If you notice, SS devotees define this audio thing by what's missing "noise and distortion"; while tube devotees describe it by what is present and not missing, "music", that's what's not missing with tubes.
Some time ago, a lot of noise went along with tubes that didn't occur in SS; but now that noise is "inaudible". I know because I can't hear it in my rig, nor can it be heard in the current best tube rigs. You can measure it but you can not hear it; that's what "inaudible" means.
"2nd order harmonics"; I have no idea where that came from or what it means. It's like a rumor which has been repeated for so long that they believe it's true even when they don't know what it means or how it affects the music.
The foundation of the SS devotees rests on what you can not hear. That's kind of flimsy when you think about; "you can not hear total silence". That's a good thing for them.
They have their silence, we have our music; that's fair.
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Cakyol, you get the prize for the most erroneous post I've read today.
How good the DC is will be determined by how bad the AC was, as well as the quality of components in the "power supply" which is where AC is turned into DC. |
There are so many different things that sound "good'. It's not until you make the decision to want to hear only what the artist presented that you will be on the path to "Nirvana". This is a very narrow and difficult path to follow.
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Mikelavigne, that is so true. My first love was a Phase Linear 4000, it did everything; you could alter the music so many ways, and not stop until everything sounded exactly like you wanted it to sound.
"Equalizers" were the rage back then. I went to a high end store and non of the equipment even had tone controls; "What is this, no tone controls?". That's when I came to the realization that what I really wanted to hear was whatever the artist presented; no more, no less.
If you prefer to "sculpture" the audio to your specifications, that's fine, that's what I used to do. |
Thank you Glissando for your very informative post.
When I turned on my rig and it sounded much better, although I hadn't done anything to bring this about, I put 2+2 together and came up with the answer; the quiet grid that resulted from the COVID 19 "Lock-down".
David, since you're good at finding answers to obscure questions, maybe you can find the answer to this question; I live in a quiet neighborhood, so I know it's not the neighbors affecting my AC, but industrial activity miles away; the question is, how far away can industrial activity affect your AC?
As I explained before, I down-load LP's to hard-drive, and listen to my "play-list" from the computer at my leisure. After I noticed the new recordings sounded better than the old, that confirmed a number of things; not only was the computer functioning better, but everything else as well; power supply for phono-pre plus everything else that has a power supply.
There are millions of people who are benefiting from this "lock-down" and don't even know it. Now that many are going back to normal, that might be past tense; it came and went, and they didn't even know it. I on the other hand, have it recorded on my "external hard-drive", which means that if the computer turns to junk, I have it all in a little box that I can take with me
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That was meant to be "entire life experimenting with things" |
Optimize, I doubt if I'll change anything radically; the reason being that a person can spend their entire experimenting with things as opposed to listening to music.
Thanks for your post.
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Cousinbilly, I wish I had your ability to hear; while what you say is true, not everyone has the ability to hear that difference.
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Kennyc, no need to apologize when you're right. I have been in a "lock-down" inner sanctum communicating only with self for so long, that initially I failed to communicate effectively with others.
Tube versus SS is a wrong statement, should have been versus digital, and I have been comparing many different things in my head, that I didn't communicate effectively, but now I will straighten out as much as I can, and that wont be easy.
Years ago when there was much controversy about PC playback, I took everything in that the PC guys had to say, as well as what "Stereophile" had to say about changing cards in your computer, and what equipment to use for "down-loading" effectively. Now I "down-load" and then listen. My playback is identical to whatever it is that I "down-loaded"; if it wasn't, I wouldn't do it this way.
Start with my comparison to Jacintha on CD and Dinah on new fantastic LP's (dead quiet LP, the best ever for me) This is from a new 5 LP collection from "Verve". I noted that the CD had many of the same sonic attributes as the LP; they both were outstanding.
I had "down-loaded" a lot of material using the 6922 tubes; they were the same kind of tubes, but not the same identical tubes. You are absolutely correct in saying the new tubes could have been better tubes? But I made more comparisons, and discovered that what I'm down-loading now, is far superior to what is already on hard- drive; consequently I'll be doing a lot of things over.
In late March I noted an improvement in overall audio, that was akin to a gigantic wax removal from my ear. This improvement is the result of our COVID 19 "lock-down", which has given us the "quiet-grid"; of that I am certain, it's equivalent to having obtained a whole house power regenerator. Someone understood me to say that power regenerators were useless, when I stated that if you were getting perfect AC they were useless because you can't improve on perfection.
You're not overly critical, just critically correct. Now I'm going to get back to my huge job of "down-loading" LP's. Happy listening!
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Fuzztone, I only use 12AU7 or 6922 or 6dj8; could one of those be replaced by a 6FQ7?
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Jond, this has nothing to do with tubes versus SS, that should have been tubes versus digital, but in regard to the essence of my post, it's primarily about the "grid" and the overall improvements I'm enjoying in everything. It's also about new 6922 Telefunken tubes in my phono pre.
I've been on a solo flight into audio bliss for so long that I just remembered that in order to communicate this to others, I will have to slow down and compose my thoughts.
To begin with, I down-load everything to external hard-drive and then settle back in my listening chair for a long time and focus on nothing but the music. While listening to some music I had just down-loaded, I noticed that it sounded appreciably better than what was already on hard-drive, that's when I began to try and find reasons for this sudden improvement.
