Michael Green,
Now I am closer to some attempt at acceptance of brass being more responsive to humidity than wood, but not by much.
I can imagine metal being charged and that having some impact. Not that I completely understand, but that may be due to my limitations and I can see that someone could make a case for it.
However, metal (in our case brass) swelling and changing more than wood due to humidity is a little bit harder to grasp after a few decades of non-scientific experience with both. I mean, I have not done any experiment, controlled or not controlled, to measure outcomes of humidity exposure. Still, I do have anecdotal evidence to the contrary. I have had old wood windows swell after an evening shower enough to be much harder to open. I have never experienced anything similar with my cars, bicycles (that sucked every time, but because of a wet seat and slippery roads), or anything else made of metal I left in the rain or outside on a humid day. Cars always seemed to retain their size. Of course, I did not measure them so I cannot claim I am 100% sure, but still. I will leave it at that.
Even I agree that my system sounds different throughout the day. I do not give it much thought of why it is so, but it is so to my ears and I live with it. I, kind of, assign it to reaching the optimal temperature for whatever it is doing. It sounds better after a while, but I can tolerate it from the beginning.
I doubt many people would contest the claim that transformers placed in the box with other electronic parts can have some (presumably negative) effect on the function of those parts and, consequently, the final sound. The real reason they are placed in there is a very simple compromise. Sellers would lose 80% (I am making that number up, but I think it may be close to correct) of customers if they did not offer a cosmetically acceptable solution. Most of the people, even those who are willing to shell out many thousands of dollars for an amplifier, do not prefer to have too many wires and boxes laying around. For some, it is plain impossible due to children, pets, husbands, wives, design of the room, whatever. Why that simple fact always gets ignored, not only by you, is beyond me. From what I understand, manufacturers try to compromise by isolating transformers as much as they can. It may not be perfect, though. I am sure you know much more about that than I ever will.
Now I am closer to some attempt at acceptance of brass being more responsive to humidity than wood, but not by much.
I can imagine metal being charged and that having some impact. Not that I completely understand, but that may be due to my limitations and I can see that someone could make a case for it.
However, metal (in our case brass) swelling and changing more than wood due to humidity is a little bit harder to grasp after a few decades of non-scientific experience with both. I mean, I have not done any experiment, controlled or not controlled, to measure outcomes of humidity exposure. Still, I do have anecdotal evidence to the contrary. I have had old wood windows swell after an evening shower enough to be much harder to open. I have never experienced anything similar with my cars, bicycles (that sucked every time, but because of a wet seat and slippery roads), or anything else made of metal I left in the rain or outside on a humid day. Cars always seemed to retain their size. Of course, I did not measure them so I cannot claim I am 100% sure, but still. I will leave it at that.
Even I agree that my system sounds different throughout the day. I do not give it much thought of why it is so, but it is so to my ears and I live with it. I, kind of, assign it to reaching the optimal temperature for whatever it is doing. It sounds better after a while, but I can tolerate it from the beginning.
I doubt many people would contest the claim that transformers placed in the box with other electronic parts can have some (presumably negative) effect on the function of those parts and, consequently, the final sound. The real reason they are placed in there is a very simple compromise. Sellers would lose 80% (I am making that number up, but I think it may be close to correct) of customers if they did not offer a cosmetically acceptable solution. Most of the people, even those who are willing to shell out many thousands of dollars for an amplifier, do not prefer to have too many wires and boxes laying around. For some, it is plain impossible due to children, pets, husbands, wives, design of the room, whatever. Why that simple fact always gets ignored, not only by you, is beyond me. From what I understand, manufacturers try to compromise by isolating transformers as much as they can. It may not be perfect, though. I am sure you know much more about that than I ever will.