I like to think of myself as an audiophile (at least with a small a). I appreciate good music, and I like hearing it well-produced. My system is far from high-end, and while it sounds good to me, Ive heard better.
However, I have a shortcoming that I feared might derail my application for full membership into Audophilia: Im sure I can detect some of the more subtle differences between things that others claim. I dont have the money or inclination to buy several sets of esoteric interconnects to test my abilities in that arena, but the switching vs. linear power supply debate seemed like a doable experiment. Several months ago I picked up a couple of encased 5v linear power supplies* on eBay. Yesterday, I finally got around to hooking one up. THE TEST Ill tell you right off the bat that initially, I couldnt tell any difference between the two. An A/B comparison is difficult because it takes 10-15 seconds for the SB3 to reboot when you withdraw one power supply and plug in another. But I persevered. I picked a tune with which I am very familiar, and listened to 30 or seconds of it over and over at a fairly loud volume over headphones. Then I switched back and forth between the two supplies, looking for any small differences. After a while, I felt like the music sounded a bit warmer, perhaps with meatier mid-bass powered by the linear supply. Ss, also, seemed to have less sibilance. Perhaps the overall presentation had less graininess and more depth. Or, the whole thing might have been my imagination. (My stereo also sounds better after Ive dusted it.) So, I asked my wife to assist me with the test. She finds this stuff rather tedious, but shes a pal, so she went along with the process. This time, I listened over my speakers. I asked her not to try to trick me, but to simply switch one supply out for the other without telling me which was which. I listened to 30 seconds, or so, of music at a time, while my wife alternated power supplies. I listened to each supply five times. I closed my eyes and held my ears (so I couldnt hear the cord rustle which would have been a clue) while she switched supplies. I had no idea which supply she started or ended with. But again, I thought I detected subtle differences less graininess, perhaps more precise imaging with one supply over the other. After the tenth listening, I pronounced judgment. Thats the new power supply, I said. And I was Wrong. Well, this was a bit of a blow to my ego. My ears, I guess, are not so golden after all. I dont think theyre tin, but maybe aluminum? Perhaps my system is not of sufficient caliber to resolve the differences? Or maybe this kind of stuff really is in the realm of imagination. To put things in perspective, on the Back page of the December 2006 issue of -he Abso!ute Sound-, Ted Denney, Lead Designer/Owner of Synergistic Research (maker of cables) is interviewed. In the course of the interview, he states (regarding cables), and I paraphrase, that if you cant hear the difference, then how can you hear the difference between speakers? Well Im sorry, but the audible differences detectable between two sets of loudspeakers, verses two sets of cables (or power supplies) is nearly astronomical in magnitude. Very red apples verses very orange oranges. * I think its a linear power supply. Its big and it gets warm. I have no idea as to its internal quality. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ ~~~ SB3 (wired - 6.3.1) | Home-brew PC running XP Pro | DENON DRA-395 | PSB Stratus Bronze (2) | Outlaw Audio LFM-2 (1) | DIY Speaker Cables | Dayton Audio Interconnects ------------------------------------------------------------------------ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=31758 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
