[net.audio] hype of the month

ark@alice.UUCP (Andrew Koenig) (04/07/85)

The following is a quote from an ad that appears on page 150
of the May 1985 issue of Audio magazine:

	You see when you examine real live music you find that music
	has a certain proportion of even and odd order harmonics.
	Transistors, because they tend to produce a higher
	proportion of odd order harmonics, give music an unnatural
	glassy two dimensional quality.  Tubes, because they
	preserve the Natural Harmonics of real music, create
	music with the most vivid live quality.  Nothing you
	can do to a transistor will give it the natural
	harmonic quality of tubes.

bhs@siemens.UUCP (04/08/85)

Alright, weezer...

for mor fun, try asking car dealers any sort of technical questions.
Most dealers are good for a laugh in that line.

BH Schwab
Siemens RTL, Princeton, NJ 

ark@alice.UUCP (Andrew Koenig) (06/02/85)

The following quote is from an ad for a dealer named "AudioVisions"
that appears on page 95 of the July 1984 issue of Audio:


		The Oracle Turntables
		Mark II Series

... In the Mark II series, a unique capacitor pack is inserted between
the table's remote power supply and its motor.  The pack functions as
a current storage bank.  This latest innovation from Oracle should not
be confused with the mere power supply regulation or filtering used
on other tables.  It is an accepted fact that turntables are prone to
slowing down when the cartridge's stylus meets heavily modulated
record grooves (just as an electric drill, for example, slows down when
it meets a "knot" in a piece of wood).  Though the slower speed itself may
not be heard as such, the resultant binding and chattering of the stylus
will indeed be heard, all to easily: the music takes on a harsh, strident
quality, often accompanied by various minute crackling sounds, and many
musical details are lost amidst the distorted confusion.  Thus, the
ability to deliver a reserve of current -- and deliver it QUICKLY --
affects the performance of a TURNTABLE in much the same way that it
affects the performance of an AMPLIFIER.

ben@moncol.UUCP (Bennett Broder) (06/03/85)

The new dynamic isolators supplied with Oracles are definitely not
all hype.  I own an Oracle Alexandria Mark II, and have tried the
turntable both with and without the box.  If it does nothing else,
it greatly increases the apparent torque of the motor.  Without the
box, it is fairly easy to stall the motor using firm pressure with
a discwasher brush.  With it, I can deep clean my records with no
fear of the motor stopping.

Can I hear any difference playing records?  In all honesty, not
really.  If there are any differences they are extremely subtle, and
an A/B test isn't possible.  But the justification sounds plausible,
and might well be audible if were not for the fact that the Oracle
already has a very heavy platter.  

Ben Broder

herbie@watdcsu.UUCP (Herb Chong [DCS]) (06/04/85)

In article <3794@alice.UUCP> ark@alice.UUCP (Andrew Koenig) writes:
>The following quote is from an ad for a dealer named "AudioVisions"
>that appears on page 95 of the July 1984 issue of Audio:
>
>		The Oracle Turntables
>		Mark II Series

... deleted preliminary material ...

>Though the slower speed itself may
>not be heard as such, the resultant binding and chattering of the stylus
>will indeed be heard, all to easily: the music takes on a harsh, strident
>quality, often accompanied by various minute crackling sounds, and many
>musical details are lost amidst the distorted confusion.

alas, this is all too common in high end audio.  VPI magic bricks come to
mind.  if anyone with half a brain and has ever seen a turntable would
know that the cartridge was mistracking.  since i don't have the july
issue, i will remember to keep my eye out for this one when it comes by.

Herb Chong...

I'm user-friendly -- I don't byte, I nybble....

UUCP:  {decvax|utzoo|ihnp4|allegra|clyde}!watmath!water!watdcsu!herbie
CSNET: herbie%watdcsu@waterloo.csnet
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NETNORTH, BITNET, EARN: herbie@watdcs, herbie@watdcsu

ark@alice.UucP (Andrew Koenig) (09/02/85)

"Linear Power engineers developed a Phase and Amplitude Compliment
Circuit, (PAC) that looks at and compares output signal to input
and adds the inverse to make them identical which eliminates phase
distortion."   [AUDIO magazine, advertisement on page 87, July 1985]

Gee, they've just discovered negative feedback.

copp@petrus.UUCP (09/03/85)

It might be a feedforward circuit.

ark@alice.UucP (Andrew Koenig) (09/14/85)

"Super High Resolution Compact Disc Interconnect Cable.
Conventional cables run out of breath when trying to cope
with today's sound.  The incredible sonic capabilities
of the compact disc player pushes all your components
to their limit ... including your connecting cables.
The incredible resolution, awesome dynamic range, and
powerful bottom end available from your compact disc
player, are not fully reproduced when you use ordinary
interconnect cables.

Almost perfect.  The sound of today's compact discs
are impressive, but contrary to what the manufacturers
say, they're not perfect.  As audiophiles have recently
discovered, digital has a few shortcomings caused by
the relatively low sampling rate and phase shift effects
from steep analog filtering.  The music can become harsh
and edgy, 2-dimensional, and uncomfortable to listen to
for long periods of time.

Why a Special Cable for Compact Disc?  [product name] is
specially designed to compensate for the transient and
phase distortions of the digital process as well as
minimizing some of the `harshness' found in some CD
program material.  Using our revolutionary [trademark]
technology, we can control high frequency phase shift
to produce a more enjoyable, thoroughly musical sound:
bass is tighter, transients are quicker, and there's a
greater 3-dimensional depth to the music."

		--advertisement, page 349, Audio, 10/85

rentsch@unc.UUCP (Tim Rentsch) (09/15/85)

In article <4317@alice.UUCP> ark@alice.UucP (Andrew Koenig) quotes:

>"Almost perfect.  The sound of today's compact discs
>are impressive, but contrary to what the manufacturers
>say, they're not perfect.  As audiophiles have recently
>discovered, digital has a few shortcomings caused by
>the relatively low sampling rate and phase shift effects
>from steep analog filtering.  The music can become harsh
>and edgy, 2-dimensional, and uncomfortable to listen to
>for long periods of time."
>		--advertisement, page 349, Audio, 10/85

Ahh, now we see the rationalization of the business world.  The
audio industry admits that CD's aren't perfect only if there is a
way of making profit from same.