Audiophoolery Rant - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: WyverntekGameRepairs
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 09, 2020, 04:47:07 pm
content: So I just want to start this off by saying that I’ve been getting into vacuum tubes and analogue signal amplification recently, and this has introduced me to the... ahem...wonderfulworld of audiophoolery. After looking at a bunch of stuff and watching videos and doing research, I’ve gotten a bit... Frustrated about the ridiculous claims and pseudoscience. So I’ve decided to go on a rant.AND JUST FOR CLARIFICATION!!!I’m viewing this IN GENERAL, not looking at all of the physics behind everything that actually do exist. This is because for the most part, the physics change so little that it is extremely insignificant in the big picture. Yes, I’m also generalising these things as audiophool-grade, not talking about real products that don’t make ridiculous claims. I know there are good and bad caps, but I am talking about ones that are big and filled with concrete that say that they make your audio depth “so much better” by “hypercapacitive superinductance” or some other audiophool garbo-lingo made-up term. So stahp coming up and saying things like “WeLl StUpiD, TherE rEallY aRe GoOd and CrAp caPAcitors yoU dUmbAss”Gold plated connectorsThis irks me. Gold plated connectors DO NOT improve audio sound or data transfer. Period. Gold plating is actually to help prevent the connector from tarnishing over time (as gold does not oxidise), which allows the connector to last much longer versus zinc or copper, which tarnish over time and whose oxidation can ruin the connection. Conductors have absolutely no amplifying, filtering, or modifying effect on the electrons moving inside it. The density of a metal does not affect the electron flow, and neither does the atomic weight of the metal. So gold is not special in any way except that it will not oxidise, therefore it has better connection.Directional fuses, cables, connectors... etc.This is just totally wrong. A cable or fuse or connector or whatever cannot be directional unless it has a diode or polarised capacitor embedded in it. The quality of a signal travelling through a conductor also is not directionally biased - It’s a flow of electrons, it could care less which way your cable or fuse or whatever is connected.Thick wiresThere is SOME truth to this, but audiophools always exaggerate and glorify because they want to feel good about themselves and their poor life choices despite being idiotic and plainly disprovable.The thickness of a cable can affect one major thing (Not mentioning the inductance and whatnot, that’s very insignificant): Resistance. The thinner / longer the cable, the higher the resistance. More resistance means less current reaching the speaker, and thus it is a bit quieter. It is best to use thicker cables with high power amp setups, that way the wires to the speakers don’t burn up or cause a fire.However!The QUALITY is NOT affected. Thicker cables don’t enhance the signal or waveform in any way. Conductor skin effect does not modify the signal.Audio-grade capacitorsThese are just utter bullshit.The reason you have capacitors so big in any amp is to do two things:-Smooth the supply voltage of any ripples or transients, etc-Provide a power delivery source to deliver large amounts of current to the amplification stages.In a Class A amplifier, you have incredible linearity and wonderful sound all while maintaining a simple circuit. However, that simplicity and high linearity comes at a cost: Energy wasted in the form of heat. The Class A amplifier is horribly inefficient, and requires a LOT of power. To build a power supply to accommodate that would be expensive and unnecessary. So, a simple (in my case) 12v 1.3A Wall adaptor will work. We add in a large capacitor at the main voltage bus of our circuit, and this is able to charge up with the supply voltage and deliver the high power that the amp needs to run without taxing the wall adaptor’s transformer to the point of overheating.The capacitors used to do this DO NOT affect the quality of the amplifier output in any way UNLESS the capacitors are faulty and unable to filter or provide sufficient power to the amp.There is NO CAPACITOR that is capable of improving the sound quality of an amp’s output. This is determined ENTIRELY by the construction and design quality of the amp.Cable sleevingThe insulation on a cable has no effect on the flow of electrons inside of it.However, METAL SHIELDING (like an outer ground sleeve seen in TV coax cables) helps prevent distortion caused by interference that is generated by nearby electronic devices. The grounding sleeve MUST be connected to common ground in order to function though, and in addition the metal or alloy used does NOT matter. No specific metal or alloy will block more or less interference than another. The sleeving also is not connected to the actual signal wire, and therefore will not modify the signal going through it.....Aaaaand that’s all for now, folks! That’s all I could think of right now. But I hope you enjoyed my stupid rant, haha. Feels good to know better than... well... Audiophoolery like this!

author: borjam
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 09, 2020, 07:25:53 pm
content: Quote from: WyverntekGameRepairs on May 09, 2020, 04:47:07 pmJust a couple of comments on this:First, transistors are not "digital" by nature. You can design digital and analog circuitry with transistors.The reason why some people prefer valves is distortion. Valve distortion can sound good while transistor distortion is harsher. Distortion is often used as another tool to achieved a desired musical, creative effect with electric guitars and all the pedals and different amplifiers being the most obvious example. Some studio microphones use valves as well, and the reason is the same.While this may sound stupid to some (or many!) members of this forum, remember that music recording is a creative process, not a laboratory task. So, adding distortion here and there is perfectly legitimate as long as you like the final result.

author: WyverntekGameRepairs
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 09, 2020, 07:49:10 pm
content: Quote from: borjam on May 09, 2020, 07:25:53 pmAs a music creator myself, I know that the process is more creativity than else. I am referring to those who listen to music using amps and who want it “perfect sounding”... Not music creators or artists lol.There are creators who sometimes use distortion amps that have both valves and transistors for combined distortion effects, which allows for a wide variety of distortion possibilities.And uhh... Hm. I think I mixed up transistors and logic gates. OopsMy mistake!!!

