Awesome Audiophile Snake Oil

xxxxxxxp -- when audiophiles refer to timing they aren't talking about turntable speed; it's an element of what they refer to as "PRaT" -- pace, rhythm, and timing. You're unlikely to get a solid definition if you Google it, but apparently it can mean anything from the ability of a piece of audio equipment to get your toe tapping to how well that piece of equipment reproduces transients. According to Stereophile magazine, your old belt may have been conspiring "to give an aura of lassitude in which the musicians seem to be playing subtly out of time. This failing may, with practice and acuity, be discerned on just a few notes of a single voice or instrument. Here one may perceive a nuance of uncertainty, a hint of nervousness, or a feeling that the steady, controlled flow of a performance is not as even or as secure as it should be." It sounds like your new belt will solve that problem, assuming that your amplifier and speakers (and cables) also handle PRaT well.

been years since I heard the word 'prat'
so appropriate here.

I don't know, i've been listenign to music my whole life and i've never had an issue with Pacing, Rhythm or Timing as far as i'm aware. The good news is, i've got this white belt and now i'm set.

I'd like to know how these folks view live performances.

I mean, for some classical music fans, the recordings are a very last resort to hear a particular piece. I'm not say all or even a majority of classical fans are this way, but for some, the live performance is the only way to experience the music.

my system had issues with Pacing, Rhythm, and Timing. So I hired a PI to watch my fuse box and send me daily reports on its whereabouts.

Come on Austin, that’s ridiculous. Most of those performers don’t even have cables or preamplifiers connected to their instruments. Where would you put the stones?

I read about that one U2 tour where Brian Eno secretly hid perfectly placed isotope-stabilizing ion-absorbing frequency-perfecting rocks inside of all the instruments and microphones, and it was definitely worth the ticket price, which was two Ferraris per person.

I bought all one hundred and seven of the gold blu-ray audio discs of that tour and played them on my dishwasher and it was basically exactly like being alive in my house

lmao

Although my question was in fact quite genuine and serious, these preposterous answers seem like the correct ones.

at least one of these dudes only listens to Moody Blues Live at Red Rocks and definitely saw said band at said venue

Yes, but what did he say about the performance? The acoustics? Did it compare to the Shakti stone-encrusted diamond gold disc hybrid recording of the same songs?

I'd like to know how these folks view live performances.
the perfect system would be able to reproduce the sound of an acoustic concert so accurately that you could not tell the difference

I know plenty of audiophiles who are passionate and curious about music, it's a hobby, they have fun fine tuning their systems, they're able to laugh about these things as well, I think maybe some of you guys need to meet some nice audiophiles

at least one of these dudes only listens to Moody Blues Live at Red Rocks and definitely saw said band at said venue

imagine the self-confidence you'd have to have for this to be your sole musical interest, these guys are heroes

The PRaT thing - I remember hearing that in association with Linn/Naim gear about 20 years ago. The notion was that Linn/Naim weren't necessarily the most faithful means of reproduction in some sort of analytical way (separation, frequency extremes, ultra-low distortion) but the music just "hung together" better through their gear and had that elusive "musicality". The non-Linnie 'philes would denigrate them as "Flat Earthers", while the Linnies would regard the rest of the audiophile community as "lab technicians", more interesting in visualising the decay of a cymbal crash than, y'know, groovin'.

The "first time you heard a favourite LP" thing has some substance for some people, I think. I spent an awful lot of money in the '90s chasing the sensation of hearing the first Tindersticks album on my entry-level Richer Sounds hi-fi ten minutes after I first set it up. I became obsessed with avoiding "brightness", that ice-cubes-on-fillings upper-mid sting that I was convinced the better kit had exposed on all my records. I stuck a fancy Marantz CD player through a valve stage to my friends' amusement ("a bit of gain and some harmonic distortion for only £130").

sic otm

I just bought a tube amp and frankly it sounds amazing

As they do.

neils and 龜 should both be FP’d for bringing “hey guys, aspirin” to a snake oil thread

is it a new tube amp or an old one?

