Audiophile Guru Syndrome

[tima]

I started into forms to learn. Most forms are past that now. No one is teaching. Only the DIY forms teach.

There is a lot to learn in these threads:

Ultrasonic Cavitation & Cleaning Explained

With the growing interest in ultrasonic cleaning of records, the following information is being provided in the hope of providing some guidance on what is ultrasonic cavitation, what does it look like, what are the design rules for ultrasonic tanks, how do cleaning agents/surfactants play-in...

www.whatsbestforum.com

tima's DIY RCM

I've written three articles about my adventures assembling an USC RCM - that's an UltraSonic Cleaning Record Cleaning Machine. The third installment was published today at Bill Hart's The Vinyl Press, so I thought to put the links here. Over the decades I used a variety of record cleaning...

www.whatsbestforum.com

 

[Music and Wine]

Hi Everyone.

I really like the comments from Ralph Karsten.Somebody that talks sense and has years and years of experience .He writes and argues like a scientist and it makes scene to me.There are a lot of people with good comments,some I personally take seriously and some people less.

About the single ended amps,everything he has written is scientifically and factual and true in my world.I got 5 single ended amps,with 2A3 - 300b- 211- Gm70 and 212 tubes and only on very high efficiency speakers,they work,not 100% perfect,, but very musical.Yes ,the bass can sometimes be a weak point of single ended amps,but sometimes it’s the also the recording.Every sane person will never expect the same quality of bass under 20hz from a single ended amp as from a big solid state or good class D amp,but when you got a good single ended amp with the proper speaker,it can sound very good.


Nobody’s got the right to claim they got all the knowledge and wisdom and golden ears.Yes this Guru syndrome is all over the world in all different hobbies and work related subjects,even in politics.Just look what is going on today.Today’s facts are tomorrow’s lies,or the other way around .



After 4 years I am returning.I am still reading most posts.In 2021 ,I have decided that I won’t post anything anymore.The reason was that I am by education a physicist and chemist and mathematician and in all three PH.D or DS.c (Doctor of Science) .I lectured for many very well known Universities around the globe.Now I am semi retired.

Were I got a little annoyed was,that most people don’t want want to hear about ,what science has to say ,but rather listen to none factual commentary and Ideas.I am not the one who will tell anybody what to believe or do with his money.I believe everyone must decide themselves,because I do know,that ultimately I know very little and everyone should decide their own fate and way of living.

It was all about a small fuse,that cost many thousand of $$.The claim was,they got rid off the bottleneck and now the current can flow better and by installing the fuse you will find audio Nirvana.Lost of people claim lost of things,but claiming that’s these fuses got something to do with quantum physics,this is absolutely obscure and none factual.My team and myself studied and researched super conductors for almost 20 years and spent many millions of government and industry money and millions of my own money on it,then somebody ,most probably with a fake “Fluke”multimeter found the holy grail of super conductors.Very very unlikely

I very fortunate person and can basically buy myself whatever I want and I bought these fuses ,even the most expensive ones and tested them in a very highly acclaimed Lab.I also listen to them.I never posted the results,because,the results will and don’t matter to most people .Today’s world has changed substantially.In the past ,if you wanted a informed opinion,you went to a educated and knowledgeable person,today you ask google or AI or Tiktok and the answer is fast and free of charge.You decide what is better.Ego’s are sometimes bigger than facts or logic or IQ.

Some people believe in alternative facts,some make up their own facts,some believe in voodoo and some are more inclined to trust science.Science is not always correct,but it in most instances the most reliable and most accurate and even the most compassionate,because without science we would still live in the stone age and our life expectancy would be 30-35 years and we would definitely not listen to audio

Then you get people trusting their ears,but is hearing factual ,no is is not.This is not my words,but somebody ,I really trust,someone who is still lecturing as a Professor in the medical field as ENT Professor,this is my wife.Our ears or our eyes or our own brain is anything but 100% factual.We often hear what we want to hear or see what we want to see.Our brain compensate for our inability to hear certain frequencies.Our eyes see sometimes things that do not exist and our subconscious mind,fights with our conscious mind constantly,for reality.Now this is where science comes in,if you use correct data,your results will be good and if you got somebody looking at the same data again and gets the same results and answers,then you got relative good and correct results .

Today we can measure a lot of things in audio,the problem is not the measurement,but to understand ,the correlation and complexity of these.The best does not exist,even an amp for $1 million or speaker of this price are not perfect and how everything matches in a system is difficult and then the biggest aspect the room acoustic.Nobody can predict the outcome.

Should we listen to Gurus or people that know it all?, No we should listen to our heart and mind and even if it not perfect ,it’s ok .It is our own decision and we should be happy with it.I really don’t care if other people like my system or not.I built it for myself.Yes,I read about new products and it’s interesting and sometimes the new products are really good and sometimes,only the packaging changed.New chassis,all designed by famous designers and lots of famous and beautiful metals,but inside you see cheap and not the best components ,diodes,resistors,capacitors,cables.

I don’t know if anybody has even seen in real life,what people use ,that built expensive satellites use.I always thought,they use good- average, normal components ,no ,they use components that they know and tested and many are specially designed,for the purpose.These components are ridiculously expensive.

The question is what got satellites got to do with audio,well if the prices go up for audio like now ,within my lifetime,I will see audio components with the same price as satellites.I am middle 60.Satellites getting smaller and cheaper and audio products get more expensive.

Take advice from people with knowledge and integrity and explain your circumstances and use their advice,but make up your own mind,that why we were given these things between our ears.Trust yourself but never think you know it all and learn from others mistakes and your own.

Audio is a hobby and even if we make a mistake,it not the end of the world and we should share the mistake and even be proud of it,by declaring we made a mistake.

Men are people that accept mistakes and men that can’t ,are still boys and will learn hopefully.

