Non-audiophiles who listen to your system...Comments and experiences?

[Mike Lavigne]

Mike

I am curious as to why 45 rpm reissue is dead quiet. Is it because it is a reissue and/or because of the 45 rpm speed. If it is related to the speed, how is this so??

Steve,

honestly i don't know for sure why they are quiet, but i have a few ideas about it. the speed relates to more information being given for a specific time of the music. so it's not so much a 'lower noise' as a 'more musical information' deal.

--they are sold at a premium and so are always mastered and pressed to the highest standards.
--they are cut without concern for space so the gooves can be wider and so the signal to noise ratio is better.
--my older 45 rpm pressings from the 70's and 80's are not as quiet as the re-issues from the last 10-15 years. i'm guessing that they've made advances in lower noise processes.
--jackets and liners are better and these are clean pressings.
--these pressing are handled with care by their owners and so live a sheltered life.

i have over 1000 of these and i can pull any of them out and expect to not hear even one pop or crackle. not that you don't occasionally hear one, but when you do it's a surprise.

to your original question; it very well could be that the higher speed does result in less noise, but i don't really know about how that might work.

 

[Randy Bessinger]

Mine as well.

Count me in as well. My wife is fine with FM quality music as long as it is something she likes and can sing with.

 

[Bruce B]

My wife wants me to put our DSD/DXD files on her iPod!!!

 

[Johnny Vinyl]

Steve,

honestly i don't know for sure why they are quiet, but i have a few ideas about it. the speed relates to more information being given for a specific time of the music. so it's not so much a 'lower noise' as a 'more musical information' deal.

--they are sold at a premium and so are always mastered and pressed to the highest standards.
--they are cut without concern for space so the gooves can be wider and so the signal to noise ratio is better.
--my older 45 rpm pressings from the 70's and 80's are not as quiet as the re-issues from the last 10-15 years. i'm guessing that they've made advances in lower noise processes.
--jackets and liners are better and these are clean pressings.
--these pressing are handled with care by their owners and so live a sheltered life.

i have over 1000 of these and i can pull any of them out and expect to not hear even one pop or crackle. not that you don't occasionally hear one, but when you do it's a surprise.

to your original question; it very well could be that the higher speed does result in less noise, but i don't really know about how that might work.

Less time of stylus contact spent on a note within a groove...result: less opportunity for deteriorization through continual playback.

John

 

[FrantzM]

Hi

I understand that someone would have preference for a medium over another. I do however find that most people not swayed by Vinyl vs CD if the same cut is played .. This is to me an audiophile affair .. The differences although real are not what most people would concern themselves with... Mike experiences are clearly different from mine...
This said , I sincerely think that exposure to good systems usually elicit sincere positive reactions. which in a few instances have led a few to look into ways to improve their systems .. This is not easy as it sounds, a visit to their friendly Best Buy brings nothing and the most daring to venture to a High End Audio shop are often not well received ... It would do a lot good to the Industry at large to change this...

 

[garylkoh]

I tend to avoid demo-ing LPs to non-audiophile visitors because of the noise. They tend to focus on the pops and crackles, whereas I don't even notice them if the music is great.

We all envy you, Mike, for your 1,000 low noise pressings. Happily, you share them with all of us, and we are grateful!!

 

[Johnny Vinyl]

I usually always have music playing and mostly on vinyl as that is my personal preference. I never specifically demo anything, whether that be my system or the media....I just play what I like. When people drop in oftentimes they'll comment and say "wow, XXX sounds really good and they'll ask to see/hear my setup ( its in a seperate room). I get the usual comments like how they'd love to hear that in their home, and they also finally begin to understand why I love my setup and media as much as I do. It doesn't change them by way of wanting to improve their own experience at home, but that's ok with me. This hobby is not for everyone. They are just happy that I'm happy.

John

 

[MiTT]

. Would they like to view the Mona Lisa in Paris with a layer of gauze material hung over it? Would that be what Rembrandt envisioned?

Lee

Not to be too much of a wet blanket, but Rembrandt didn't paint the Mona Lisa - Leonardo DaVinci did. Still, I'm sure he wouldn't want to have anyone view it through a layer of gauze.

To the original subject, I often have visitors ask me to play something for them when they come over to the house should they happen to see the music room. They usually can't believe that my speakers (Martin Logan CLS IIz's) are actually speakers and then they can't believe what they are hearing. For many it's just a diversion for part of the evening, but for others it's of real interest and I have helped a good half dozen folks set up systems of their own, working within the budgets they can afford. I think people really can appreciate great music reproduction once they have been exposed to it. Whether or not they choose to buy into it is another question.

I also get the questions regarding vinyl when people see my rig - can you still buy LP's, yeah, but it's only "old" music etc. I've wowed more than a few folks when they have heard the same tracks played back on CD and vinyl. One of my better friends has become a serious record collector over the past couple of years.

 

[audioguy]

Interesting thread. The responses of our non-audiophile friends appears to be all over the place.

As I was typing this, one interesting example did come to mind. I sing in our church choir (about 150 voices) and invited our choir director over for dinner with some other friends (in my previous home with a better room). I played one of the recordings of our choir (NOT audiophile quality) and at first played it in 2 channel. Fairly narrow and flat sound-stage. I got very little response. I then added some synthesized rear channel (front channel out of phase stuff) via my Theta Casablanca and his immediate response was: "this is exactly what it sounds like from where I direct the choir."

As an FYI, he does not have much of a sound system at home.

