Does Everything Make a Difference?
- Thread starter Ron Resnick
- Start date
yesterday, for a while the setup wasn't sounding very good. I noticed that there was a lot of static when I touched metal objects. Last night it was sounding more normal. Today it rained and the sound is wonderful.
Did the rain affect both the setup and my mood? How can you separate these? We are the last variable in any hifi system.
Did the rain affect both the setup and my mood? How can you separate these? We are the last variable in any hifi system.
It always sounds good when it rains. Weather has a huge impact on sound velocity by affecting humidity, pressure and temperature. Sound velocity is very important to final sound. It changes the sound propagation pattern. Acoustics as we know is not much different than underwater acoustics. Air and water are both liquids. I believe @christensenleif@msn.com might explain it better.
Rain decreases absorption (especially the high frequencies) by increasing sound speed besides eliminating static and improving ground.
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very interesting. now we need a similar understanding of how rain affects the body/mind/emotions. Certainly, changing barometric pressure can be felt in our joints from time to time.
the clear plastic wrappings we place our vinyl records into can accumulate electric static charge.
they can audibly affect sound of audio components nearby, although i have heard it, i have not tried experimenting enough to be able to describe the characteristics of their influence more in detail.
cd discs have that thin aluminum layer that interact with the intrinsic magnetic fields of audio components - affecting their timbral characteristics and soundstaging. you put a whole stack of cd discs together the influence that are being wrought on nearby audio components multiply manifolds.
of course, if you have no choice due to space constraints that you need to store them in huge quantities within the same room as your audio components, you need to pay attention their collective reflectivity, and alternate their placements with empty spaces or soft, absorbent materials.
Are you saying our bodies pick up plastics and metals around us without or conscious being aware?
I see where you trying to go.
Static/dry air, RF. More acceptable we are impacted and our senses are impacted with data that is a distortion on the listening to music sensory inputs.
If you strip too much of the furnishings that makes the room a pleasant environment, you could create a distraction greater than a distortion from sensing static.
I find the sound to be much much better after using my trusty demag on the CD to be played but also on many other things in the room - headphone cables, electrical cords of lamps and TV antenna cables, TV screen, power cord and HDMI cables. But wait, there’s more. Bed sheets, pillows, big roll of plastic bubble wrap, clothing in closet, walls and windows and Venetian blinds..
Since CDs respond so well to demag, I strongly suspect many of the 200 CDs in my room have an electric charge on them. The same would be true for LPs. I will take the CDs out of my room (as I oft advise) later this morning and report back.
The electric static charge is very pernicious and intractable, it doesn’t simply fade away when the CD is not in use. The static electric charge on CDs builds up from the friction of air molecules on the polycarbonate surfaces when the CD is spinning at high speed. The demag must be moving to neutralize the electric charge. I move the damag back and forth a few times on most things, on CDs it’s trickier, I use the Lloyd Walker technique of *twirling* the CD on one finger of left hand with thumb 3 revs whilst holding the demag over the CD, both sides.
Since CDs respond so well to demag, I strongly suspect many of the 200 CDs in my room have an electric charge on them. The same would be true for LPs. I will take the CDs out of my room (as I oft advise) later this morning and report back.
The electric static charge is very pernicious and intractable, it doesn’t simply fade away when the CD is not in use. The static electric charge on CDs builds up from the friction of air molecules on the polycarbonate surfaces when the CD is spinning at high speed. The demag must be moving to neutralize the electric charge. I move the damag back and forth a few times on most things, on CDs it’s trickier, I use the Lloyd Walker technique of *twirling* the CD on one finger of left hand with thumb 3 revs whilst holding the demag over the CD, both sides.
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Not eggs akley, I think our minds act like transceivers for picking up on things in the local environment. Hence the ESP reference. I don’t think RF is one of them, however, that’s most likely a form of electronic noise. It’s in the signal path, whereas the others aren’t, they fall into the category, Things that influence the sound but aren’t in the signal path. My example of an empty or almost empty room is to illustrate the point. Almost everyone would prefer to keep acoustic treatments in the room, if nothing else, one assumes.
