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Magic Audiophile Gear

I got in an argument with a sales guy at Best Buy. He was trying to get me to go with the $50 monster cable for a digital audio cable. I tried explaining that a cleaner digital signal does nothing to sound quality and you were better off buying good quality speaker cables than an overkill digital audio cable.

Don't think I got through.
 
kevin said:
I got in an argument with a sales guy at Best Buy. He was trying to get me to go with the $50 monster cable for a digital audio cable. I tried explaining that a cleaner digital signal does nothing to sound quality and you were better off buying good quality speaker cables than an overkill digital audio cable.

Don't think I got through.
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Yeah he probably thinks that the '1' might come through as a '0.94' or something, and the '0' might end up as a '0.03' without the monster cable.

It's funny how people still attribute analogue qualities to digital systems. Like, that craze of putting a magic rubber band around your CDs to increase their mass hance improving rotational stability or something, reducing wow and flutter. I guess it made sense to people because it made sense to them with vinyl records. What they didn't get was that the data read from the CD is buffered then clocked through a crystal controlled D/A converter at a precise clock rate, regardless of any variation in the speed of rotation.

Some (most?) CD players now spin up, read a whole bunch o'data then spin down again anyway.
 
How the Intelligent Chip Works - The Definitive Explanation

Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Chip

http://www.machinadynamica.com/machina64.htm

Assuming for the time being that the Intelligent Chip is quantum in nature - as the manufacturer (JSMR Science and Technology Co.) states - can it be reverse engineered? What are the characteristics of quantum dots and what in tarnation could quantum dots possibly have to do with improving the sound of a CD? Could the tiny gold disc in the GSIC-10 and the silver discs in the GSIC-30 really contain quantum material?
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??
How Light Penetrates the CD Player Case
Back to the enigmatic Mr. Chip. Two coherent light sources - the quantum dot array and CD laser - combine to produce coherent quantum superposition in the CD polycarbonate's atoms and molecules (that are strongly resonant to coherent infrared/red light). But how are the photons from the two light sources able to interact? The case of the CD player is much too thick for quantum tunneling to occur. So we're stuck how to explain how light from the laser reaches the Intelligent Chip to trigger photoluminescence of the quantum material. Nor can we explain how the chips's radiated photons interact with the laser light and the CD inside the chassis.

However, if the CD player chassis is viewed as a "leaky box," with many small openings through which the CD laser light can escape (and enter), then we can explain how the laser light reaches the quantum material in the chip and how the chip's emitted photons are able to reach the interior of the player.
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!
 
Thanks for that, Vbloke. I'm convinced. I'm going right out to the shop to get a drill and fill my CD player with holes, so that the chip will work better. Maybe I'll get a half dozen or so of the chips to take advantage of all the extra quantum laser light that's going to be zooming around now. Of course there will be a lot of quantum laser energy bouncing around the listening room now, so if you come to hear my new improved system, leave your tinfoil hat on.
 
Yeah he probably thinks that the '1' might come through as a '0.94' or something, and the '0' might end up as a '0.03' without the monster cable.
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The problem with really cheap optical digital cables can be that they are poorly made. If one of the ends is bad it can cause problems. Actually this can be the problem with really cheap cables overall. Having said that though, the top of the line, really expensive cables are usually overkill.

The digital myth that I find funny is people who claim that either coax or optical is superior to the other.
 
Legal Warning!

bruto said:
But this is a malfunction, and all you need to do is fix the bad outlet, or in the case of an American plug, stick a screwdriver into the prong and expand it a bit.
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Bruto,
You are in serious danger of being sued over this. You did not warn everyone to completely remove the plug from the socket before sticking the screwdriver into the prong. Some Darwin Award nominees' family is going to be coming after you. Better put your attorny on retainer now.

Robert
 
That gives me an idea...

Did you know you can improve the acoustic performance of your equipment by boosting your outlet's power output? All you have to do is stick a $2,000 copper fork into the socket and QUANTUM FLAPDOODLE POWER MAKES EVERYTHING SOUND GOOD!! And I'll give you a bargain on the magic fork, it can be yours for only $500, though my wife and chldren will starve because of the outrageously low price.
 
Here's another poser for the audiowoos:

All these tweaks, volume knobs, cables, etc make the CD sound better, right?

Is there a theoretical maximum quality of sound (however you want to measure it) encoded on the CD?