 

[garylkoh]

Nicest compliment we've had with new visitors to the house was "Wow! You even hired a quartet to provide music? That is so classy!" Then they walk into the kitchen/dining area and see the system.

 

[cjfrbw]

I don't even warm it up for non audiophiles any more, break out the Bose or cable TV music for background. I get tired of explaining why I am crazy with all of the bizarre apparatus in my room and "what does it cost?" questions, BORING.
My wife said somebody might steal it. I said they might steal the TV and the software, but they wouldn't even know what the other equipment was to try to steal it.
Also, when I have had non audiophiles listen, they listen for a bit and then want me to turn on the projection system to watch a movie or HDTV, they are only vaguely interested in the sound for its own sake.

 

[jadis]

I've had my share of experiences posted above, but the funniest was when a friend stood up after listening to some music in my room, walked towards the front wall at the back of my speakers (Magnepans) and pointed at some DIY Room Tunes & tube traps and said: "So, are THESE your speakers?" LOL

 

[flez007]

DaveyF - It is my case as well, even with friends that pour a considerable pack of cash to cars, boats or even clothes - no one of them have said they do not like the system, but run scared when they hear how much it costs ( and my system is a very humble one compared to the rest of what I have seen here ) - I consider this behaviuor of non-audiophiles a lost case
.

 

[Robh3606]

Are you guys experiencing the same with non 'philes coming to visit

Yes and no. I have always had a "wow that sounds great" response but like you say after a coiuple of minutes usually the interest fades. Although if I have a concert DVD on that seems to hold them a bit longer.

Rob

 

[microstrip]

As my listening room doubles as my office, a few non audiophiles usualy come in. As they do not know how much it costs, they are mostly fascinated with the sound and the size of the Soundlab's . Most common expression : it sounds so large and real. But I also have a few "anti-audiophiles" friends (people who do not have a high-end system and love music) that come with their last discoveries for a music session and have very interesting points about hifi. And sometimes I can not avoid the worst type of audiophiles - the ones that never listen for more than three minutes of a track and are finding weaknesses in the system as soon as the stylus lands on the LP ...

 

[DaveyF]

Thinking back on my experiences in the past, when ever I would have non-philes visit and listen to my system, almost invariably the response was pretty much the same: A comment on how nice the system sounded and then they would do me a favor and listen for maybe a couple of minutes at best, and then want to change subject and/or leave the room. Seems like many of you are having the same response from your non-phile visitors. Think back and tell me how many times has one of your visitors had sufficient interest to learn more about our hobby, or even want to get into it themselves
In over 25 years as a 'phile, I have actually only converted ( is that the right word) one non-phile friend and he was a Dr. (Sorry Steve) who wasn't too scared of the price of entry.
Everybody else, including the wife, doesn't get the attraction one bit
Maybe this is one of the reasons why this hobby has such a hard time expanding to the general public

 

[mullard88]

Over the years, I have played my system for several non audiophiles. Some feedback that I remember are:

1. Why don't you buy a jukebox so that you won't spend so much effort changing lps?
2. Why are the musicians in your room and why do they move around?
3. You are more concerned listening to different sounds than to music.
4. I thought that cd was better than lp.

One system that all my non-audiophile friends really appreciated is the Magico Ultimate. One of them who writes for a cooking magazine even featured a picture of the Magico Ultimate in her column.

 

[jadis]

In over 25 years as a 'phile, I have actually only converted ( is that the right word) one non-phile friend and he was a Dr. (Sorry Steve) who wasn't too scared of the price of entry.

I just recalled, back in the mid 80s when I started to 'upgrade' audio gears, a good friend who loved music but was not into audiophile branded gears, would listen to my audio system and liked it enough to offer to buy my whole set-up. At that time, there was always some things which I wanted to buy but would do so only if I sold my existing gears. That was actually a perfect opportunity for me to upgrade my system so I obliged by selling my gears to him. After a few months, he came back to listen to my 'new' gears and offered to buy the whole set again because he sold his stuffs to his brother-in-law whom he 'converted' into an audiophile. LOL I obliged again because there was yet another upgrade itch in me but that was the last of my 'happy' and 'lucky' days. LOL

 

[muralman1]

A neighbor working on his PHD carried a package into the house for me. I offered to show him around this hundred year old house. When we entered my media room, he expressed surprise at the look of the ribbon speakers. He wanted to hear them. So, I put on Hugh Masekala playing, "Stimela." This song also goes by the name coal train. The music accelerates into a din of heavy handed beat. It blows anyone's hair back. I let the song play through. Whereupon he said with wide eyes, "That sounds real."

That neighbor is the only one outside my family who has heard this sound.

 

[vinylphilemag]

I wonder what it is about this hobby that makes us so desperate to convince others of its value? Do coin collectors do this? Do they show their coin collections to all their non-collecting friends and get frustrated by the fact that they don't "get it?" Do hunters insist on taking all their friends out into the woods to shoot at stuff? Are painters happy with appreciation of the art, or do they want everyone to paint? False analogy, let me restate - do framers want everyone to frame? Do they somehow believe that their friends and loved ones cannot truly appreciate paintings if they don't frame "properly?"

Tim

Fair point, but the difference between (say) coin collectors and audiophiles is that the former aren't subjected to a barrage of comments like "Why would you pay large sums of cash for an old $1 coin when you can get a new one for $1?".

But I think the main reason for doing this is we want to share our love of music with friends and people we care about. As much as I enjoy solo listening, I also love introducing people to the high quality reproduction of great music (whatever one's definition of "great music" is).