try to color the sound in a particular way.
  8. AV power ratings: yep, shenanigans all over these measurements by a lot of manufacturers.
  9. playing CD's from the beginning: lololololol oh come ON! you can't just assert something nonsensical like that without ANY explanation for what might be going on. This absolutely should not have been included lololololol
 
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Eckstar812

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Always listen in the dark? Never re-start a CD that's been paused? Put a squash ball under your amp? We explain the tall tales of hi-fi which actually work.

9 hi-fi tricks you might not believe affect sound quality (but they do) : Read more
From 40 years of experience I think you missed one. Ok running in is certainly required. You completely missed warming up. Even run in components require anywhere between 20 minutes and an hour of warming up before they give of their best. Cold components that have not carried current in some time need to warm to designed running temperature where their given design specs produce intended performance and this is very noticeable. Not a subtle effect.
 

Johan Bottema

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Always listen in the dark? Never re-start a CD that's been paused? Put a squash ball under your amp? We explain the tall tales of hi-fi which actually work.

9 hi-fi tricks you might not believe affect sound quality (but they do) : Read more
Funny article. Writer seems concerned about vibrations through cables causing havoc ... these vibrations are completely harmless to the electronics! Some of the best speakers in the world have integrated electronics (Kii, Holland & Holland, Backes Muller) and often a DAC and are integrated straight to the source of magnetic and mechanical interference. I like most of the other points as listening to music is partially a psychological activity.
 
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Djferrey

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Mostly typical “audiophile” nonsense.
I missed the link to the double blind tests and science behind it. Cables not on the floor, lol. Better to have a couple of leprechauns holding the cables.
 
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Jroot

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I didn't realise that What HiFi were employing deluded audiofool bullsh1tters these days. What a load of utter nonsense. Cables off the floor... Lol! Running in electronics... Lol! Bicycle inner tubes under your amp... Lol!
So much bullsh1t I feel like puking. Maybe puking on my interconnects will make them work better.
People... Do not waste your time on this nonsense. It works for most audiophiles because they're deluded bullsh1tters but normal people won't hear any difference, because there is NO difference.

Q: How do you make an audiofool's head explode?
A: Suggest a double blind test.

Audiofools... Deluded bullsh1tters!
 

Jroot

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I've been an electronic engineer since '78, and what you refer to as "run in" is standard procedure for delicate equipment. Some of the more touchy stuff required at least 48 hrs. to stabilize.
 
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Taurian177

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Always listen in the dark? Never re-start a CD that's been paused? Put a squash ball under your amp? We explain the tall tales of hi-fi which actually work.

9 hi-fi tricks you might not believe affect sound quality (but they do) : Read more
Hi, i assume your referring to the anti skip properties which read ahead of the live time output.
Depending on the quality of the product and the math algorithms employed i suppose in theory it could affect playback but would it be discernable?
 

Mike Hunt

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I've been an electronic engineer since '78, and what you refer to as "run in" is standard procedure for delicate equipment. Some of the more touchy stuff required at least 48 hrs. to stabilize.
Utter nonsense. We're not in the age of valves and analogue synthesizers.
What next... Directional copper cables? Audiophile Ethernet cables for a superior sound stage?Audiophile grade capacitors, for a warmer, more 'chocolatey' experience? £50k kettle leads?
 

davidc

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So, why would the "cable risers" have any less vibration than the floor? They are solid non-absorbant objects placed on the floor. And, what about all the wiring and electronic components inside the speakers? Seems to me that they are getting more vibrations than anything else.

I'm sorry What Hi-Fi, publishing this nonsense has severely hurt your reputation.
 
