View Full Version : You people ought to try this
Last sunday i sat down to listen to music.Pulled out an lp and began listening.
The sound was so terrible,i shut the system down and went downstairs to play some "gran tourismo 5" . Don't you just love that game? :lolsign:
Anyways,it was,i believe,2 p.m. and before that,i was reading some reviews about power conditioners etc and one reviewer i trust (Alan Sircom) said on two different occasions how that particular equipment made his system sound
like it was 3 a.m. , so , decided to stay awake and give it a try. I did that many times before i got married and know how a system sounds in the early morning hours but after all those years,i simply forgot. Mind you,i must have got 4-5 Audioprism "quietLines" in my system and at least 2 Isotek Gii Neoplugs.All the sources go through a fully loaded isotek Substation (filters + isolations transformers) and all the mains cables are VanDenHul Mainstream.
Those of you who know me,know i do not exagarate like some reviwers we all know :) yet,the difference in sound quality was in one word PROFOUND.
Do yourselves a favour.Stay one night awake and play your system after midnight.It doeasn't have to be loud.Just listen at normal listening levels and tell me what you think,especially those of you who did not treat their systems with aftermarket power cables,conditioners etc.
I’m not saying mains conditioning doesn’t work because it can. It’s not as good as having dedicated mains, or balanced power or possibly best of all, full mains regeneration.
What I do find a bit odd is why people believe that their system sounds better at 3 am.
This phenomena is often put down to the quality of the mains supply, very rarely does anyone consider that the ambient noise is that much lower.
I’m not talking about the obvious household noises, more the constant infra bass and high frequency “static” that while not immediately audible is still there if you live in an urban environment.
I’m not saying mains conditioning doesn’t work because it can. It’s not as good as having dedicated mains, or balanced power or possibly best of all, full mains regeneration.
What I do find a bit odd is why people believe that their system sounds better at 3 am.
This phenomena is often put down to the quality of the mains supply, very rarely does anyone consider that the ambient noise is that much lower.
I’m not talking about the obvious household noises, more the constant infra bass and high frequency “static” that while not immediately audible is still there if you live in an urban environment.
Agree 100% - also, your system will sound better at 3am if it has been snowing heavily! (Seriously, go outside in the early hours and listen for yourself how deadly quiet it is, and if you've got snow, its eerily quiet.)
The Vinyl Adventure
22-02-2011, 09:11
Agree 100% - also, your system will sound better at 3am if it has been snowing heavily! (Seriously, go outside in the early hours and listen for yourself how deadly quiet it is, and if you've got snow, its eerily quiet.)
Hah I was saying this ... I said to a few people snow makes the world sound different ... Everyone dismissed me as a loony ... But it does, whilst it was snowing a lot here last time, inside and outside I thought everything sounded different
Plus if there's enough of it you can't leave the house and have to stay at home and listen to tunes! I firmly believe that God is both a photographer and an audiophile, hence why he invented snow!
Ali Tait
22-02-2011, 10:09
Yes, I do this when I take people for the first time up to my folk's place in Braemar, which is a small village up in the Cairngorms. It's a great place to get away from the rat race. We'd usually arrive in the evening, and when we get out of the car, I say "Shh, listen!"
The person will listen for a few seconds, and then say "I can't hear anything"
I smile, and say, "Exactly" :)
It's not just the mains which improves after midnight, although I remember early Naim based systems sounding significantly better once everyone had turned their TV's off and gone to bed. I think our ears can relax and return to maximum sensitivity too and once we have unwound from the day and approach bedtime, everything is more relaxed.
As for the snow aspect, maybe the change in humidity has an audible effect. Dear old Jimmy Hughes used to have a humidifier in his two-level room. I wonder if fifteen years of marriage has tamed him by now - bless him - I ought to get back in touch :)
If I'm still listening to my stereo at 3am there's usually been some beer involved in the equation...or something else.
And yes it does sound very good at that time, but I'd hardly call it a controlled experiment :cool:
And i gave it a listen at just past midnight.I quess,as you all agree,3 am is better.
