Ya Gotta Laff

...What surprised me was the forces had invested a fortune in this thing without (apparently) trialling it first.

Probably didn't offer a trial version... 

Maybe they were just planning to have a trial afterwards if it didn't work... 

Virtually all this "audiophile" stuff rather begs the question, what are we/they trying to achieve?   The recording engineer/producer will be trying to obtain a certain sound / balance / tonal or spatial effect, which in the case of a 'real' performance might be a matter of making the recording sound as much like the live performance did, or maybe the object is to make it different in some way.  In the case of a studio performance, I guess there's no "real" sound to aim at, so it's entirely a matter of what the engineer/producer fancied.

So at the reproduction end, I guess one should be aiming to reproduce the sound of the setup that was heard in the recording studio / post pro facility control room.  Then you are hearing what was intended to be heard.  That's a pretty tall order of course and might require a deep pocket, but once you start getting into weird and wonderful gadgetry that almost certainly wasn't used in the production, then you're straying from the intended audio patch, surely?  If you are really hearing any difference, maybe what you are hearing would be something that the recording producer might have filtered out if he/she had heard it during the production cycle?

Still, maybe the whole subject isn't worth that much thought and typing!

That's partly the problem here - 'sound' is what it's all about. The people that fall for this aren't really listening to the music at all; if they were, then I don't think they'd ever be worried about any of these gimmicks.

I was going to write a whole lot more about this, but I'll save it, I think.

So at the reproduction end, I guess one should be aiming to reproduce the sound of the setup that was heard in the recording studio / post pro facility control room.  Then you are hearing what was intended to be heard.

Not really sure about that. I mean the post processing setup would be "tuned" to hear problems, to "exaggerate" certain points. I feel the only objective should be to achieve absolute transparancy combined with a reasonably neutral room.

If you are really hearing any difference, maybe what you are hearing would be something that the recording producer might have filtered out if he/she had heard it during the production cycle?

You can hear real differences without much trouble. Just swap the loudspeakers you're used to with something else and the first days you'll hear lots of different things. Then it settles.

You're going to love this one!

http://www.machinadynamica.com/machina42.htm

Check out some of their other fantastic offerings.

[before]

Oh dearie me - the tears are rolling down my cheeks as I type this link - http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/machinadynamica2/ib.html

I thought the best bit (although it was a close call, with several other classics vying for the top spot) was the sentence "Before a disc went into a player, it was DeMag'd."  So they thought it was a good idea to demagnetise a non-magnetic CD before subjecting it to all this nonsense.

Sometimes, words fail me - other times, I just enjoy the tears.

I rather like the line "Music retrieved from treated discs had far more internal rest"....

I rather like the line "Music retrieved from treated discs had far more internal rest"....

Yers - that was prety good as well.  In fact, there are so many to choose from .....

Did you see the Teleportation Tweak - http://www.machinadynamica.com/machina60.htm - I thought that was a pretty neat way of parting idiots from their money.

April Fool's, right?  Please, I beg you, tell me this is a joke?

Like, when the "load of photons" hits "the optical disc, its polycarbonate is structurally altered in such a way that the noise floor is lowered when playing the disc."  And a plastic card made in China?  That's only good for ten uses?

Audiophiles are going to give audio a bad name, because this form of reason-defying lunacy is absolutely insane.

I thought that was a pretty neat way of parting idiots from their money.

Such discussions are very stimulating. I have come to an idea which - unfortunately - works only for US citizens coming to Europe. Nevertheless at least THEY have full profit of the idea. It consists of a direct power plug adaptor male end conformal to IEC regulations and female end appropriate to US standards. This goes for direct plugin of US devices to European mains. No need for cryogenic treatment before, but well worth a try ! Certainly this gives the ultimate and final thrust to any kind of equipment, regardless of being video, audio or computer based.

This one is definitely bucking the trend...

http://www.moogmusic.com/moogerfooger/?section=product&product_id=21374

Well, the Moog is a nice april joke (that might even sell if the offered it). But that "intelligent" box rather makes me wonder about the intelligence of those buying it. A wooden box with a led and a plastic card with a few printed dots on it for $600?

Such discussions are very stimulating. I have come to an idea which - unfortunately - works only for US citizens coming to Europe. Nevertheless at least THEY have full profit of the idea. It consists of a direct power plug adaptor male end conformal to IEC regulations and female end appropriate to US standards. This goes for direct plugin of US devices to European mains. No need for cryogenic treatment before, but well worth a try ! Certainly this gives the ultimate and final thrust to any kind of equipment, regardless of being video, audio or computer based.

That would work well if they came to Australia as well. Replacement devices are cheap enough, & they can afford them. 

Just to show this sort of nonsense isn't restricted to the audio world, I thought I'd share this link with you guys.

http://keshefoundation.com/home.html