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 09, 2020, 10:28:45 pm
content: I do not understand your objection to gold-plated connectors. As you admit, they will not tarnish. I have had noticeable (really bad) connections result with nickel-plated 1/4" phone connectors left connected for years, which developed visible dark corrosion. The result was not "golden-ear" sound-stage effects, but loss of signal and audible distortion. Replacing them with gold-plated connectors removed that blemish on the signal.Similarly, your discussion of capacitors neglects the fact that some common capacitors are actuallybad, especially non-linear ceramic dielectrics, which generate measurable distortion at frequencies where the AC voltage across the capacitor is large. This has nothing to do with silly discussions of olive-oil-filled silk-lined capacitors to make the sound more musical. Coupling capacitors were not included in your discussion of power-supply filter capacitors, but do exist in most audio gear.

author: WyverntekGameRepairs
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 10, 2020, 01:21:24 am
content: Quote from: TimFox on May 09, 2020, 10:28:45 pmYou did not understand what I was trying to say, clearly. I did NOT say that I had a problem with gold plated things. I said that they are used to IMPROVE CONNECTION because they DO NOT TARNISH OR OXIDISE. They do NOT modify theSIGNAL WAVEFORMto be any higher quality or to sound better with more depth or whatever.Read carefully before you assume.QuoteAgain, you fail to understand my point.AUDIO GRADE capacitors that “IMPROVE AUDIO SIGNAL QUALITY” (by MODIFYING the waveform to ‘sound deeper’ and whatnot) do NOT exist. I KNOW that there are bad capacitors, but I was not referring to the general components used in amplifiers.I’ll say it again: Readcarefully[/] before you assume.

author: nigelwright7557
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 10, 2020, 01:31:54 am
content: Gold plated as a conductor is great.However gold is very soft and wears away quite quickly if connector is plugged in and out a lot.The old audiophoolery syndrome has been with us for many decades.It costs more so it must be better ?Valves work well in guitar amps where we want some 2nd harmonic distortion to make the sound more interesting and pleasant.In Hi fi valves works great with plenty of negative feedback but are a lot more expensive that transistor amps.Also, different isn't always better.

author: WyverntekGameRepairs
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 10, 2020, 01:34:39 am
content: Quote from: nigelwright7557 on May 10, 2020, 01:31:54 amYeah, gold plating is great if you want to have a long lasting connection lifetime. But as stated, it does not improve the actual signal wave quality. Just the connection it’s making. I think I have to clarify that for people who fail to actually read the paragraphs fully and assume stuff <~<

author: bill_c
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 10, 2020, 01:58:18 am
content: QuoteWell If I make a crappy audio amp with nonlinear ceramic caps, then make another amp with proper caps, those caps DID improve the sound compared to the first amp. I can then place an order direct from manufacturer and have them labeled "AUDIO CAPS". Now I can say these audio caps make the sound better.....which it did do. Its not false, just more like asbestose free cereal.

author: Someone
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 10, 2020, 01:58:29 am
content: Since you're leaning away from science/provable points just as much as audiophiles the replies are appropriate. Plating and capacitors can have measurable and perceptible differences to the audible result. Connectors that tarnish over time are able to impact the audible result, so gold plating is a benefit unless you want to replace the connectors more frequently (plenty of nice sounding hi-fi from the 70s, 80s and 90s still in use).Quote from: WyverntekGameRepairs on May 09, 2020, 04:47:07 pmThere is also capacitance and inductance, which can come down and start producing audio range effects, depending on the specific speakers/amp impedances etc. But resistance between amplifier and driver is more than just power/volume loss, there is also damping and other higher order effects. Bi-wiring has real improvements possible. Skin effect is minor for realistic situations, but still an actual difference:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/the-skin-effect-for-speaker-wire/msg2175512/#msg2175512Quote from: WyverntekGameRepairs on May 09, 2020, 04:47:07 pmThis is all sorts of misinformation. Cable shielding does have significant differences in effectiveness with material/pattern/thickness/assembly. Materials for dielectrics can be similarly important, "handling noise" is immediately audible from movement of some cables, those microphonics also picking up smaller movements/vibrations.You can't use unqualified "quality" as your metric when there are quantifiable measures available. "quality" is just about as useful as "full", "vibrant", and "spacious".... Speakers and room treatment are almost always the dominant factors, but changing other small things such as the speaker cabling can make noticeable differences which people may find desirable (or not). The preferred end result is not always "perfection" as near field studio monitors are often described as "tiring" or "fatiguing" to listen to for long periods despite their idealised reproduction.

author: Haenk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 10, 2020, 07:35:17 am
content: I had a reply ready yesterday, but did chose not to post it - too much heat occuring."Audio grade" caps in the supply are rather pointless; in the signal path, you should use the best caps to minimize unwanted influence on the signal. They won't "improve" the sound, compared to the input (as a reference), but you can modify/correct the signal to your listening preferences or design specs. Using the wrong caps certainly will influence your signal in an unwanted way.

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 10, 2020, 01:48:30 pm
content: You stated that gold plated connectors would not improve the sound. I gave you an example from my own experience where changing to a gold-plated connector improved the sound because the original connector degraded the sound. QED.

author: Haenk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 10, 2020, 01:59:02 pm
content: Quote from: TimFox on May 10, 2020, 01:48:30 pmIn fact the gold plated connectors did not improve the sound, the corroded connectors degraded the sound quality. That is a difference - to Audiofools those gold plated super-duper cables and connectors are sold as "improving the sound", which they don't. They just keep the system up to specs way longer.(Of course gold plated connectors are the way to go, if your system does not have them, it's a good idea to replace the low-quality ones…)

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 10, 2020, 02:29:10 pm
content: I agree. Replacing inferior connectors [State 1] with good connectors [State 2] can improve the sound from [State 1] to [State 2].

author: chriva
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 10, 2020, 02:50:15 pm
content: What bothers me with ads is that the ACTUAL numbers I want to know is far down, hard do find and sometimes not even present.SNR, THD, frequency response etc is what I'm interested in. Maybe brand name caps but the rest? -nah.

author: themadhippy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 10, 2020, 03:14:01 pm
content: QuoteRuss andrews and kimber cables would argue differently,way back in 2002 they claimed to have measured it,funny i never did heard back from kimber.Quote

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 10, 2020, 03:18:50 pm
content: The fundamental situation is that we start with a signal waveform from a musical source, hopefully of good quality. The equipment we use to transfer that signal to our ears can modify the sound (tone controls, graphic equalizers, volume, balance, speaker crossovers, etc.) but generally each step will degrade the "fidelity" by introducing random noise and distortion. The goal is to minimize the degradation of the signal quality. Probably, the worst step is the final loudspeaker electromechanical system.With capacitors, if there be Illinois Capacitor or Panasonic metallized polypropylene coupling capacitors (negligible dielectric absorption, Q > 1000 over the audio range) and we replace them with artisanal magic whiz-bang capacitors that give audio a bad name, there will be no measurable improvement (possibly a degradation if the magic components are actually bad). However, when restoring a Dyna Stereo 70 vacuum-tube power amplifier, the original paper capacitors have probably absorbed moisture over the years, and replacing them with SBE 715P polypropylene-film-foil units will improve the sound somewhat by reducing the degradation from the bad capacitors. Going from a degraded state to a less degraded state is an improvement.Just because something is a good idea, does not mean that some people may take it to an extreme for either diminishing returns or unexpected additional problems.

