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Topic: thanks (Read 10899 times) previous topic - next topic
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thanks

a short thank you for a site that stands out from the  regular audiophile idiocy of sites like audio asylum, audiogon, and unfortunately even DIYaudio where the pest of unsupported claims freely peddled as ultimate truth is an ever increasing phenomenon.
Thanks for the sanity.

thanks

Reply #1
a short thank you for a site that stands out from the  regular audiophile idiocy of sites like audio asylum, audiogon, and unfortunately even DIYaudio where the pest of unsupported claims freely peddled as ultimate truth is an ever increasing phenomenon.
Thanks for the sanity.

Indeed it became worse lately!
Seems like many audiophiles finaly took the way to digital data.
You read the most unbelievable things about changing sound quality with some magic "digital tweaking"
The most stupid theories that can explain "any" changes in the digital domain of cause always change the sound.
Especially funny for a short period was to read about some optimizings done at Squeezebox servers sending data to the Squeezeboxes.

Tweaking of the IP layer on the server leads to several betterings on the Squeezebox because it fills the buffer more fluid, Windows 7 IP stack sounds better as the Ubuntu one, different ethernet cables make a huge difference, routers need linear PSUs... and so on...

There seems there was created a market especially for this clientele lately. You read reviews from some traditional reviewers that jump this bandwagon. They play with these poor souls wallet. Ever read a review about Hires audio? The jump from 44.1 to 96kHz and the most fuzzy feelings that only start with a minimum of 192kHz!?

I did run out of superlatives for descriping all this lately

And yes, the sheer quantity of people finding their way to the internet entering such unconfirmed, esotheric discussions and concuring with findings of some half-baked PC knowers is growing.
I still don´t know how to qualify that phenomenon but it must be related to being part of something, having no interest in proving anything to oneself.

I better stop rambling here and thank the mods in here for keeping Hydrogenaudio at this high standard. I think dibrom himself never wanted Hydrogenaudio to become a place where fuzzy, esotheric feelings get over reasoning!
Is troll-adiposity coming from feederism?
With 24bit music you can listen to silence much louder!

thanks

Reply #2

This is what happened unfortunately at DIYaudio where claims were posted that different flac players sounded differently - foobar, media monkey, winamp, dpowreamp etc.
Yeah the differences were clearly discernible etc....no explanation how and no measurement ...the usual audiophile bull. I finally decided not to participate at DIYaudio anymore, especially in the PC section, the atmosphere became rather dense....now they even have an diy audiophile hardrive featured...oh the humanity.

thanks

Reply #3
This is what happened unfortunately at DIYaudio where claims were posted that different flac players sounded differently - foobar, media monkey, winamp, dpowreamp etc.
Yeah the differences were clearly discernible etc....no explanation how and no measurement ...the usual audiophile bull. I finally decided not to participate at DIYaudio anymore, especially in the PC section, the atmosphere became rather dense....now they even have an diy audiophile hardrive featured...oh the humanity.


I remember the time having some nice discussions with a kind of strong inventing people like Peter Daniel at diyaudio
I learned many things over there.
Nelson Pass founded these forums for a reason and people i know from the audio business HIGHLY regard Mr. Pass!
Nice i find how the member "phofman" tries to bring in some reasoning to the PC-based section but sadly drownes in the mass of myths.
Is troll-adiposity coming from feederism?
With 24bit music you can listen to silence much louder!


thanks

Reply #5
Oh gawd… Did you notice how they always want you to "try for yourself"? It's like, "you just need to have faith"… They really believe you'll hear the same thing as they do! For me, it's gotten to the point that it's pretty much like religion. There's absolutely no use trying to argue.

What worries me, is that the recording industry might leverage those beliefs and try to perpetuate them. While we've seen significant advancements in the last 30 years (off the top of my head: CD Audio, lossless encoding, perceptual codecs…), we might one day be the victims of what I would call "forward regression", with the generalization of those useless sampling depths and rates that Neil Young recently championed and Xiphmont denounced.

I'm not sure what the global trend is. It seems that the vast majority of HA members has joined in recent years, I guess that's a hopeful sign? And while I can't tell what the trend is over at Head-Fi, I've noticed that there's a substancial portion of its members that tends towards objectivism. Hopefully a good sign as well.