I’m currently conducting a study of how shoulder prostheses affect the sound. I would have preferred a Teflon contact surface, but my assistant ordered polypropylene. I’ve just completed the four month study for the right side. I’m just one week into right and left together.
Sadly, I can’t go back to the OEM shoulders to do A-B-A.
Sigh … one thing I did learn is that you can change the sound by moving shelves and book cases off of the back wall. I’m mucking around with 2’x4’ open cell foam sheets in a 4” pyramid pattern to tweak things back in order.
High end streaming is at a serious advantage compared vinyl when you’ve only got one useable arm at a time.
Sadly, I can’t go back to the OEM shoulders to do A-B-A.
Sigh … one thing I did learn is that you can change the sound by moving shelves and book cases off of the back wall. I’m mucking around with 2’x4’ open cell foam sheets in a 4” pyramid pattern to tweak things back in order.
High end streaming is at a serious advantage compared vinyl when you’ve only got one useable arm at a time.
Wow this thread is a dimension all by itself ! 
Keep up the good work guys !
Keep up the good work guys !
Reporting back after removing CDs from the room. After listening to a couple of CDs in my current rotation I can summarize my results as: less distortion, much more inner detail and inner dynamics, very very transparent and smoother. A New medium? Doesn’t sound like digital or analog.
Does that surprise you? Even more than my report?
”People would generally be much better off if they believed in too much rather than too little.“ - PT Barnum
Riddle: what’s the difference between a paranoid and a psychotic? A paranoid thinks he’s discovered something but he doesn’t realize what‘s happening yet. When he figures out what‘s happening then he becomes psychotic.
”People would generally be much better off if they believed in too much rather than too little.“ - PT Barnum
Riddle: what’s the difference between a paranoid and a psychotic? A paranoid thinks he’s discovered something but he doesn’t realize what‘s happening yet. When he figures out what‘s happening then he becomes psychotic.
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Nothing in audio surprises me anymore, imagination and " technology " truly running free and unfettered !
Despite the fact that this discussion is occurring on a significant day, I have something serious to contribute. Electrostatic charge is one of the fundamental ways/products of a current moving on a wire. Increased humidity lowers free electrostatic charge, and may shrink the electrostatic field on cables. It might also affect any electrically active components in the same way. Many here have reported changes in SQ in de-static of their systems.
I have thought that one of the final ways to get repeatable positive sonics would be to humidity control the listening room, at say 50% humidity. Then as you build and tweak your system at that humidity level, the variations day to day might be at least partially eliminated.
I believe that Electro Magnetic 'Smog' is also a factor, and while it can be reduced by good power filtration and grounding, is not completely eliminated, and is highly variable, not a constant factor. And this variability can affect day to day sonics. Further debate is whether this 'smog' affects the components more or the listener!
The voltage my system gets seems to affect the sound as well. While I have a balanced isolated power solution (among other power strategies), I can see the voltage readout from the listening chair. When voltage is high, say over 120, the sound tends to get lean and a bit brittle, lower it gets warmer and rounder.
Finally, I think cosmic radiation is another factor that may affect sonics. And that varies day to day as well, not least from our volatile sun.
The interplay between all these factors makes for some pretty chaotic results.
I have thought that one of the final ways to get repeatable positive sonics would be to humidity control the listening room, at say 50% humidity. Then as you build and tweak your system at that humidity level, the variations day to day might be at least partially eliminated.
I believe that Electro Magnetic 'Smog' is also a factor, and while it can be reduced by good power filtration and grounding, is not completely eliminated, and is highly variable, not a constant factor. And this variability can affect day to day sonics. Further debate is whether this 'smog' affects the components more or the listener!
The voltage my system gets seems to affect the sound as well. While I have a balanced isolated power solution (among other power strategies), I can see the voltage readout from the listening chair. When voltage is high, say over 120, the sound tends to get lean and a bit brittle, lower it gets warmer and rounder.
Finally, I think cosmic radiation is another factor that may affect sonics. And that varies day to day as well, not least from our volatile sun.
The interplay between all these factors makes for some pretty chaotic results.
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