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In Reply to: RE: It's probably because I am an old fart but posted by Davey on July 24, 2017 at 20:38:21
every profession suffers from fashion, group think, and sell outs. the most common problem is mythology. in some areas like medicine it can take an entire generation to clear out mistakes. the more complex the field so it relies more on other fields to base its principles on. when new discoveries are made, old ones refined, or outright errors corrected, the complex expertise relying on these foundations may retain misconceptions for decades after they were discovered and corrected.
the larger the amount of money involved the larger the temptation to create fake science and continue teaching documented errors to the next generation of professionals.
Follow Ups:
"the larger the amount of money involved the larger the temptation to create fake science and continue teaching documented errors to the next generation of professionals."
A fairly good synopsis of the "high-end" audio industry. :)
It's important to understand that some things in basic electronics are....basic. They will not be refined, or errors corrected, or similar. Ohm's Law is not going to found in error by some creative genius in the "high-end" audio industry. :)
Dave.
"Ohm's Law is not going to found in error by some creative genius in the 'high-end' audio industry."
LOL, you haven't spoken to any designers of exotic cables lately, have you.
Ah, well, off to put another batch of CD's in the freezer.
Well, as a matter of fact I have. :)
I recently told one of the "high-end" cable manufacturers at the AudioCircle jerk forum that his $8000.00 speaker cables were ridiculously overpriced.
Considering the business model on that forum and the whiney mentality of some of the "industry members", you can guess what happened. :)
Dave.
Heh -- I'm definitely in the wrong business. Want to be the first customer for my alluvial mouse whisker enhanced endrohence superconducting etheric quantum cables? Only $7000 -- see, I'm undercutting the other guy, and rumor has it that he's cutting corners by using whiskers from run-of-the-mill savanna mice on the sly.
high end audio has its share of issues, but where the big money is is in consumer and pro audio electronics not in the high end. it is in the large companies selling convenience audio and marketing based features rather than sound quality as a guide. the costs are held down to increase margins and the products are often just a tad better than trash, so long as they work. on the other hand you can obtain some mighty good performance from some low cost products, but those are not that common.
the disregard for sound quality is ingrained with attempts to cut costs using cheap parts and components backed up by blind tests with listener test pools with no interest in sound quality or experience of live acoustic music with which to judge fidelity.
high end is a tiny business and the top flagships win interest in the rest of the range and prop up margins on the lower end of the line. but that creates a trap for the companies where they need to retain the audio bling appearance on lower priced goods. often leaves little for the parts inside.
"high end is a tiny business and the top flagships win interest in the rest of the range and prop up margins on the lower end of the line. but that creates a trap for the companies where they need to retain the audio bling appearance on lower priced goods. often leaves little for the parts inside."
Isn't it common here for inmates to berate Magnepan for using mediocre parts in both their lower priced entry level and flagship speakers? It appears common to find discussions describing their replacement. It might follow then that one needn't travel far to see a good example.
the point is made with the magnepan and vandersteen exception though vandersteen did go the royal barge way with its top end speakers over the last decade. but both did go for the value market and provide good value in part by not marking up their top end product and not gold plating it nor using exotic parts. that does leave us room to improve performance but the stock speakers compete successfully with speakers priced 10 fold higher.
I think the point is whether or not a manufacturer willingly cuts corners in the quality of their product (e.g., Magnepan's speaker terminals, set-screws and jacks or cross-overs parts) to maximize profits, and perhaps pay for 'bling'? IIRC Magnepan was here accused of offering bling in their use of wood-like side-rails in some Tympanis, when neither required nor used in other Tympanis. In fact didn't that poster say he preferred their look without side-rails?
The IVA had different bracing for the frame and were downright flimsy without the wood siderails. They were not at all bling just a necessary structural element that was incorporated into the aesthetic.
When Magnepan introduced their connection scheme it was a major upgrade over the terminal strip and screw terminals. But those were pretty much standard for the day along with nickel plated RCA connectors that we know today are a no no.
Satie, thank you for informing me of that information, which is very much appreciated.
Satie wrote: "The IVA had different bracing for the frame and were downright flimsy without the wood siderails."
Can you give details in which way it was changed? I have not seen a great difference fron the IV. Same kind of structure or have I missed something? I like the look of the Tympanis without the side rails. Mine are solid oak and do not help very much in order to reduce the "flimsiness" of the baffles.
My 1982 TIV have hardwood frames on the bass panels, not MDF. They are stiff and solid. The MDF mid/tweeter panel is stiffened with sheetmetal.
For the T IVa you can compare notes with Josh and other T IVa owners. IIRC he noted that the panels are flimsy without the oak side panels.
My Tympani IIIA (1975) had hardwood around the edges. The drivers were glued and riveted on 1/8" board.
My Tympani IVa (1985) have 3/4" MDF but where the drivers are mounted it is rather thick, more than 1/8", about the half of the 3/4".My 3.6 (2003) are similar to the IVa.
All three are stiffened with strips of sheetmetal, both front and rear along the height of the baffles.
Edits: 07/29/17
I didn't remember how the steel bracing was mounted on the bass panels, but now that you describe it it seems right and familliar. I only had the bass panels partially uncovered to fix cracks in the wood frame corners from shipping with epoxy and using carpenter's clamps. Then I sowed it up. When they had problems a few years later I sent them to Magnepan for the repair. That was 15 years ago.
The steel crossbars? The number of crossbars and its positions seems identical on IV and IVa. A picture of my friends IV looks very much like my IVa, even look like MDF. Very old Tympanis (like the IIIA) have them secured by glue and screws. My IVa have hem just glued and they can come loose after some 10th of years. The 3.6 also have them glued.
Yes, I think the crossbars are what I saw at the top where I was working. I don't remember screws or the lack of them.
Satie, you're just rationalizing now. That explanation might work outside the weird venue of an audio forum like this, but not here.
Dave.
A high-end amplifier manufacturer told me once that he tried making a budget amplifier by using a functional faceplate rather than the expensive milled aluminum thing and that they didn't sell.
I suppose that those of us with speakers bigger than we are shouldn't talk. :-)
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