The Audiophoolery Thread.

[GrimJosef]

Originally Posted by Radio Wrangler

... I thought 13A fuses were supposed to be coloured brown and that black was for all values other than 3A and 13A. So are the blue and black audiophile ones illegal?

They might be not compliant with the standard. I don't think the fuses themselves can be illegal. Selling things that don't comply, when compliance is a legal requirement, is what's illegal. I don't know whether compliance is a legal requirement for fuses (there's a difference between 'components' and 'equipment' and the Electrical Equipment Safety Regs, which require compliance for modern items, apply to the latter).

If an accident were to result then non-compliance might well land the seller in deep doo-doo under general 'safety of goods' legislation though.

Cheers,

GJ

[Heatercathodeshort]

Don't knock it till yer tried it.

The volume of this radio does increase as the wire burns in. If you run it with a 120v 'WINNER' battery, you can actually disconnect it and the radio continues to run for about 32 minutes. Presumably the electrons stack themselves up at the end of the wire then release slowly as required.

It works best with this cactus plant as an earth. I did try a red Geranium but results were poor. A very fine wire is connected to the base of the longest stem of the cactus to the aerial socket. The total resistance is around 108K but the circulating electrons tend to have an amplifying rather like a photo multiplier and reception of Radio Moscow is loud and clear.

Of course there is nothing new and the effect was written up in the 'MARCONIGRAPH' Mar 1912 shortly before the Titanic came to a watery end. Maybe the discovery was 'tainted' by this tragedy and the phenomenon went down with the ship. So there yer go. John.

[Radio Wrangler]

Just a minute, John, It may not be the cactusy nature of the cactus, but a property of its shape.

That shape has a special connection with many things radio... look up Wouff-Hongg

David

[ajgriff]

I wonder if reception will improve further if and when the cactus flowers or would that introduce signal colouration?

Alan

[Heatercathodeshort]

Depends on the colour of the flowers. It didn't like red. J.

[martin.m]

I have been reading this thread, on and off, since joining the forum in 2018. Here's my contribution, discovered accidentally. https://walkeraudio.com/product/black-diamond-component-crystals/
I hope this hasn't already been covered. These products seem to be at the budget end of the market though.

[PJL]

There must be a market opportunity for full environmental enclosures for hifi. It could solve real issues like dust, humidity, static, vibration, temperature...there are so many variables to play with it wouldn't be hard to come up with some very expensive solutions with very credible benefit justifications. All you need is an IKEA display cabinet, add a few off-the-shelf bits & pieces with plenty of chrome and gold plating, and charge the earth.

[AC/HL]

But how would you hold the vacuum, essential to really liberate the stylus?

[Radio Wrangler]

"Black Diamond"? That's coal, isn't it?

Maximum eco points for finding a use that doesn't involve burning it.

David

[AC/HL]

In Whitby they wear it, although the room treatment effect is more of a belief than a fact (even when properly applied).

[Craig Sawyers]

Turns out that rather poor quality Jet is found in the US, which is probably where Walker Audio source the stuff. 8 brass machined cups with a fragment of Jet in the bottom of each are $590 (so about £50 a pop).

Or even https://walkeraudio.com/?product=talisman-magnetic-optimizer . Who knew that vinyl records, CDs and screened wire were magnetic?

I've discovered something new in physics thanks to Walker! Here was I (silly me) thinking that polymers were weakly diamagnetic as a result of having closed atomic shells through covalent bonding.

[Radio Wrangler]

Ah, does this mean vampires have to be added to all the other factors which can ruin someone's air, granularity and soundstaging? I suppose some of those tall, thin speakers with spiky feet could be used in lieu of a wooden stake. Silver speaker cable might be good for tying up werewolves. Garlic-based insulation would make them dual-purpose.

Life was so much simpler when we only had gremlins and the phantom twiddler to contend with. Next, it will be people wanting equipment designed to survive the zombie apocalypse so that in the unlikely event that they survive, they'll have something superior to listen to.


David

[Brigham]

They forget to mention how much the specially-bred cat's whisker is for the Black Diamond crystal.

[martin.m]

Just a thought. Isn't there a parallel here with Hans Christian Andersen's story "The Emperor's new clothes"?

[G4YVM David]

"See-through transparency"...erm, as opposed to..??

I love the Talisman...never needs recharging or new batteries.

I wonder if they sell snake oil to lubricate drive belts

[Radio Wrangler]

I spotted "A single antennae"

I suppose we ought to be grateful to see the correct plural on a website, though it might help if the writer was aware of the occasional right place for the singular.

All these wonder products which fix magnetic fields and wreak devastating improvements to clarity don't seem to have any effect on clarity of thought, do they?

David

[Craig Sawyers]

You need to block out satellite interference and government brain control so you can listen well. For both you and your cat.

https://i.**********/TMuiJgS.jpg

[Synchrodyne]

What on earth is meant by “…the harmonics will sound more natural.” I don’t recall seeing that one before. Are there both “natural” and unnatural” types of harmonics?

Originally Posted by Radio Wrangler

I spotted "A single antennae"

I suppose we ought to be grateful to see the correct plural on a website, though it might help if the writer was aware of the occasional right place for the singular.

Spelling might not be their long suit. After looking at the website, I wondered if they got confused between the 12th and 14th letters of the alphabet in respect of the company name.


Cheers,

[ColinTheAmpMan1]

Originally Posted by yesnaby

Tranquility Bases.

Wasn't "Tranquillity Base" where Apollo 11 landed on the Moon? I hope that doesn't mean that you have to go there.......

Colin.

[AC/HL]

Audiophoolery, the gift that keeps on giving. This could run longer than the Mousetrap.
Apparently the phrase was first used for "Victor" radios, so it's quite apposite for us!