On this platform,many people write there own views and stories and that’s excellent.Even today I say if you got is a opinion,that’s great but explain this to me with facts ,not stories and convince me with arguments.I know some people are really good at it,in convincing even lies very convincing.I was not given the gift of using words to my advantage.

Some people got the gift of writing and some of talking and then you get politicians,they talk and talk and after an hour,I got no idea what they were saying.Interesting question,were they confused,or am I confused,or both.I don’t know.

That’s the reason I became a scientist and keep an open mind.

Maybe we should start a new topic,naming and explaining our biggest audio mistakes and why we made these stupid decisions at the time.I think,that would be fun.


Cheers and keep your mind,wide open and stick to logic.

 

[Rob181]

Hi Everyone.

I really like the comments from Ralph Karsten.Somebody that talks sense and has years and years of experience .He writes and argues like a scientist and it makes scene to me.There are a lot of people with good comments,some I personally take seriously and some people less.

About the single ended amps,everything he has written is scientifically and factual and true in my world.I got 5 single ended amps,with 2A3 - 300b- 211- Gm70 and 212 tubes and only on very high efficiency speakers,they work,not 100% perfect,, but very musical.Yes ,the bass can sometimes be a weak point of single ended amps,but sometimes it’s the also the recording.Every sane person will never expect the same quality of bass under 20hz from a single ended amp as from a big solid state or good class D amp,but when you got a good single ended amp with the proper speaker,it can sound very good.


Nobody’s got the right to claim they got all the knowledge and wisdom and golden ears.Yes this Guru syndrome is all over the world in all different hobbies and work related subjects,even in politics.Just look what is going on today.Today’s facts are tomorrow’s lies,or the other way around .



After 4 years I am returning.I am still reading most posts.In 2021 ,I have decided that I won’t post anything anymore.The reason was that I am by education a physicist and chemist and mathematician and in all three PH.D or DS.c (Doctor of Science) .I lectured for many very well known Universities around the globe.Now I am semi retired.

Were I got a little annoyed was,that most people don’t want want to hear about ,what science has to say ,but rather listen to none factual commentary and Ideas.I am not the one who will tell anybody what to believe or do with his money.I believe everyone must decide themselves,because I do know,that ultimately I know very little and everyone should decide their own fate and way of living.

It was all about a small fuse,that cost many thousand of $$.The claim was,they got rid off the bottleneck and now the current can flow better and by installing the fuse you will find audio Nirvana.Lost of people claim lost of things,but claiming that’s these fuses got something to do with quantum physics,this is absolutely obscure and none factual.My team and myself studied and researched super conductors for almost 20 years and spent many millions of government and industry money and millions of my own money on it,then somebody ,most probably with a fake “Fluke”multimeter found the holy grail of super conductors.Very very unlikely

I very fortunate person and can basically buy myself whatever I want and I bought these fuses ,even the most expensive ones and tested them in a very highly acclaimed Lab.I also listen to them.I never posted the results,because,the results will and don’t matter to most people .Today’s world has changed substantially.In the past ,if you wanted a informed opinion,you went to a educated and knowledgeable person,today you ask google or AI or Tiktok and the answer is fast and free of charge.You decide what is better.Ego’s are sometimes bigger than facts or logic or IQ.

Some people believe in alternative facts,some make up their own facts,some believe in voodoo and some are more inclined to trust science.Science is not always correct,but it in most instances the most reliable and most accurate and even the most compassionate,because without science we would still live in the stone age and our life expectancy would be 30-35 years and we would definitely not listen to audio

Then you get people trusting their ears,but is hearing factual ,no is is not.This is not my words,but somebody ,I really trust,someone who is still lecturing as a Professor in the medical field as ENT Professor,this is my wife.Our ears or our eyes or our own brain is anything but 100% factual.We often hear what we want to hear or see what we want to see.Our brain compensate for our inability to hear certain frequencies.Our eyes see sometimes things that do not exist and our subconscious mind,fights with our conscious mind constantly,for reality.Now this is where science comes in,if you use correct data,your results will be good and if you got somebody looking at the same data again and gets the same results and answers,then you got relative good and correct results .

Today we can measure a lot of things in audio,the problem is not the measurement,but to understand ,the correlation and complexity of these.The best does not exist,even an amp for $1 million or speaker of this price are not perfect and how everything matches in a system is difficult and then the biggest aspect the room acoustic.Nobody can predict the outcome.

Should we listen to Gurus or people that know it all?, No we should listen to our heart and mind and even if it not perfect ,it’s ok .It is our own decision and we should be happy with it.I really don’t care if other people like my system or not.I built it for myself.Yes,I read about new products and it’s interesting and sometimes the new products are really good and sometimes,only the packaging changed.New chassis,all designed by famous designers and lots of famous and beautiful metals,but inside you see cheap and not the best components ,diodes,resistors,capacitors,cables.

I don’t know if anybody has even seen in real life,what people use ,that built expensive satellites use.I always thought,they use good- average, normal components ,no ,they use components that they know and tested and many are specially designed,for the purpose.These components are ridiculously expensive.

The question is what got satellites got to do with audio,well if the prices go up for audio like now ,within my lifetime,I will see audio components with the same price as satellites.I am middle 60.Satellites getting smaller and cheaper and audio products get more expensive.

Take advice from people with knowledge and integrity and explain your circumstances and use their advice,but make up your own mind,that why we were given these things between our ears.Trust yourself but never think you know it all and learn from others mistakes and your own.

Audio is a hobby and even if we make a mistake,it not the end of the world and we should share the mistake and even be proud of it,by declaring we made a mistake.

Men are people that accept mistakes and men that can’t ,are still boys and will learn hopefully.

On this platform,many people write there own views and stories and that’s excellent.Even today I say if you got is a opinion,that’s great but explain this to me with facts ,not stories and convince me with arguments.I know some people are really good at it,in convincing even lies very convincing.I was not given the gift of using words to my advantage.

