According to this, it would appear carbon black is non-magnetic. It is used to help discharge static, and is conductive:

http://w1.cabot-corp.com/controller.jsp?N=23+4294967171+1000&entry=market

Carbon black is used in lotsa stuff. Tires, black ink....carbon resistors. Chen vinyl records are found to be magnetic, being de magnetized with a Furutech, we has revised science. Yeah, Mickey F. sure can lay on the double talk. Just a few short months ago the extremely expensive TT, was the seemingly end of the pursuit of perfection...but now, it needs glaze removal through mystical items. What kind of AC line cord is on the Furutech, surly it is not as good as it can be, right? Audio seems to be imune from FTC scrutiny. AQ battery biased cords, Mapingo discs, Ayre Wood Blocks, now magnetic plastic. No wonder people are going I-POD, who can take the BS in high end audio. Cable of the month, magic twist of the week. Every month another breakthrough. I know Cabot well, they do Ttantulum powder for capacitors, the wires I use in the analytical equipment they use to analyze the Tantulum, has no magic properties, but I bet the final product when marketed through hucksters, gets some.

1) Among the people who have heard this without prompting are EveAnna
Manley who said "NOOOOOOOOO!" because she didn't want to hear it (nor
did I) and Ken Kessler when he visited. There are many other
experienced ears who heard it.

2) I don't blame you for being dubious. I was too.

3) Records I know and love but that had a glaze (like Marti Jones's
"Used Guitars" and Nanci Griffith's "Storms") sound far more natural.
Records that sounded perfectly wonderful sound more so. That's all I
can tell you. Had you asked me about those recordings I would have
told you they sounded great but that for some reason the engineers or
masterers put an "edge" on them...

4) Improved performance doesn't mean you were complaining before. I
can tell you 100 reasons why recorded music never sounds as good as
live but we love our recordings. When something comes along that
improves the sound, it doesn't mean you were withholding something
before or that you didn't notice.

5) carbon black isn't pure. Apparently there are metallic
contaminants. I have a lot more exploring to do but I did get an
email from a reader BEFORE this review ran, but after it was
submitted, telling me about carbon black because his dad was a
chemist involved in vinyl formulations and he explained why
demagnetizing might have a sonic effect. I can't go into it here as I
am overseas...

6) I will write more about this in the future. but I suggest you
listen for yourself! Your dubiosity will diminish...

It demagnetizes anything ya want, what kind of magnetism is in an optical disc? And not the black one either. This has been ployed before hasn't it. Will blu-Ray also need this treatment? Can you use a green pen on a blue ray, I bet there will be a new color needed, wanna bet? Cu's I'm sure some enterprising soul will find the faults in Blu-Ray. http://www.furutech.com/produ_2.asp?ProdNo=242

Interested in reading the measurements and data analysis? Head over to scullcommunications' Press Resources page. Page down to the deMag's press release and all will be revealed.

Regards,
Jonathan

J10's link

This is quite interesting and has me intrigued. I can't help but think of the debate on the forum some time back regarding the pigments used in cables and their possible nefarious impact on signal transmission. I had understood the problem to be from a chemical in the pigment, though your observations on the ferous material in the pigment becoming charged from the magnetic fields seems quite plausable.

Really helpful, Michael! Just when I think my system has all it needs (within the bounds of my budget) and sounds great to me, you come up with another approach to getting more out of my vinyl collection. Thanks a lot. Keep the economy moving.

My Bedini Ultra Clarifier (a CD demagnetizer, as I am sure you know -- I have the older one) works some of the time, but not consistently. It depends on the CD. It works most often with full-orchestral recordings, when the massed violins sound a bit steely, as well as smeared (thick and congested, as opposed to delicate and well-delineated). It seems to work most consistently with newly-purchased CD's. It doesn't surprise me a bit that a device for LP's would work similarly, although it sounds like your experience was more across-the-board consistent, with your LP collection, than mine has been with my CD's. I have no technical knowledge of magnetics, but to my tiny brain it seems that any object that can develop a static charge can also develop magnetic irregularities. If your machine can efficiently eliminate static charges (I know, that isn't what you wrote...), wouldn't that have a similarly beneficial effect? Cheers, Clifton.

