Groomlakearea51 Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 "wooden volume knob resolves detail" That's a new one!! Never heard that claim before. Gotta' add that one to my collection! Yep... http://boingboing.net/2005/11/07/astronomically-overp.html I took a look at that knob and immediately noticed the small pointer on its lower edge. Surely, that pointer would cause unwanted resonances and totally muddy the soundstage. It would likely blur transient attacks as well. Do they have a premium knob with a smooth edge that prevents these potential problems? It's nice to see that sense is prevailing among forum members. Last year I was taken to task by a very prominent forum member for making a disparaging remark about the Shun Mook Mpingo Discs! http://www.shunmook.com/text1.htm That's nothing! You should have seen the "Magic Crystal" debates..... For sheer marketing "chutzpa", see: http://www.machinadynamica.com/ Their latest offerings such as the "Blue Meanies" will re-instill your faith in PT Barnum's old adage..... [H] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davis419b Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 "wooden volume knob resolves detail" That's a new one!! Never heard that claim before. Gotta' add that one to my collection! Not being a technical guy I always wondered what made my preamp sound so good. Now I know, its the knobs ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebrof Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Audiophools earn their stripes, not by ther ears, but by claiming their ears are telling them the wooden volume knob "resolves detail" better than the stock aluminum, or hears a wider, deeper soundstage with that $500 AC cord. There are those who claim they can hear differences in evrything, including lifting speaker cables off the floor, swapping the direction of the AC Power fuse, $500 AC cords, and wooden knobs on their preamps. There are those who claim that nothing makes a difference, including speaker cables and interconnects, different vacuum tubes, and even different amplifiers (provided they are not overdriven). We all draw the line somewhere, without REALLY knowing the truth. It's easy for most of us to laugh at expensive wooden knobs, but throw expensive speaker cables into the discussion and you'll quickly have 2 camps. Where we choose to draw the line makes perfect sense to us, but there are a lot of lines in different places. IOW - One man's Audiofool is another man's Audiophile is another man's Hacker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted June 2, 2011 Moderators Share Posted June 2, 2011 Nobody has said a word about clothing, if wooden knobs and lifted speaker wires make a difference what about clothing. Tennis shoes or dress shoes, cotton shirt or do you want the reflective quality of a blended material ? A cat or dog in the room, longhair or short and where should they sit ? So many questions. [A] There must be some set audiopile standards ! [8-|] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islander Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 A large Belgian Sheepdog or two can help tame an overly bright room. [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhoak Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Well I don't know about what effect if any clothes have but my system sounds pretty the same whether I'm fully dressed or in my underware. [] Now the whole animal thing is another matter. Several years ago when I had a cat he would often crawl up in my lap while I was listening to the stereo. This wasn't a real problem until he began to emit this annoying low frequency hum. At that point the cat went out the front door and I went back to listening. [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyrc Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Nobody has said a word about clothing, if wooden knobs and lifted speaker wires make a difference what about clothing. Tennis shoes or dress shoes, cotton shirt or do you want the reflective quality of a blended material ? A cat or dog in the room, longhair or short and where should they sit ? So many questions. There must be some set audiopile standards ! LOL ... BUT .. In the '60s I had a very large, coarsely knited sweater purchased at The Ship of the Andes in Berkeley. It had a puffy collar that reached all the way up to the bottom of the ears, and then went up behind them. It seemed to interfere with the shimmering brightness of the sound, especially cymbals, violins, and a few other instruments, and seemed to make the venue more dead sounding. I tried taking it on and off several times as a test, then decided to always take it off at concerts, in jazz clubs, and when listening at home. Hey, let's sell audiophile hair clips that hold long hair away from the ears, made of especially musical sounding oak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Richard Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 I was reading on another forum about a year ago where several people claimed to hear differences between brands of electric utility power meters. I think they said it was the Samsung power meters that sounded the best. If I were one of these folks I would check the gas meter... for leaks. They must be sniffing something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1101 Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Recently, I noticed my Dish Network audio (Sirius radio channels) had improved and I had done nothing. When I went to check the wiring thinking maybe something had changed, I noticed one of my cats had puked a full load right on top of the Dish reciever. This was bad because I have 3 cats and 1 is a white male, and 2 are black females. Now, it's obvious to me that cat puke was responsible for the sound change, but I'm confused because I'm not sure if it's white male cat puke, or black female cat puke. I'm afraid to clean it off not knowing how to restore it. They all eat the same food and I documented that (Purina-1 Dry, Hairball control) Can anyone help? In the pro forum one poster accused me of potentially having cat piss in my MWM bass cabinets (because it happened to him). Well, I inspected with a flashlight and I am very sure I do not have that situation. But now I am wondering about it.............. