If you know anything about audio, you should know that adding equipment to the reproduction chain of your sound system adds the probability that you’re adding noise and distortion to the output signal. On top of the general expense, if you are adding something, it should be doing something positive to offset its negatives.
So, perusing the articles available on Daily.audio (my go-to audio news aggregator since Dailyaudiophile.com broke) and I came upon this article:
pt.audio
Apparently, some guy named Bob makes drastically overpriced crap. In this case, it’s the Bob’s Devices AI-121 Audio Interface. The name makes you think this is something you’d hook up to your computer, but it’s actually just an isolation transformer.
Being a bass player, an isolation transformer is a must have If you’re playing gigs in less than stellar venues and not using a wireless system. When the lousy electrical system causes your rig to have a bitchin’ ground hum or, even worse, accidentally touching your lip to or grabbing the mic while playing gives you a painful electrical shock, the isolation transformer is literally a life saver.
That is the proper use case. Beyond that, it does nothing and that’s exactly what you want.
The absolute best you can buy are made by Jensen. They are legendary and so good that other manufacturers use them & use it as a selling point.
Jensen’s best stereo isolation transformer goes for around $400.
So, how much does Bob want for his hand-made isolation transformer? $2,750. That’s not a typo.
The guy seems to make them in his garage (the company website lists an address that’s a house in Albuquerque). Warranty? Not mentioned.
Jensen gives you a 20 year warranty and has been a real company for over 50 years.
If paying over $2,300 more for a non-warrantied product made by a guy in his house isn’t bad enough, the review goes on to attribute “improvements” made by the transformer that can’t possibly happen.
Apparently, Bob makes magical transformers.
There is one final consideration that the reviewer, Marc Phillips, is too ignorant to consider: if you need an isolation transformer to solve a ground hum problem, your electrical system needs to get repaired. It’s defective. Also, if you have to lift the electrical ground using this, it could set up a ground fault elsewhere that could potentially be dangerous.
You use an isolation transformer when fixing the electrical grounding isn’t an option.
So, once again, an idiot reviewer recommends a piece of equipment that you don’t or shouldn’t need and for a price that verges on fraud. It’s a scam.
So, perusing the articles available on Daily.audio (my go-to audio news aggregator since Dailyaudiophile.com broke) and I came upon this article:
Bob's Devices AI-121 Audio Interface | REVIEW - pt.AUDIO
pt.AUDIO - Bob's Devices AI-121 Audio Interface | REVIEW
pt.audio
Apparently, some guy named Bob makes drastically overpriced crap. In this case, it’s the Bob’s Devices AI-121 Audio Interface. The name makes you think this is something you’d hook up to your computer, but it’s actually just an isolation transformer.
Being a bass player, an isolation transformer is a must have If you’re playing gigs in less than stellar venues and not using a wireless system. When the lousy electrical system causes your rig to have a bitchin’ ground hum or, even worse, accidentally touching your lip to or grabbing the mic while playing gives you a painful electrical shock, the isolation transformer is literally a life saver.
That is the proper use case. Beyond that, it does nothing and that’s exactly what you want.
The absolute best you can buy are made by Jensen. They are legendary and so good that other manufacturers use them & use it as a selling point.
Jensen’s best stereo isolation transformer goes for around $400.
So, how much does Bob want for his hand-made isolation transformer? $2,750. That’s not a typo.
The guy seems to make them in his garage (the company website lists an address that’s a house in Albuquerque). Warranty? Not mentioned.
Jensen gives you a 20 year warranty and has been a real company for over 50 years.
If paying over $2,300 more for a non-warrantied product made by a guy in his house isn’t bad enough, the review goes on to attribute “improvements” made by the transformer that can’t possibly happen.
Apparently, Bob makes magical transformers.
There is one final consideration that the reviewer, Marc Phillips, is too ignorant to consider: if you need an isolation transformer to solve a ground hum problem, your electrical system needs to get repaired. It’s defective. Also, if you have to lift the electrical ground using this, it could set up a ground fault elsewhere that could potentially be dangerous.
You use an isolation transformer when fixing the electrical grounding isn’t an option.
So, once again, an idiot reviewer recommends a piece of equipment that you don’t or shouldn’t need and for a price that verges on fraud. It’s a scam.
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