Home General Asylum

General audio topics that don't fit into specific categories.

[ Follow Ups ] Thread: [ Display  All  Email ] [ General Asylum ]
[ Alert Moderator ]

Re: Peter Aczel's biggest "lies" ...

MinimumPhase:

1) " ... The point is a decent cable is good enough and the rest is BS. ..."

Yes, correct. I use #14 AWG copper stranded throughout on the speaker side, but I "tin" all connections with silver solder ... Unless the run is greater than 10 or 12 feet (3 or 4 meters, for those of the French persuasion) ... then I grab a really big roll of #8 starnded and use gold plated connectors and gold plated 5-way binders ...

2) " ... Don't understand your point. These "effects" are essentially distortion. ..."

Yes, correct, and some folks like that added "mellow" sounding "distortion" ... one man's garbage is another man's dinner ... but this still does not excuse Mr. Aczel's comments. I know several name brand musicians with "perfect pitch" "golden ears" who absolutely will not use anything but tube amps. And, if you can stand it, play back some Perry Como through an old tube receiver / amp and you will see exactly what they and I mean here.

*) " ... Aczel never said vinyl was sonically indistinguishable from CD. No one in his right mind would say that. ..."

Yes, he did. Yes, he may not be in his right mind.

*) " ... You are confusing quantum mechanics with plain old human subjectivism! ..."

Yes, I am ... and that's my point. I am also confusing it with Intellegent Design and intellegent design ... Apparently Mr. Aczel is confused as well, too confused to understand the differences between the source and the auditor and the inter-relationship of observer and experiment. This is not quantum mechanics either ... and so said Dr. Einstein.

*) " ... people cannot distinguish amplifiers even at relatively high feedback levels. ceteris paribus. ..."

I refer the gentleman to the answer I gave some moments ago. Como esta? What is is? ... It is what it is. Crank up the feedback and you crank up distrotion of the "non-tube" varity.

*) " ... The "burn in" is probably in our minds. Or if it exists it is negligible. ..."

I refer the gentleman to the answer I gave some moments ago. Como esta ? What is is? ... is what it is.

I know all about burn in. I have built more than 2000 digital and analog electronic devices of my own design and manufacture and have burned in most of those. I can assure you that there is very definately a life cycle / Mean Time Between Failure Rate that is enhanced and improved by the burn in process. I am starting production on a short run of Class-D amplifiers for sound re-enforcement and I can assure you that each will be burned in for at least 48 hours, continuous, then photographed in the near infrared looking for "hot spots", etc.

*) " .. What's stupid is your belief that lower resistance is a panacea. You clearly have no understanding of what Aczel is saying! ..."

I suppose you are right: a little bit of added resistance in cabling is a good thing for your 4 ohm speakers when considered as the termination of your cabling. How about 300 ohms per meter? This is the impedence of any two metal conductors in free air, untwisted, unshielded (as Mr. Aczel describes when considering coat hangers as speaker leads) ... and the impedence can easily be reduced, dramatically, to 50 ohms or much less by changing the cable topography to coaxial metal wires ... How about a single coat hanger inside 3/8" electrical EMT tubing? == Works much better than two coat hangers in free air.

*) " ... Just wipe it with a damp cloth. Or have you dog lick it. Ha, ha. ..."

Actually, in a pinch in the absence of a decent disk cleaner, I personally spit on 'em and wipe 'em on my T-shirt. But I wipe 'em real good, cause otherwise they get wimpy and hard to light.

*) " ... Now you've finally earned my respect. Way to go ... Aczel is not 100% right but he is about 90% right. In fact if audiophiles only came in two molds: Aczel and Harry Pearson, I'd definitely be an Aczel! ... But as with most extremists his lack of flexibility dooms his views.

... And now you have earned my respect as well.

There is no question that the BS is piled knee deep in the high end audition room ... But there are some areas where a little bit of experimentation can prove the pudding = better performance from oridinary audio equipment.


This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
  Parts Connexion  

Follow Ups Full Thread
Follow Ups
You can not post to an archived thread.

[ Top Top of Page ] [ Contact Us ] [ Support/Wish List ] [ Copyright © 2025, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]
[ General ] [ Speakers ] [ Tubes ] [ Vinyl ] [ Digital ] [ Hi-Rez ] [ Video Asylum ] [ Cables ] [ Tweaks/DIY ] [ Music ] [ Films ]