Some people got the gift of writing and some of talking and then you get politicians,they talk and talk and after an hour,I got no idea what they were saying.Interesting question,were they confused,or am I confused,or both.I don’t know.

That’s the reason I became a scientist and keep an open mind.

Maybe we should start a new topic,naming and explaining our biggest audio mistakes and why we made these stupid decisions at the time.I think,that would be fun.


Cheers and keep your mind,wide open and stick to logic.

Thank you for this excellent document - every word is very important - thought provoking - coming from a highly educated & knowledgable individual - once again - my sincere thanks...

One of the more interesting takeaways is this "
I don’t know if anybody has even seen in real life,what people use ,that built expensive satellites use.I always thought,they use good- average, normal components ,no ,they use components that they know and tested and many are specially designed,for the purpose.These components are ridiculously expensive.
The question is what got satellites got to do with audio,well if the prices go up for audio like now ,within my lifetime,I will see audio components with the same price as satellites.I am middle 60.Satellites getting smaller and cheaper and audio products get more expensive."

Bravo Sir...

 

[Kingrex]

Maybe we should start a new topic,naming and explaining our biggest audio mistakes and why we made these stupid decisions at the time.I think,that would be fun.

See my thread Sick of Failing Amplifiers. I cry a good tear over my mistake!!!

 

[Kingrex]

There is a lot to learn in these threads:

Ultrasonic Cavitation & Cleaning Explained

With the growing interest in ultrasonic cleaning of records, the following information is being provided in the hope of providing some guidance on what is ultrasonic cavitation, what does it look like, what are the design rules for ultrasonic tanks, how do cleaning agents/surfactants play-in...

www.whatsbestforum.com

tima's DIY RCM

I've written three articles about my adventures assembling an USC RCM - that's an UltraSonic Cleaning Record Cleaning Machine. The third installment was published today at Bill Hart's The Vinyl Press, so I thought to put the links here. Over the decades I used a variety of record cleaning...

www.whatsbestforum.com

Your DIY Record cleaner thread was one of the last great helpful threads.

 

[Anton D]

Music and Wine!

Stick around and we will talk wine.

 

[tima]

Your DIY Record cleaner thread was one of the last great helpful threads.

thank you !

 

[tima]

Every sane person will never expect the same quality of bass under 20hz from a single ended amp as from a big solid state or good class D amp,but when you got a good single ended amp with the proper speaker,it can sound very good.

I'm reluctant to make a universal judgement on sane people's expectations. However It's worth noting that no orchestral instrument other than a pipe organ goes below 20Hz and that is typically the cutoff point for excellent hearing. Below 20Hz yields more vibration than notes. With my SET amp and JBL speakers (35Hz--20kHz) I'm unconcerned about the relevancy of claims that SET amps don't have quality bass below 20Hz.

Then you get people trusting their ears,but is hearing factual ,no is is not.This is not my words,but somebody ,I really trust,someone who is still lecturing as a Professor in the medical field as ENT Professor,this is my wife.Our ears or our eyes or our own brain is anything but 100% factual.

That a person hears a song, sees a performance or has thoughts can be objectively demonstrated, given the standard meanings of hearing, seeing and thinking. Otherwise a claim that "hearing is not factual" strikes me as a giant category mistake.

 

[andromedaaudio]

Hi Everyone.

I really like the comments from Ralph Karsten.Somebody that talks sense and has years and years of experience .He writes and argues like a scientist and it makes scene to me.There are a lot of people with good comments,some I personally take seriously and some people less.

About the single ended amps,everything he has written is scientifically and factual and true in my world.I got 5 single ended amps,with 2A3 - 300b- 211- Gm70 and 212 tubes and only on very high efficiency speakers,they work,not 100% perfect,, but very musical.Yes ,the bass can sometimes be a weak point of single ended amps,but sometimes it’s the also the recording.Every sane person will never expect the same quality of bass under 20hz from a single ended amp as from a big solid state or good class D amp,but when you got a good single ended amp with the proper speaker,it can sound very good.


Nobody’s got the right to claim they got all the knowledge and wisdom and golden ears.Yes this Guru syndrome is all over the world in all different hobbies and work related subjects,even in politics.Just look what is going on today.Today’s facts are tomorrow’s lies,or the other way around .



After 4 years I am returning.I am still reading most posts.In 2021 ,I have decided that I won’t post anything anymore.The reason was that I am by education a physicist and chemist and mathematician and in all three PH.D or DS.c (Doctor of Science) .I lectured for many very well known Universities around the globe.Now I am semi retired.

Were I got a little annoyed was,that most people don’t want want to hear about ,what science has to say ,but rather listen to none factual commentary and Ideas.I am not the one who will tell anybody what to believe or do with his money.I believe everyone must decide themselves,because I do know,that ultimately I know very little and everyone should decide their own fate and way of living.

It was all about a small fuse,that cost many thousand of $$.The claim was,they got rid off the bottleneck and now the current can flow better and by installing the fuse you will find audio Nirvana.Lost of people claim lost of things,but claiming that’s these fuses got something to do with quantum physics,this is absolutely obscure and none factual.My team and myself studied and researched super conductors for almost 20 years and spent many millions of government and industry money and millions of my own money on it,then somebody ,most probably with a fake “Fluke”multimeter found the holy grail of super conductors.Very very unlikely

I very fortunate person and can basically buy myself whatever I want and I bought these fuses ,even the most expensive ones and tested them in a very highly acclaimed Lab.I also listen to them.I never posted the results,because,the results will and don’t matter to most people .Today’s world has changed substantially.In the past ,if you wanted a informed opinion,you went to a educated and knowledgeable person,today you ask google or AI or Tiktok and the answer is fast and free of charge.You decide what is better.Ego’s are sometimes bigger than facts or logic or IQ.