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 10, 2020, 03:23:43 pm
content: Re directional effects: In solid-state physics, there are crystalline structures that are not diodes but exhibit anisotropic conductivity (where Ohm's Law has conductance as a tensor rather than a constant), but they are not used in audio engineering. Diode effectscancreep in with interfaces between oxidized copper, for example, at connectors or joints that have corroded. This has serious practical effect when a strong RF field is present, and the copper-oxide layer rectifies it to produce an interfering audio signal from a broadcast station. The cure is to remove the corrosion and use either noble plating or a gas-tight connection between wires.

author: WyverntekGameRepairs
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 10, 2020, 04:44:24 pm
content: Quote from: Haenk on May 10, 2020, 01:59:02 pm^|This guy understands what I’m trying to say.

author: WyverntekGameRepairs
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 10, 2020, 04:51:30 pm
content: Quote from: Someone on May 10, 2020, 01:58:29 amI’m not getting into the itty bitty nitty gritty physics of it, I’m talking about in general. Even the tiny little things that are induced are so microscopically small that they are mostly insignificant. Of course wires have inductance and whatnot, but when you are using it in a speaker system it is so incredibly minute that you can’t even notice it unless you have your speaker setup next to some ungodly electromagnets or EMP devices. Which I’m sure you don’t. Even if you did, the metal shield on the wires that I hope you have would block and ground most of the electromagnetic interference that hits it.I may need to clarify that in my post because people are taking it waaaay too literally when I say “no such thing”

author: AVGresponding
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 10, 2020, 04:55:17 pm
content: Just to throw my two-pence worth into the ring...The laws of thermodynamics tell us that the signal will only ever degrade as it passes through the system (by system I mean the full recording to playback chain).The very best you can ever hope to do, is to limit the amount of degradation.

author: WyverntekGameRepairs
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 10, 2020, 05:02:29 pm
content: Quote from: AVGresponding on May 10, 2020, 04:55:17 pmOh my fucking God, you actually get the point I was trying to make. I applaud you, mate.

author: themadhippy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 10, 2020, 05:06:09 pm
content: Quotescreened speaker cables? Finally a use for that lump of sy cable ,wonder how much audiophiles will pay for it.

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 10, 2020, 05:08:06 pm
content: That's what I stated above. Please note that reducing a degradation is an improvement, by normal English usage of the verbs "degrade" and "improve". The questions here are engineering and physics, not ideology.

author: WyverntekGameRepairs
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 10, 2020, 05:09:47 pm
content: Quote from: themadhippy on May 10, 2020, 05:06:09 pmPffft, Just spray paint it gold, Mark one end as “To SPEAKERS” and sell it as a “Ruliated Supercapacitive Unidirectional Audio cable”

author: WyverntekGameRepairs
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 10, 2020, 05:18:02 pm
content: Quote from: TimFox on May 10, 2020, 05:08:06 pmNot exactly, at least where I’m from. Reducing degradation is referred to as “prolonging,” “maintaining,” “sustaining,” etc.“Improvement” usually refers to the act of adding MORE of something beneficial to something else, whether directly or indirectly.Hence why “maintenance” means to maintain: When you maintain something, you are extending its lifetime and limiting degradation by changing any given parts of said system or otherwise adjusting the functional components in a way that does NOT modify the operation or add anything beneficial, but instead keeps the functionality consistent while prolonging the lifespan of that system; and also why “Improvise” means to improve (though on the fly): Improvisation is the act of ADDING SOMETHING or CHANGING or otherwise MODIFYING something that ADDS benefit to it. The difference between this and “improving” is that here you’re doing it on-the-fly as a last minute thing or unplanned, whereas “improving” is planned and organised.

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 10, 2020, 05:39:02 pm
content: I do not agree with your English usage here. In my past employment, I was often assigned to take an existing circuit and improve the noise performance. Noise is an unwanted waveform that degrades the signal. I would improve the circuit by changing active devices, materials, circuit components, or operating conditions, reducing the degradation, thus improving the output signal from that obtained in its previous state. These are normal usages of the verbs "degrade" and "improve". "Maintenance" or "repair" are not what I was doing there. Again, your "rant" strikes me as ideological. Since some audio fans go overboard with exotic capacitors and overpriced cables, you contend that no substitution of components canimprovean audio system, even if it was originally designed based on price.

author: WyverntekGameRepairs
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 10, 2020, 05:57:14 pm
content: Quote from: TimFox on May 10, 2020, 05:39:02 pmOmlYou were improving the circuit.You were changing components inside of it, which ACTIVELY MODIFIED the signal by removing noise. This is called “Improving.” The circuit is a system of components that work together to modify a signal in a way that does not, unless it is an effect box or a distortion device, make the actual SOUND any different. Like an amplifier. It does NOT change the sound. It amplifies the signal to be louder, but it does NOT change the sound.What I am TRYING to say that you are not understanding, is that the wires, connectors, insulation, “audio” capacitors, gold plating, thick cables, and “unidirectional” parts are all individual components that are passive (except for capacitors) and can not modify the sound/signal to be “better”. As for capacitors, they cannot make your sounds “4-dimensional” or whatever, because they don’t modify the channels or have any changing effect on the signal other than their filtering capability. Besides, I was talking mainly about those snake-oil filled capacitors that claim to be better because they “reduce latency” or “fine tune speaker inductance” and whatnot.

