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Audiophiles in Japan Are Installing Their Own Power Poles

wsj.com

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Re: Audiophiles in Japan Are Installing Their Own Power Poles

#251

Post by sk5t »

fro0116 wrote: post #242
AdrianB1 wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't understand the power of naivety, placebo effect, dreams and stupidity composed (multiply all). Not in any way intended to insult these people, I know a few (not as rich) and they simply do not want to understand the basic principles behind digital signals, error corrections etc. I know people that work in IT and still pretend that audio transmission over USB can add jitter to music and that a DAC can "open"…

I don't disagree with the point you're trying to make, but I'm not sure if USB is the best example to make that point. Case in point: when I used a USB DAC with my NUC there's an intermittent electrical noise that's actually quite audible and distracting (even when nothing is playing). I ended up switching to another cheap DAC that accepts optical input, and the noise completely disappeared. I'm not entirely sure wha…

It could be a ground loop hum, not USB's fault really, but you do get electrical isolation with toslink.

Re: Audiophiles in Japan Are Installing Their Own Power Poles

#253

Post by asdff »

thaumasiotes wrote: post #192
IAmGraydon wrote: post #179

I think that you can consider extreme audiophilia to be an expression of obsessive-compulsive disorder, and therefore the audiophile industry is predatory in that it preys upon the mentally ill. I’ve seen it all - including $1,000 aftermarket wooden knobs that were said to dampen sound-corrupting vibrations in your power amplifier. The people who sell these items know exactly what they’re doing, and I hope more peopl…

How do $1,000 aftermarket wooden knobs (with no detectable physical effect) differ from, say, a $1,000 bottle of wine (which cannot be distinguished in a blind taste test from a $5 bottle)? They're just class signifiers. The difference I see is that audiophiles are less prestigious than oenophiles, but I don't see how you get from there to "audiophiles have a mental illness".

It would be like if the $5 bottle was glass, and the $1000 bottle contained the same wine in a special wooden bottle that allegedly dampened any disruptive vibrations without any research at all.

Re: Audiophiles in Japan Are Installing Their Own Power Poles

#256

Post by asdff »

samatman wrote: post #167
nabla9 wrote: post #146

Since audiophiles are so gullible I wonder if you could sell even more stuff for them. For example: * plastic surgery for ear lobes (Ferengi audio Inc.) * ear wax removal and ear hair trimming services

You joke but there is no a priori reason that improvements in cochlear implants have to plateau at human-normal hearing. This is an implant I would actually consider having done.

You'd probably have migraines!

Re: Audiophiles in Japan Are Installing Their Own Power Poles

#257

Post by petre »

SOLAR_FIELDS wrote: post #239
kakarot wrote: post #222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's almost as if there's a middle ground to be had somewhere. There are definitely things which can perceptually detract from audio which people just don't think about. I'm about to buy a couple power conditioners for my electronics because the wiring in my new apartment is garbage and every little spike in voltage comes through as a loud pop in my speakers and headphones. But more subtly, my audio is constantly bei…

Wow, that is pretty bad wiring. I can hear an audible hum from my subwoofer when my wife runs the vacuum or blow dryer but that’s about it. And those are about the highest pulling appliances you could have in a household and the sub is pretty big with pretty powerful amp.

Brushed AC motors degrade power quality, although they're normally equipped with filters.

Re: Audiophiles in Japan Are Installing Their Own Power Poles

#258

Post by Dylan16807 »

sigstoat wrote: post #75
newnewpdro wrote: post #22

> he realized that electromagnetic interference from his neighbors’ appliances was propagating through their shared power lines, reducing the quality of the sound he was getting. This actually seems a lot more reasonable to me than the monster cable level of absurdity audiophiles are famous for. When I last visited family my sister's home's electricity exhibited all sorts of overload artifacts. Her lights would dim w…

> I convinced her to contact ComEd about it... the power companies accurately assume that most people calling them don't know anything about electricity. have a trustworthy electrician inspect the situation, and then they can figure out what the problem is, where the problem is, and convey said problem to the power company if it is actually their fault.

I'm not sure what you mean by "if". If it goes between houses, the blame is pretty certainly on the power company, isn't it?

You could argue that the voltage is still within acceptable bounds, so it's not something that needs to be fixed, but that wouldn't change whose fault it is.

Re: Audiophiles in Japan Are Installing Their Own Power Poles

#259

Post by erikpukinskis »

ekianjo wrote: post #188

What I like about this article is that they just find a few weirdos in Japan who actually end up doing that, and you get a blanket statement like "Audiophiles in Japan" while the proper headline should be "A few crazy old rich people". Journalism at its best.

If you parse a sentence that begins “Audiophiles in Japan...” as making a claim about every Japanese audiophile or even most of them, you will find the world a confusing place. These sentences are everywhere. “Men are pigs”, “tacos are awesome”, etc.

Only two exemplars must exist for any such sentence to be true. Once you understand that, you will understand a lot more of what’s being said around you.

Re: Audiophiles in Japan Are Installing Their Own Power Poles

#260

Post by white-flame »

Izmaki wrote: post #3

When I'm playing music on my stereo from my PC through USB, turning off the lights on my bathroom on the other side of the wall will momentarily kill my USB driver and as a result Spotify stops working. Electromagnetic interference is no joke.

That is absolutely NOT "electromagnetic interference", in terms of radiative electromagnetic noise. It's a wiring fault.
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