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It Pegged the Needle on My "BS Meter". Now, I'm A Believer. Ever Happen to You?

Okay, here you are. Feeling pretty good about yourself. Your high end audio knowledge base is extensive. Ears fine-tuned. You can sling words around like "dampening factor", "air gap flux density", and throw in the occasion "dark background" or "micro-dynamic" just to let those around you know you’re not a high performance audio lightweight.

Then, there it is: you are presdented with the utterly ridiculous. After the initial automatically triggered chuckle, the "reasonable" part of your brain assembles a list of the number of reasons why this makes no sense at all. You hit the eject button and move on to more sane topics, like alien shape shifting. But, the topic gets revisited. Most likely an acquaintance or industry associate asks: "Have you tried this?" You put on your best poker face and attempt to keep a friendship intact while explaining in no uncertain terms why they are out of their cotton-pickin’ mind.

After defending your space and putting up your best efforts to not come within 100 meters of this "thing", you give in to the pressure(s) and give it a listen. And then ... "what the heck just happened?!!" You are flabbergasted. Not only did it make an improvement. You have to look at the guys you just labeled as certified lunatics -- and admit they were right.

Ever happen to you?

The first, and most memorial for me .....

Monster Cable CD Sound Rings

The sonics first generation CD players were not, uh, as advertised. They had more grain than a belt sander with 60 grit attached. A bit later Yamaha introduced a new (lower priced) player with "oversampling" that filed the burrs off a bit But, still not even close to an analog experience in my view.

Then the Monster rep showed up and dropped off a little package of CD Sound Rings. Per the rep, these little boogers reduce "jitter" in CDs and make them sound better. I just couldn’t hide the obvious smirk, and "promised" to listen to them. He left. They sit on the desk along with literature, open invoices, and a pretty full todo list. I’m not sure what provided the nudge for me to give them a listen. But, I finally opened the package, stuck one (literally) to a CD, and closed the drawer. Music started playing. It was at that precise moment that CDs became listenable for me. And, opened the window for a lifetime of open-minded, audio experimentation.

Similar experience(s) anyone?

128x128waytoomuchstuff
waytoomuchstuff's avatar
waytoomuchstuff OP
1,156 posts
 

@livinon2wheels 

All the above 

kennyc
1,573 posts
 

@waytoomuchstuff 

Because of high uncertainty due to each individual unique situation:

  1. different components/systems
  2. different rooms
  3. different noise floors
  4. different hearing abilities 
  5. different personal sonic preferences 
  6. different power quality 
  7. different types and resistance to picking up noise 

So instead of assuming it’s false until proven true, I simply look at the reviews and if positive, then it’s only “likely” (probability) I’d get the same results, but nothing is guaranteed.  The only way to prove that I like a component is to try it in my own system, everything else is speculations

waytoomuchstuff's avatar
waytoomuchstuff OP
1,156 posts
 

@kennyc

I follow your logic here. Numbers 1-7 are valid, for certain. "The only way to prove that I like a component is to try it in my own system, everything else is speculations" is the real litmus test.

I find that reviewers can range from "somewhat helpful" to masters of the art of observation and relating those findings in clear, understandable language. "Reviewers" can also include those with "agendas" who financially benefit from "clicks" via sensationalism, squashing new ideas, or even old ones. Not the most objective approach to reaching useful conclusions.

Thanks for the post.

kennyc
1,573 posts
 

@waytoomuchstuff 

Your gratitude is appreciated.

Yes, sifting through reviews is not easy to sift through.

Some decry that there are not enough “negative” reviews, therefore there seems to be a bias which is somewhat true. But:

  1. if reviewers gave negative reviews, then manufacturers would be hesitant on using them- a bad review can greatly hurt a small business especially in the small high-end audio market
  2. reviewers try to review “interesting” good components, not simply randomly. Therefore, expect good to very positive reviews

If the reviewer is professional, then I assume they have a lot of experience in to draw upon.  But simple flowery “I like it” tells me nothing.  It’s when they compare vs other gear that allows us to determine value, and words like ”bargain” or the reviewer’s surprised (often reading between the lines) that I take notice.  I then look for other reviews/opinions to corroborate the positive review.  Occasionally, I give a lot of weight to a single review - like on WBF the moderator tried the PC Snake River Audio Takshaka  which sonically matches the level of his Masterbuilt PC (very expensive, created by us govt superconductor scientists (no, it’s not a superconductor, but their expertise is second to none).

 

tomic601's avatar
tomic601
12,984 posts
 

easy… VPI “ Magic Bricks “…. still use them…. 

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