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 10, 2020, 06:10:58 pm
content: "Improving the sound".My suggested changes can improve the sound produced by the system, not improve on the original sound recorded in Orchestra Hall. The silly terms you parody here are attempts to improve the reproduction, hopefully to retrieve the original sound. In past eras, "volume expanders" were used to try and improve on the compressed recordings, and Dolby systems were a better attempt at that.I stand by my statements,in plain English, that it is possible to improve a system, and thereby improve the sound, by replacing inferior connectors and components with physically better units, to reduce the degradation of an existing system.

author: WyverntekGameRepairs
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 10, 2020, 06:22:26 pm
content: Quote from: TimFox on May 10, 2020, 06:10:58 pmYa know what? Fine. You win, truce, I surrender, whatever. I’m too tired to continue wasting my time trying to explain that you are totally misinterpreting my post. It’s pointless to continue this argument anyway, this is an electronics forum and not a boxing ring. Your ignorance towards my post and failure to accept that I’m trying to explain what I mean shows me that you want to be right, so I guess you are right. Hope that’s what you wanted to hear.For the record, there were a hell of a lot of others who commented the same thing I did and who understood, and that you saw for yourself and even replied to! So if you understood them, why did you continue to deny that I was trying to communicate the same thing as them?For Example, this post:Quote from: AVGresponding on May 10, 2020, 04:55:17 pm

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 10, 2020, 06:48:03 pm
content: In your original post, you complained about several "audiophool" approaches to improving the sound (not in this order):1. Exotic capacitors.2. Gold-plated connections.3. Directionally-sensitive cabling.4. Thick wires.5. Cable sleeving.My objection, clearly stated in plain English without profanity, is that sometimes changing capacitors and improving connectors (including proper gold plating) can improve the sound that comes out of the system. Thick wires may be an improvement, if the resistance of what they replace is excessive. Directional conductors are nonsense.Do not confuse babies and bathwater.Audio enthusiasts often try to improve equipment, either by modifying commercial units or building their own systems. Capacitor choice and connectors are important considerations.Remember that "sound" is an acoustic wave through the air hitting the listener. There are other ways to improve this sound, such as proper speaker placement, that are not foolish.

author: helius
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 10, 2020, 06:56:56 pm
content: If "Directional cables" means that the cable somehow passes its signal differently in different directions, then yes it's nonsense. However, many cables are wiredasymmetricallyand the direction does matter in that case. An example is the use of Pin 1 on XLR cables, which may be connected to the shield at only one end in some cases.It's for a similar reason that film capacitors also have a desired direction. The outermost layer of the foil can radiate EM fields, so it should be connected with that side facing down with respect to the schematic (ground or the lower potential).

author: Gyro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 10, 2020, 07:05:34 pm
content: Quote from: helius on May 10, 2020, 06:56:56 pmYes, it was the same with the phono leads, they used twisted pair end-to-end, with an overall screen, grounded at one end (source) only. Nothing to do with directional copper /directional insulation or other 'mysticism' - that's a total red herring.

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 10, 2020, 07:07:45 pm
content: Some people have mis-interpreted the "outside foil" marking on film capacitors as having something to do with the "direction" of "signal flow". As Helius pointed out, it is really an "orientation", where the outside foil should be closer to ground to minimize coupling to other components and to shield the inner foil. I personally think it is important to have the outside foil grounded or at the lowest DC potential for safety reasons: when I started, paper capacitors often had only a paper layer covered in wax between the outside foil and the outside world. The wax scraped off with a fingernail.

author: PlainName
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 11, 2020, 04:23:50 pm
content: Quote from: WyverntekGameRepairs on May 10, 2020, 06:22:26 pmISTM the very last line of that has been missed by some, and is what TimFox is on about:QuoteSo on some arbitrary system there will be degradation, and the aim of replacing connectors or whatever is toreduce the amount of degradation that component introduces. Thus the overall reproduction will be better because that component is not doing as good a job of making it worse.

author: Wendy_Preston
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 15, 2020, 09:30:51 am
content: Quote from: nigelwright7557 on May 10, 2020, 01:31:54 amWorking for a company that makes gold-plated connectors, I can confirm that the gold used on connectors is not soft. It is a gold mixed with a few other chemicals to specifically address that issue - we use a mixture commonly called Hard Acid Gold plating, which I think is something like 96% gold and a bit of boron and cobalt thrown in (I'm working form home and can't access my notes on that).This gold plating is more wear resistant than tin finish (can't comment on nickel, we don't have any connectors using a nickel on the contact area) - for instance, our high-reliability connectors are rated for 500 or 1000 operations (mating cycles). We don't even offer these hi-rel connectors in a tin finish. On the basic pin headers and sockets, gold plating is rated to 300 operations, tin just 50.And absolutely our connectors do not improve signal quality, do not care which way the current is flowing - our aim is to make the connection as invisible to the signal as possible, to pass the signal to the next bit of circuit without disruption or change.Can't comment on the rest, but this one bit I do know...

author: AVGresponding
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 15, 2020, 11:47:23 am
content: A quick trip to wikipedia confirmed what I'd half remembered, that pure tin is incredibly soft, way more so than pure gold.The purpose of using gold-alloy plated connectors seems to be mostly lost on audiophools, who I'm sure would prefer their phono jacks to be hand forged out of 24ct gold by blind, grey-bearded virgins, somewhere deep underground.Any highschool chemist/physicist can tell you that the best conductor in the periodic table is silver, but given its tendency to oxidise at its earliest opportunity, makes it a difficult proposition to be used much.It's not ductile enough for bond wires, afaik, and I've only ever seen it in a few odd-ball cables, and switch contacts, where it's alloyed with various other metals, some quite exotic like tellurium, to inhibit corrosion.Isn't beryllium often used to stiffen gold alloys? Please excuse any chemistry mistakes, it's more than 30 years since I did my O levels!

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 15, 2020, 01:20:32 pm
content: Silver is a great conductor, but only slightly higher than copper (6.30 vs. 5.98 x 107S/m). Under normal conditions, copper oxidizes, but silver reacts with sulfur in the atmosphere to produce the normal tarnish sulfide. I don't know the electrical properties of silver sulfide, but copper oxide is a semiconductor: my pre-War Simpson 260 uses a copper-oxide rectifier for AC volts. The facts about hard gold plating are very interesting. I know that beryllium is added to copper to make a bronze alloy (normally called beryllium-copper) that has excellent spring properties when precipitation-hardened, but I don't have any experience with gold metallurgy. Since pure metals are generally soft, most metals found in engineering are alloys (steel instead of iron, etc.) except for electrical conduction purposes.