As for snow over here....fat chance !!!! lol
chris@panteg
22-02-2011, 11:44
I listen to my 2nd system with QL1 into the small hours ' very often and yes it does sound better , with my other system it impossible as next door people are trying to sleep .
jandl100
22-02-2011, 12:10
..... with my other system it impossible as next door people are trying to sleep .
tsk tsk - neighbours can be so selfish! :eyebrows:
with my system, when midnight passes the mains goes onto the cheap rate ... and the voltage drops significantly (so says my Belkin PF40 mains doodad - from mid 230s down to 215V or so :scratch:) ... and the amp starts to hum a bit ... and I trot off to bed! :goodnight:
tsk tsk - neighbours can be so selfish! :eyebrows:
with my system, when midnight passes the mains goes onto the cheap rate ... and the voltage drops significantly (so says my Belkin PF40 mains doodad - from mid 230s down to 215V or so :scratch:) ... and the amp starts to hum a bit ... and I trot off to bed! :goodnight:
Going a bit off topic (what, on AoS? Never!) but do you actually need cheap rate over night Jerry? Most utilities companies that give you a cheap night rate are also giving you a more expensive day rate in the same package - unless you've got storage heating very unlikely that you will be saving any money I suspect (we moved off Economy 7 or whatever it was onto a flat rate and saved £25 a month - and that was with putting the dishwasher, tumble drier and washing machine on in the wee small hours when we had cheap rate - now we just do it whenever which saves a lot of hassle in itself.)
jandl100
22-02-2011, 12:27
Interesting point, Hamish!
I will look into that.
But ....
- unless you've got storage heating
Yup, we do! :)
It's still worth looking into, though. I'll mention it to the missus!
Well I have to say my system does indeed sound better in the early hours. I cant play it loud as live in a semi but it sounds better however as already mentioned a few beers are involved:cool:
Filterlab
22-02-2011, 13:17
...went downstairs to play some "gran tourismo 5" . Don't you just love that game?
Yep, especially driving my 951hp Audi RS6 with full racing everything. It destroys every other car on the circuit, well it does at level 15 anyway. I got bored after that and went back to GTA. ;)
magiccarpetride
22-02-2011, 17:22
Agree 100% - also, your system will sound better at 3am if it has been snowing heavily! (Seriously, go outside in the early hours and listen for yourself how deadly quiet it is, and if you've got snow, its eerily quiet.)
No kidding. That's why my local ultra high-end audio store is selling audiophile-grade snow. It's been treated for maximum audiophile impact, whereby the snowflake molecules have been 'normalized' for the best 'blackest blacks' audiophile effect.
I've tried it and, by golly, the difference is snow-and-sand!
Also completely agree that listening at 3:00 am creates a night-and-day difference.
The person will listen for a few seconds, and then say "I can't hear anything". I smile, and say, "Exactly"
The countryside is not actually quiet. If you listen very carefully you will hear the faint sounds of a thousand small creatures trying to unobtrusively kill each other.
Ali Tait
23-02-2011, 22:07
Yeah but there's no man-made noise!
No kidding. That's why my local ultra high-end audio store is selling audiophile-grade snow. It's been treated for maximum audiophile impact, whereby the snowflake molecules have been 'normalized' for the best 'blackest blacks' audiophile effect.
I've tried it and, by golly, the difference is snow-and-sand!
Also completely agree that listening at 3:00 am creates a night-and-day difference.
Watch out where the Hussys go,and don't you eat that yellow snow...
Every body knows real audiophile snow is yellow.
.............. If you listen very carefully you will hear the faint sounds of a thousand small creatures trying to unobtrusively kill each other.
.....or thinking to themselves
''.......i wish those Humans would turn down thier Bl**dy Hi-Fi's, some of us are trying to sleep...........''
I think it may be a psychological thing but to me, my system sounds better in the Dark. Whether that be during the Day or Night. ?:mental:?
Watch out where the Hussys go,and don't you eat that yellow snow...
...typical Aussies ;)
magiccarpetride
02-03-2011, 17:36
Watch out where the Hussys go,and don't you eat that yellow snow...
Every body knows real audiophile snow is yellow.
Gross. But it works!
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