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Mike Hunt

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Here's a question for the believers...
You know those £50k kettle leads that need breaking in but make your soundstage so much more transparent because they're made from special Woo-Wire... What about the cheap and nasty twin and earth that's running from the consumer unit to the electrical outlets? wouldn't that need replacing with approximately £3 Million of Woo-Wire, too? And what about the nasty cabling inside your amp? I've never seen an amp with Woo-Wire inside. Surely the cheap and nasty wires inside your amp would need replacing, too, or the transparent soundstage that the Woo-Wire carries to your amp would become muddied. Or is Woo-Wire so wootastic that it magically transforms all of that nasty copper in the walls of your house into audiophile quality copper, then wootastically bypasses the nasty copper wires in your amp and passes audiophile quality electricity directly to the transformer, which you obviously had rewound with Woo-Wire, as we all know that normal copper wire isn't suitable for Audiophile quality music, right?
 

atmfrank

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I also have been an audiophile for 50 years and I have a hard time to listen to opinionated statements of people who believe they have all the wisdom in the world. The biggest mistake this category of people make is the inability to learn, to not listen and worse, to believe that one's opinion is true for everyone else. Opinions are just that, your personal view of things. If you call this BS then my response is: your opinion is even bigger BS, because it's also IGNORANT.

There is some truth in the cited use cases. Example: listening at night. Based on my experience: absolutely true. But it also matters greatly where you live and how exposed you are to EMF, AC line noise, etc. A person in a dense city might notice a problem more than someone in a rural area. Listening in the dark: absolutely true.

I draw the line for vibration effect on speaker cables.

The world is not black & white, in particular not in audio. And that's my personal opinion.
 
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Deluded from Chester

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Here's a question for the believers...
You know those £50k kettle leads that need breaking in but make your soundstage so much more transparent because they're made from special Woo-Wire... What about the cheap and nasty twin and earth that's running from the consumer unit to the electrical outlets? wouldn't that need replacing with approximately £3 Million of Woo-Wire, too? And what about the nasty cabling inside your amp? I've never seen an amp with Woo-Wire inside. Surely the cheap and nasty wires inside your amp would need replacing, too, or the transparent soundstage that the Woo-Wire carries to your amp would become muddied. Or is Woo-Wire so wootastic that it magically transforms all of that nasty copper in the walls of your house into audiophile quality copper, then wootastically bypasses the nasty copper wires in your amp and passes audiophile quality electricity directly to the transformer, which you obviously had rewound with Woo-Wire, as we all know that normal copper wire isn't suitable for Audiophile quality music, right?

moron alert...
 

Deluded from Chester

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I've been an audiophike for almost 50 years. I still can't believe this BS your spouting. Pausing the CD and then starting playing again makes it sound different? I suppose you think that there are aliens living among us,, the US neverlanded on the moon, and you're probably an anti-vaxxer too. Freaking ridiculous
There was once CD players which reset their buffers only after a stop and hence performed better afterwards. Very simple matter to research, but you didn’t bother did you....? Oh dear..
 
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Deluded from Chester

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So, why would the "cable risers" have any less vibration than the floor? They are solid non-absorbant objects placed on the floor. And, what about all the wiring and electronic components inside the speakers? Seems to me that they are getting more vibrations than anything else.

I'm sorry What Hi-Fi, publishing this nonsense has severely hurt your reputation.
Because in between the risers the cables are hanging free from the ground, hence the coupling of the cables to the ground is negligible compared to full contact without the risers. Also - outboard crossovers are indeed a thing...
 

Deluded from Chester

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Utter nonsense. We're not in the age of valves and analogue synthesizers.
What next... Directional copper cables? Audiophile Ethernet cables for a superior sound stage?Audiophile grade capacitors, for a warmer, more 'chocolatey' experience? £50k kettle leads?
All electrolytic capacitors need to be “formed” electrically and it occurs in the first use... if they are new, then run-in or burn-in will occur before the circuit can function as designed. Audio grade capacitors tend to have no magnetic materials used, and low inductance shape, low dielectric loss etc. Any cable shielded at one end only is by definition directional and could potentially couple or decouple noise depending on orientation. You really could do to read up more before posting
 
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