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 15, 2020, 02:01:09 pm
content: Quote from: WyverntekGameRepairs on May 09, 2020, 04:47:07 pmpolarized capacitors are a myth. You can switch the polarity of an electrolytic capacitor (provided you limit the current and give the component enough time to reform its electrodes.) electrolytic capacitors start out as non polarized in the factory. During the forming of the plates a DC voltage is applied. Once the plates are formed you need to respect that polarity or you are destroying the dielectric. if you limit the current you can actually grow the dielectric on the other plate, thus changing the 'polarity'.note : an electrolitic capacitor , reverse polarized, behaves like a diode. The foil between the plates will pass electrons but will not pass ions.Quotewell. if the initial design used crap capacitors, and you install a better one ... Not all capacitors behave the same. ESR and ESL as well as the frequency response are important. Certain capacitors behave better than others.QuoteRead up on triboelectric effects. Keithley has a good book on low current and low voltage measurements. This topic is covered there. Using the wrong sleeving can screw up currents big time.

author: AVGresponding
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 15, 2020, 03:06:37 pm
content: Quote from: TimFox on May 15, 2020, 01:20:32 pmIndeed, but tin can be cut with a sharp knife, much like sodium etc (though it doesn't explode as readily). Titanium and tungsten are two hard pure metals that come to mind.Aren't those metal oxides diodes pretty poor in their reverse voltage breakdown characteristic? Never used, or even had one to play with, myself.

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 15, 2020, 03:56:43 pm
content: Titanium has an undeserved reputation for work hardening, but actually it oxidizes readily when worked to form rutile, a very hard oxide. Most engineering uses of titanium are titanium alloys. (Back in grad school, we used commercially-pure titanium for high-voltage electrodes. One of the engineers heard we had scraps after cutting out circles from rectangular plates, and asked to scrounge some for small clamps. He was unhappy and asked us what alloy that was, since they failed in service, and was surprised that they were pure Ti, not one of the normal alloys.)One tabulation of pure elements lists the "Brinell hardness" of Ti as ranging from 716–2770 MPa, depending on annealing, etc., compared with Fe at 200-1180 MPa, Cu at 235–878 MPa, and Co at 470–3000 MPa. Of course, their alloys vary all over the map depending on composition and state.Yeah, copper-oxide diodes suck, and are not used any more. However, inserting an uncontrolled semiconductor junction in series with low-level analog signals is not a good idea.

author: AVGresponding
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 15, 2020, 04:29:17 pm
content: Sounds quite random, the amount of rectification you'd get...I remember one chemist saying "titanium is the whore of metals; once hot, it'll bond with anything!"EDIT: Sorry, we seem to be wandering a bit off topic here...

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 15, 2020, 05:03:48 pm
content: The well-documented problem with oxidized copper conductors in contact is rectification of RF ambient fields, such as AM broadcast, that produce audio-frequency signals that interfere with the desired audio signals. See the radio amateur literature about "radio-frequency interference".

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 18, 2020, 05:02:07 pm
content: Quote from: TimFox on May 10, 2020, 07:07:45 pmincorrect. the idea is to have the outside facing foil connect to the LOWEST IMPEDANCE point , so the weak , high impedance node is shielded form picking up garbage.

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 18, 2020, 10:43:03 pm
content: In high-voltage applications, such as coupling capacitors between plate and next grid, the safety is important. In that example, the plate (at maybe +150 V) side starts with an impedance (depending on tube choice and plate resistor) on the order of 10k to 100k, and the grid side (depending on grid biasing resistor) has an impedance of maybe 100k to 1 meg (near 0 V DC), but there is 100 to 500 nF of capacitance inside the coupling capacitor between the two nodes. With 100 pF of capacitance from the local nasty nodes to the outside foil, it won't make a lot of difference which way you connect it: 100 pF coupling or 99.9 pF coupling from nasty to grid.

author: Renate
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 16, 2020, 12:26:06 pm
content: I don't think that anyone mentioned this yet specifically.Speaker cables with their resistance and inductance do have an effect on the speaker damping.I don't mean that we need copper bus bars to the speakers.I just mean that I wouldn't hook up bookshelf speakers with 22 AWG, 18 AWG seems reasonable.For live audio PA on a stage, 12 AWG seems plenty.Of course, microphones and speakers are the main sources of distortion.

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 16, 2020, 01:23:31 pm
content: There are diminishing returns on loudspeaker damping, since the voice coil copper-loss resistance determines the best possible damping. Depending on the speaker, this could be a few ohms out of 8 ohms. The resistance of the speaker cable should be compared with this. Your suggested gauges seem reasonable, depending on length, of course. Two lengths of #16 AWG (out and back) is 8 ohms per 1000 ft, or 1 ohm in 125 ft.

author: El Rubio
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2020, 01:02:33 pm
content: You obviously twisted the meaning of the original post. I had no trouble understanding exactly what he meant. Using your logic, if I have no speaker wires and replace with gold plated coat hangers, I have improved the system. Therefore, gold plated connectors improved the performance. Maybe you aren’t aware of the claims made by many of the fancy wire manufacturers. No offense intended here, but you came off as a bit of a word parsing jerk.

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2020, 01:08:27 pm
content: That is not what I said at all. Re-read it, please. I am well aware of the non-scientific claims made by some speaker wire manufacturers, and my post above tries to put some quantitative context to the question.

author: Fred Basset
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2020, 02:57:28 pm
content: For me, it has been well-meaning "experts" on Hi-Fi groups. They were not being nasty, they just had not quite grasped the concepts involved. For example, I once had one guy insisting that CDs cannot have errors in the bits corrected, because they were read out in real time. He was thinking like analog records (which he was used to), and completely unaware of the idea that CDs can read out a lot of data at once, into a buffer and error correct there before playing anything.Eventually I got tired of being an educator, when often to them I was delivering bad news. People believe what they want to believe for the most part, because it is what they seem to be most comfortable with. Even if it does not have much to do with truth sadly.

author: El Rubio
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2020, 03:55:39 pm
content: Quote from: TimFox on May 10, 2020, 01:48:30 pmThis is what I was referring to. Sure, replacing a DEFECTIVE part with a new one will probably improve things, but I understood his original post to rebut the common claim that replacing perfectly good connectors, etc with their special gold, silver, etc ones will somehow produce sounds that were otherwise inaudible. I think your response was out of context is all.

author: PlainName
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2020, 07:58:35 pm
content: QuoteOr reduce unwanted sounds, aka noise. To be pedantic, if the wanted sounds are at a low enough level that they were hidden in the noise, reducing the noisewould'produce sounds that were otherwise inaudible'QuoteAh, well that's the thing, innit.