While in both cases 6922 Telefunken tubes were used in the phono-pre, these were different tubes. (that could explain some improvement in vinyl, but not in a CD that was already on the hard-drive)
In the case of most people, if they turned their rigs on, and there was an improvement in the audio, although they did nothing to cause this improvement, they would attribute it to ear wax before, and continue on. But I know for certain the relationship between a "quiet grid" and better audio. There is one other factor that could make my improvements more pronounced, and that's my use of the computer; since they have the weakest power supplies, an improvement in the grid would show up more.
It's for certain people with power conditioners wouldn't notice any difference, because there would be none; how can you improve on perfection?
The bottom line is the fact that this grid thing is nothing new, it's just that not everyone has observed it.
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Even though I can't hear as well as some, (old age) I listen better than most. While I live in a quiet neighborhood, I can tell there must be commercial activities beyond my neighborhood that affect our "grid"; it could be a lot larger than I think it is.
I have no idea how large an area comprises a "grid", I only know what I hear and when I hear it. I recall one New Years Eve when it was 6 degrees below 0 and a foot of snow was on the ground. My bedroom rig, which is not expensive, was sounding extra special; as a matter of fact I stayed up all night listening to it, that's how good it was sounding; that was no delusion.
Since forever people have remarked how much better music sounded on Sunday. Like most people I attributed that to the quiet restful mood most people are in on Sunday. However, when you observe all the times "they say" music sounds better, it also corresponds with the time that commercial and industrial activity is closed.
Audiophiles know what makes expensive gear expensive is primarily the power supply; the capacitors alone can cost a small fortune. All that money goes into turning AC into quiet DC. The electric company even spends a small fortune trying to give you constant 60 cycles per second but this is also constantly varying slightly do to activity on your grid. Now if everything I have described is under normal circumstances, just imagine what a difference it's made under present circumstances with so many things shut down.
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The "jivest" power supply is on the computer. I tried to figure out a way to improve that, but there just isn't enough room, can't be done.
That power supply has been improved by the improved incoming AC. I also down-load my LP's to hard drive. in this process, there is a "wall wart" to that device which has been improved by the cleaner AC.
I'm down-loading identical LP's with the same equipment I used before and getting big improvements on the new playback. When you think about all the industrial equipment; such as high voltage electric welders that can cause an instant drain on your grid, which would result in a blip on your AC line, that are now silent, you can begin to understand how your AC is better. It's only when all this noise is gone can you tell the difference.
When I referred to the Jacintha CD and the Dinah Washington LP, I was comparing the totally noiseless black background on both, and the "holographic" effect that's usually reserved for the upgraded analog and not the CD, but I had that on both CD and LP.
I could think of a lot better ways to spend my time than to down-load the same identical LP's with the same identical equipment, if I wasn't getting a remarkable improvement.
Think about it, those who can afford it got a low level power conditioner, a high level power conditioner, and another one specifically for the computer. Now that the AC from the wall is improved, you have them all from the wall.
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Battery power is the best.
I first wrote about this in March; that means your rig was improved at that time, by now you've gotten accustomed to the improvements.
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Thank you David, you are also one of the few who know why the high end is so high, and why the word "Minutiae" is so big.
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Why are many of the most expensive preamps 2 box units? Do they have two boxes just to impress you? Of course not, they have one box exclusively devoted to turning AC into DC for the signal section.
Why do those who understand these things pay so much for capacitors that are involved in turning AC into DC? Audiophiles who don't even know Ohms Law, have observed that their rigs sounded the very best at times like "New Years Eve" night.
While your rig is sounding better, there are a number of reasons you haven't noticed this. My neighborhood is not the only one on "lock-down"; this is fairly universal.
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On the serious side of this equation, I was listening to some recordings I had made on reel long before this COVID 19 thing, and compared them to some recent recording using the same identical records and equipment, and I noticed the recent recordings were more musical in every way.
This occurred with absolutely no change in anything else. Stop and think, all audio equipment has to change AC to DC, and if the AC is better today than it was before, "All" of your audio will be better. Quite possibly, the only people who can tell this difference is those of us who recorded music before this COVID 19 thing and know what before and after sound like.
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Since audio equipment is dependent on AC that must be turned to DC in order to operate, the quality of the AC is a very important factor.
Many "observant" people have noticed that on holidays, and late night their rigs sounded better. They observed this without giving any qualifying reason. However, those of us who understand that AC has to be turned into DC for audio equipment, know that the only variable, if all else is constant, is the AC that you plug into.
At no time in the history of this country have so many commercial activities been shut down at one time. If anyone can think of another time this has occurred, please share it with me.
Personally, I think this "lock-down", plus recent news events have affected some of us very adversely, and we have become totally hostile, but I understand, it's OK to feel hostile during these trying times.
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Millercarbon, it's primarily commercial activity that causes wild AC. I'm thinking AC being turned to DC for audio equipment, and I know exactly how it works. Since you're comparing it to purifying water, maybe you're the one who doesn't know how it works.
Since when do power cords purify AC?
As usual Millercarbon, you're getting totally ludicrous.
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While I was thinking "Tube versus SS" it should be "Analog versus Digital".
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