Some people believe in alternative facts,some make up their own facts,some believe in voodoo and some are more inclined to trust science.Science is not always correct,but it in most instances the most reliable and most accurate and even the most compassionate,because without science we would still live in the stone age and our life expectancy would be 30-35 years and we would definitely not listen to audio

Then you get people trusting their ears,but is hearing factual ,no is is not.This is not my words,but somebody ,I really trust,someone who is still lecturing as a Professor in the medical field as ENT Professor,this is my wife.Our ears or our eyes or our own brain is anything but 100% factual.We often hear what we want to hear or see what we want to see.Our brain compensate for our inability to hear certain frequencies.Our eyes see sometimes things that do not exist and our subconscious mind,fights with our conscious mind constantly,for reality.Now this is where science comes in,if you use correct data,your results will be good and if you got somebody looking at the same data again and gets the same results and answers,then you got relative good and correct results .

Today we can measure a lot of things in audio,the problem is not the measurement,but to understand ,the correlation and complexity of these.The best does not exist,even an amp for $1 million or speaker of this price are not perfect and how everything matches in a system is difficult and then the biggest aspect the room acoustic.Nobody can predict the outcome.

Should we listen to Gurus or people that know it all?, No we should listen to our heart and mind and even if it not perfect ,it’s ok .It is our own decision and we should be happy with it.I really don’t care if other people like my system or not.I built it for myself.Yes,I read about new products and it’s interesting and sometimes the new products are really good and sometimes,only the packaging changed.New chassis,all designed by famous designers and lots of famous and beautiful metals,but inside you see cheap and not the best components ,diodes,resistors,capacitors,cables.

I don’t know if anybody has even seen in real life,what people use ,that built expensive satellites use.I always thought,they use good- average, normal components ,no ,they use components that they know and tested and many are specially designed,for the purpose.These components are ridiculously expensive.

The question is what got satellites got to do with audio,well if the prices go up for audio like now ,within my lifetime,I will see audio components with the same price as satellites.I am middle 60.Satellites getting smaller and cheaper and audio products get more expensive.

Take advice from people with knowledge and integrity and explain your circumstances and use their advice,but make up your own mind,that why we were given these things between our ears.Trust yourself but never think you know it all and learn from others mistakes and your own.

Audio is a hobby and even if we make a mistake,it not the end of the world and we should share the mistake and even be proud of it,by declaring we made a mistake.

Men are people that accept mistakes and men that can’t ,are still boys and will learn hopefully.

On this platform,many people write there own views and stories and that’s excellent.Even today I say if you got is a opinion,that’s great but explain this to me with facts ,not stories and convince me with arguments.I know some people are really good at it,in convincing even lies very convincing.I was not given the gift of using words to my advantage.

Some people got the gift of writing and some of talking and then you get politicians,they talk and talk and after an hour,I got no idea what they were saying.Interesting question,were they confused,or am I confused,or both.I don’t know.

That’s the reason I became a scientist and keep an open mind.

Maybe we should start a new topic,naming and explaining our biggest audio mistakes and why we made these stupid decisions at the time.I think,that would be fun.


Cheers and keep your mind,wide open and stick to logic.

So you claim to have 3 PHDs .
You claim to have studied super conducters with your millions of $$ worth of budget .
You came to the conclusion its all based on nonsense and later you claim you are very " fortunate" and still bought them.

Im sorry but this smells like BS as George Carlin would say.
Still a good story lol.

 

[metei]

