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Do you believe in Magic?

Audio Magic, that is.

Let's say that Magic is any effect not explainable by known physical laws. Every audiophile is familiar with debates about Audio Magic, as evidenced by endless threads about power cables.

I recently had an experience that made me question my long held skepticism about Magic. On a whim, I bought some Stillpoints ERS Fabric. I installed it in my preamp (which is filled with noisy digital circuitry) and a reclocker (also noisy) and...

Something happened. I don't know what exactly, but something. Two things in particular seemed to change... the decay of notes, and instrument timbres. Both changed for the better. But where did this change occur? In my listening room? Or in my mind?

If the change was in my listening room, then Magic exists. If the change was in my mind, then Magic does not exist.

One of the great Ideological Divides in audio is the divide between Believers and Skeptics. I honestly don't know if I'm a Believer or a Skeptic.

Do you believe in Magic?

Bryon
bryoncunningham
rodman99999
3,557 posts
 
Any or all, of the first three, can make your music seem louder(and vice versa).
audiofeil
4,011 posts
 
Audiophile grade Q-Tips?
bryoncunningham OP
888 posts
 
Like these? I just ordered some.

bc
tbg
5,263 posts
 
Audiophile rectal inserts, you need some.
almarg's avatar
almarg
8,673 posts
 
Hi Bryon,

Interesting update. I have very little familiarity with Mac's, but in connection with the volume increase, does it seem conceivable that it might somehow have been attributable to a difference in the software installation on the new internal SDD, compared to what was on the original internal HDD? Either in the operating system software, the application program, the codec that may be in use to decompress the files (if they are losslessly compressed), or settings or updates that may be applicable to any of those things.

Did you implement the software installation to the new internal SSD by installing everything from scratch, or by using an imaging program to restore a recently generated image file containing the entire contents of the original HDD, or by using a cloning program?

Did the volume increase seem like it might perhaps have amounted to 6 db (keeping in mind the rough rule of thumb that a 10 db increase is subjectively perceived as twice as loud)? A 6 db increase would correspond to the bits in each digital sample being shifted up by one bit location. In other words, if at some point in the data path through the computer a 32 or 64 bit word length were being used, and the audio data comprises 16 or 24 bits, if the 16 or 24 bits were shifted up by l bit location toward the most significant of the 32 or 64 bits, that would result in a 6 db volume increase, corresponding to twice the voltage at any given instant.

Just some (obviously very speculative) thoughts.

Best,

-- Al
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