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Re: Curious Audio Advice
#104212 07/13/05 03:08 AM
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Yeah John, you got it right, but I'd probably add "...preying on the gullible". When I first ran across the Mapleshade audio "products" site, for a moment I thought it was akin to these products available to lucky British audiophiles, but I soon saw that they were serious and snakeoil salesmen of a most reprehensible sort. Here's another one of their numerous beauties.


-----------------------------------

Enjoy the music, not the equipment.


Re: Curious Audio Advice
#104213 07/13/05 03:36 AM
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All I can say is WOW. That is really interesting. I am going to have to change a lot of my listening habits and change a lot of my equipment to get a great sound. Thanks for the AWESOME tips.





This goes right along with my reply to the post in Technical Questions: 7 channel amp.

Re: Curious Audio Advice
#104214 07/13/05 03:37 AM
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In reply to:

Almost everyone sits way too far from their speakers, that is, 8' to 10' or more. Try a low chair (or floor pillow) 5' away. You'll hear a phenomenal increase in clarity, bass impact and soundstage--roughly like spending 100% more on your speakers.




If I sat that far I'd be sitting inside a wall.

In reply to:

Remove your speaker's cloth or foam grill. Snip off any plastic pjase ring in front of the tweeter. You'll hear as much as 100% improvement in treble.




Sure.. if the grill is made of wood.

In reply to:

NEVER use speaker cables shorter than 8'. Amazinglyh, 4' sounds much wordse than 8'. Contrary to common belief, shorter interconnects (2m or less) and longer speaker cables sound WAY BETTER than the opposite--based on extensive head-to-head tests




They make cables, right? More length = more profit for them. So.. duh as to why they put this in their advice.

In reply to:

Contrary to manufacturer hype, subwoofer placement is crucial. To get clean bass attacks, subs must be precisely (+/-1") the same distance from your ear as the midrange driver. Corner placement always leads to boom. Also, subs sound much cleaner on cones than on spikes or rummer feet.




Most sub manufacturers stress subwoofer position constantly.

In reply to:

You may not be into stero gear. But if you enjoy listening to music, sometimes you must wonder whether your speakers sound good enough. Startling as it may seem, you ought to be just as concerned about your audio cables. I've heard $2000 speakers with off-the-rack wires that sounded worse than little $100 Radio Shacks with good cables.




M80tis + VTF-3 with real cheap wire off partsexpress > cheap radioshack speakers.

Again, they're obviously trying to sell their more expensive cables.

In reply to:

Just like your speaker cables, the wires that hook up your CD player to your amp (the interconnects) can make as much or more difference than your speakers. Everyone suffers from culture shock when they first see the weird cellophane-like sleeve wrapped around our two thin ribbon wires. But the fact that our wire is forty times thinner than conventional wire and has 100 times less plastic is precisely why so much more music comes through. You hear more bass, more treble, more quiet details, more slam on the attacks--just those things that make music more exciting, more emotionally gripping.




Science, blind listening tests, and common sense say otherwise.

Less music comes through since they're so thin which is why they sound different. Different != better. In this case, different = distortion.

In reply to:

Weight on top of speakers, amps, CD players, transformers, turntables, and power supplies can tighten bass, clean up treble, and clarify midrange detail.




Thanks a lot - I'll be sure to rest dumbells on my new receiver. What kind would be better though? Cast iron, the ones with plastic black sides opposed to all metal? What weight, also? 20 lbs, 35 lbs, 50 lbs? Should it be a certain percentage of the weight of the piece of gear? I'll try 20 and work up from there, and report if I hear any differences.

In reply to:

too much weight.. seriously degrade potential improvements.




Wait a second! The guy just told me to rest my max-out benching set on the amp, and now he tells me too much weight will degrade performance?

Try to make up your mind, which myth is it?

In reply to:

Don't use lead, sand, concrete, brick, stone, corian or damped laminates. Of course, brass is still best; next iron, then wood.




This is good advice. Try to avoid sandmade cables, concrete CD players, brick receivers, and stone speakers. This is a pretty common newbie mistake due to the high availibility of these products in brick & mortar stores.

In reply to:

To audibly improve any cheap interconnect, use a razor to carefully peel the thin plastic insulation off the braided metal you'll find underneath. Split 2-channel interconnects and separate the two by several inches. Cut head shrink and plastic strain reliefs off the back of RCA plugs and remove their metal barrels (if possible). Among generic wires, choose the skinniest for best sound.




I'm too busy laughing at the last comment to respond to this one.

Thanks for posting, pm.

Re: Curious Audio Advice
#104215 07/13/05 03:01 PM
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Posts: 124
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It seems like both pages were designed by the same person :-) It is truly amazing what people can get away with!

Shane D

PS: Siliclear is by far the funniest of all of them!

Re: Curious Audio Advice
#104216 07/13/05 05:47 PM
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 205
local
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Satcure was great, I have already placed my order for the UNIQUE UV-TAPE, and am researching how to build a nitrogen chamber so all my connections are perfect. Still LMAO.


M80ti's, VP150, QS8's
Re: Curious Audio Advice
#104217 07/13/05 08:29 PM
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Posts: 164
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Yea I couldnt believe how much they are charging for the Ox-Away Aerosol spray! You can now buy it for the low, low price of £367.00 for 20cc aerosol. This can contains platinum, gold, and other precious metals. LMAO!

Anyone else want to buy it so we can save shipping?

Re: Curious Audio Advice
#104218 07/13/05 08:43 PM
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Posts: 205
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"This is good advice. Try to avoid sandmade cables, concrete CD players, brick receivers, and stone speakers. This is a pretty common newbie mistake due to the high availibility of these products in brick & mortar stores."


That was the funniest post I have ever read on here. I read it three time and could not stop myself from laughing out loud every time. Good one.


M80ti's, VP150, QS8's
Re: Curious Audio Advice
#104219 07/16/05 06:07 PM
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axiomite
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>>Weight on top of speakers, amps, CD players, transformers, turntables, and power supplies can tighten bass, clean up treble, and clarify midrange detail.

Oh no, I crushed my turntable !! It sounded really good just before the dust cover collapsed though...


M60ti, VP180, QS8, M2ti, EP500, PC-Plus 20-39
M5HP, M40ti, Sierra-1
LFR1100 active, ADA1500-4 and -8
Re: Curious Audio Advice
#104220 07/16/05 08:41 PM
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mwc Offline
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I have mixed feeling about Mapleshade. As goofy as thier "advice" is, they do make excellent recordings. I have one of thier sampler CDs and it sound wonderful - more like a well miked live recording than a studio cut but still a studio recording (does this make sense?).

P.S. I often wonder if my Maggies are leaking too much "radioactivity". Maybe I'll get some of that "Unique" silicone rubber and smear it on my Maggie's socks - front and back.


I live the life I love and I love the life I live.
Re: Curious Audio Advice
FordPrefect #104221 07/04/07 09:24 PM
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CV Offline
Founder, Axiom Upgrade Club
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Quote:

It's no wonder that Axiom will soon be selling listening jumpsuits and accessories for the discerning audiophile made from only sheep raised in the Dwight Highlands.




Hey, what's the ETA on these listening jumpsuits. I'm all for this idea.

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