Another EE here, though I didn't pursue a career of it. It was mid 90's, computers were booming, I jumped to IT sector, then management then management in general and now I'm lightyears away in terms of profession, but the basic education is still there. Also what is there, is not only the university / college education on EE, but general problem detection and solving mindset that comes from early childhood that directs the person to the engineering field.
What You write about is valid not only for WBF, not only for internet forums in general, but our modern life in general. One side is pseudoscience, one side is people's egos, one side is it is a very subjective hobby and I guess there are few more sides to the story that I forgot to mention and all my following statements will be falsified through one of them :]] But one side I won't forget to mention is declining quality of education, both family (cultural) and academic education. People don't know the basics of problem assessment, step by step solution searching, and adequate application of solution. People also lack the basic notion of discussing / communicating. Communication, but more importantly discussion shall be a two-way interaction but nowadays people tend to listen to (or read their words online) just to pick up a few key words / points, and don't listen / read actively, they are just thinking of their next talk. Sometimes waiting impatiently their turn, most times not waiting, just cutting in and start talking. This is a problem I have while communicating, I listen actively, when other person's talk ends, I digest their ideas, form my ideas and start talking. Also, there is no patience anymore, anything and everything shall be short / quick, or dead. Most times, with most people, the duration I am digesting other statements and forming my ideas are wasted time, if it's two people communication the subject fades away, the other party jumps away to another subject, or if it more than two people, someone (not actively listening to the former speaker) jumps in and before I form my ideas and my sentences, the subject is a new one, what I was about to say are now old story. Just as I know (not scientifically though, I'm also good at making up scientific sounding data) more than 90 % of people reading this post of mine, will 'read' half of it, and skip through the other half, because it's too long, and talking about things they don't like to hear / read.
Also another problem is whataboutism (although not perfectly fitting in the recent discussion as it is, closest explanation is whataboutism). At times there are more than one sides of the subject being discussed (most of the time), one person states some argument, other party answers with another relevant looking but irrelevant side that supports their claim. And this vicious circle goes on and on.
The problem is where to draw the line. Since not being an industry professional, just a consumer, I have the luxury of throwing my two cents in, turning and waking away, which You don't have. What people miss is that the hardcore engineers, have a sense of duty against the society, as doctors have. Like when a doctor can't stand when people talk ... against vaccines, an engineer (of any discipline) feels the urge to correct the scientific misunderstanding that exists in front of them, that's an itch to them.
Yes, not every person is not supposed to be equipped with scientific thinking and understanding. Even there are people switching to education and career routes that they won't need to deal with math anymore. Yes it is normal that people have their opinions, especially on the very subjective areas (as HiFi). Yes hearing (or more accurately perception by brain of what is heard) is ultra subjective and having read many books of psycho-acoustics, hearing and brain, I know how deceiving it can be, how much perception is connected to anticipation. But like You, I am confused when people regret basic scientific fact by subjective perception.
The thing is, (and especially for WBF level of HiFi system values) even if people may have gotten into this hobby long ago and stayed humble for a long time, going into the higher-end area comes with a good amount of financial wealth and that comes with a good amount of career success. (Almost) Nobody would buy a 300K High-End HiFi system before having bought their own house, placed a good retirement plan aside and bought their significant other (at least) a car of their own :]] So the people You are discussing with (especially on WBF) are successful people. For most, it has been a long time any person has told them they are wrong, or throughout their life, they have proven wrong all the people telling them they are wrong. Most are the smartest person in every room they enter and that ego pumps and piles up through their lives.
Even without noticing it, You and I might be doing something similar to our doctor, car technician, gardener, plumber.. I use car analogy very much for HiFi, and it suits very good to many cases. Owning a HiFi system is like owning a car. More money, better one. After some point, the diminishing returns skyrockets. At some point one has to choose and switch to one no matter how much money spent, because both can not exist under one hood, or have to have one of both. As in the example of having an SUV and a sports car. But when You say "an SUV is heavier than a sports car in weight" and other person answers "while driving I feel my sports car heavier" that is where the problem starts. Even sometimes some people are "I feel like my SUV goes faster than Your sports car, and You can't make me believe otherwise because that's how I feel".
Sometimes I'm amazed how all this hearing, music, recording and reproducing sound, HiFi thing goes. We hear "one single" waveform and from inside that waveform We assort different ingredients. It is like eating a dish and assorting the spices in it. Seems some kind of magical, but also so ordinary that We all do it in many forms in our daily lives. Not everyone has to be a gourmet, yes every person can have a taste that they like or not. If an audiophile with a good ear is the equivalent of gourmet, the technical person in production is the chef in the kitchen. Stating I have a wonderful taste palate so I know which ingredients will go better in this dish (i.e. cooking) better than the chef is not the correct statement. Or to stick to the car example, We all drive our cars (We believe better than anyone on the road, especially that old lady), We can change the oil, change the tires (if We want to) but when there is a clucking sound coming from the engine, most of us go to the car technician. I believe the thing is to know when the car tech says "You shall switch to these tires, they will run with less noise", the right answer (after actively listening to them) would be "if it's not safety related, I prefer these" but not "no these tires are the best ever, I know better than You, You know nothing about cars". And be wise enough when the tech says "You shouldn't use these tires because they are safety threatening"
On another note, that SET + Horns vs. rest of the world kind of attitude and any and all kinds of threads, even the most remotely related ones turning into one on the subject is the biggest down side of WBF. Many people just read through forums, try to sort out valuable information from the subject and thread hijacks, sometimes loose hope and quit reading or skip the one bit of useful and valuable information while jumping through pages of non contributing posts. But hey, this is a free of charge online forum, and that kind of forum content is as old as internet is.

 

[tima]

Paragraphs are both conceptual poles and visual gestalts.

 

[Music and Wine]

Hi Andromenda and Anton D

I bought the fuses in 2021 because I wanted to prove that the claim is wrong.If you followed the discussion at the time,you will understand.I never stated super conductors are nonsense,just somebody claiming using some sort of quantum science in a fuse,because you need a big lab and many people and a big budget ,to do the research and if somebody really got some valid data,please be open and share with us ,the new science.Science is only science if you can prove it to other scientists.

A good colleague of mine ,teaching Philosophy,said to me,don’t try convincing somebody,you can not win the argument,because it is irrelevant in most cases in today’s world.That’s why I never posted the results,sometimes keeping quiet is better and not try to win an argument.

I mostly like your comment Andromenda and we are basically not living far from each other.You in the Netherland and I am just across the Rhine river.

I am fortunate,if you know where I came from.A boy ,that started life with less than nothing,very very poor backgrounds,very good parents,but they had minimal education.In the first 2 years of school I didn’t have shoes,never had a bicycle at school,but went with 15 to university,all with grants and scholarships.No I am not a native African,born in a small village ,I was born in Germany but immigated with my patents to Africa when I was very young, 3 years old.

This is why I say,I am now fortunate.I was able to give my children,these things my parents could not.Now I care for my parents,no just with money but also with my own hands,because I see it as my duty and privilege my parents are almost 90 and my other two sisters live in Australia and Belgium and still work and don’t have time.



I don’t spend that much money on HiFi anymore,beause my system is ok and now have spent most of my money to help other,the others are Ukraine refugees,quite a few work for me or for my company and some live in my apartments ,some are already old and I support them,for free and I have traveled 8 times with my wife to Ukraine,she is a medical doctor,to help and we try to do what we can.This is a privilege and I am fortunate,to be able to help

It is for me a privilege to help.This is what I mean by privilege.

Hi Anton D

Yes,we should talk about the good wines we have consumed with pleasure and still want to drink.
In 2020 ,I was diagnosed with Parkinson MSA and the doctors gave 5 -7 years,but I am still quite fit and agile and still do sport every day and much fitter than most my age.I still got many great wines in my cellar,that need drinking.I already made my list,the list of wines I still want to drink with family and friends.Yes backetlist wines.

I wish everyone a great day with good music

Cheers

 

[Music and Wine]

Hi Andromenda and Anton D

I bought the fuses in 2021 because I wanted to prove that the claim is wrong.If you followed the discussion at the time,you will understand.I never stated super conductors are nonsense,just somebody claiming using some sort of quantum science in a fuse,because you need a big lab and many people and a big budget ,to do the research and if somebody really got some valid data,please be open and share with us ,the new science.Science is only science if you can prove it to other scientists.