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2020, 08:01:48 pm
content: No, I was just trying to temper the discussion. In his self-titled rant, along with valid complaints, he came out against gold-plated connectors and premium capacitors. I later cautioned about babies and bathwater.There is a lot of nonsense about special audio-grade capacitors that he was objecting to, but I tried to point out that one could improve the sound of a system by replacing an inferior (not necessarily faulty) component with a better (but not silly) component, for example replacing an electrolytic capacitor with a polypropylene capacitor. Similarly, one could improve the sound by replacing a corrodable connector with a gold-plated one. I was surprised at the intensity of the response, since I was not advocating mystical cables or other nostrums, merely stating that some components are measurably superior to others.

author: AVGresponding
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 18, 2020, 05:22:44 am
content: Quote from: TimFox on June 17, 2020, 08:01:48 pmPerhaps you could re-read the OP. He did not come out "against" gold plated connectors, he merely pointed out the reason for using them isn't the one the audiophools claim.Let's be quite clear here, audiophools will claim a gold plated connector as being sonically superior to anon-corrodedordinary one. The performance difference is only likely to exist once the normal one has corroded (if it does; if the atmosphere it lives in is sufficiently dessicated it won't corrode in any case).

author: PlainName
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 18, 2020, 05:39:46 am
content: QuoteOh noes! You're giving the good ideas away for anyone that cares to read the forum. Now world+dog will be selling sealed connectors with added desiccant.

author: AVGresponding
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 18, 2020, 04:35:13 pm
content: If audiophools start eating bags of silica gel, it'll mean fewer old scopes etc raided for hollow states.I'm struggling to see a down-side here...

author: WyverntekGameRepairs
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 18, 2020, 04:37:02 pm
content: Quote from: El Rubio on June 17, 2020, 01:02:33 pmQuote from: AVGresponding on June 18, 2020, 05:22:44 amThis is EXACTLY what I was trying to say.

author: WyverntekGameRepairs
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 18, 2020, 05:04:38 pm
content: Quote from: AVGresponding on June 18, 2020, 05:22:44 amThough I do have one thing: It’s not just the moisture that causes corrosion. As you know, oxidation causes rust. Rust is technically a form of corrosion since it degrades (breaks down) the material into a different chemical. Like iron. Pure iron will corrode as it rusts, since iron that is oxidised turns into iron oxide. Fe + O2 = FeO2. Fe and FeO2 are different molecules entirely. So the synthesis IS corrosion, even though the subcategory it is considered would be oxidation.That being said, all metals oxidise, except gold (correct me if I’m wrong, as therecouldbe research out there pointing to Gold developing a thin film of gold oxide immediately as its exposed to air, like Aluminium does). So therefore even in a desiccant environment, unless it’s in a COMPLETE vacuum in outer space, it will still corrode over time. Just with desiccant, it’s far slower due to lack of moisture. Moisture allows electrons and ions to interact with the water molecules and metal, sorta like a really bad electrolysis, to create a non conductive molecule, whereas in oxidation no moisture is needed but the metal oxide is typically nonconductive itself.And going back to my original post, Gold is one of the least reactive metals (alongside Platinum, Osmium, Palladium, etc.). Therefore, using it not only prevents corrosion better, but it also does not oxidise. Therefore, far better connection than that of, say, Nickel or Tin or even Silver (as Silver actually does oxidise, despite being highly conductive).

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 18, 2020, 05:31:42 pm
content: Yes, gold, platinum, etc. are called “noble” metals for that reason.Silver reacts with the sulfur in urban atmospheres to form the usual tarnish, rather than oxidation.Aluminum and stainless steel are examples of passivation, where the natural oxidation is self limiting and forms a nonconducting coating. Electrochemistry can be used to artificially increase the thickness, by anodizing.Iron’s oxidation is not self-limiting, which is why rust is so bad.As you state, corrosion is an electrochemical process.

author: WyverntekGameRepairs
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 18, 2020, 05:43:23 pm
content: Quote from: TimFox on June 18, 2020, 05:31:42 pmAre you sure you aren’t mistaking the Transition elements with NobleGases?I’m an element collector (weird hobby I know, but it’s fun), and never in my years of collecting have I heard of anyone referring to these elements as “noble metals.” The GASES are the least reactive elements in the Periodic Table, hence why they are called the Noble Gases.Just saying.

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 18, 2020, 06:09:17 pm
content: "Noble gases" is a formal name of that column of the periodic table (or "inert gases"), but "noble metals" is also a long-standing term.Seehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noble_metalBack when Scientific American was a more serious magazine (ca. 1962), when I was in high school, I read an interesting article where a true binary covalent compound of xenon and fluorine was produced.Seehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noble_gas_compound

author: AVGresponding
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 18, 2020, 08:08:30 pm
content: Unless I'm far off my mark, you need water as a catalyst to react iron and oxygen. Could be wrong though, been decades since I did chemistry...I did have an argument (good natured) with a fellow TEA-er a week or two back on oxidation. The ultimate conclusion was, if you don't want your object of interest to oxidise under any circumstances, even theoretical ones, it needs to be made out of pure Neon.

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 18, 2020, 08:19:29 pm
content: According to that Wikipedia article, Neon only reacts under very extreme conditions, but the heavier elements in that column, Xenon, Krypton, and Radon, form compounds that can exist under more normal conditions.

author: ArthurDent
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 18, 2020, 11:20:57 pm
content: Quote from: free_electron on May 18, 2020, 05:02:07 pmOutside foil to the lowest impedance point is correct but the outside foil is a convention that may have gone away and now is just a convenient random marking method. Here's a Mr. Carlson Lab video showing what he made to find the outside foil plus there are other videos that show similar methods to determine 'outside foil'.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnR_DLd1PDI&feature=youtu.be

author: RandallMcRee
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 19, 2020, 12:41:54 am
content: QuoteWrong. You just lack imagination, I'm afraid.Topologyis what causes cables to be directional. For example, You can connect the shield at one end or both ends. Mr. Ott a noise guru has found that it is best to have the shield connected at one end, typically the source. This avoids ground loops.I hope you know how bad ground loops are? Especially for the non-electrical types that just willy-nilly connect things and it all starts humming?So, anyway, there is often some kernel of truth in these audiophool rules but, sure, they go way overboard.

author: WyverntekGameRepairs
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 19, 2020, 02:01:41 am
content: Quote from: RandallMcRee on June 19, 2020, 12:41:54 amYou seem to be quite ignorant in the way you do exactly what TimFox is doing. You are taking my post and twisting it against me. Stop being a know it all with your condescending response, and reread my post. You’ll realise I wasn’t talking about the cable shielding, but instead theclaims of diode like behaviour in regular signal cables and connectors and fuses.Learn to read, mate.