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted June 2, 2011 Moderators Share Posted June 2, 2011 Darn I don't have a cat anymore for the upgrade, there is some bird poop on the dish but it might be a different texture and not improving the sound, maby I need a bird feeder close to the dishes and feed them cat food ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiet_Hollow Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 ROFL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnatnoop Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 one of the best upgrades i've made to my setup is a tumbler of ice and knob creek. i'm not totally serious, but kinda, i enjoy and am more immersed with a nice stout bourbon. but, i will keep an open mind to wooden knobs.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 lol Mark...totally epic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivernuggets Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 one of the best upgrades i've made to my setup is a tumbler of ice and knob creek. I've got the materials for this upgrade here at the house. Goooood stuff. Time for an A/B comparison, Knob Creek buzz vs. sober. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ69 Posted June 4, 2011 Author Share Posted June 4, 2011 Always better with some booze but the volume knob always gets twisted a little harder. This would only be valid if listening at matched levels, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhoak Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 Hmmm... I don't know about Knob Creek as I'm pretty partial to Maker's Mark on the rare occasions that I partake of liquor. Here's the "recipe" that the last girlfriend gave me no end of grief over. 1) In a well chilled highball glass place 7 ice cubes frozen from good quality water. Preferably "spring" water but purified is almost as good. The number of ice cubes IS important. No more and no less... Them's the rules. 2) Pour in the Bourbon of choice until it just "floats" the ice cubes. No more or it'll be too strong and no less or it'll be watery. No I can't tell you exactly how much. Best guess is that it's somewhere between 3 and 4 ounces. Probably closer to the 3 ounce mark but a lot depends on the size of the ice cubes 3) Allow the glass to sit completely untouched or undisturbed for 7 minutes. Yes... use a timer. There is a little bit of "wiggle room" here depending on the ambient temperature of your house. Here the ambient temperature is 76 degrees pretty much year round. If your home is cooler allow more time. If your home is warmer allow a bit less. This will require some experimentation to get it "just right". 4) Resist the temptation to add anything. Although… I do have to admit that when I happen to have lemons here I will add a “twist” of lemon peel. Not a slice. Just enough of a sliver the skin to render a small drop of the lemon oil. I can’t say that it’s better or worse with or without the lemon. Just different. 5) Imbibe and enjoy. In case you’re wondering… Yes I am profoundly “OCD” or “anal-retentive” as the last GF was so SO fond of saying. You don’t even want me to outline the “perfect” gin & tonic and then there’s the whole single malt Scotch thing…. In my experience my system sounds pretty much the same before and after the first glass of Bourbon. After the second glass it sounds much better. After the third… Well I own the single most awesome sound system that has EVER been produced bar none. I guess it's a good thing that I actually drink Bourbon only two or three times a year...[] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JL Sargent Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 Marshall made a guitar amp once with volume knobs that went to #11. Now you know that bad boy was way better! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groomlakearea51 Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 Marshall made a guitar amp once with volume knobs that went to #11. Now you know that bad boy was way better! Wasn't me!! I made one that showed up to #10, but the knob only went as far as 9.... Drove half my friends crazy but the other half could not believe how good it was at.... 9.... when compared to other amps..... Called it the Schizo Catch-22 amp.... [H] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psg Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 There is a little bit of "wiggle room" here depending on the ambient temperature of your house. Here the ambient temperature is 76 degrees pretty much year round. If your home is cooler allow more time. If your home is warmer allow a bit less. Guess I'd need a couple of hours! Can't say I'm not a little jealous here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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