• Welcome to ASR. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!

OK, you are not really an audiophile if you haven't done this:........... (fun thread)

If you are a component-level person, you know what "the expensive click" is. You know, the one after the probe slips and every silicon device instantly transmutes to a short circuit. It's not a loud sound (a soft "click!"), but it's a distinctive and fearsome sound.

Well, I once made my own silver and teflon interconnects. I was in a bit of a hurry and apparently my soldering skills were lacking that particular day. I had things well turned up listening to the newly minted IC. And the ground connection became a no connection which allowed 60 hz hum at high power. Did I mention I was running a pair of bridged Classe 25 amps? Oh yeah. Maybe close to a real kilowatt of power available. It let smoke rings out of the woofers in the two seconds before I could react and turn things off. Not a good feeling.
 
Well, I once made my own silver and teflon interconnects. I was in a bit of a hurry and apparently my soldering skills were lacking that particular day. I had things well turned up listening to the newly minted IC. And the ground connection became a no connection which allowed 60 hz hum at high power. Did I mention I was running a pair of bridged Classe 25 amps? Oh yeah. Maybe close to a real kilowatt of power available. It let smoke rings out of the woofers in the two seconds before I could react and turn things off. Not a good feeling.
But the top end detail the silver brings ..., It was worth it right .
 
Hmm, perhaps you'd prefer my choice that ended many stereo wars when I was in college: Ethel Merman! :D Everyone else immediately backed down every time. :D

No, it wasn't her infamous disco album, in case anyone wonders haha! I had tried Wagnerian opera, but the peaks weren't sustained enough to battle the rockers, so I "enlisted" Merman, inspired by the old joking tales of her wartime service as an air-raid siren!


My party ender was Bach-Historic Organ Music Of Europe. Given the state I was usually in, the LP is probably cactus. Sometimes one just needed a couple hours of sleep before turning up for work.
 
Speaker burn in... I got to replace the tweeters and all the fuses in a brand-spankin' new pair of Maggies for one of our customers who read about burn-in and couldn't wait. He put on pink noise, cranked it as high as he could stand or a little higher, and left for the day. He brought them in for repair TWO DAYS after he took them home. My boss asked me to explain it to him. I struggled to find a way to not scream IMBECILE!!! and walk away, had to politely walk him through it.

Thinking back, he was one of those guys who bought into the super-cable fad, too. You know, $4/foot Fulton Gold... I still have a pair of those.

$4.00 a foot? My good man, you have to spend at least $400 per foot to even begin to see into the depth of the soundstage. To say nothing of the transients...

Philistine.
 
$4.00 a foot? My good man, you have to spend at least $400 per foot to even begin to see into the depth of the soundstage. To say nothing of the transients...

Philistine.
Obviously you guys weren't around when Fulton Gold was the Shiznit.
 
But the top end detail the silver brings ..., It was worth it right .
Oh so right you are. It is even more apparent without the low end interfering. And some foolish people think wire doesn't make a difference. Hah!
 
Allowing two speaker leads to tube power amp to make contact, blowing up up (figuratively, mostly, but not entirely) a Rogue tube amplifier. Whilst knowing better.
 
Obviously you guys weren't around when Fulton Gold was the Shiznit.

Fulton cables and interconnects only performed well in multiples of length of 57 1/4", according to Fulton - another audio 'wacko'.

The speaker cables were heavier gauge than most at the time so good to use but not 'magic'.

P.S. The mention of Fulton could attract one of his acolytes to this forum - I hope not.
 
Lusted for a Nakamichi Dragon auto reverse deck just because they're so damn cool to watch in action

I always wanted a Nakamichi cassette deck, finally bought one years later and never used it, sold it on.

What about your at the movies and say did you see that, your wife says see what, and you say there was a McIntosh amp in the background.
 
Last edited:
I always wanted a Nakamichi cassette deck, finally bought one years later and never used it, sold it on.

What about your at the movies and say did you see that, your wife says see what, and you say there was a McIntosh amp in the background.

That's what Altec fans do with old movies(replace 'tosh with Altec). :cool:
 
In order to adjust and measure my Thorens TD125mkII from below i used 4 full cans of dr.Pepper to raise it up for access. The 40 pound unit fell and one can of soda ripped open and exploded into the electronics and motor assembly.....

Rinsed an cleaned with vodka and let it dry. Still works fine after 45 years...
 
In order to adjust and measure my Thorens TD125mkII from below i used 4 full cans of dr.Pepper to raise it up for access. The 40 pound unit fell and one can of soda ripped open and exploded into the electronics and motor assembly.....

Rinsed an cleaned with vodka and let it dry. Still works fine after 45 years...

I killed my laptop with a full cup of coffee a few days ago. Now you give me the fix. :facepalm:
 
Stopped listening to music on your main rig you are "working on" but only in the car where "you know it's a shit sound".
Come on. Anti-audiophile behavior. I doubled down. Purchased Nakamichi car head unit and Nakamichi amp. Used with quality full range 6x9 speakers. This was proper because it matched the full range ESL's I used in the house. No nasty crossovers for me whether home or mobile.
 
I killed my laptop with a full cup of coffee a few days ago. Now you give me the fix. :facepalm:
Rinse with distilled de-ionized water, and then place in a freezer bag of dried rice for 3 days.

Actual tip on this problem. If you go somewhere near a major college, computer shops in the area specialize in this sort of repair. They'll fix you right up. Plus my above suggestion might work, just be sure you remove the battery first. I'm about 50/50 on this approach.
 
Rinse with distilled de-ionized water, and then place in a freezer bag of dried rice for 3 days.

Actual tip on this problem. If you go somewhere near a major college, computer shops in the area specialize in this sort of repair. They'll fix you right up. Plus my above suggestion might work, just be sure you remove the battery first. I'm about 50/50 on this approach.
 
Back
Top Bottom