Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!wuarchive!uwm.edu!csd4.csd.uwm.edu!info-high-audio-request From: ogicse!agora.rain.com!david@uwm.UUCP (David Robinson) Newsgroups: rec.audio.high-end Subject: More from POSITIVE FEEDBACK (2/4) Message-ID: <8749@uwm.edu> Date: 8 Jan 91 14:49:26 GMT Sender: news@uwm.edu Lines: 84 Approved: tjk@csd4.csd.uwm.edu Originator: tjk@csd4.csd.uwm.edu The following article is from POSITIVE FEEDBACK, the newsletter of the Oregon Triode Society, and is Copyright 1990, all rights reserved. This article may be reposted or reprinted, as long as it is not resold, and as long as proper attribution of the source is made in full. Please keep this header in all copies made of this article. David W. Robinson Editor, POSITIVE FEEDBACK david@agora.rain.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE UGLY TRUTH Charles Wiens Back in the early days of my audio career, I had the unbelievable good fortune of being yanked off the dbx, Inc. 3bx assembly line (where I was doing the firm more harm than good) and thrown into an empty room with a desk, an oscilloscope, and a budget. I was told to design a subwoofer. This came about as a result of making it known (as loud as possible) that I had read the vented loudspeaker works of A.N. Thiele and Richard Small and actually understood them! This revelation put me on a level just below God at dbx, since at that time (1978) no one on the planet understood the Thiele-Small equations. Frankly, I didn't either. However, I was sick of screwing up 3bxs, and figured that I could work through them, given enough time and equipment. I was right, but it did take a while. During this time I was not loved by the Chief Engineer, one surly Dan Talbert, for I came in with only an anthropology degree and he wanted the subwoofer project for himself. At any rate, since this was the company's first loudspeaker, I was visited on a daily basis by every door-to-door salesman in the country. This was an experience that I truly relished, since they all left car loads of free samples. Within a couple of months my office was heaven on earth; barely accessible without knocking over some strange magnet assembly from Sony, or tripping over the ever-present 30" EV woofer. One of these samples was a box of a dozen 2" drivers from Matsushita with the surprising ability to reproduce a bandwidth of 50-16,000 Hz within a 3 db window when placed in a very small enclosure (about 60 cubic inches). Naturally, its efficiency was only slightly above absolute zero, but it gave me a great idea for an experiment in ego-busting psychoacoustics which I aimed at the great Dan Talbert. At that time the dbx reference room consisted of a 1600 watt/channel amp built in-house, AR-9 loudspeakers, and a turntable from Linn-Sondek. After tweaking up a pair of these 2" specials as well as I could, I placed one on each AR-9, hooked them up, and waited for DT to enter. When those ominous footsteps approached, the tiny speakers were turned up to the maximum extent of their little diaphragms' excursion. Dan entered the room and immediately uttered the words I had dreamed of hearing for weeks: "Don't those AR-9s sound wonderful? Why can't you do that?" I never told him what he was actually hearing, but everyone else heard about it. The episode was good for many an after-work beer. Unfortunately, karma tends to even out our lives. Several weeks later I walked into a Cape Cod gift store with some of these same drinking buddies, and was struck by what seemed to be the finest sounding stereo I had ever heard. None of the components were visible, but the string quartet that was playing practically reached out and touched me from thin air. I could see the instruments, their placement in the room; I even thought that I could identify the sound of a Stradivarius. About the same time, I also discovered the source of this musical ecstasy: A small Radio Shack receiver and a pair of 4" car speakers (with whizzer cones, no less!) hidden amongst the pottery. Touche', Charlie. The point of these two experiences is simple. We will always hear what we want to hear. The finest audio equipment available today is indeed excellent. It is also extremely expensive, and perhaps often no better than its slightly modified '50s and '60s counterparts. I certainly believe in obtaining the finest components one's budget will allow, but bear in mind that enjoyment of the music is the most fun of all. I have seen many an audiophile's love of music turn sour when the rent can't be met or the phone is disconnected. Our should not be a hobby of ego, but one of enjoyment and relaxation. Be careful with your cash.