"...analyze the tantulum..."? Are you sure it's not "tantalize the anulum?" Jeff, don't you dare touch this one! DUP, if I ever hear of you sucking the dustcaps on your Wurlitzers, I'm reporting you to the SPCA!

Bravo...Does the Furutech have audio grade power cord and fuses, if not, then how could it possibly work as Foo and Yoo wants us to $3,000!!!!!!!! Yes, I am JEALOUS, cus' i didn't think up this stuff, and then get it advertised and marketed!!!! Can't wait till the MK II model is out. New colors, new improved demag power. And don't clean around your audio equipment unless you use an audio phile rated vacuum cleaner, with special grade filter bags to be used around expensive speakers and wires. Audio Grade approved, unlike Good Housekeeping aproval, it means, LOOK OUT!!!! Keep an open mind and a closed WALLET. What's the difference between and "open mind" and just plain clueless?

Bedini is a great MAGICIAN, he manged to make money disappear from your wallet and bank account. The Great Bedini...just how TINY is your brain? Perhaps you have been getting too close to that demagnetizer, it's sucking the iron out of your blood, making it shrink!!!

You weren't just talking to yourself, I listened. You sold me, and probably sold lots of others too. Besides, you had the fun of advancing a fine rebuttal. Now get some sleep.

I agree. I think all LP reviews done in the past are probably now invalid!!!!! MF, start over, you had too much Glare blinding your senses. Or start a NEW magazine...MisTracking Angle, where you can list all your reviews with and without FuruTech DeMagged. Foo and Yoo, the new Ying and Yang? Will they take a trade in on my ByBee bad electron catcher?

Somebody should take a simple compass and place it close to a Continuum's spinning platter and see what happens. I bet it would at least flicker. Also, you'de think that that spinning magnetic platter would induce some current within the wires of the tonearm and cartridge...probably could measure that as well.
What about the turntable motor itself? Lots of spinning iron and current-filled copper wires...can't that generate deleterious magnetic effects (albeit may be too far from the tonearm/cartridge assembly)?
Maybe we can invent a turntable motor demagnetizer?
Just a few thoughts.

Jeez. A guy takes a couple days off to go fishing and returns under full attack. Nothing is going to help your shirts, Buddha. No, I haven't tried the "intense hot light," but I shall and report forthwith. Yes, as I think back, most of the tweaks I have tried didn't work. Most recently, I tried something called an "SID," a "sound improvement disc" that supposedly eliminates "laser-beam fractures," thus ameliorating some of the harshness peculiar to CD's. It didn't work, so I returned it, and my money was cheerfully refunded (Music Direct). On the other hand, a product called "optrix" not only stopped the skipping on my Tennstedt Mahler 5th, it noticably smoothed out some of the hash on this old remake. In fact, the effect is similar to the positive effects I heard on those few CD's treated with the Bedini. And, yes, it is obvious. In the most obvious cases, I could hear it, figuratively speaking, blindfolded. Yes, all of us "audiophiles" are gullible, but most of us become quickly disenchanted when a particular product doesn't produce results. Some, I have heard, even prefer the sound of electrostatics to cones 'n domes. Ever hear of such nonsense??!! Imagine! Aren't sound waves sound waves, whether moved by stators or cones -- or wings, for that matter? Do the electrons really know whether they are being goosed by tubes or transistors? I was happy to read DUP's technical treatise on magnetics. I still know nothing about the subject. Both of you could use a trip to Elko. And don't confuse me with Fremer -- anyone who can stand more than 30 seconds of Roy Orbison couldn't tell an air-raid siren from a teapot whistle. Hmph. Cheers, Clifton.

Clifton,

Hope you had a great get-a-way. I do have a question concerning tweeks.

I read with great interest AD's review of the cables in Oct. I am amazed that people have this level of discernment, as with my advancing tinnitus, per you this might be the time for me to visit Orbison's library. LOL.

