by Michael

POWER OUTAGE LAST NIGHT

We had 90-100+ mph winds here for the last few days. After awhile it always seems to wear down the electrical network here in the mountains and yesterday was no exception.

First the power would go off and then come back on a second later – and it would do this every hour or so.

Then it would go off/on/off/on/off/on… and then stay on for an hour or two, then repeat.

We think “This just CAN’T be good for all the equipment”, (duh), and as time wore on we kept, not just turning things off, but unplugging things from the wall (which means things which have been nicely warmed up and sounding great for weeks now go back to being stone cold, … and sounding like it. But safety first, as they say).

Blackout

Finally, the power went off and stayed off for 4 hours or so – right after sunset – with the temperature about 23 degrees and the howling wind outside – things cooled off fast. After awhile I just left (Neli was gone the whole time and did not even know the power had been out – though the temp in the house being 10 degrees below usual was a real big clue).

Never been so happy to see the car working, lighted, warm and playing music.

Sometime we’ll have to take SPL readings to determine just how loud 100 mph wind is in a pine tree forest. But outside I would guess 85-90 dB. Inside it is perhaps about 60-65 dB.. what one might call a high noise floor.

in High-end Audio HiFi and Stereo / Humor 1 comments
 by Michael

A SARCASTIC LOOK AT THE RELATIVE NATURE OF QUALITY

If component A is better than component B and component B is better than component C, is component A always better than component C?

Skipping any speculation on the answer to that question, how about the transitive nature of ‘almost is as good as’.

This ‘almost as good as’ is treated as a transitive relation on the web a lot, and it has a tendency to sneak in to all of our thinking patterns from time to time.

It goes like this:

Component B is 95% as good as component A, and component A is the almost universally acknowledged best available component of its type. And guess what, component B only costs half as much as component A. Ignoring the fact that that 5% is what separates great from very good – this logic invariably concludes that component B is a really good deal.

Ok, fine, if it was left there. But then comes:

Component C, when modded by Mr. Mod, is 95% as good as component B, and it is only 1/2 the price of component B.. an even better deal! And this usually fractures into the fact that any modder, not just Mr. Mod, can take component C to within 5%, or so, of component B.

No we are not done.

It turns out that, component D, E, and F, also when modded, are also around that 90-95% as good as component B range. And those can be gotten really, really, really cheap used.

And here is where it gets weird … 🙂

It appears first as a speculation, then as a fact, that, you remember that component A? Is is really all that good? That is really a lot of money they are asking for it. Is anything really worth that price. And….

Is component A really better than component B… or even better than component F for that matter.. Hey, it is all in the Ear of the Beholder, right? And didn’t that fella we never heard of before say that the Sony/Denon/Radio Shack item sounded better in their system (who cares that their system sucked as a review system)? We all know these differences are just all hype, right, put out by the reviewers, dealers, and manufacturers.

So hear you have it, component F, modded by just about anybody putting up an ad on the net, is as good as, and maybe even better, than the best in the world.

Let’s all go out and buy one!

For the final twist:

Then rumors start being posted about the $60 component, that if you are lucky enough to get the one out of very ten units that is better than it has any right to be… just happens to be 95% as good as…

Well, you can imagine where it goes from there…

Next: How can you judge the quality of a component in an imperfect system – and, there being no perfect system, how can you judge the quality of any component ever?

in Humor / Philosophy / Sounding Off 0 comments
 by Michael

YOU KNOW IT IS GOING TO BE A BAD DAY FOR A DEALER WHEN

8. A product they invested heavily in has now been discontinued and is available direct from the manufacturer at 50% off …. which is less than what the dealer paid for it.

7. One of the products they carry is rumored to catch on fire… with the added twist that it has to be left on over night before it starts sounding good.

6. One of the products they spent a years profits on stocking their store with has just become the featured item in a major online retailing magazine.

5. A product they bought without hearing it first turns out to be embarrassingly bad.

4. A product they carry is never reviewed….

3. A product they carry is given an unfavorable review.

2. A product they carry is given a favorable review.

and the worst day possible is:

1. They post anything as a dealer on the Asylum.

in Humor / Sounding Off 0 comments