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BS Button List of worthy Myths


ClaudeJ1

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Speaker break in time is just psychosomatic justification that budgets a time frame to allow the new owner time to get their ears/hearing used to them. Any data to support the claims that speakers need 10-20-50 hours of “break in” is deserving of PWK’s Yellow Bullshit button!

If one were to measure a wide band frequency sweep as a base line and then come back and measure again in 6 months a year, two years, etc. under exactly the same conditions, I bet you find the results to be within 0.1 db (the threshold of detection)  if not exactly the same with the deviations being more associated with mechanical wear, changes in temperature, humidity, etc. In other words too much “adoo about nothing.” If a break in period exists as a quasi-religious belief, then it would be up to the speaker designer to break in drivers as part of the Research and Development process. But I’m sure they would not bother with it after they read the resultant data.

 

I read that a blind listening test (Murphy) that involved several pairs of speakers where one was straight out of the box and the other had been "broken in" for X number of hours, and there was Zero noticeable difference noted by the participants. I also believe that they did measure the unbroken/broken in speakers and there was also no difference in that, either.

Break in is just your ears getting used to the sound of a particular speaker. Sure, there's likely some relaxing of the cone material over time, but I don't believe that it's enough to impact the frequency response of the speaker.

 

Let’s add speaker cables to the list and give out 2 BS Buttons.

 

Please add to this list if you deem it necessary.

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How about a category for mysterious add-ons which transform the acoustics of any room, interconnect, or component merely by their existence in your listening environment: magic dots, stones, disks that balance close proximity electromagnetic fields, etc.?

 

One I just discovered is the $3000  "HighEnd Novum PMR Premium Mk.II - Room Acoustic Resonator Extraordinaire;" the brass dish on top of the stand. While it just sits, "It sweetens and clarifies the sound with more focus and definition." And its endorsed...

 

I can [cautiously] buy into cables and interconnects, but mysticism for my setup isn't going to cut it.... Plus I'm pretty sure I can get one at Pier 1 for less than $3K.

 

 

 

image.png.f1294ef3953438d394b782b35b932fe0.png

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Like you, I suspect your theory is correct, but it really should be tested. I will generously offer the services of my lab (me sitting in my listening room) to rigorously test the hypothesis if Klipsch wants to send me a brand new pair of La Scallas.

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Couldn't agree more with Claude - break-in is a myth that manufactures allow to persist because it serves their interest by reducing returns.

 

I would add interconnects and power cords to the list as well.  ...And probably the idea that separates (power amp and pre-amp as separate components) offer an audible advantage.  These days, integrated amplifiers have S/N ratios, channel separation, and THD that exceed our hearing threshold.  ..Any minuscule improvement gained by separates is not apt to be audible and probably not even measurable.  That of course doesn't mean there aren't other sensible reasons to go with separates.  

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People seem to ALWAYS misuse Blind Testing in attempt to either credit or discredit a thing.

 

Blind testing does not accomplish this.

 

Another issue assigned with 'Mything' is when people use issues of an economic nature to try and bolster as position. "It's not worth the extra $1,000" should NOT be in a discussion on whether or not a thing is better or more pleasing or not.

 

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13 minutes ago, Schu said:

People seem to ALWAYS misuse Blind Testing in attempt to either credit or discredit a thing.

 

Blind testing does not accomplish this.

 

Another issue assigned with 'Mything' is when people use issues of an economic nature to try and bolster as position. "It's not worth the extra $1,000" should NOT be in a discussion on whether or not a thing is better or more pleasing or not.

 

I don't agree with your last sentence. Money always comes into play no matter what.

 

On the issue of Blind testing, which has less value than Double Blind, which I practice everyday. I listen in the Dark with my eyes Closed. That's another form of Double Blind listening to create the very best Audio ILLUSION, which is all it is. Attainable with high or low cost.

 

On another note, after looking at the photo with PS Audio on the wall, it should read BS Audio!

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37 minutes ago, ODS123 said:

Couldn't agree more with Claude - break-in is a myth that manufactures allow to persist because it serves their interest by reducing returns.

 

I would add interconnects and power cords to the list as well.  ...And probably the idea that separates (power amp and pre-amp as separate components) offer an audible advantage.  These days, integrated amplifiers have S/N ratios, channel separation, and THD that exceed our hearing threshold.  ..Any minuscule improvement gained by separates is not apt to be audible and probably not even measurable.  That of course doesn't mean there aren't other sensible reasons to go with separates.  

You’re kidding, right? Power cords and IC’s have a period of break-in in order that the virgin wire(s) become better acquainted with the new electrons they’ll soon be passing. They need to play nice otherwise it’s nothing more than a scrabbled mess of unidentifiable “noise” you hear. Maybe orientation is a better term - like the first day of school .

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I would also add...

 

Tone controls are to be avoided b/c they hurt the sound.  The argument given is that they introduce add'l signal breaks that weaken/damage the signal.

 

Total BS.  