My question is at what level of component quality can you begin to discern differences betweek a $1K and $4K pair of interconnects? Does your whole system have to be made up of components in the class A and B categories to be able to do this?

ST makes a case that using better than what the speaker manufacturer installed INSIDE the speaker enclosure may not make any sense or audible difference.

I have heard differences in cable for sure, but I must admit that I have never heard/owned cables even approaching $1K. Many of you have systems that have the resolving power that you may have had great reason to lay down serious green for great cables.

Jim - I don't think there's an easy answer for your question. The first problem with your $1K and $4K model for interconnects is that we know nothing about the design, materials, or if there's even anything different about them, other than the price and the possible assumption that the more expensive set is supposed to be "better" -- unless I'm missing a reference to some specific brands mentioned in the October issue (my subscription ended with the August issue, and I've still yet to track down a September one.)

I think the ability to discern subtle differences has to do with how transparent a system is, and how astute the listener might be. I don't think the deciding factor necessarily has anything to do with money. A super expensive system that has a tonearm cable with less than ideal performance might not allow us to make out any subtleties downstream, yet, the system might be $100K. Suppose the interconnects between the source and the preamp are smearing the signal and the interconnects being tested are between the preamp and amp... we might not know how good the ones between the preamp and amp were.

Hi, Jim. I doubt if your tinnitus has much to do with discernment when it comes to listening to music. I think hearing the difference in quality between $1k and $4k interconnects is definitely system dependent, as Jeff suggests. I have never auditioned interconnects or speaker cables except in a high-end system that I liked to begin with. In other words, if I liked the speaker/electronics combination, I might, out of curiosity, see if I could push things further by changing wires. Again, as Jeff suggests, the dollar amount becomes irrelevant, once you get to the point where you want to make sound you already like get even better. I have listened to several cables costing more than $1k. None have improved the overall music quality over my current $500 Audio Quest Lapis X3's. I have heard differences, but nothing that gets me closer to the sound I remember from last Friday's concert. Brighter? More bass? Less? Yes, no, yes, no, can you play that last cut again? Sorry. Not interested. I honestly think this is the old "electronics vs. electronics" as opposed to "electronics vs. memories of live" argument. You get sidetracked. My own rule is, if it does a better job of freeing the sound from my speakers, I want it, damn the cost. If it doesn't, I really don't care if it sounds a little different from what I already have. I cannot imagine spending more than $500 for a pair of interconnects. I have heard cables costing 10 times that much. I think Sam is probably correct about the internal/external wiring of speakers. It makes sense. When I bought my interconnects and speaker wires, I heard improvements in space and "life" over the ones I already had. Maybe I just got lucky, because I haven't heard anything since that tops my old Audio Quests. Cheers, Clifton

Roy Orbison is one of the greats, how can you not like Roy Orbison.

Because he sounds like a coyote in heat. From my days of living in the desert, I have bad memories of that -- used to have to shake 'em off my leg on the way to school. And he writes musical and verbal cliches. I hate that, too. One of what greats?

One of the GREATS http://www.rockhall.com/hof/inductee.asp?id=160

More GREATNESS This ain't no 50 cent, no Brittany Spears, no snoop Dog P diddy shit...this dude did stuff for a long time... http://www.nashvillesongwritersfoundation.com/fame/orbison.html

This ain't no coyote What a great VOICE!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjuS00PwWow

clifton,

Thanks for the reply. I think in Jeff's case and with the high level of resolution he enjoys, coupled with the fact that he is using near the best headphones/headphone amps...he is about as close to the music as one can get. I can see where "wire" would/could make a difference.

I do find myself enjoying headphones more as I DO need to get as close as possible, but darn if my Triangle Cometes are unbelievable. To me it is not that they sound like "the best speakers I have heard", they just sound like the best reporduced music I have heard from bookshelf/monitors. With a sub they are very nice.