I have a couple music hardware nerd friends who love refurbishing old receivers, buying good quality tubes. It’s a pretty cool hobby imo

Are there people out there hand-blowing tubes

most of them use their mouths

*chases NA off stage*

Spotted on Twitter:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DmsEIYvU0AAmpGJ.jpg

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DmsELLaU4AAChnT.jpg

lol nope it definitely doesn’t.

Also what is that graph even trying to be

Top line goes all the way up to eleven.

couldn't resist looking it up. a Sony thing. guessing it's something like a bbe sonic maximizer or something that makes the high end tingle and give that sensation of more life in the sound?

"upscales" lol

that fucking graph is killing me

DSEEZ NUTX

Maybe not that snakeoil-y, but the hipster doucheyness is off the charts!

https://www.atxrecordplayers.com/optin-22668722

wow, some people have a lot of spare cash

Huh, just noticed some of their pitch is only on the mobile site.

Lines like:

If you're looking for a cheap console check Craigslist

Mcintosh packages are available for only the best and rarest consoles! (Only true ballers allowed)

is it douchey if i think those look sexy as hell?

no way, those look fkn rad, although i suspect there's no way in hell i'd be willing to pay what they're asking for

I was gonna say, I'd much rather look at one of those consoles than at a stack of components.

But then, for probably less than $100, you could find and gut one of those consoles and shoehorn your gear into it.

I tried fixing my grandpa-in-laws console because the tube amp sounded great and it had 78 rpm. But I'm no gearhead, and I could never get the turntable to consistently start nor find a replacement needle. Not the sexiest design, but it had potential if I could have figured out how to put a better turntable in there.

But then, for probably less than $100, you could find and gut one of those consoles and shoehorn your gear into it.

― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Thursday, October 18, 2018 9:58 AM (twenty-seven minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah i think that's basically what these guys are doing, getting rummage sale stuff the loading it w/components and charging 4X what it's worth

^^There's another video (also visible on their mobile site, but also seen here) where in the founder admits that's how he got started, by buying a console on Craigslist and then fixing it up.

To me, the doucheyness lies in the whole "ATX" branding, the copy I've excerpted, the fact that they've landed a endorsement from noted automotive douche Jesse James, and that one book in this photo.

...and also the balls to castigate cost skeptic customers by advising them to fuck off BY DOING EXACTLY WHAT THE COMPANY IS ALREADY DOING.

that’s ‘noted automotive douche and nazi jesse james’ to give him his full title

my old gran had a console like these.
not quite as high end, more likely a g-plan thing.
can't remember the manufacturer.
after her death it went to a cousin who preferred watching Bradford City as opposed to listening to the latest record by The The, much to the anger of many within the family clan.
the record deck was dreadful, but damn, it made old 60s 7" singles sound so special via its inbuilt speakers.
what I would give to have it now with a decent set up inside.
none of the original electronics would be worthy, but with modern kit in it, it would be bloody wonderful.

surely they have these things coming out their ears in palm springs

that’s ‘noted automotive douche and nazi jesse james’ to give him his full title

Not to mention his treatment of poor Sandra Bullock...

https://www.atxrecordplayers.com/hosted/images/9c/fb6a916c0c11e8983bdfb25c0e06d1/unnamed-7.jpg

nice copy of atlas shrugged there, douchelord

https://www.atxrecordplayers.com/hosted/images/9c/fb6a916c0c11e8983bdfb25c0e06d1/unnamed-7.jpg

i see morrissey is a fan
https://www.atxrecordplayers.com/hosted/images/be/3154b1c1dc11e88e46e36307d97bbf/unnamed-14.jpg

Record weights/clamps: worth it? do these really do anything? I kind of want one and I have no rational reason to. I see them ranging in price from like $30 to hundreds.

also, I see a fair number of 'changed consoles' with newer equipment in them . a lot of them are really beautiful; either old consoles or new ones built in older styles. If i had the space and money I'd completely buy one of those things. The Montgomery Wards coffin stereo we had as a kid is still, in my mind, the best sounding system I've ever heard.