Does it annoy you when companies don't show the internals of electronics ?


I noticed that merrill audio and mcintosh general don't show all the internals of their electronics. A friend of mine actually asked merrill to see pics of the internals of their amps and pres. The remark from merrill... 'people listen to how they sound they don't look at whats inside.'

But why hide it? Are they trying to protect some secrets of their tech? Might as well just show it... if you have dones something truly exceptional people will appreciate that and its going to be that easy to rip off.
smodtactical
...from one who's integrated computers into his audio....

If 'viewing the innards' becomes a 'make or break deal breaker', one could investigate the latest 'n greatest in gaming 'puters.

Now, before you snort & go 'well, that's not real audiophilia', put a pause on...
A lot of the vid games you hear the names of have surround audio that absolutely Requires discrete reproduction so you can hear the opponent that about to blow you away or the critter that'll rip your avatar into bloody shreds.
And the fact that some gamers are spending as much as some of You on case and board tech that includes on-mob lighting, illuminated fans, and plex sides and tops so you can watch the light show.

There exists sophisticated CPU cooling systems for overclocking that approach the cost of a nice pre-amp. When your amp grows a system that rivals your car to keep you from torching your caps, let me know.

Personally, I'm not a 'gamer', But....my vid card Does have it's own fan.  It's right next to my audio card, which I do ask a lot of.

The drivers I modify must have vented pole magnets and Kapton voice coil formers...just because previous drivers without would get hot to the touch.  I'm considering thermal protection because a Walsh makes demands on drivers you may have not been aware of when played Loud.

I don't need a 'light show' from my 'puter; the RT RTA and other displays are more intriguing to watch, esp. the ones from a calibrated mic.

They inform, but entertain in their fashion.... ;)

BTW...amps that create enough heat to 'warm the room' are wasting an enormous amount of energy imho.  Why some of you find that amusing...*shrug*

It's your power bill.  I'd run fans on those heat sinks yesterday.

Happy listening and a good weekend....


It's funny you guys think that a point to point wired rats nest is not reliable, some of the early tube equipment looks like a rats nest and was reliable for over 50 years. Most of the neat point to point wired products aren't truly point to point wired.
A ratsnet with lead-tin wire or beautiful point to point with lead free. Which will fail first? If you want reliable go back to wire wrap.
Point to point.. NO LOGIC BOARDS.. point to point.. There are hybrids too.  EX: VTL  The transformers are wired point to point and the valves are laid out on a heavy trace IC. The new MC275 have PtP on the valves but ICs on the power supply and preamp circuits. Just depends.

When it's done right it looks right and is quiet by design. Short wire legs, good wire, good solder, good parts.. Sounds like a country song.

I like First Watt too. full of WIMAs.. full!! nice lay out though..

Regards
I own four EAR products (use only 2 now).  They are brilliantly designed but use much less than SOTA parts.  All on circuit boards.  So what?  They sound great and are priced well below SOTA comparables.   They have good looks as well.   Using a 50% markup and 50% profit margin, it is difficult to image EAR making much money per unit.  They are built in the UK not China.  Labor costs are significantly higher.   Just remember, like PNB products, the cost is about 25% of the retail price and the manufacturer only gets 25% of the price as their profit.