Audio and technological mythology

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Interesting read from the IET's Engineering and Technology Magazine, the Top 10 craziest ideas copied below :)

http://eandt.theiet.org/magazine/2011/11/believe-in-better.cfm

Top ten craziest audio 'enhancements'

[*]1. Green marker pen – If there is an audio myth that just about everyone will recognise, this is it. The 'theory' was that drawing around the edge of a CD with a (special) green marker would stop stray red photons from the laser reflecting off the edge of the disc and into the photosensor. [*]2. Black dots and squares – In general, treating the room is a good idea. But you need furniture-sized panels and blocks of sound-absorbing material to make it work. However, that has not stopped companies from selling tiny pieces of black cardboard and plastic that are meant to transform the acoustics of a room when mounted on the wall. Comb filtering means the sound will be different as you move around the room. [*]3. Magic crystals – Yes, the power of crystals has entered the world of the audiophile. You can tape the pebbles to your cables or spread them around the room. As they are often quite pretty, it seems a shame to stick them behind an amplifier taped to some RCA connectors. You might as well display them prominently for all the good they will do. [*]4. Audiophile crocodile clips – In principle, crocodile clips are not entirely bad things in audio: they are good at making electrical connections. However, the Quantum Clip is simply there to introduce a 'morphic resonance' to a cable. This, supposedly, makes things sound better. You'd hope so for something that cost '500 when first launched. Apparently, any old crocodile will not do. [*]5. Magnetic resonators – One odd thing about crazy audiophile products is that many of them mention 'resonance' as a good thing. This is odd as mixing engineers try to iron it out, because it usually equates to an annoying sound. As with the Quantum Clip, the idea of the Magnetron is that 'magnetic coupling' from an object the size of a golf ball somehow interacts with sound in a room. [*]6. Super power cables – You would think the only thing you should desire in a power cable ' unless you enjoy the warm glow of a house fire ' is low resistance. But some vendors argue their power cables introduce a desirable capacitance that somehow cancels out RF interference. Any vaguely competent hi-fi design will filter out the worst interference from the mains, so the effect from any copper strands is likely to be beyond detection. [*]7. $400 ethernet cable – If you reckon charging over the odds for a power cable is bad, consider Denon's attempt to sell what is basically an ethernet cable ' designed to pass only digital signals ' for several hundred dollars. We can't do it justice here. All we can suggest is spending some quality time reading the reviews on Amazon for the AKDL1 cable. [*]8. CD demagnetiser – As room-acoustics consultant Ethan Winer said at his Audio Myths seminar at the Audio Engineering Society conference a couple of years ago: 'Think about this one for a moment.' [*]9. The ultimate tweeter – For the bat in your life, try adding a tweeter supposedly capable of generating audio vibrations above 1GHz. The manufacturer claims this transforms the sound transmitting properties of the air in a room. For some reason, it has to be connected to the amplifier ' which is a bit odd when you consider most digital equipment is designed to produce band-limited audio well below 100kHz. [*]10. Vibrating knobs – In truth, a dodgy potentiometer can make some nasty noises, but that's down to dirt on the contacts. So, at first sight, the idea of a potentiometer upgrade does not sound too mad. But when you combine that with the Silver Rock Signature Knob, things get a little crazier. Apparently, 'micro vibrations created by volume pots cause degradation'. But the, ahem, good vibrations from this wooden knob compensate for those nasty, bad vibrations. Unfortunately, the knob does not appear to be available anymore.
 

moon

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The thing is you could keep on going and going with your list till you reached in the hundreds. There are some very obvious ones missing from the list.
 
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Anonymous

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Yes there are loads of them, highly amusing yet a bit worrying if anyone actually buys into it. Just waiting for someone to suggest that cryogenically treating my FLAC files will make them sound better....now there's a money making idea.
 

Lee H

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nick8858 said:
Yes there are loads of them, highly amusing yet a bit worrying if anyone actually buys into it. Just waiting for someone to suggest that cryogenically treating my FLAC files will make them sound better....now there's a money making idea.

You mean you don't already? My NAS is in the chest freezer with the cable passing through the water softener in the garage. It makes quite a difference.
 
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Anonymous

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Hi Lee

Presumably your NAS is connected to the router with a crocodile clip then as well
 

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