Awesome Audiophile Snake Oil

was mostly using this thread to take another shot at the constant unwavering stupidity that is pfork (totally NOT a lifestyle website, btw). the "Isonoe Isolation System" is peak snakeoil afaict. also the preamp thingie is questionable and slipmats are not needed unless yr qbert or roc raida (rip). $13 for a 45 adapter too? gtfoh.

stylus brushes are always a great idea, tho.

also good to see turntable lab is still around.

if you have a receiver that doesn't have a phono input and a turntable without a built-in amp, you definitely need a phono amp! I own an earlier model of the one they recommend and the local on-the-level audio shop I go to has been selling them for years. the snake oil version of the same device costs hundreds if not thousands.

right, that's my bad. i've had the same late 70s stereo for twenty years and take that for granted i guess.

the graphics in that list are maybe the worst thing thats ever been published in pitchfork

getting a Vincent phono pre was the best thing I've done in awhile, really fantastic, $300 so "cheap" (haha) for audiophiles, built like a tank

I have a pretty nice amp but it doesn't have a phono in

order of stuff I think matters from most to least:

speakers
amp
cartridge
turntable
DAC
CD player/disc spinner (currently using a $10 off Craigslist optical out into onboard DAC in my amp)
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
all the other bullshit accessories

what a weird, writing-free piece. The no-nonsense phono is the best thing about it (I use that one with my tiny class T speaker amp)... but do not buy one for your vinyl loving friend, unless they can't actually listen to vinyl and lack of a photo stage is the specific reason why.

I wouldn't be mad if someone got me some outer sleeves

also isolation is an issue if you, like, can't dance near the table. but that's when you make a little shelf on the wall

yeah, the plastic sleeves are good (and seem to keep my cat from attempting to claw records)

ha, they have the opposite effect on my cat - he loves to chew the plastic, i cant ever leave a record out

I dislike those sleeves for aesthetic reasons. Then I worry that I'm neglecting my LPs. But no, I can't bring myself to use them

sleeve city outer sleevs are my favorite but i have yet to find a satisfying solution for doubles/gatefolds

for every possible way to protect your possessions, there is a cat who has figured out how to counter it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5poEu9uBwyM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=La3U41b0WSU

xpost to mh

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7dcSr04G8s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tHOUV_bJn8

Kind of a bummer/guilt-trip final selection on that Pfork list.

No one said loving vinyl was easy. Between caring for old records and getting the best sound out of your gear, being a turntable devotee is as rewarding as it is intensive

*sigh* speak for yourself re this whole vinyl is hard nonsense

ok how do you pronounce ‘phono’?

does it rhyme with slo-mo or Bono?

(or Pono)

Pono

like phonograph

Thanks

I said it in conversation last night and realised that it’s a term I’ve never actually spoken aloud and someone said “is that how you say it?” and I freaked out

RIP Stereophile's Art Dudley

enjoyed his writing

https://www.stereophile.com/content/art-dudley-rest-peace

oh man I have read a lot of art dudley columns over the years... RIP Art.

yeah he was one of the good ones

damn, Listener was a great little magazine.

https://jcat.eu/featured/m12-switch-gold/

What a shame they have to sully it with an RJ45 connector at the other end of the wire, albeit one from the space station where “air” and “fine grained ambience” are a must for all data

amazing

thank god that the audiophiles have finally invented a 5 port unmanaged ethernet switch you can spend 4000+ euro on

NB I checked eBay you can get a Juniper EX4200 for like less than $100

an acquaintance observes that the M12 connector, having only two twisted pairs, is insufficient to actually deliver gigabit ethernet, so this dumb thing doesn't even work

https://i.imgur.com/eaa92jl.jpg

psych - this is a real ad

That seems...reasonable? Analogue TV tech remains amazing to me!

Who knew? "Snivets are thin parallel vertical lines which may appear at one or more positions of the reproduced image. It has been suggested that the production of such thin vertical lines is due to Barkhausen oscillations developed in the horizontal output tube."

the history of analog TV tech is fascinating, even more than the history of radio

How does this ... possibly work

https://www.stereogum.com/2101286/oda-speakers-jessica-pratt-madlib-arca-microphones-standing-on-the-corner/news/

Two wireless speakers vibrating across your wooden floor connected by wireless internet... I'm sure this sounds just like being at a concert

The idea is to sit a drink on one of them, and then at some point the speaker treads on your foot and spills the drink on you.

huh...weird

honestly half of it is they are going to put in the instructions that people need properly space the speakers and everyone will be impressed by the stereo field

should probably be in mono to sound live

I've been using a product called a 'record butler' which is just a felt oven glove/circular disc grabber for records ( not even that cool).

it seems to work, or at least enough that its part of my listening at home ritual.

Off topic for this thread as I got it free with a purchase and it probably does the thing its supposed to.

but I can confirm it has stopped the 'holding records so delicately that you drop them and cause more damage than if you had been holding them properly' issue.

Those speakers just look like surface speakers. They've been popular recently with lots of people don't things like this:

https://www.yankodesign.com/2019/07/27/place-this-puck-sized-gadget-on-any-surface-to-transform-it-into-a-vibrating-speaker/

Those look like the vibrating surface, the wood at the front, is built in. Not that different from the paper or plastic cone in normal speakers. I'm unconvinced by the puck things tbh, think you'd need the surface to be relatively free to move, which maybe those speakers improve upon.

Selling speakers as part of a gig subscription service is a bit weird. In fact, a gig subscription service is also weird.

(although, thinking about it, cinema season tickets exist)

Pono type of business

guys i just bought new speakers. they need stands. so i bought the stands. did i buy sand to go into the stands? reader, i did.

Audiophile sand?

I'm offended you even have to ask