A good colleague of mine ,teaching Philosophy,said to me,don’t try convincing somebody,you can not win the argument,because it is irrelevant in most cases in today’s world.That’s why I never posted the results,sometimes keeping quiet is better and not try to win an argument.

I mostly like your comment Andromenda and we are basically not living far from each other.You in the Netherland and I am just across the Rhine river.

I am fortunate,if you know where I came from.A boy ,that started life with less than nothing,very very poor backgrounds,very good parents,but they had minimal education.In the first 2 years of school I didn’t have shoes,never had a bicycle at school,but went with 15 to university,all with grants and scholarships.No I am not a native African,born in a small village ,I was born in Germany but immigated with my patents to Africa when I was very young, 3 years old.

This is why I say,I am now fortunate.I was able to give my children,these things my parents could not.Now I care for my parents,no just with money but also with my own hands,because I see it as my duty and privilege my parents are almost 90 and my other two sisters live in Australia and Belgium and still work and don’t have time.



I don’t spend that much money on HiFi anymore,beause my system is ok and now have spent most of my money to help other,the others are Ukraine refugees,quite a few work for me or for my company and some live in my apartments ,some are already old and I support them,for free and I have traveled 8 times with my wife to Ukraine,she is a medical doctor,to help and we try to do what we can.This is a privilege and I am fortunate,to be able to help

It is for me a privilege to help.This is what I mean by privilege.

Hi Anton D

Yes,we should talk about the good wines we have consumed with pleasure and still want to drink.
In 2020 ,I was diagnosed with Parkinson MSA and the doctors gave 5 -7 years,but I am still quite fit and agile and still do sport every day and much fitter than most my age.I still got many great wines in my cellar,that need drinking.I already made my list,the list of wines I still want to drink with family and friends.Yes backetlist wines.

I wish everyone a great day with good music

Cheers

Hi Andromenda and Anton D

I bought the fuses in 2021 because I wanted to prove that the claim is wrong.If you followed the discussion at the time,you will understand.I never stated super conductors are nonsense,just somebody claiming using some sort of quantum science in a fuse,because you need a big lab and many people and a big budget ,to do the research and if somebody really got some valid data,please be open and share with us ,the new science.Science is only science if you can prove it to other scientists.

A good colleague of mine ,teaching Philosophy,said to me,don’t try convincing somebody,you can not win the argument,because it is irrelevant in most cases in today’s world.That’s why I never posted the results,sometimes keeping quiet is better and not try to win an argument.

I mostly like your comment Andromenda and we are basically not living far from each other.You in the Netherland and I am just across the Rhine river.

I am fortunate,if you know where I came from.A boy ,that started life with less than nothing,very very poor backgrounds,very good parents,but they had minimal education.In the first 2 years of school I didn’t have shoes,never had a bicycle at school,but went with 15 to university,all with grants and scholarships.No I am not a native African,born in a small village ,I was born in Germany but immigated with my patents to Africa when I was very young, 3 years old.

This is why I say,I am now fortunate.I was able to give my children,these things my parents could not.Now I care for my parents,no just with money but also with my own hands,because I see it as my duty and privilege my parents are almost 90 and my other two sisters live in Australia and Belgium and still work and don’t have time.



I don’t spend that much money on HiFi anymore,beause my system is ok and now have spent most of my money to help other,the others are Ukraine refugees,quite a few work for me or for my company and some live in my apartments ,some are already old and I support them,for free and I have traveled 8 times with my wife to Ukraine,she is a medical doctor,to help and we try to do what we can.This is a privilege and I am fortunate,to be able to help

It is for me a privilege to help.This is what I mean by privilege.

Hi Anton D

Yes,we should talk about the good wines we have consumed with pleasure and still want to drink.
In 2020 ,I was diagnosed with Parkinson MSA and the doctors gave 5 -7 years,but I am still quite fit and agile and still do sport every day and much fitter than most my age.I still got many great wines in my cellar,that need drinking.I already made my list,the list of wines I still want to drink with family and friends.Yes backetlist wines.

I wish everyone a great day with good music

Cheers

Hello Metei

Very well written,I agree with you 1000%

 

[Music and Wine]

Hi Metei

Very well written,I agree 1000%

 

[spiritofmusic]

Nice name for a new cable .


OXYTOCIN quantum tech cables

There’s also the social glue. Oxytocin, the “social hormone,” increases trust toward in-group members while promoting skepticism toward outsiders. Veteran audiophiles and prominent reviewers function as gatekeepers whose opinions “can substantially shape community beliefs and norms.” What results is cognitive conformity, where members publicly endorse claims they privately doubt.




But there is hope .
Members might actually privately doubt certain claims made by " Gurus "

The below state has obviously not been achieved yet on WBF going by the often heated discussions lol

" What results is cognitive conformity, "

Oxytocin also floods women who are to give birth.
You could say the Oxytocin Max range cables of cables leaves users "pregnant with excitement".

 

[Rensselaer]

The problem there is SETs really do have a problem with bass, whether I say so or not!

One attempt to deal with the problem is a kind of SET known as a parafeed, which uses a coupling capacitor and choke plate load to couple to the output transformer. This eliminates the need for a gapped core in the output transformer since there's no DC current. But the coupling cap between the power tube and the output transformer introduces its own problems.

The above I believe, demonstrates EE training/thinking. I suspect electrical engineers are educated with all the necessary tools to imagine and provide (sometimes very eloquent) solutions to electrical design problems. Brick wall filters, negative feedback and the rest are examples.

I doubt however if their curriculum covers which design principles (like minimal components in the signal path) results in the most life-like music reproduction.



I believe the reason those of us that are into SETs and efficient horns chose those systems because we get the presence, realness and emotional satisfaction that other systems we have heard haven’t been able to provide. No system I have ever heard provides everything, so I am ok with a loss of detail below 40Hz as long as I get a natural sound with the greatest in the room presence.

