OT: Is this for real?: An experiment.

[poundingmetal74]

HERE's THE ANSWER

NOTE: PLEASE DON'T LOOK BELOW AT THE NEXT POST UNTIL YOU'VE READ THIS ONE.

I'm doing an unofficial study to see what people think of this. Read the post below, CLICK REPLY, and tell me if you think these wooden knobs will cause a stereo to sound better or not. I'll reveal the answer Tuesday night.

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Reference Audio Mods is selling wooden knobs for Silver Rock stereo equipment (to replace the standard metal knobs). They claim these knobs will greatly improve sound quality:

The point here is the micro vibrations created by the volume pots and knobs find their way into the delicate signal path and cause degradation (Bad vibrations equal bad sound). With the signature knobs micro vibrations from the C37 concept of wood, bronze and the lacquer itself compensate for the volume pots and provide (Good Vibrations) our ear/brain combination like to hear way better sound.

Okay, now CLICK REPLY and tell whether you think this possible or not.

DO NOT SCROLL DOWN.

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STOP SCROLLING DOWN AND CLICK REPLY ABOVE!
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Let's see who passed science 101.

 

[Psychonaut]

yes

 

[Wyvern]

No idea. I have a friend who's a lot into audiophile equipment and he had a lot of crazy stuff to improve sound which IMO makes no difference at all

 

[Psychonaut]

Wyvern, you did not play by the rules...

But yeah, I was typing the same thing. If an audiophile says something works, you're not going to convince him otherwise.

 

[delize]

I'll play along and say.....yes it's possible.

 

[razoredge]

I have no idea, sounds logical but one would have to experiment and see if any change occured. I've heard great sounding stereo systems with anything from steel to plastic knobs to missing knobs.

 

[Wyvern]

Wyvern, you did not play by the rules...

But yeah, I was typing the same thing. If an audiophile says something works, you're not going to convince him otherwise.

Yes I did. I never scrolled further than the reply link and I expressed my belief based on previous observations of phenomena similar to the one described (in that case that supporting your CD player over conical rubber shock absorbers mounted over small sand bags will give your soound a better fidelity) .

I can't answer a simple yes or no for a premise like this, as a scientist I have always to let a margin of doubt, this isn't religion

 

[kittybeast]

i suppose it's possible

 

[Psychonaut]

See, now I'm nervous that it says let's see who passed Science 101 thinking this is one of those trick questions. Wood is a horrible conductor so technically there's no reason this wouldn't work but I don't have $100,000 worth of equipment to test it on. As said before, the changes are probably marginal.

 

[FJChaos]

Sounds possible
So, yes

 

[carnut]

Not in a way the human ear would pick up the difference ... I guess ....

 

[Wyvern]

Wood is a horrible conductor

For electricity. Now let's review PM74 initial premise:

The point here is the micro vibrations created by the volume pots and knobs find their way into the delicate signal path and cause degradation (Bad vibrations equal bad sound). With the signature knobs micro vibrations from the C37 concept of wood, bronze and the lacquer itself compensate for the volume pots and provide (Good Vibrations) our ear/brain combination like to hear way better sound.

Micro vibrations are mechanical waves, they transmit better through denser materials. Now electricity is transmited to conductors by means of an electron flow, like you mentioned wood , ceramic, pure water are poor conductors, while metals (due to free electrons in the crystal latiice of the material are good conductors). Now for me the problem is how a micro vibration which is a mechanical wave can affect an electron flow. The signal is as matter of fact an electricity flow that is converted into sound (a mechanical wave) in the speaker by vibration of the electromagnet, if the premise goes that the metal knob micro vibration can affect the vibration of the cone of the speaker well... I go ultimately for Carnut answer

I took Chemistry 101 in 1985 and never specialized in Physical or Inorganic chemistry but in Organic and Analytical chemistry, and we deal with other subjects

 

[poundingmetal74]

I'll post the answer in a few hours. All I'll add for now is that many of you are looking in the wrong area for the answer. (as cryptic as that may seem, it'll make sense when I post the answer).

 

[Psychonaut]

Hmm. Good Vibrations! The Beach Boys! They had wood on the side of their vehicles! From this I can surmise that had they driven standard, metal cars sans the wood paneling, they would not have been as successful as they were.

/solved

 

[Acdcpwns]

ya i guess...

 

[poundingmetal74]

AND THE ANSWER IS......

This one is absolute bullshit. Wooden knobs make absolutely no difference. Top of the line guitar amps and stereos use plastic or metal knobs for a reason - they don't matter!

What creates better sound is the source (cassette vs. CD), the type of wood the speakers are made out of, the speakers themselves (2-way vs 3-way, woofer size, all components working?), speaker cable vs. wire (cable sounds better), having the proper ohms and voltage, how EQ and loudness are used, etc.

What's funny is that these special "knobs" retail for almost $500! $500 for the placebo effect. These acoustically enhanced stereo knobs would never pass a double blind test.

The only possible way I could see them working is the slightest, slightest difference in resonance with a piece of shit shelf top stereo where small speakers are attached. In this case, the knobs would be worth 5+ times the stereo!

You know what'll get you better sound? Spending $500 on new speakers or building a proper reflection zone for your audio listening area!