Jim, I second Cliftons' comments. If you haven't already, do try to give some Audioquest a try with the Triangles. The two seem to work well together. They transformed my system from good to magical with the same qualities Clifton mentioned... space, life and the ability to get the music out of the box.

Enjoy,

RG

I don't think you need a terribly revealing system to discern the sonic differences of cables. I do think you need to be very familiar with the music that you use to audition them with.

In Dup's case, I think he would still hear differences in simply doubling a run of his speaker cable. The substantial roll-off of high frequencies that he is experiencing could very well be a result of current limiting in his long run of cable. That has to put a blanket on transient response. Not that a reduction in high frequencies could be desirable at those kinds of spls. I'm speculating of course, but it sure seems worth a try to attempt to correct the shelved down treble.

Quote:
clifton,

Thanks for the reply. I think in Jeff's case and with the high level of resolution he enjoys, coupled with the fact that he is using near the best headphones/headphone amps...he is about as close to the music as one can get. I can see where "wire" would/could make a difference.

I do find myself enjoying headphones more as I DO need to get as close as possible, but darn if my Triangle Cometes are unbelievable. To me it is not that they sound like "the best speakers I have heard", they just sound like the best reporduced music I have heard from bookshelf/monitors. With a sub they are very nice.

Jim - While I do listen to headphones a lot (only when I'm working) that's not what I would consider my main rig or highest resolution system. I'm sure my avatar contributes to the misconception that my main rig is headphone based (and sadly this is becoming true lately because of a project I'm buried under -- I'm always at the computer it seems), but, I get the most pleasure from my speaker system, and that's where I hear the miniscule differences and changes I often write about. My speakers are modest, but, the stuff before them allows me to hear all sorts of little things. Hopefully, I'll someday upgrade the speakers to match the gear ahead of it, but, I'm not prevented from hearing changes in the system. I agree with Monty -- I'm sure you'd be able to detect differences in "wire".

Jeff,

Had you taken the test drive with either the new AKG 601 or 701's? One of these will probably be my next move, although I may also listen to the Senn 650's before I drop the green.

I have used my Sony 7506's for recording projects, but as JA has commented they are not "accurate", but do a pretty good job of sealing the outside elements.

Hi Jim - I've been listening to the AKG 701s almost exclusively lately. They possess a treble extension that gives them a seemingly more open presentation than the 650s or 600s. I use the Equinox cable on my 650s (I also have one for my 600s, but, I don't listen to the 600s all that much these days.) I've always been bothered by the "Sennheiser veil", a sound that always made me feel like there was something between me and the music. I think for all day listening, the Senns might make for a better choice. The Sennheisers have a more recessed sound. Something that's very important to remember when trying out the 701s is to make sure they're well broken in/burned in before judging them. They really take at least 200 hours before they settle in. Before that, they're bright and a bit harsh. I'll be curious to see/hear the next Sennheiser (the 700?)

Jeff,

Thanks for the note. A little bright...sounds right up my alley. They sound (break-in) just like Triangle loudspeakers...the pair to buy right BEFORE you go on vacation. Plug'em in...turn'em on and when you come back in 7-14 days you are ready to rock and roll, or minuet, whatever. LOL

Actually magnetic records are not completely out of the question. Magnetite (black iron oxide), the same thing that is sometimes used to coat magnetic recording tape is often used as a black pigment in plastics. Black laser toner for example is pigmented with magnetite.

So I guess it might be possible that some records have some magnetite pigment content.

BUT if that is the case and I wanted to demagnetize such a thing I'd run out and buy a $12.95 Radio Shack bulk tape demagnetizer. These work great on magnetite tapes, and should work fine on records that have magnetite (if any exist). If I was doing an article on $1800 record demagnetizers and thought they had some benefit I think for sure that I'd try a bulk eraser for 1% of the price too.

Since Furutech did all this "research" in those giant research labs they run for sure (probably just like Philips in Eindhoven NL) www.research.philips.com Why didn't their research results mention this? Or is there confusion over research dept and advertising dept? Maybe they do both in one room? Did GE plastics do any work on this "problem" GE is big in plastics.