 

Ever see a mixing board?  You know, like the ones used w/ all of our audiophile favs like Steely Dan and Diana Krall??  They have hundred and hundreds of sliders, pots, etc.. each with at least two signal breaks.  If each of those hundreds (maybe >1000) breaks weakened/damaged the signal, there would be nothing left it to hear/ record :)

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I can see where woofers, which move a considerable distance, would need some break-in, but it happens quickly and the effect is not nearly as large as one might expect. I measured a pair of EVM-10m woofers right out of the box, and then again after a full week of use. The resonant frequency changed only a couple of percent. I have the numbers recorded somewhere, now if I could just find them ...

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37 minutes ago, Schu said:

People seem to ALWAYS misuse Blind Testing in attempt to either credit or discredit a thing.

 

Blind testing does not accomplish this.

 

I couldn't disagree more.  Blind Testing can be very helpful in sorting out real differences from imagined ones.

 

please elaborate on why you feel this is NOT the case.

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1 hour ago, ODS123 said:

Couldn't agree more with Claude - break-in is a myth that manufactures allow to persist because it serves their interest by reducing returns.

 

I would add interconnects and power cords to the list as well.  ...And probably the idea that separates (power amp and pre-amp as separate components) offer an audible advantage.  These days, integrated amplifiers have S/N ratios, channel separation, and THD that exceed our hearing threshold.  ..Any minuscule improvement gained by separates is not apt to be audible and probably not even measurable.  That of course doesn't mean there aren't other sensible reasons to go with separates.  

They have always exceeded our hearing thresholds. We only need 30 db dynamic range MAX for reproduction, but keeping the noise down -96 db has been going on since 1983, when CD players came to market from Philips(inventors) and Sony, who beat Philips to market with their collaboration.

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23 minutes ago, Edgar said:

I can see where woofers, which move a considerable distance, would need some break-in, but it happens quickly and the effect is not nearly as large as one might expect. I measured a pair of EVM-10m woofers right out of the box, and then again after a full week of use. The resonant frequency changed only a couple of percent. I have the numbers recorded somewhere, now if I could just find them ...

The fact that you even created Data, makes you better than 99% of all the unfounded internet opinions out there! You'd be one of the few people I would take a their word.

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1 hour ago, michaelwjones said:

One I just discovered is the $3000  "HighEnd Novum PMR Premium Mk.II - Room Acoustic Resonator Extraordinaire;" the brass dish on top of the stand. While it just sits, "It sweetens and clarifies the sound with more focus and definition."

 

image.png.f1294ef3953438d394b782b35b932fe0.png

 

That silly device reminds me of my favorite ever-optimistic hero..

 

Hand over that golden helmet!

 

But this is a shaving basin!

 

Shaving basin!  Know thou not what this really is?  This is 

the Golden Helmet of Mambrino! When worn by one it renders him invulnerable to all wounds!

 

But he'll one day find it is not gold and will not make him brave...

 

But at least he'll find it useful if he ever needs a shave

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Here’s one to add to the list.

 

How about the myth that - insert tweak - will not add to your enjoyment of music in your listening room because the improvement can’t be measured. Boy that one's a back slapping, belly roll laughing, hoot of a myth.

 

Oh, and one more thing. We must kill it with fire or our entire hobby is in jeopardy. 🙄

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1 hour ago, richieb said:

You’re kidding, right? Power cords and IC’s have a period of break-in in order that the virgin wire(s) become better acquainted with the new electrons they’ll soon be passing. They need to play nice otherwise it’s nothing more than a scrabbled mess of unidentifiable “noise” you hear. Maybe orientation is a better term - like the first day of school .

 

OMG: I didn't believe you until I read this 6 Moons' review:

 

 

 I was intrigued enough by the Tesla Series description to pay a visit to the Synergistic Research factory. On arrival, the affable Eliott Nomensen, assistant engineer and head of technical support, gave me the tour of the facility. Elliot really piqued my interest when he informed me of Synergistic's patent-pending conditioning process called Tesla quantum tunneling. To demonstrate its effect on cable performance, we first listened to a pair of untreated interconnects in Synergistic's ambitious in-house music system. The sound was unusually open, detailed and spacious. We then entered a small room where I thought I might be witnessing a bit of mad science. In front of me stood a six-foot tall Tesla coil topped with a reflective metal sphere the size of a basketball. The untreated interconnect was then suspended by clamps which held one RCA connector in close proximity to the sphere and the other end close to a huge copper grounding rod planted in the concrete floor. Elliott offered me protective ear covers and then flipped a switch. A deafening crackle ensued and 2 million volts arced like lightning to the RCA connector, through the cable and into the grounding rod. We returned to the listening room to reinstall the treated interconnects and listen for changes in sound quality. The sound was still lovely but obviously more open, three-dimensional and liquid. I was dumbfounded. Quantum tunneling works.

 

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1 hour ago, Shakeydeal said:

..will not add to your enjoyment of music in your listening room because the improvement can’t be measured.

 

Measured?  Heck, I'd settle for identifiable whilst not knowing whether or not it's in place.

 

 

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