From my perspective it appears that people often buy SETs thinking they are an end all solution,

Now you’re getting it.

So from my perspective, this is a matter of knowing what you know, knowing what you don't know, and finally, the important bit which is blind spot for all of us, not knowing about what you don't,

This is where you alienate people. You are implying that people who eschewed full bass by buying SETs, in exchange for a more realistic musical experience, are ignorant, when in truth they have listened to highly engineered systems and found them lacking.

is simply not realizing how much information is really down there and how that affects your response to the music, having never heard the recording on a system that can actually reproduce it.

Spending a significant amount of money for reproduction of a full frequency spectrum, at the expense of any true emotional connection to the actual music, would be stupid.

 

[Music and Wine]

Hi Everyone

Yes,everyone is entitled to have a opinion and that’s great and nobody knows it all.There are experts in certain fields,also in audio with many years of experience.

I came to this side to learn.

Even if people have different opions,we should respect the other opinion,we don’t have to share them.This is what got lost in the last years.We are humans and should treat others like humans,with respect and dignity .

Education is a problem in many many countries,that makes me really sad.I was looking at how much the government’s spent on education the other day and especially in Germany is just shocking and what surprised me ,that some small poor countries spend so much more.In my company’s,I got people from 55 different countries and if you think they are mostly German,no they are not,because the education in my native country is not what it should be,especially in the ladt 30 years.

I just asking, please don’t attack everybody personally if you don’t agree.Attack the problem,not the person.

We should be here to share our love for our hobby,not hate and disrespect and anger towards others.

These are not my words,but somebody’s else’s words .Human without humanity are not humans but only Homo sapiens.Human should mean wise man apparently.

Lets forget our differences,but let join in humanity and show we are real humans.

Cheers

 

[JiminGa]

Hi Everyone.

I really like the comments from Ralph Karsten.Somebody that talks sense and has years and years of experience .He writes and argues like a scientist and it makes scene to me.There are a lot of people with good comments,some I personally take seriously and some people less.

About the single ended amps,everything he has written is scientifically and factual and true in my world.I got 5 single ended amps,with 2A3 - 300b- 211- Gm70 and 212 tubes and only on very high efficiency speakers,they work,not 100% perfect,, but very musical.Yes ,the bass can sometimes be a weak point of single ended amps,but sometimes it’s the also the recording.Every sane person will never expect the same quality of bass under 20hz from a single ended amp as from a big solid state or good class D amp,but when you got a good single ended amp with the proper speaker,it can sound very good.


Nobody’s got the right to claim they got all the knowledge and wisdom and golden ears.Yes this Guru syndrome is all over the world in all different hobbies and work related subjects,even in politics.Just look what is going on today.Today’s facts are tomorrow’s lies,or the other way around .



After 4 years I am returning.I am still reading most posts.In 2021 ,I have decided that I won’t post anything anymore.The reason was that I am by education a physicist and chemist and mathematician and in all three PH.D or DS.c (Doctor of Science) .I lectured for many very well known Universities around the globe.Now I am semi retired.

Were I got a little annoyed was,that most people don’t want want to hear about ,what science has to say ,but rather listen to none factual commentary and Ideas.I am not the one who will tell anybody what to believe or do with his money.I believe everyone must decide themselves,because I do know,that ultimately I know very little and everyone should decide their own fate and way of living.

It was all about a small fuse,that cost many thousand of $$.The claim was,they got rid off the bottleneck and now the current can flow better and by installing the fuse you will find audio Nirvana.Lost of people claim lost of things,but claiming that’s these fuses got something to do with quantum physics,this is absolutely obscure and none factual.My team and myself studied and researched super conductors for almost 20 years and spent many millions of government and industry money and millions of my own money on it,then somebody ,most probably with a fake “Fluke”multimeter found the holy grail of super conductors.Very very unlikely

I very fortunate person and can basically buy myself whatever I want and I bought these fuses ,even the most expensive ones and tested them in a very highly acclaimed Lab.I also listen to them.I never posted the results,because,the results will and don’t matter to most people .Today’s world has changed substantially.In the past ,if you wanted a informed opinion,you went to a educated and knowledgeable person,today you ask google or AI or Tiktok and the answer is fast and free of charge.You decide what is better.Ego’s are sometimes bigger than facts or logic or IQ.

Some people believe in alternative facts,some make up their own facts,some believe in voodoo and some are more inclined to trust science.Science is not always correct,but it in most instances the most reliable and most accurate and even the most compassionate,because without science we would still live in the stone age and our life expectancy would be 30-35 years and we would definitely not listen to audio

Then you get people trusting their ears,but is hearing factual ,no is is not.This is not my words,but somebody ,I really trust,someone who is still lecturing as a Professor in the medical field as ENT Professor,this is my wife.Our ears or our eyes or our own brain is anything but 100% factual.We often hear what we want to hear or see what we want to see.Our brain compensate for our inability to hear certain frequencies.Our eyes see sometimes things that do not exist and our subconscious mind,fights with our conscious mind constantly,for reality.Now this is where science comes in,if you use correct data,your results will be good and if you got somebody looking at the same data again and gets the same results and answers,then you got relative good and correct results .

Today we can measure a lot of things in audio,the problem is not the measurement,but to understand ,the correlation and complexity of these.The best does not exist,even an amp for $1 million or speaker of this price are not perfect and how everything matches in a system is difficult and then the biggest aspect the room acoustic.Nobody can predict the outcome.

Should we listen to Gurus or people that know it all?, No we should listen to our heart and mind and even if it not perfect ,it’s ok .It is our own decision and we should be happy with it.I really don’t care if other people like my system or not.I built it for myself.Yes,I read about new products and it’s interesting and sometimes the new products are really good and sometimes,only the packaging changed.New chassis,all designed by famous designers and lots of famous and beautiful metals,but inside you see cheap and not the best components ,diodes,resistors,capacitors,cables.

