Himalayan Salt Lamps as HiFi tweak - Snake-oil or Not?

cjfrbw

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2010
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Pleasanton, CA
I like monosodium glutamate lamps more. Better timbre.
 

spiritofmusic

Well-Known Member
Jun 13, 2013
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Yes, but you get sated so quickly. And need to go back for more.
Ideal audiophile OCD product.
 

miniguy

Well-Known Member
Dec 18, 2013
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San Diego area
They act as giant dessicants , reducing moisture in the air and thus air density and we all know that sound travels sluggishly thru thick air.

This is incorrect. The sound speed in air is inversely proportional to the square root of air density and humid air is less dense than dry air (water molecules are lighter than air molecules), so sound is faster in humid air, if that’s what you meant by thick air.
 

cjfrbw

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2010
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Pleasanton, CA
Looks like a good way to smuggle meth. Just put a bulb in it and say it's a salt lamp.
 

Rodney Gold

Member
Jan 29, 2014
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Cape Town South Africa
They act as giant dessicants , reducing moisture in the air and thus air density and we all know that sound travels sluggishly thru thick air.

This is incorrect. The sound speed in air is inversely proportional to the square root of air density and humid air is less dense than dry air (water molecules are lighter than air molecules), so sound is faster in humid air, if that’s what you meant by thick air.
NOOOO...you are dead wrong here .. everyone knows that the little globules of water in humid air refract and hinder sound molecules when they meet..you can hear it easily when your listening room is overtaken by early morning fog and the noise floor rises ...
You dont even need to have a listening room , go to the beach , hold a wet shell to your ear .."the sound of the sea" you hear is indeed these molecules clashing
I use a 17kw dehumidifier in my room and always have it turned on when the sound gets too sloshy..works a charm..even my wife who was in the kitchen at the other side of the house remarked on it.
I now have a dual purpose to my room.. we dry jerky in it ..I use the racks of dangling pieces of meat as diffusors...the blood dripping on the persian (cat and carpet) is an issue tho
 

miniguy

Well-Known Member
Dec 18, 2013
437
168
350
San Diego area
NOOOO...you are dead wrong here .. everyone knows that the little globules of water in humid air refract and hinder sound molecules when they meet..you can hear it easily when your listening room is overtaken by early morning fog and the noise floor rises ...
You dont even need to have a listening room , go to the beach , hold a wet shell to your ear .."the sound of the sea" you hear is indeed these molecules clashing
I use a 17kw dehumidifier in my room and always have it turned on when the sound gets too sloshy..works a charm..even my wife who was in the kitchen at the other side of the house remarked on it.
I now have a dual purpose to my room.. we dry jerky in it ..I use the racks of dangling pieces of meat as diffusors...the blood dripping on the persian (cat and carpet) is an issue tho

Who is everyone? Too bad this hobby is rife with alternative science.
 

DaveC

Industry Expert
Nov 16, 2014
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NOOOO...you are dead wrong here .. everyone knows that the little globules of water in humid air refract and hinder sound molecules when they meet..you can hear it easily when your listening room is overtaken by early morning fog and the noise floor rises ...
You dont even need to have a listening room , go to the beach , hold a wet shell to your ear .."the sound of the sea" you hear is indeed these molecules clashing
I use a 17kw dehumidifier in my room and always have it turned on when the sound gets too sloshy..works a charm..even my wife who was in the kitchen at the other side of the house remarked on it.
I now have a dual purpose to my room.. we dry jerky in it ..I use the racks of dangling pieces of meat as diffusors...the blood dripping on the persian (cat and carpet) is an issue tho

Yup, yup... the good 'ol jerky tweak... beef by it's self is good, but a mix of beef and turkey sounds amazing. :)


As for the salt lamp, I have not moved mine yet but will, who knows? It turns out they really don't produce negative ions (see link below), and they won't solve the myriads of health problems they are claimed to alleviate... at least we can't explain it with what we know now, which usually turns out to be not a lot. We do know placebo works, so if people benefit then great. :)

https://www.snopes.com/salt-lamps-cure-everything/
 

Pb Blimp

Well-Known Member
Oct 30, 2017
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USA
Air density determines speed of sound. The higher the air temperature the less dense the air. The less dense the air the faster the speed of sound. Hot = Fast. In addition, water molecules are indeed lighter than air molecules so the higher the humidity the lower the density and, again, the faster the sound. So for speed it goes: dry cold < wet cold < dry hot < wet hot.

In addition, humidity effects sound attenuation. The more humid the air the less the sound is attenuated for the reason stated by minguy-- water vapor is actually lighter than air and as such attenuates less than dry air at a given temperature.

Cold and dry means slow and high attenuation. Hot and moist means fast and low attenuation. (Note most attenuation comes at frequencies above 2 khz.) Maybe this whole discusion is about personal preference for sound on a continuum in this regard or maybe placebo I guess.
 

BlueFox

Member Sponsor
Nov 8, 2013
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So, do these lamps change the density of air. Have we determined at what air density change it becomes audible?
 

Rodney Gold

Member
Jan 29, 2014
983
11
18
Cape Town South Africa
So for speed it goes: dry cold < wet cold < dry hot < wet hot.
Cold and dry means slow and high attenuation. Hot and moist means fast and low attenuation.

that sounds remarkably like my sex life.....
 
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Pb Blimp

Well-Known Member
Oct 30, 2017
518
25
140
USA

Pb Blimp

Well-Known Member
Oct 30, 2017
518
25
140
USA

I like John for the most part and respect his stuff generally but sometimes he is just silly. So it is an undisputed reality that the speed of sound in air at altitude is greater than at sea level, all else held constant (temperature, humidity etc.). To mitigate this reality for the purpose of needing his residence at 7000 feet to be a constant in his experiments he adjusts the temperature and uses a dubious measurement technique (both by his own admission) and expects us to take him seriously as a scientist.
 
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Speedskater

Well-Known Member
Sep 30, 2010
941
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Cleveland Ohio
Sillier yet is to think that altitude, temperature, humidity etc. will affect sound quality in a residential situation. Now in another forum, there is a guy that installs sound systems in large stadiums and arenas. So he has to deal with these factors.
 

BlueFox

Member Sponsor
Nov 8, 2013
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I found that speakers sound best in a vacuum, but maintaining it is a PITA.
 

DaveyF

Well-Known Member
Jul 31, 2010
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La Jolla, Calif USA
At least the salt lamp isn't trying to change the speed of electrons in electricity or how quickly electricity travels, like another well known tweek that is being sold on A'gon for tens of thousands of $$'s. I shouldn't talk, however, as I use the Shakti Hallograph's and they do seem to work very well...nobody seems to understand why, LOL:rolleyes:
 

spiritofmusic

Well-Known Member
Jun 13, 2013
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E. England
Davey, I think you'll find we have little idea why we like what we like.
 

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