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From: apas611@hermes.chpc.utexas.edu (David Boles)
Newsgroups: rec.audio.high-end
Subject: Re: Magic Clocks
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Date: 7 Mar 91 13:58:20 GMT
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In article <9943@uwm.edu> wmartin@STL-06SIMA.ARMY.MIL (Will Martin) writes:
>Well, does anyone out there have anything to say about this business of
>digital clocks affecting the sound of a high-end system? In case this

YES !!!!!

Coming from a physics background and working daily with
all manner of PhD's in electrical engineering and physics,
I have spent some time punting this one around.  The general
conclusions go along these lines:

  1. The Tice "T.P.T." literature refers to making
		 the electrons act together in a more harmonious
		 (no pun intended) fashion. I believe they even
		 sprinkle the mystical words "quantum mechanics"
		 in there somewhere.  This is utter nonsense.
		 At temperatures above a few degrees Kelvin, thermal
		 effects in wires destroy any hint of order to electron
		 flow. (A few degrees K = approx. -265 degrees Celsius)
		 All that is retained is the base oscillatory motion, i.e.
		 AC "current".

	2. Arguing from a purely thermodynamic standpoint, plugging
		 in this clock lowers the entropy of the electron flow
		 in all of the wires in your home.  Does this affect  
		 continue outside your home? Nothing in AC circuit theory
		 would tell us otherwise.  Basically, how does a device
		 which consumes a tiny amount of power, radiating a small
		 amount of heat, lower the entropy of its very source
		 of power?

	3. Only apparently possible explanation is that the clock     
		 generates some electrical noise which is then picked
		 up by the system and perceived as pleasurable by those
		 listening.

In this country, people defrauding the public, even a segment
of the public desiring to be so mistreated (both audiophiles
and fervent religious types), are and should be prosecuted.

On another note, why is there all the talk about modifying
CD's so that they sound better.  Either you get the digital
information or not.  If you read the same string of 1's and
0's with a raw CD as with a frozen or green-colored CD, then
they don't sound different.  We've tested reading mechanisms
and errors are exceedingly rare.  Once the signal is converted 
to analog you can argue all you want, but a 1 is a 1 no matter
what the font hinting is like!  (I am not implying that all CD
players do not sound alike, they don't thank god)

David Boles
University of Texas at Austin
apas611@hermes.chpc.utexas.edu


>The Tice clock seems to be "modified" in a non-physical way. Like the maker
>waves his hands over it and chants incantations, or sprinkles it with holy
>water, or takes it with him when his friends from the astral plane abduct
>him in their saucer-shaped craft... (The process seems to be secret.)
>Tice's comments in the "manufacturer replies" section explicitly state
>that there is no relation between the cost of the "treatment" and the
>price charged for the product.
>
>Now, on the whole, I would ascribe the perceived changes to the placebo
>effect, and dismiss the issue as further evidence that audiophilia =
>insanity. But I would like to get the subject tied down a little more
>firmly in the details. So I have some questions. Does anyone have answers?
>
>1) These are not placed in the AC line between the mains source and the
>system-power input, if there is a single one. So what is the method of
>connection? Are they supposed to be plugged into the *same circuit* as
>the hifi system? What if the system has its own dedicated circuit? Or
>is it physical nearness that matters? That is, is the clock supposed to
>be in the same room as the system? If so, same room as the speakers or
>the electronics? (Mine are in separate rooms, and many others are also
>so split.) How is "room" defined here?
>
>2) Has anyone read the Tice "T.P.T." literature and could you summarize
>its claims? What about claims from other vendors?
>
>3) This sounds more like something from Auntie Enid at TAS than from
>Stereophile. My TAS subscription is in a state of flux right now and
>I'm waiting for some back issues to arrive in the mail. Has this stuff
>been discussed in TAS, and can someone point me to issues and article
>titles or page numbers? Or has TAS avoided this?
>
>4) Have any of the other esoteric publications embraced this? I haven't
>been seeing any except TAS, Stereophile, and $ensible Sound for some
>years now. I thought Hi Fi Heretic was the only other high-end mag in
>current production. Are there others still coming out?
>
>Hmmm... If we can get the people who have the transcendant inner ability
>to perform this process and impart these magic characteristics to
>electronics to cooperate, we can have a parallel to the "blessing of the
>animals" at hi-fi shows, as long lines of audiophiles lug their components
>and household appliances into the sanctuary, dropping their offerrings into
>the plate and passing their gear under the curtain into the presence of
>the modifier, who will perform the ritual and pass the cured component
>back out to the waiting arms of its owner... :-)
>
>Regards, Will
>wmartin@stl-06sima.army.mil