Here's a piece I found over at Head-Fi though:

Quote
The generic USB cable sounds pretty flat. It has limited dynamic range and it distorts the tonal balance by softening the bass while it rolls off the treble regions. The mid range sounds dull and lifeless and the sound stage is narrowly constricted. In short, the generic USB cable was choking the full performance of my home audio system. […]

The Audioquest Diamond USB cable is an unbelievable USB cable. It uses a single AA battery to power the Audioquest Diamond USB cable so it does not need to be burned in for a significant period of time to sound its best. How does it sound? Amazing! Bass tightened up firmly and it sounds authoritative, punchy, and textures are quite vivid. The bass notes extend much deeper and they have more power and speed. Kick drums, high hats, snares, etc. sound much more vivid and they have an authoritative kick that gives the music a rock solid foundation. The mid range simply shines. It is like sitting in the first row of a concert. Gone is the distant veil and the haze from the generic USB cable. The Audioquest Diamond USB cable sharpens the focus of the mid range by adding layers of textures, details, and resolution without sounding edgy or hot. Clarity is the best word used to describe it. Everything sounds sharply focused and clear. Female singers sound fuller, richer, and more alluring as if she was singing right in front of me. […]

For those that will inevitably reply by stating that USB is a digital cable and all bits are the same, I urge you to find your local authorized Audioquest dealer and ask him or her to audition the Audioquest Diamond USB cable in your own home audio system for a week. Let your own ears be the judge. […]

At $649.00 USD for a 1.5 meter USB cable, I will not be able to afford the Audioquest Diamond USB cable anytime soon. However, I now know what is currently possible with a state of the art USB cable if you own a high end audio system at home.


And just for kicks, here's Audioquest's whitepaper called Computer Audio Demystified.

thanks

Reply #6
It just occurred to me that asking a nutjob for ABX logs is utterly pointless. First, 9 times out of 10, they'll just refuse to submit to the test, because "the difference is obvious enough". Then, even if they do submit to it, they'll just blame the software when they can't detect any difference. It's obviously broken!

Sure, with such logs, we will have confirmation with a high degree of probability that the nutjob is indeed imagining things. But it will be meaningless to them, and did we really need confirmation that they were nuts?

thanks

Reply #7
It just occurred to me that asking a nutjob for ABX logs is utterly pointless. First, 9 times out of 10, they'll just refuse to submit to the test, because "the difference is obvious enough". Then, even if they do submit to it, they'll just blame the software when they can't detect any difference. It's obviously broken!


Ah. Imagine if it were the same guy. 19 times out of 20, he'd refuse to submit the test result, and then the 20th time he would FINALLY get it 'working' and submit the success.

[I don't even have to link to that xkcd strip, do I?]

thanks

Reply #8
I wonder why the people who come here, defending their sometimes outrageous claims, don't just fake ABX logs.

thanks

Reply #9
@Gecko
please don't give them ideas!! 

thanks

Reply #10
Of course people fake the logs when they realize how wrong they were...  It's either that or you would have to actually admit the truth on the internet.  You know that place where people's egos get multiplied by 100 for some magical and unknown reason...

 

thanks

Reply #11
Another Top 10 entry:

Computeraudiophile.com: Can-you-hear-difference-between-wav-and-flac-same-ripped-CD

It gets time someone really pins these "happenings" that make history and enlighten our view on how we humans can experience digital audio if we only had good enough hearing.

Edit: Make it more polite
Is troll-adiposity coming from feederism?
With 24bit music you can listen to silence much louder!

thanks

Reply #12
Well, I just had to prove that you get kicked off CA from being an "objectivist" if you keep persisting with questioning some of the wilder claims (well, that, and something the administrator misinterpreted from what he gathered from spying on private messages between members). Well, glad to have gotten clarity on that one...


thanks

Reply #13
Well, I just had to prove that you get kicked off CA from being an "objectivist" if you keep persisting with questioning some of the wilder claims (well, that, and something the administrator misinterpreted from what he gathered from spying on private messages between members). Well, glad to have gotten clarity on that one...



Hi julf! What "Wombat" do you quote? I have no clue who did write this, it wasn´t me.
Is troll-adiposity coming from feederism?
With 24bit music you can listen to silence much louder!

thanks

Reply #14
Hi julf! What "Wombat" do you quote? I have no clue who did write this, it wasn´t me.


Sorry, no idea what happened there - I was trying to respond to your message.

thanks

Reply #15
Ah, ok. I didn´t read on CA to much but you explained some technical things to others there and must be some of the few that tries to use science. Was nice to read someone tries helping over there with technical understanding.
So do i really read this right and you got kicked for being sceptic in the end?
Is troll-adiposity coming from feederism?
With 24bit music you can listen to silence much louder!

thanks

Reply #16
Ah, ok. I didn´t read on CA to much but you explained some technical things to others there and must be some of the few that tries to use science.

Before I realized that that was frowned upon

Quote
So do i really read this right and you got kicked for being sceptic in the end?

Well, yes, and things I discussed in private messages between me and another user.


thanks

Reply #17
Is it possible that cheap USB cables were giving off EMFs that were interfering with the cheap speakers?

On one set of cheap speakers, I always know my cell phone is about to ring or I'm about to get a text message because there's a brief but clearly recognizeable static from the PC speakers first. I don't know if cheap USB cables could put out a similar EMF that would effect speakers but maybe. Never has happened to me, even with those same cheap speakers the phone interferes with, but :shrug: