Welshsox
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Most laughable tweak so far
Freako
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I bet someone's gonna buy it!

geoffkait
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Mapleshade catalogue arrived today, they are promoting a custom designed isolation stand for your laptop to enable your MP3's etc to sound better !!!

Apparently memory must suffer vibration, those pesky electrons dont like being shaken up.

When will the hifi world stop be so naive, you can have a cheap laptop with a $3 power supply but you need a $300 stand for better sound quality !!!

But noone is claiming that memory is the issue. I mean, except for you.

Now go write 100 times on the blackboard, I will not use silly, strawman arguments.

Jim Tavegia
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I do know that I have much more "jitter" than any of my digital sources these days. I probably need to stand on one of their platforms for a few hours a day.

If it was only that easy. I honestly think that I am beyond improvement and must accept my low standing.

Maybe if I wrapped my self in clear, 10 mil vinyl AND stood on the platform? Ah!

Freako
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Please no! You must use teflon!

Jim Tavegia
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Everything has to be "audiophile quality" with you guys. Geeezzz!

roadster
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Mapleshade catalogue arrived today, they are promoting a custom designed isolation stand for your laptop to enable your MP3's etc to sound better !!!

How effective is it, I wonder. Will it work when I take the bus or a taxi?

Jim Tavegia
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You will need to test one made of Maple, Hickory, and Ash and report back to us. And don't forget, that every 5 mph will probably change something...good or bad.

I'm betting on Maple as they use that for the pin blocks on pianos. Of course Mickey Mantle used Ash and could hit'um out of the park with great regularity.

You must report back and we will need to know which cab line you took and the actual mileage...because your mileage may vary. lol

Freako
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Don't forget the tips!

dbowker
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BUT WAIT! If you act now, for only $19.99 more they'll send you a complete knife set so your new stand can be used to it's full potential as a cutting board!!!!

Yeah- I saw it too. Those guys re-define self aggrandizement with their products "better than similar products costing four times as much" and almost all of it is some big chunks of maple butcher block.

I can see it working on a tube amp maybe, but a laptop? It's not even a transport for Pete sake- it's just sending out packets. All the data sent to non-moving memory before it even leaves the computer.

roadster
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You will need to test one made of Maple, Hickory, and Ash and report back to us.

But wouldn't a soft wood (poplar, pine, balsa) be better?

I can understand needing vibration protection for a valve device but SS. How does such equipment survive a space craft launch?

geoffkait
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Quote:

Quote:
You will need to test one made of Maple, Hickory, and Ash and report back to us.

But wouldn't a soft wood (poplar, pine, balsa) be better?

I can understand needing vibration protection for a valve device but SS. How does such equipment survive a space craft launch?

Two things. One, solid state devices, e.g., ss amps, are just as prone to vibration as valve devices. Two, there is considerable vibration isolation on board spacecraft, which is necessary for sensitive electronics to survive launch.

Freako
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Measurements please!

geoffkait
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Measurements please!

Ouch, that really hurts!

mjalazard
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I've actually compared the sound my laptop/MP3 system resting on my old Audio Advisor, Mapleshade (they have to be placed in a 4x4 fashion), and Acoustic Sounds catalogs. Bar none, the Audio Advisor catalogs sound better (esp. year 1984)! So save some money and just use the catalogs!

I KNOW you used to re-cycle the hundreds of AOL floppy discs that were mailed to you years ago...! Right?!?
I haven't tried this on the old stereo mags yet, hmmm

Elk
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I admit it; I used to reuse the AOL floppies.

Welshsox
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I believe that MP3 files would sound much better on a Sinclair ZX-81, the high micron RAM would impart an analog quality to the recordings, the lack of a display would of course reduce jitter

JSBach
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Quote:
Measurements please!


Take a pencil, or wooden chopstick, remove the case from your SS or Valve whatever and tap various components whilst the output volume is up.
Tell us what you hear through your speakers - or maybe you don't trust your ears that much?

Freako
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I will certainly try this! Thanks for the heads up

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Quote:
Take a pencil, or wooden chopstick, remove the case from your SS or Valve whatever and tap various components whilst the output volume is up.

Why? I don't know anyone who listens to music while someone's banging on the inside of their components with pencils and chopsticks.

se

Elk
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Why? I don't know anyone who listens to music while someone's banging on the inside of their components with pencils and chopsticks.


You don't?

As an aside: Please don't tap tubes, especially when they are warm. It's hard on them.

JSBach
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Why? I don't know anyone who listens to music while someone's banging on the inside of their components with pencils and chopsticks.


Does your doctor have to listen to music while she's testing your reflexes?

Freako
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Quote:

Quote:
Measurements please!


Take a pencil, or wooden chopstick, remove the case from your SS or Valve whatever and tap various components whilst the output volume is up.
Tell us what you hear through your speakers - or maybe you don't trust your ears that much?

Yesterday I removed the lid and tapped on every component. The only thing I heard was the background hiss.

I feel like adding that my amp - even though it's a totally unknown brand for you guys - was made with intelligent design and very solid quality. Though no longer in business, Mr. Anders Thule's amps are still highly valued.

So much for me not "trusting my hearing"

JSBach
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Quote:
Yesterday I removed the lid and tapped on every component. The only thing I heard was the background hiss.

I feel like adding that my amp - even though it's a totally unknown brand for you guys - was made with intelligent design and very solid quality. Though no longer in business, Mr. Anders Thule's amps are still highly valued.
So much for me not "trusting my hearing"


I'm glad you can smirk. Mr Thule must have known his trade. However, try the same trick with any valve preamp. Counterpoint's SA5 responds nastily.

geoffkait
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Now this may seem odd, but tapping the tubes with a pencil every coupla months is a de rigueur tweak I learned way back when.

Not sure what the theory is, maybe it knocks dead electrons off the grids.

Freako
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Freako
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Quote:

Quote:
Yesterday I removed the lid and tapped on every component. The only thing I heard was the background hiss.

I feel like adding that my amp - even though it's a totally unknown brand for you guys - was made with intelligent design and very solid quality. Though no longer in business, Mr. Anders Thule's amps are still highly valued.
So much for me not "trusting my hearing"


I'm glad you can smirk. Mr Thule must have known his trade. However, try the same trick with any valve preamp. Counterpoint's SA5 responds nastily.

I believe this trick should not be done with any valve amp.

Yes, Mr. Thule did know what he did. IMO his amps are "baby Levinsons"

JIMV
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Quote:
Now this may seem odd, but tapping the tubes with a pencil every coupla months is a de rigueur tweak I learned way back when.

Not sure what the theory is, maybe it knocks dead electrons off the grids.

I had a KT88 go bad..the question was which..I tried the shift tubes around route without success and then tried tapping each tube with a pencil...3 sounded the same through the speakers but the 4th produced a noise...Bad tube identified...

I do not routinely tap the things though.

geoffkait
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Quote:

Quote:
Now this may seem odd, but tapping the tubes with a pencil every coupla months is a de rigueur tweak I learned way back when.

Not sure what the theory is, maybe it knocks dead electrons off the grids.

I had a KT88 go bad..the question was which..I tried the shift tubes around route without success and then tried tapping each tube with a pencil...3 sounded the same through the speakers but the 4th produced a noise...Bad tube identified...

I do not routinely tap the things though.

That's a good point. Tapping the tube gently with a pencil while holding it up to the ear also shows how microphonic tubes that are supposed to be "Very Low Microphonic" actually are.

ncdrawl
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I used to tap my pecker with a pencil every few days to see if it was awake in Iraq. goddamn saltpeter!

geoffkait
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I used to tap my pecker with a pencil every few days to see if it was awake in Iraq. goddamn saltpeter!

Cool. You weren't in ncdrawl's unit by any chance, were you?

Freako
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I hope it has woken up since then...

ncdrawl
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never heard of the guy. sounds like a real asshole though.

ncdrawl
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nope!

Freako
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Sad! Does this help?

geoffkait
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Or this?

Welshsox
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Is that NC and Lamont going to a concert ?

ncdrawl
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no, thats me and my mom.

JSBach
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Sad! Does this help?
No way. Overweight, slow and outdated. Give me a Ducatti 1000 sports any day.
cyclebrain
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Quote:
Mapleshade catalogue arrived today, they are promoting a custom designed isolation stand for your laptop to enable your MP3's etc to sound better !!!

Apparently memory must suffer vibration, those pesky electrons dont like being shaken up.

When will the hifi world stop be so naive, you can have a cheap laptop with a $3 power supply but you need a $300 stand for better sound quality !!!

I see your point. We need a $300 laptop wallwart laptop power supply. Tube based of course.

JSBach
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Quote:

Quote:
............................. We need a $300 laptop wallwart laptop power supply. Tube based of course.


JSBach
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Duplicate post deleted.

Jim Tavegia
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I keep telling my wife I really need a motorcycle. My bday is coming up.

cyclebrain
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I keep telling my wife I really need a motorcycle. My bday is coming up.


My wife told me I need a new motorcycle.
Got rid of the 05 Duck 999.
Love the new Aprilia RSV4 Factory.
The wife is pretty cool too.

MarkBryston
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Yes this is almost as easy to laugh at as the Tice clock of yesterlore! HOWEVER....so was things like green markers and armour all!!! yet to this date the Auric Illuminator continues to garner a Stereophile recommendation( and I agree it works)...The thing is in reading all the comments it appears no one has actually tried it. Remember the Bits is Bits argument and the perfect sound forever arguments...yet despite all the techincal info( at the time) that said what we were hearing was total BS there it was...a difference....and now we now why( jitter)....Its not as if Pierre is some schmuck with a phony diploma. His releases really do sound excellent, even if i cant find much music i actually like, and his credentials are excellent. Not that he is right per se but I think we should at least listen( then slam the idea!..JK).
I for one have always wondered why I would want to put a piece of wood that is KNOWN( and Pierre points out as well) to have a rich resonance( IE vibration) under sensitive components...but until I try it I cant slam it

mark evans
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Quote:

Quote:
I keep telling my wife I really need a motorcycle. My bday is coming up.


My wife told me I need a new motorcycle.
Got rid of the 05 Duck 999.
Love the new Aprilia RSV4 Factory.
The wife is pretty cool too.

I know the Aprilia is a beautiful machine and a work of art. What do you think about the Ducati 1098?

Years ago I had a GSX-R 750 that I sent to Yoshimura. I had close to $8,000 done in motor work. It screamed. Too many tickets forced a sale.

Mark

cyclebrain
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Quote:
I know the Aprilia is a beautiful machine and a work of art. What do you think about the Ducati 1098?

I love the Ducati twin power delivery but I hate the dry clutch and the insane heat to the riders legs. Also the additional expense of timing belts and opening and closing valve shims is a pain. On a side note, the belt tension on my 999 is set with a laser based on the belts frequency when it is "plucked". I used my laptop running the RTA spectrum analyzer program and a microphone. Worked great.

Elk
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Quote:
Got rid of the 05 Duck 999.
Love the new Aprilia RSV4 Factory.

Wonderful coincidence.

I just moved from a 2005 999 (standard mods: full Termis, Yoyodyne slipper, Sato rearsets, Nemesis tuned by Doug Lofgren, etc.) to a 1098S Tricolore.

I seriously considered an Aprilia.

I tell inquiring Harley owners that the clicking sound is because Ducatis are diesels. So far they have all bought it.

The 1098 has worse ergonomics than the 999, is hot, miserable to ride slow (bucks, gets hotter), a little less expensive to maintain.

And wonderously delicious at speed in the twisties.

JSBach
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I tell inquiring Harley owners that the clicking sound is because Ducatis are diesels. So far they have all bought it.


What else would you expect from geriatric would-be speed dealers who ride slow, overweight, antiquated, death traps with an insanely high centre of gravity and more bling than a Jewish Mother at a wedding?

Elk
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Indeed.

If "loud pipes save lives," imagine how well they would do if they learned to ride those things.

It's a fascinating cult. Expensive, clumsy machines that have trouble getting out of their own way have become the playthings of retired accountants.

Born to be mild!

ncdrawl
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crotch rockets are for pussies and gay men. (and wanna be ghetto gangstas)

Real Men ride Harley's and accept no substitutions.

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