If yes, then the theory behind all your doodads must be that without them some of the quality is lost in the process somewhere between reading the information (bits) and converting it to sound pressure waves.

If no, then there will always be another gadget that can improve the sound quality.

Exploring these two options....

If there is a fixed, maximum sound quality that can be extracted from an audio CD, and your $485 wooden volume knob helps get closer to that elusive goal, then of course you'd be pleased to know that the CD was recorded in a studio fitted with all the latest $485 volume knobs. Anything less would compromise the source material. See that mixing desk? See all the faders? That's not cheap plastic. Imagine how bad the sound recording would be if they used plastic faders!

Oh, and the cables! The miles and miles of cabling used in your average recording studio isn't your average run-of-the-mill professional audio cable. Oh no. That's not nearly good enough. It's all Quantum Crystal cable, at $30,000 a metre. Anything less would compromise the artist's integrity by not allowing all the fluxotic nuances to be recorded. And besides, if they didn't use your fancy cables then so much of the quality would be lost that what would be the point of you using these expensive cables? You can't get back what's not there.

But it doesn't stop there, not by a long shot.

I have it on good authority that musicians who care about the quality of their recordings wouldn't dream of using substandard cabling to connect their instruments to their amplifiers. Weakest link in the chain and all that, you know. The patented Guitar Magic cables at only $10,000.00 each allow the guitar amp to receive a greater range of percussive dynamics and string scrapes than your cheap nasty cable.

Have you ever taken a guitar or a microphone apart? You should see the nasty crappy hookup wire used to connect the pickup or condenser to the plug! It might only be a few centimetres in length, but it can make or break the transmission of the ultra-dynamic overtones. Better replace that bit of wire with oxygenated (or is it deoxygenated?) mega carbon conductor strands. Most decent guitar techs will do that for only $5,000.00 plus labour costs.

Looking at the other option, where there is no limit to the improvements, no limit to the quality that is embedded in the CD, please, explain where the extra information is? If it's not just a matter of more efficient/accurate reading/interpretation/conversion/transformation, if your devices can infintely continue to improve the sound, where does the extra quality come from if it's not there in the first place?

I look forward to hearing from you. In the meantime, I'll just continue listening to my CDs through my 20-year-old 25 watt NAD amp and CD player (with a broken display so I don't know which track number I'm up to) and Dynaudio speakers (home built enclosures). With ordinary cables. And no fancy volume knob.
 
I have two questions about all this stuff.

1) is this stuff really for sale or is these spoof links?

2) If it is real, then the people who are buying it must know something about electricity and how cables transmit signals. How does one get from that point to believing that raising the wires off the floor with special non-skid ceramic cable elevators will increase sound quality? (from Kevin's link http://www.amusicdirect.com/products/detail.asp?cat=280&sku=AELEV) There must be something more than the-emporer's-new-clothes going on here. What is it?
 
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There must be something more than the-emporer's-new-clothes going on here. What is it?
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No. That's pretty much it.

I know that no one will argue that there aren't different grades of audio equipment and that the really good stuff is really good. I think what happens to these people is that they percieve weak links. If you have spent big $$$$ on speakers and amplifiers and source equipment you think you have no weak links in the system. Then you start looking at the wire. Can't have pennies a foot wiring on your big $$$$ system so you buy $$$ wire. Then swear it sounds better. Now you've fallen for audio woo and there is no holding you back. Next thing you know you really believe that the material your volumn knob is made from is effecting the sound.
 
jimlintott said:
"So you say that your super ultra mega sweeter tweeters with hyper cables make all the difference? Funny because our tests show that you can't hear squat past 8khz."
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Reminds me of a brief exchange I had with a stereo salesman in the mid-80s when I was shopping for a component CD player. The model he was steering me to was exceptional, he said, because it sampled at 44 kHz, and therefore produced sounds at up to 44 kHz. I said that it didn't really work that way, and even if it did, what good would that do since I've never seen an amp or speaker that output 44 kHz.

Showing great patience with dealing with my ignorance, he simply said that those 44 kHz sounds enhanced the sounds that were within our range of hearing, even before they left the CD player itself.

Whatever. I bought a portable Sony DC5 instead.
 
jimlintott said:


No. That's pretty much it.

