Bybee Audio tweeks. IQSE

I was about to buy them when I read this thread.  It doesn't matter to me whether you categorize them as 'active' or 'passive', the real issue is the poor design.  If you are going sell a device where the effectiveness will degrade over time, you need to let the consumer know or give them an option of replacing the battery.  As the years pass a lot of us change gear and then see if our tweaks are still effective.  People are going to be confused, did they really help my system or was it my imagination.  And lastly, when these start showing up used on various sites, will the buyer be aware that based on the age of device it's effectiveness will be impacted.  Shouldn't the device have an expiration date?
I believe these devices work, I sincerely hope Jack Bybee redesigns them properly.  

Actually, to be fair, the performance does not (rpt not) degrade over time. At least over the lifetime of the battery, which is ten years. Not too many things in this hobby last ten years. Or in life. Don’t be a big baby! 👶

slaw ,davea33,

I totally agree with your comments.

geoffkait,

Not so much...

ozzy

"I highly doubt Mr. Bybee would mislead anyone"..

The fact that the description of the original QSE said it included a battery, and the iQSE was described as totally passive, (suggests) otherwise.

To my knowledge, it was only advertised as having a battery in ONE place. And this was later removed. 

geoffkait:

So what? My Clever Little Clock is battery powered but I would call it a passive device. Depends on how you define passive. The Tice Clock plugged into a wall outlet so I would tend to call that clock an active device. 

slaw:

That’s what I posted earlier.. "the definition of passive".

The older (external) version is marketed as having a battery. The newer version is marketed a totally passive. There-in lies the difference by the manufacturer.

I’m just pointing out the misleading advertising from the manufacturer. Seems pretty clear to me.

geoffkait:

I think you might be misunderstanding what I wrote a little bit. I’m saying that Mr. Bybee like me doesn’t consider that a battery powered device is necessarily an "active" device. So battery powered and active are not necessary synonymous. I describe my clock as battery powered but I don’t refer to it as active. It can be placed anywhere in the room. It’s passive. It’s not connected to the audio system anywhere, not the AC power, any cables and doesn’t interact with acoustic waves in the room.

I'm in agreeance with Geoff on this. The device is passive, and it's still a fully working passive product after the ~10 year lifespan of the battery.

Will it work as well as with the battery? Probably not. For this reason, I agree that Bybee should be more forthright about the batteries.

That said, have any of you compared the acrylic QSE to the wood QSE?

As to the product, if you like the IQSE, I think the battery issue is a stupid reason to not buy it. Many premium tubes cost more, and many won't come close to lasting 10 years. They also won't provide any use when they die.

Exhibit A - Mr. Bybee has no motive to deceive or mislead or any such thing. I heard through the grapevine he gave his significant other a brand new Bentley a few years ago. Capish?