Do we believe in Machina Dynamics?

Street lights are on boys. Time to go home. Remember to take your pails and shovels.

Sorry, Tbag, you're not my mommy.

Freemand has said it well.

Freemand: I agree with your analysis. In the end, what ultimately matters is what the individual listener perceives. If, after putting an alarm clock in your room or having tones played over your phone or drinking a few glasses of Wild Irish Rose, you believe that your system sounds better, then it obviously was worth it to you. I don't think anyone disputes yours or Norm's or anyone else's experience (putting aside the obvious bias that arises when someone like Norm takes freebies, failes to disclose it, and then asserts publicly that they work).

Your analysis does not, however, address the issue of whether those "tweaks" have even a remote chance of helping others. If the point of this forum is to share experiences that may help others, it is important to separate tweaks that have no apparent explanation (which, more likely than not, induce a placebo effect that likely is not repeatable acrosss the population or even for an individual over time) and those that have some basis in rationale, scientific explanations (which are vastly more likely to have a similar effects on others' experiences).

Otherwise, Norm's anecodates about how little pebbles have changed his life are just that: cute, personal anecdotes that contribute nothing to the general understanding and improvement of the forum members' experiences.

Freemand +++ Why does a $2000 dollar power cord make any difference in improving the sound +++

A power cable can filter out RFI and EMI out of the power source, which results in a cleaner B+ voltage on the rails. That leads to better sound reproduction. Simple no?

+++ Science would seem to tell me that the power cord wont help +++

No, your lack of understanding of science tells you PC won’t help. The assumption that others share your lack of understanding is erroneous.

+++ Everyone has the right to let their ears determine and not some scientific method. +++

It’s a free country and you have the right to do whatever you want (if legal that is). However, that does not eliminate the possibility of placebo effect nor does it diminish the fact that every tweak that actually works has a perfectly plausible scientific reason for doing so.

+++ I would trust my ears then some science geeks with a white lab coats and pocket protectors. +++

Fortunately, I have enough understanding to know when said geeks with pocket protectors are frauds. I know a phone call cannot improve sound and I don’t need to spend $75 dollars to find out.

Regards
Paul

Tbg, as I have said many times in the past I keep an open mind when it comes audio. But with that said it is still tempered with a certain amount of commonsense. MD's phone tweak is a little hard to approach with any believe ability. The only way I would entertain any effect in perception the sound has changed is through the use of subliminal messages hidden within the phone message. Your subconscious is being told you will hear a difference... Would you at least consider that? You also need to think about how most audio equipment is designed, enclosed, housed within a metal case. A metal case that in it's design is to reject RFI as much as possible.
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Do solid state amps have a break in period?

08-30-07: Ojgalli
I would like to hear from someone who has actually taken measurements of a brand new piece of equipment immediately after unpacking and setup. Then follow up with additional measurements taken after precisely 50, 100, 200, and 400 hours of use. Is there a measurable difference? If so, is it enough to be audible? I have found tests results on raw speaker drivers tested in free air. Changes are measurable and significant, however once that driver is put in an enclosure, the properties of the enclosure override any changes in the driver. Tubes change gradually over time, but is that breaking in or wearing out? Capacitors are known to change within the first several hours of operation, but I've not found any other electronics with similar documentation.

We've heard lots of anecdotal claims, but never any hard evidence. Claims for break-in always vary wildly by quality and quantity even with the same piece of equipment.

Here's a quote from a manufacturer's website.

"You hear differently from day to day depending on atmospheric changes and the condition of your sinuses. As you become accustomed to the speakers and the system, you stop listening to them and listen through to the music. When the time comes that you only hear music when you turn the system on, the speakers are broken in, your electronics are broken in and your ears have determined that they really do like what they are hearing."

Or not. I've owned a pair of this manufacturer's speakers. They never got better, only worse, or at least, the time never came when I got past all the distortion to "only hear music."

Why have we never heard someone say the bass got thinner, the soundstage shrunk, the midrange muddled, and the highs became harsh after break-in?
Ojgalli (Threads | Answers)
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Curious how some who have posted here would respond to Mr Ojgalli's post...

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