I've read a few deranged magazine reviews reporting the 'openness',
'clarity' etc of different brands of optical cable, the superiority of
expensive brands of MD and other foolishness, but given the cut and dried
nature of digital equipment, I suppose there are very few areas left for
really _creative_ reviewing compared with the uncertainties and
idiosyncrasies of analogue.
Does anyone remember a certain Peter Belt who got a surprising amount of
coverage in UK audio magazines of the late seventies / early eighties? [I
don't know if his fame spread to the US] He produced [and I swear I'm not
making any of this up] small safety pins with a tiny piece of foil wrapped
round them, which when attached to your curtains 'transformed the sound of
your equipment'. Pinning one to oneself, and anybody else who happened to be
in the vicinity also gave great improvements. Not content with this
breakthrough, he then gave the world sheets of little black stickers which
were to be positioned under turntable lids, inside amplifier casings
etc.etc. Reviewers would listen to two identical set-ups, one 'treated' and
the other au naturel and reported 'significant differences'. At one point,
a manufacturer even became interested in Belt-ing their products though
sadly I don't think anything came of it.
Other wheezes of the time included making sure that any books, magazines
etc. in the same room as the equipment had _even_ numbers of pages [blank
sheets could be inserted to correct any imbalance], and liberal use of
marker pens. I'm sure many of you must remember colouring the edges of CD's
green to do something or other with reflected laser light, but did you know
that by using a purple marker on the prongs of your mains plug [and for the
really enthusiastic, any plugs on the same circuit] could give awesome
results?
Given such a rich heritage, is it any wonder that reviewers can hear
differences between two brands of cable?
John [who is convinced that blue Sony MD's have a firmer midrange than any
of the other colours]
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