I know that no one will argue that there aren't different grades of audio equipment and that the really good stuff is really good. I think what happens to these people is that they percieve weak links. If you have spent big $$$$ on speakers and amplifiers and source equipment you think you have no weak links in the system. Then you start looking at the wire. Can't have pennies a foot wiring on your big $$$$ system so you buy $$$ wire. Then swear it sounds better. Now you've fallen for audio woo and there is no holding you back. Next thing you know you really believe that the material your volumn knob is made from is effecting the sound.
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But that last part of your description sounds so strange to me. I can understand how people fall for marketing puffery related to the wire or the components, but I see going from overpriced wires to wooden knobs as a pretty big leap. Don't these people have friends or relatives who laugh at them when they get to the wooden knobs or magical hat racks to place on the speakers?
 
Desktop Icon said:
Reminds me of a brief exchange I had with a stereo salesman in the mid-80s when I was shopping for a component CD player. The model he was steering me to was exceptional, he said, because it sampled at 44 kHz, and therefore produced sounds at up to 44 kHz. I said that it didn't really work that way, and even if it did, what good would that do since I've never seen an amp or speaker that output 44 kHz.

Showing great patience with dealing with my ignorance, he simply said that those 44 kHz sounds enhanced the sounds that were within our range of hearing, even before they left the CD player itself.

Whatever. I bought a portable Sony DC5 instead.
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Well I guess he was just a salesman and not an engineer. He wasn't aware of Nyquist's theorem. The reason 44.1KHz was chosen as the sample rate for CDs was that according to Nyquist the sample rate needs to be at least twice that of the highest frequency to be sampled. 22KHz as an upper limit seems OK given that most people can barely hear above 10KHz let alone 20KHz.

But really, salespeople are the last people you want technical audio advice from. You did well to ignore him.
 
The "Intelligent Chip" (complete with little plastic case) looks remarkably like a SmartMedia memory card painted orange. They probably just bought a load of old SmartMedia cards that are too small/slow (like 4Mb cards) for anyone to want anymore.

And sprayed them orange, made up a load of confusing crap about them, and sold them for a MASSIVE profit.
 
I really, really wish that CLC was a joke. But I'm afraid it isn't. Oh Ed, why will my conscience not allow me to make a buck on these things? I could easily think up more impressive looking things and write more impressive-sounding pseudo-science blurbs about them.

But, I have to sleep at night.

Hans
 
Raja said:
You mean this? Good grief, I can't believe that this isn't satire. Hell, they say in the product description itself that this thing does nothing!Must be magic, I guess. And only $149 -- but if you buy more, the non-existant effects are cumulative! :oldroll:
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Wow. I have exactly this alarm clock on my beside table. It didn't come with this red sticker, though, but therefore it was only £3. It improves the sound enourmously, especially when you're listening to recordings of random alarm clock sounds around 7.30am in my flat...

Oh, and by the way, I presume electricity from nuclear power plants sounds a lot better than the usual fossil energy, doesn't it? I think I'll start selling diesel power generators soon that sound even better at only £250.000 each.
(Works only in connection with a £1000 power cord and only with the generator in the same room to keep the cabeling as short as possible. If you could still hear your music whilst it's running you would realise that it sounds a lot better)

FR
 
I saw this great site once, and I can't find it any more, about little stickers that you put on your stereo or at certain places. They sold them really expensive. I completely forgot what it was called, too. But it was so absurd and the pages were so long. It was quite entertaining.
 
Francois Tremblay said:
I saw this great site once, and I can't find it any more, about little stickers that you put on your stereo or at certain places. They sold them really expensive. I completely forgot what it was called, too. But it was so absurd and the pages were so long. It was quite entertaining.
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I think Randi had those in one of his commentaries sometime in the past year. I'm too lazy to search, but I think you might find it in the archives there.
 
force_redo said:
Oh, and by the way, I presume electricity from nuclear power plants sounds a lot better than the usual fossil energy, doesn't it? I think I'll start selling diesel power generators soon that sound even better at only £250.000 each.
(Works only in connection with a £1000 power cord and only with the generator in the same room to keep the cabeling as short as possible. If you could still hear your music whilst it's running you would realise that it sounds a lot better)

FR
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A friend of my dad's makes generators. He told me once about one they made with a double muffler system. You could stand right beside it and have a normal conversation while it was running. However for your generator to stop the quantum interference of using the wrong metal each muffler would be about $75,000 so to get a nice quite system add $150,000 to your price.
 
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