Back in the 80's, when I first got interested in hi-fidelity audio, I came to learn the term "audiophile" was somebody who loved great sound reproduction. Therefore, I considered myself an audiophile.

I would continue to do so, but it seems like the term now applies to a dark secret order of mystics who believe in the non-science based unaudible qualities of equipment and components that all share nothing more than the common trait of being at least 4 times more expensive than a similarity performing piece of ordinary gear.

 

Back in the 80's, when I first got interested in hi-fidelity audio, I came to learn the term "audiophile" was somebody who loved great sound reproduction. Therefore, I considered myself an audiophile.

I would continue to do so, but it seems like the term now applies to a dark secret order of mystics who believe in the non-science based unaudible qualities of equipment and components that all share nothing more than the common trait of being at least 4 times more expensive than a similarity performing piece of ordinary gear.

Never underestimate the dark side of the pseudosoundforce...

 

Yeah, I CAN hear a difference. It's only $20K you said? NICE!

 

Yeah, I CAN hear a difference. It's only $20K you said? NICE!

I love all the precision pieces and then, the critical piece of unfinished lumber in the center of everything. I'm not sure if this was assembled or photoshopped as a joke or a real turntable, but it is humorous to me!

 

I love all the precision pieces and then, the critical piece of unfinished lumber in the center of everything. I'm not sure if this was assembled or photoshopped as a joke or a real turntable, but it is humorous to me!

That piece of wood my friend... is actually a calibrated tesseract of 4-dimensional cellulose that sends all the undesirable rogue acoustic vibro-waves of the device out into hyperspace, where they then harmlessly dissipate into the void...

 

I thought it might be an old scroll saw that was modified for the purpose. Or could a rube goldberg device for audiophiles.

Maybe I'm in the wrong business. I should be selling fancy little black boxes to these guys with enormous ears and larger egos, because, they seem to have wallets even larger. And a fascinating willingness to give it away for nothing more than a promise that a superstition actually DOES create a more realistic reality of music reproduction realism.

REALLY

 

That piece of wood my friend... is actually a calibrated tesseract of 4-dimensional cellulose that sends all the undesirable rogue acoustic vibro-waves of the device out into hyperspace, where they then harmlessly dissipate into the void...

However, a change of just 1% relative humidity affects the dynamic range by 0.784 dB.

And Douglas Fir imbues the vinyl with a warmer, more open and organic, tone than common pine.

 

Yeah, I CAN hear a difference. It's only $20K you said? NICE!

That looks interesting actually. There is a vintage microscope head (Leica?) on the left side, some sort of sliding mechanism under the table. Is there another needle cartridge that is stationary and the table moves under it?

 

a change of just 1% relative humidity affects the dynamic range by 0.784 dB.

The new Mk3A version will be available soon for only $25k, featuring a humidistat and micron-resolution servo calibrated to compensate for the Douglas Fir dimensional/relative-humidity profile.

 

Here's a sim you might find informative/convincing/amusing....
It models a 5 Ohm ribbon speaker when driven by a 1V amplitude 25kHz signal (deemed the maximum of interest in the real world) from a 0.5 Ohm source, via ~10 metres of (1) 'normal' cable with a 100 Ohm characteristic impedance and (2) ribbon cable with a 5 Ohm characteristic impedance. The transmission line model in each case is lossless.
As can be seen from the FFT plots, the 'normal' cable plot has a secondary peak at ~3MHZ, some 55dB below the main peak.
The ribbon cable FFT plot secondary peak is at ~2.5MHz, some 60dB below the main peak.
Arguably, the ribbon cable introduces slightly less distortion (obviously the trumpeted selling point ), but this is entirely academic because the 25kHz signal, and certainly any signal in the MHz region, is completely inaudible regardless of its level.
View attachment 80046

Here is the LT Spice. Couldn't get QUCS to simulate. My 1st attempt at a spice thing.

 

kelpf,
Did you know if you decreased the time step in that simulation it would be even more accurate? -98 db instead of -99!


Oh no! did I say that?

 

The ribbon drivers. These cables are for the ribbons only. I can't afford this stuff, so I build it instead.

 

However, a change of just 1% relative humidity affects the dynamic range by 0.784 dB.

And Douglas Fir imbues the vinyl with a warmer, more open and organic, tone than common pine.

Not to mention with a high degree of sustainability and also gluten-free...

 

6-N Twin lead left vs First ribbon right.

 

Welcome to LTspice-world!

Couldn't get QUCS to simulate

What is QUCS?
The Td value in your first sim implies a transmission line length of ~1metre. Is that reasonable?
Why the inductors in series with the transmission lines in your sims? The transmission line model has inherent inductance and capacitance.
I'm unclear what you're trying to demonstrate in the second sim? Seems to be comparing chalk with cheese, since the transmission line delays are different.

 

Hello Alec,

Qucs is an other free simulator:
http://qucs.sourceforge.net/
http://qucs.sourceforge.net/screenshots.html

Bertus

 

Welcome to LTspice-world!
What is QUCS?
The Td value in your first sim implies a transmission line length of ~1metre. Is that reasonable?
Why the inductors in series with the transmission lines in your sims? The transmission line model has inherent inductance and capacitance.
I'm unclear what you're trying to demonstrate in the second sim? Seems to be comparing chalk with cheese, since the transmission line delays are different.

As I read, the Td was the transit time. The Zo was per meter. OK, so no inductors and caps since they are built into the Zo, ? The TL are different types, different delays.

 

Hello Alec,

Qucs is an other free simulator:
http://qucs.sourceforge.net/
http://qucs.sourceforge.net/screenshots.html

Bertus

I wasn't aware of Qucs, thanks for posting. Would you consider it on par with LTspice?

 

Hello,

I have it on my computer, but have not tried it yet.
I have attached the technical manual of qucs, so you can have a look at its capabilities.

Bertus

 

As I read, the Td was the transit time

Agreed. 8.3ns delay is shown for the first sim. That would correspond to ~2.7metres metres in free space. What velocity factor do we assume for the line? If 40%, then the modelled line is ~1 metre.

The Zo was per meter.

Zo = characteristic impedance, which is not length dependent.

Thanks for the QUCS info, Bertus.