I don’t know if anybody has even seen in real life,what people use ,that built expensive satellites use.I always thought,they use good- average, normal components ,no ,they use components that they know and tested and many are specially designed,for the purpose.These components are ridiculously expensive.

The question is what got satellites got to do with audio,well if the prices go up for audio like now ,within my lifetime,I will see audio components with the same price as satellites.I am middle 60.Satellites getting smaller and cheaper and audio products get more expensive.

Take advice from people with knowledge and integrity and explain your circumstances and use their advice,but make up your own mind,that why we were given these things between our ears.Trust yourself but never think you know it all and learn from others mistakes and your own.

Audio is a hobby and even if we make a mistake,it not the end of the world and we should share the mistake and even be proud of it,by declaring we made a mistake.

Men are people that accept mistakes and men that can’t ,are still boys and will learn hopefully.

On this platform,many people write there own views and stories and that’s excellent.Even today I say if you got is a opinion,that’s great but explain this to me with facts ,not stories and convince me with arguments.I know some people are really good at it,in convincing even lies very convincing.I was not given the gift of using words to my advantage.

Some people got the gift of writing and some of talking and then you get politicians,they talk and talk and after an hour,I got no idea what they were saying.Interesting question,were they confused,or am I confused,or both.I don’t know.

That’s the reason I became a scientist and keep an open mind.

Maybe we should start a new topic,naming and explaining our biggest audio mistakes and why we made these stupid decisions at the time.I think,that would be fun.


Cheers and keep your mind,wide open and stick to logic.

We should not blindly follow gurus and we should not blindly follow science. We do all hear/interpret sounds differently. The goal is to choose equipment which pleases us in some meaningful way. Only the individual can can determine this for themselves by listening and not ceding this decision to some guru or scientist neither of whom are in any position to render any meaningful judgment on our behalf.

 

[Rob181]

This is where you alienate people. You are implying that people who eschewed full bass by buying SETs, in exchange for a more realistic musical experience, are ignorant when in most likelihood they have listened to highly engineered systems and found them lacking.

The only people alienated are those who don't (or don't want to) have the technical understanding to know that the ability of sets to adequately drive the bass units of most speakers is highly compromised.

Regardless of what you hear - this is an undeniable fact & if that alienates people - that is their problem....

 

[morricab]

Hi Andromenda and Anton D

I bought the fuses in 2021 because I wanted to prove that the claim is wrong.If you followed the discussion at the time,you will understand.I never stated super conductors are nonsense,just somebody claiming using some sort of quantum science in a fuse,because you need a big lab and many people and a big budget ,to do the research and if somebody really got some valid data,please be open and share with us ,the new science.Science is only science if you can prove it to other scientists.

A good colleague of mine ,teaching Philosophy,said to me,don’t try convincing somebody,you can not win the argument,because it is irrelevant in most cases in today’s world.That’s why I never posted the results,sometimes keeping quiet is better and not try to win an argument.

I mostly like your comment Andromenda and we are basically not living far from each other.You in the Netherland and I am just across the Rhine river.

I am fortunate,if you know where I came from.A boy ,that started life with less than nothing,very very poor backgrounds,very good parents,but they had minimal education.In the first 2 years of school I didn’t have shoes,never had a bicycle at school,but went with 15 to university,all with grants and scholarships.No I am not a native African,born in a small village ,I was born in Germany but immigated with my patents to Africa when I was very young, 3 years old.

This is why I say,I am now fortunate.I was able to give my children,these things my parents could not.Now I care for my parents,no just with money but also with my own hands,because I see it as my duty and privilege my parents are almost 90 and my other two sisters live in Australia and Belgium and still work and don’t have time.



I don’t spend that much money on HiFi anymore,beause my system is ok and now have spent most of my money to help other,the others are Ukraine refugees,quite a few work for me or for my company and some live in my apartments ,some are already old and I support them,for free and I have traveled 8 times with my wife to Ukraine,she is a medical doctor,to help and we try to do what we can.This is a privilege and I am fortunate,to be able to help

It is for me a privilege to help.This is what I mean by privilege.

Hi Anton D

Yes,we should talk about the good wines we have consumed with pleasure and still want to drink.
In 2020 ,I was diagnosed with Parkinson MSA and the doctors gave 5 -7 years,but I am still quite fit and agile and still do sport every day and much fitter than most my age.I still got many great wines in my cellar,that need drinking.I already made my list,the list of wines I still want to drink with family and friends.Yes backetlist wines.

I wish everyone a great day with good music

Cheers

Did you actually try using the fuses in your system or did you simply measure them and conclude that they can't possibly work...never mind the hyperbole about how they work... a sincere question from one scientist (I have a Ph.D in Analytical Chemistry) to another. In my world, science doesn't start with measurement, it starts with observation (that might or might not include measurements) and then hypothesis generation. Measurements often come as a way to test a hypothesis can only falsify not confirm.

I see some rather contradictory statements in your posts, for example how you basically conclude the fuses can't work but you are using SET amps, despite guys like Ralph claiming that they can't work well and the 'objectivists' claiming they are simply distortion generators. If you conclude that distortion = bad sound then of course it is obvious to pursue a low/no distortion path. At least once in your life you have taken the 'it sounds better than other options' path and chosen SET, despite objectivist viewpoints to the contrary. Do you have a good hypothesis for why that might be?

Following some neuroscience psychoacoustics one quickly sees that it is not that simple. That is also science, but a far messier form of science than Chemistry or Physics. One has to deal in probabilities and low correlation coefficients that are part in parcel with psychology. What this approach strongly suggests are that very tiny system perturbations (or distortions if you want) can barely be measured but are clearly audible nonetheless.

Does that mean I buy all the arguments for HOW things are supposedly working? No, but it is not uncommon to try to fill the void of knowledge with some kind of explanation (we can call it an act of God if that makes someone happier), which is not the same as being certain it doesn't work as described.