Anyone hear of the Black Cable Tie tweak?


Black Cable Tie Tweak. Just in time for Christmas!

Here's a fun little project. Count the number of drain spouts on your house or apt building - drain spouts are the long, 6" diameter vertical metal pipes that run from the roof gutters to the ground. You might know them better as waterspouts, downspouts, roof drain pipes or some other arcane word or terminology so don't bust my chops.

Obtain enough 14" black cable ties from Home Depot so you'll have one black cable tie for each drain spout. IIRC 14" black cable ties come in a pack of 10 which should be plenty unless you live in Buckingham Palace. If you encounter a drain spout that's too wide for the 14" cable tie, use two cable ties per drain spout. First, freeze the cable ties.

Place all cable ties in the freezer overnight (about 12 hours). Remove them the next day and allow to thaw to room temperature. Secure one black cable tie snugly around each drain spout at a point approximately one foot up from the bottom opening of the pipe near the ground.

After all cable ties are in place go listen to some favorite recordings.

Cheers, Geoff Kait
Machina Dynamica
Advanced Audio Concepts
128x128geoffkait

Showing 16 responses by geoffkait

Al wrote,

"It is common in debates about controversial tweaks for "believers" to say to "skeptics" something like "you can't say it doesn't work if you haven't tried it."

A debate? Is that what we're having? Cool!
Al wrote,

"No, John (Jmcgrogan2). Perhaps I was too subtle. My comment was a dig at those who seem to feel that it is never legitimate to reject a tweak "a priori," no matter how absurd the tweak may seem to be."

I hate to judge before all the facts are in but the folks you are scolding do not appear on this thread. Prevention is worth a pound of cure, eh? Lol

"It's what I chose to believe." - Dr. Elizabeth Shaw in Prometheus
Ejlif wrote,

"I don't know who is crazier you or the coconut audio guy."

Me either. Show of hands?

"I'm sure you are messing with us you can't be serious?"

Yes, no, maybe.

"Just seeing if anyone is actually crazy enough to try this?"

But is anyone crazy enough to report good results? That's the real question.

"It's a good laugh that's for sure."

Agree.
Elizabeth wrote,

"How many people do you think have actually put a photo into the freezer???"

More than you would think. In fact, Art Dudley, the conservative old school reviewer over at Stereophile Magazine, tried a long distance version of the photos in the freezer tweak with Mike Fremer earlier this year as part of his article on the Belts. The long distance version of the PITFT is based on an article I wrote 10 years ago. Carl Clark reported on the photos in the freezer tweak in Positive Feedback quite a few years ago in her article on freezing CDs. Now, if you're asking how many pseudo skeptics who don't believe anything they didn't learn in high school have put a photo in the freezer then I susepct you're right - nobody! Geez, people must be afraid cameras are going to steal their souls. HA!
Theo wrote,

"OK so a plastic non-conductive device placed around a non-related, non-electrical object is an audio tweak?"

Here we go again. Geez, so now you're going tell me that only conductive devices in the signal path can be defined as real audio tweaks? Have you by any chance been living in a cave in Borneo for the last twenty years? By your "logic" all the mossback tweakaphobe scamps out there would dismiss out of hand tiny bowl resonators, any kind of resonator, SteinMusic Harmonizer and Magic Stone, Shakti Stone, Mpingo discs, anything with the word Quantum in the name, electron microscope stands, things that are just too damn small to do anything (like fuses), anything with the word Magic in the name, Schumann frequency generators, anything even remotely involving crystals, anything not in the signal path, anything you can't DIY with something from Home Depot or sand and things you can't find out all about on Wikipedia or Electronics 101.

Cheers, Geoff Kait
Csontos wrote,

"What's the photo(s) in the freezer tweak?"

The Photos in the Freezer Tweak is a controversial audio tweak first described by Peter and May Belt of PWB Electronics. The Photos in the Freezer Tweak is often used by your common garden variety troll or tweakaphobe as the epitome of a tweak totally without merit, a tweak so unrelated to the audio signal and so preposterous anyone who would even consider such a tweak must be one desperate son of a bitch.

The way this works is you get two photos of yourself, a recent one and an older one, say from 20 years ago or whatever. Place each photo in a separate clear ziplock bag. Using any fine point Red pen, e.g., Sharpie, write the following three messages on BOTH sides of each ziplock bag:

Your name - first initial + last name - as you would write it on a check. Example: G. Kait > O.K.

Then below that write exactly,

'x = Present Time

Then below that write exactly,

'x26'x

After writing the three messages on both sides of each ziplock bag and BEFORE placing them in the freezer, pick out one or two tracks you are very familiar with and listen to them to get a feel for how they sound. Then place the ziplock bags in the freezer. Listen to the tracks again, no need to wait until the photos are frozen. Keep the photos in the freezer as long as you want. Amaze your friends -- taking the photos out of the freezer will degrade the sound, putting them back in will improve the sound.
Ooops, forgot one thing for the Photos in the Freezer Tweak. After your name write the expression > O.K.

So, using my name as an example,

G. Kait > O.K.
Csontos wrote,

"You're not seriously hoping for a positive feedback? I don't believe you'll find my name on the list. If you put a just born piglet in an eagle's nest and it didn't get eaten but nurtured instead, would it fly when it jumped if you believe it would?"

Good point. One that demonstrates folks believe what they choose to believe. Of course you can come up with ridiculous examples to make it appear you're a fellow who cannot be easily fooled.
Marqmike,

If I can be so bold, is English a second language? No offense.
Csontos wrote,

"I'll venture a guess and say everyone on the desperate sons of bitches list has reported positive feedback?"

You sound very contented. :-)
Ghosthouse wrote,

"Wondering if maybe you are Rok2id's evil twin? (Using a more subtle approach to ridicule "audiophile-dom"?)"

Why would I, an insider, ridicule "audiophile-dom?"
Csontos wrote,

"You didn't answer the question."

Which one? You ask so many good ones.

:-)
Marqmike wrote,

"George, English if my first and only language, I just don't use it very well at times."

Actually, it's Geoff. But you were very close. :-)
Ghosthouse wrote,

"GK - can't speak to your motives. You being an "insider" certainly doesn't preclude the possibility that what I suggest is true."

You little scamps are a suspicious bunch.
Csontos wrote,

"You didn't answer the question."

Then I asked, "what question?"

Then you wrote,

"This one: Is that another good point I made?"

If not too much trouble how about giving me a hint - what on Earth are you referring to?