Changing out cables...are my ears deceiving me?

[artto]

How does one demagnitize their system?

I use a CD from Sheffield Labs called The Sheffield/XLO Test & Burn-in CD. I'm not sure if its still available through Sheffield but I believe XLO Electric still offers it. There are several demagnetizing tracks on it. Do not use this with phono pickups without installing current limiting adaptors (instructions with CD). I thought all this was a bunch of BS until I did some research and found out its quite common in many different industrial, electronic, medical, aerospace and transportation applications. And since my system has had the same main components for many years, and much of my solid state gear is left on all the time, even with music playing through the speakers at a very low level 24/7, demagnetizing seems to have made a difference. Unfortunately, the nature of the beast doesn't allow one to go back and make comparisons. But think about it for a moment. There are plenty of demagnetizing procedures done in audio/video all the time. Its common practice in professional recording to degauss (as its also called) analog tape deck heads before every session. CRT/TV monitors can benefit from occasional degaussing, some actually require it. Aircraft & naval instruments and indeed the entire vehicle may be degaussed. For us, the CD is a cheap maintenance option and requires very little time. Also, for cleaning connections, Caig ProGold works real well, and actually produces a better electrical connection, even with new or clean connectors.

[DrWho]

Its common practice in professional recording to degauss (as its also called) analog tape deck heads before every session.

That is to get rid of static buildup on the head which will introduce a lot of hiss when you run the tape through

CRT/TV monitors can benefit from occasional degaussing, some actually require it.

Again, this is due to static build up on the metal mesh that sits behind the glass.

Aircraft & naval instruments and indeed the entire vehicle may be degaussed.

Not sure the logic behind that...

And to make matters even more confusing, over time,

cables and the rest your components can build up residual magnetism to

some degree due to hysteresis that can affect the sound of a playback

system.

First of all, copper wire is not a magenetic material which means it is

not going to hold any magnetic charge once the current is turned off (http://www.schoolscience.co.uk/content/4/chemistry/copper/copch0pg5.html). The only time hysteresis might

occur is during normal operation when current is flowing through the

wire - but the physical shape and currents flowing are certainly not

significant enough to produce an audible result (if it did, then it

would be audible on every cable...).

In other words, just turn off the power and all your hysterisis issues

will go away and the issues that do exist are minimal at best.

I'm not a huge fan of wikipedia, but they have a pretty good article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hysteresis

[Guest " "]

I may be mis-understanding..

tape heads are demagentized to erase the magnetic properties that build up on the heads as magnetic tape runs across them. The magnetic property, is enough to introduce hissing at the high frequency. the process of de-magnetizing involves a device that generates and alternating magnetic field.

The deguass process on tv monitors, from my experience is a little different.....a set I had that had a self deguassing feature...sent a magnetic pulse across the screen for a split second, rather than the alternating magnetic field used in demagnetizing a tape head.

[artto]

Magnetization comes about because whenever there is a flow of electric current, an electromagnetic field is formed around the conductor, which, if it is made of or contains magnetizable metals ( iron, nickel, and cobalt the iron triad ), will tend to leave the conductor with a residual magnetic charge.

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Furthermore, the leads of many capacitors and resistors are made of copper-plated steel; most capacitors - even gold-plated ones have a highly magnetic nickel underplate; and many transistors pass current through their steel cases. The possibility for residual magnetism here are obvious.

So how can a pure copper wire like those in a cable or the windings of a phono pickup become magnetized? All metals used in electronic components, regardless of what the metal is have impurities in them, including the above mentioned metals. The fact is that copper is NEVER 100% pure. It ALWAYS contains some impurities. These ferrous metals do not alloy with their copper matrix, but instead remain relatively pure concentrations at the junctures between copper crystals, where, when a current flow is present, they can easily become magnetized to interfere with the sound of the playback system

[pauln]

For what its worth,

Back in the early part of the last century, an industrial psychologist named Hawthorne went to a local manufacturing business and proposed to install brighter lights over the work area anticipating an increase in productivity. The owner agreed to the experiment and a troop of workers with ladders and light bulbs was assigned to invade the area to make the installation. Worker productivity increased.

The owner put pen to paper and estimated that the increased cost of electricity slightly outweighed the increase in productivity and had the same troop go in and with ladders and bulbs, and replace the brighter bulbs with the original set.

Hawthorne then received a peculiar call from the owner - after re-installing the original dim lights productivity increased again! Hawthorne speculated that ANY change visible to the subjects in question would have this effect, now known as the Hawthorne Effect. Later, avoiding the Hawthorne Effect became part of the foundation that led to double blind methodology for eliminating some cues available to the subject when making comparative judgements.

[Cut-Throat]

For what its worth,

Back in the early part of the last century, an industrial psychologist named Hawthorne went to a local manufacturing business and proposed to install brighter lights over the work area anticipating an increase in productivity. The owner agreed to the experiment and a troop of workers with ladders and light bulbs was assigned to invade the area to make the installation. Worker productivity increased.

The owner put pen to paper and estimated that the increased cost of electricity slightly outweighed the increase in productivity and had the same troop go in and with ladders and bulbs, and replace the brighter bulbs with the original set.

Hawthorne then received a peculiar call from the owner - after re-installing the original dim lights productivity increased again! Hawthorne speculated that ANY change visible to the subjects in question would have this effect, now known as the Hawthorne Effect. Later, avoiding the Hawthorne Effect became part of the foundation that led to double blind methodology for eliminating some cues available to the subject when making comparative judgements.

Also for FWIW:

I swapped out tubes in a pair of monoblocks for a 'golden ear' audiophile of mine. He much more preffered the expensive Blackplates than the cheaper Chinese tubes in the 2A3 amps. - The problem was that I was playing the 45 amps, while swapping tubes in a 2A3 that were not even hooked up to any speakers[]

It was quite humorous listening to him pointing out the nuances of the violin strings, cymbals decay, drum snap etc. etc, when the 'blackplates' were installed vs. the 'muddy sound' when the Chinese tubes were installed.

I never told him, but I learned to take his advice with a 'grain of salt' - I trust my ears on improvements that I can actually hear, rather than slight imagined ones.

[Deang]

I would have told him.

BTW, don't do that thing you emailed me about. Tube amps don't like it.

[Parrot]

I swapped out tubes in a pair of monoblocks for a 'golden ear' audiophile of mine. He much more preffered the expensive Blackplates than the cheaper Chinese tubes in the 2A3 amps. - The problem was that I was playing the 45 amps, while swapping tubes in a 2A3 that were not even hooked up to any speakers[]

It was quite humorous listening to him pointing out the nuances of the violin strings, cymbals decay, drum snap etc. etc, when the 'blackplates' were installed vs. the 'muddy sound' when the Chinese tubes were installed.

I never told him, but I learned to take his advice with a 'grain of salt' - I trust my ears on improvements that I can actually hear, rather than slight imagined ones.

That is a hilarious story!

[Guest " "]

intrestng...should we demagnatize our wires with one of those tape heads demagnatizers?

no I guess not, audio signals above 0HZ are AC,

[Cut-Throat]

I would have told him.

BTW, don't do that thing you emailed me about. Tube amps don't like it.

Would this be the bi-amping thing? - I can't remember. - If so, why not tube amps?[*-)]