author: Fred Basset
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 20, 2020, 02:51:38 am
content: I saw that video also, I wonder if the "$7" component tester could include the ability to indicate the outside foil by showing which end gets the most interference when a finger is held on the capacitor?

author: WyverntekGameRepairs
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 20, 2020, 09:02:44 pm
content: Quote from: Fred Basset on June 20, 2020, 02:51:38 amConsidering parasitic capacitances, you could actually build a simple circuit that could function as a ground shield locator. You could use really sensitive two input AND gates, have one side pulled up, and the other input connected to cable input. Using the correct ground coupling capacitor (i would guess about 1.5uF) on the cable input could be good enough to filter the ambient environment ESI, but be small enough to allow interference caused by parasitic capacitances through the cable to activate it. It could turn on a Darlington that controls a single indicator LED. The only real problem I could see with this design is that varying cable lengths, thicknesses, etc receive parasitic capacitances differently. Longer, thicker Leads are more prone to capacitive ESI or EMI than thinner, shorter cables (This is why you route data traces on PCBs as short and thin as possible; Traces act like antennas. ESI, EMI, and RFI are more prone to hit a data trace with more surface area —Thicker and longer, weaving about the board— than one that is less surface area —Thinner, shorter—).

author: AVGresponding
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 21, 2020, 08:13:20 am
content: You can actually see the effect using a multimeter, swapping which end you're holding in your fingers with the other end on the meter probe, though for small value caps the difference is in the noise.

author: WyverntekGameRepairs
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 21, 2020, 05:23:33 pm
content: Quote from: AVGresponding on June 18, 2020, 08:08:30 pmConsidering that all metal objects have a few Hydrogen atoms (along with other miscellaneous elements, depending on the purity) somewhere in them, you don’t really need water as a catalyst. Hydrogen is enough to interact with ionised oxygen in the air, binding them to the metal to form a molecule of a corrosive substance. It will slowly spread on an atomic level with respect to the environment it is exposed to, causing the corrosive molecule to react with ionised oxygen, hydrogen, and metal atoms around it. It is sped up when an abundance of hydrogen and oxygen is exposed to the substance (moisture). It is sped up further when electrical energy is flowing through the now-H2O-rich metal as the surface begins to become more neutral. This makes it more readily accepting of hydrogen and oxygen atoms, which are more negatively charged (electrons are negative, protons are positive).(I may be a little rusty, it’s been a while since my chemistry classes, so correct me if I’m wrong)

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 21, 2020, 05:30:21 pm
content: A quantitative measurement. I take advantage of the three-terminal measurement (high, low, and guard) capability of the DE-5000 LCR meter. The capacitor being measured is a 715P (originally Sprague, then SBE and Vishay, since sold to CDE), which is film-foil construction, single unit. The value is 100 nF, 600 V. The manufacturer did not mark the "outside foil", nor specify it on the data sheet. (I have an extensive collection of polypropylene capacitors, both film-foil and metallized film, but could not find one with the old bar marking the outside foil.) I therefore arbitrarily marked the ends "1" and "2" before the measurement. The capacitor is about 0.6" diameter, 1.2" long, with 1.0" lead spacing. I wrapped a piece of 0.5" wide copper tape around the midsection, with a tab sticking out for the test connection.Here are the tabulated values, all measured at 10 kHz.DE-5000    Red 2 1 Cu Cu 1 2Black 1 2 2 1 Cu CuGuard Cu Cu 1 2 2 1C 99.38 nF 99.38 nF 4.1 pF 25 pF 17 pF 2 pFQ > 1000 > 1000 22 75 14 very lowObviously, "1" is the outside foil, showing roughly 20 pF to the copper tape. I made no effort to control the stray capacitance at the pF level, so the small capacitances vary. The low Q of the small capacitances results partly from the mediocre dielectric constant of the epoxy shell.

author: WyverntekGameRepairs
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 21, 2020, 05:34:50 pm
content: Quote from: TimFox on June 21, 2020, 05:30:21 pmWhat if you tried a polystyrene capacitor? They were very often used in audio. I’d imagine that the coating of insulation would affect the capacitance differently as well?

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 21, 2020, 05:35:44 pm
content: There is a good basic description of corrosion in Wikipedia, which is often a good place to start.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CorrosionCorrosion can occur in air, especially moist air. Note the discussion in the first paragraph of where the hydrogen comes from, "During corrosion at a particular spot on the surface of the object made of iron, oxidation takes place and that spot behaves as an anode. The electrons released at this anodic spot move through the metal and go to another spot on the metal and reduce oxygen at that spot in presence of H+ (which is believed to be available from H2CO3 formed due to dissolution of carbon dioxide from air into water in moist air condition of atmosphere. Hydrogen ion in water may also be available due to dissolution of other acidic oxides from the atmosphere)."Galvanic corrosion, where two metals are immersed in water, is also important.

author: AVGresponding
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 21, 2020, 05:37:25 pm
content: Quote from: WyverntekGameRepairs on June 21, 2020, 05:23:33 pmYou should have gold plated yourself...Quote from: TimFox on June 21, 2020, 05:30:21 pmThat's an interesting approach.

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 21, 2020, 05:57:02 pm
content: Polystyrene capacitor measurement: same setup as above.The physically largest polystyrene capacitor in my collection is 47 nF/160 V. It is 0.8" long, 0.4" diameter, with axial leads. I wrapped another 0.5" wide copper tape around it, but only did the non-redundant measurements. This unit does have the bar indicating which end is outside foil. Below, I label OF for the outside foil lead, IF for the other lead, and Cu for the copper tape. Again, all measurements at 10 kHz on the DE5000 with guard connection. "X" to "Y" indicates the connections of the red and black leads on the DE5000 alligator-lead plugin for the Cs measurement.OF to IF, Cu to guard: 46.4 nF, Q > 1000.Cu to OF, IF to guard: 33.3 pF, Q about 300.Cu to IF, OF to guard: 10.5 pF, Q about 4.5Therefore, the manufacturer's marking of outside foil on this unit is correct.

author: jmelson
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 21, 2020, 06:10:56 pm
content: Quote from: dunkemhigh on June 17, 2020, 07:58:35 pmWell, I don't discount ALL reports of something that "improves" the sound, or makes things easier to hear.Years ago, I bought a set of Koss ESP.9 electrostatic headphones from a friend. They DO allow you to heardetails that are not distinct on various speaker systems. For instance, if some lyric is indistinct on a recording,you listen to it through the ESP.9 and it is all MUCH clearer.But, don't get me wrong, most of the special cables, gold plated plugs and all that stuff is total hogwash.Jon

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 21, 2020, 06:36:51 pm
content: I assembled my main speakers with electrostatic tweeters many years ago (Neshaminy Elec. Co. JansZen Z-600). The review that recommended them stated that they would sound worse with most source material, since they would reproduce everything, especially surface noise on LPs. Thereafter, the bad QC on domestic LP pressings drove me to CDs, which did not have that problem. The speaker transparency is great on renaissance polyphony, though.

author: WyverntekGameRepairs
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 21, 2020, 07:16:32 pm
content: Quote from: TimFox on June 21, 2020, 06:36:51 pmQuote from: jmelson on June 21, 2020, 06:10:56 pmAh, you see, electrostatic speakers are extremely good at producing polyphonic frequencies. They are suited to the task of extremely high-detail audio. They still don’t “improve” the sound, but they DO produce it more accurately. Electromechanical speakers are less suited to polyphonics and high Detail audio. So choice of speakers affects the ACCURACY of the sound that they output.You’re not wrong that they sound better in terms of detail. I’m just clarifying that they do not have any special ability that allows them to turn super lo-fi media into hi-fi sound, they are just better suited to polyphonics and therefore produce a far more accurate sound.

author: GregDunn
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 21, 2020, 07:20:28 pm
content: I feel the ESP-9, and its descendant the ESP-950, seems to provide more "detail" because its transient response is very clean and accurate; it's something that can be measured and compared to other types of headphone, which show more "ringing" and less damping of the waveform. The result is that a lot of details are more audible. Electrostatics (I have 4 pairs) do seem to render audio with a sound signature that is specific to that type of transducer though; it's very pleasing to me but I'm not totally sure it's any more "correct".As for connectors and corrosion/degradation: I've had a lot of experience over the last half century with bad connections, and all of of it has been resolved by simply replacing cheap connectors like RCA and mini plugs with something higher quality (or gold plated where I had no choice). The only signal problems I've actually heard have been either total/intermittent loss of signal, or reduced level; I've never experienced anything like distortion or noise as the audiophools would have us believe.And yes, there are technically different grounding schemes for a cable which might lead to the ends being different, but they generally apply only when dealing with very low signals, improperly grounded components or mating balanced to unbalanced devices. For a typical length in an audio system, the differences would be below the level of audibility. I deliberately hooked a pair of "directional" interconnects backward in my stereo as a test and there was no effect.

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 21, 2020, 07:22:28 pm
content: No, in fact, the high-definition transparent transducers make crummy recordings with badly-pressed surfaces sound worse than on cheap portable phonographs.I don't know what you mean by "polyphonic frequencies"--I am referring to recordings of renaissance polyphonic music, such as Josquin des Prez. There is nowhere to hide bad sound within such music.

author: helius
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 21, 2020, 07:44:13 pm
content: Quote from: TimFox on June 18, 2020, 06:09:17 pmThe "inertness" of a chemical is relative to the reagents used to attack it. For example, gold and platinum are quite inert (thus precious metals and stores of value), but dissolve inaqua regia. Ruthenium is immune toaqua regia, but dissolves in ordinary household bleach. As NurdRage says, chemistry is a million-way game of rock-paper-scissors.

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 21, 2020, 07:52:15 pm
content: Quote from: helius on June 21, 2020, 07:44:13 pmYes,aqua regiawas known to the alchemists. It was a surprise to me in my youth when the above experiments were done to make a chemical compound including an "inert gas". The trick here is to look at the ionization potentials of the components to see what might work together. In this context, "noble" and "inert" are synonymous, but not necessarily exact.

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 25, 2020, 06:16:21 am
content: Quote from: WyverntekGameRepairs on May 10, 2020, 05:02:29 pmWhy don't you calm down?It's not like you are some damn messiah, we all know about audiophoolery already, no one asked for you handy little guide to I know best.

author: AVGresponding
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 25, 2020, 03:29:45 pm
content: Quote from: Simon on June 25, 2020, 06:16:21 amI believe it had calmed down, several days ago...

author: WyverntekGameRepairs
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 28, 2020, 06:06:52 pm
content: Quote from: Simon on June 25, 2020, 06:16:21 amYou’re a year too late, lmfao.Also it’s a ‘rant’ for a reason. I’m not trying to be a messiah, lol. You're taking this way too seriously, so why don’t youcalm down?

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 28, 2020, 06:32:34 pm
content: It won't be the first time I have to tell you to calm down and remind you who gets to decide around here! I got a report, it was justified but I could not read all 3 pages, suffice to say your attitude was not good.

author: PhilipJohnBrown
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: July 20, 2020, 04:17:36 pm
content: Thanks,I enjoyed the rant...

author: wasyoungonce
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 17, 2020, 01:05:29 am
content: More foolery for the Audiophiles ...pure copper power plugs...and more! This "Viborg Pure Copper Rhodium Plated US AC Power Plug+IEC Connector HIFI DIY Cable"...a paltry $100 Aud...~ $140 Usdhttps://www.ebay.com.au/str/enjoyhifi?_trksid=p2047675.l2563I love the braided shield.....and wonder if that is earthed? Ahh such quality I wish I had the dollars!

author: agtrbt
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 24, 2020, 03:49:33 am
content: About audio grade capacitor and capacitors, i would like to cite a few chapters from Douglas Self books,Small signal audio designHe has done great analysis on capacitor, resistor, wire routing and topology , which is very helpful for someone who wish to be a proper audiophilecertain types of capacitor can increase harmonic distortion and metal thin film resistor are good.Self also demonstrated that fancy Elna Cerafine capacitor in speaker coupling are better (p 43-44Audio power amplifier design handbook)

author: Alex Eisenhut
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 24, 2020, 06:27:09 am
content: This is the book I recommendhttps://www.on-mag.fr/index.php/topaudio/actualites-news/2965-itin-raire-dcun-audiophile-2-me-ditionSure it's in French but learning a new language is worth it for that book.