Half-a-brain loonies and internet geeks

[Marco]

Hehehehe... The problem for me is I've never really been into The Who in any great capacity, so wouldn't even recognise Pete Townsend if he walked into my living room now, never mind from an old photograph!

I like their music, for sure, when I hear it (I think I might have one album by them somewhere), but I wasn't even born when they formed (1964 I think?). All that stuff kind of passed me by and as I'm not a huge fan even now I don't really have the background knowledge some folks here take for granted

I'm an 80s boy (or late 70s) - that was my main music era. I started seriously listening to music and buying it when I was about 12, so we're talking 1977 onwards. Punk (and the likes of ABBA, and some of the disco stuff out around then) kicked it off for me, along with bands like Queen and Pink Floyd. As soon as the 80s started though I was into electronic music and bands like Depeche Mode, Yazoo, Human League, etc - The Who were not even on my radar and haven't been since. Sacrilege I know, but there you are...

I listen to all sorts now, though

So if I didn't even recognise the photograph Tim posted I had bugger all chance of knowing what he was referring to!


Marco.

[tfarney]

It's like reading Shakespeare, Marco. Understanding the cultural and historical references is half the game. Young sprout.

Tim

[Primalsea]

Meanwhile back on planet Earth in December 2008 a group of Hifi worriors are discussing mains filters (which was nothing to do with the original topic anyway).

Passive mains filters can actually cause a gain at some frequencies and their performance varies based on load. They only way a passive mains filter should be used is if it is designed especially for the item. However equipment with dynamic loads will cause a problem as well as constantly changing performance.

The filter may reduce some noise but will effect the current and voltage angles albeit at frequencies much higher than 50Hz. However this can have an effect on the powersupply of the equipment. You may not hear this as a reduction or increase in the noise floor but it will effect the "sound" the equipment makes.

SMPS's tend to add to the noise already on the mains. This again can't always be heard as noise floor but it will polute the equipment and can manifest as a subjective hardening of the sound. If your hifi is producing unwanted sound, even if you can't hear it its still making it along with the sound you do want. This means that its doing extra work on top of what you want it to do. Its not unresonable that it will effect the quality of the music replay.

Its late so hopefully that makes some sense.

[Marco]

Indeed, Tim.

Like lots of things in life it depends what your frames of reference are. I know lots about stuff I'm really into but am pretty ignorant about things that don't interest me, even when those things may be very popular and known well by others. If I'm not into something I'm unlikely to learn much or know much about it. I tend to live within my own 'zone' in many aspects of life and can be quite insular-minded in that repsect - that's just the way I am

Marco.

[tfarney]

Indeed, Tim.

Like lots of things in life it depends what your frames of reference are. I know lots about stuff I'm really into but am pretty ignorant about things that don't interest me, even when those things may be very popular and known well by others. If I'm not into something I'm unlikely to learn much or know much about it. I tend to live within my own 'zone' in many aspects of life and can be quite insular-minded in that repsect - that's just the way I am

Marco.

Sounds pretty human, Marco. What I know about Depeche Mode could be carried in a very small pocket.

Tim

[Beechwoods]

Out of interest, in what year did this monumentally 'famous' event occur?

http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/...pete_townshend

April 1980, as far as that pic is concerned but it's a bit of a trademark. I think I was thinking of when the whammy bar went into his hand... some time in 1994 (is there a :yawn: smiley anywhere?!)

I'm an 80s boy (or late 70s) - that was my main music era. I started seriously listening to music and buying it when I was about 12, so we're talking 1977 onwards.

I first got into The Who as a result of the Quadrophenia movie, released in 1979. It came at the start of the second mod revival, very contemporary with bands like The Jam around at the time. The album came out in '73.

You can't be into everything though Mr. Marco! But you should check Quadrophenia out, it is a great album and great film (interesting cast, Sting, Phil Daniels, Ray Winstone, Leslie Ash, Toyah...)

[Marco]

Cheers, Tim. I'm just honest and upfront about things - I'm a very open, 'straight up' kind of guy; if I don't know about something, I say so, rather than bullshitting just to save face. I'm quite happy to admit my ignorance on a particular subject. At least then people know that when I'm commenting about something I do know about, my views are based on genuine experience and knowledge, and not waffle for the sake of it.

Too many people are the other way, IMO!

Beechy,

April 1980, as far as that pic is concerned but it's a bit of a trademark. I think I was thinking of when the whammy bar went into his hand... some time in 1994 (is there a :yawn: smiley anywhere?!)

Cheers for the info, but like I said I wouldn't know. In either 1980 or 1994 I wasn't into The Who, but I'll certainly remember about them now!

I first got into The Who as a result of the Quadrophenia movie, released in 1979. It came at the start of the second mod revival, very contemporary with bands like The Jam around at the time. The album came out in '73.

Ah, I was never into the mod thing at all. I think that I may have seen Quadrophenia once but I really can't remember it. Undoubtedly it's a classic; I should watch it again sometime. You see, I was a biker or 'rocker' (well, I got my first motorbike in 1981) and hated the mod thing with a passion; probably why I wasn't into the music! There were guys at school with their (what I thought) silly looking Parker jackets with 'targets' on the back, which we (the 'rockers') put to good use in more ways than one - let's just say a few 'bull’s-eyes' were struck with some 'interesting' missiles .

Also, the girls at our school seemed to fancy 'rockers' more than mods maybe because of the leather jacket, tight 'drainpipe' jeans and Doc Marten boots thing (I had 18-hole Docs with green laces and a proper biker's jacket with Gong's 'Flying Teapot' on the back), so between the girly thing and not particularly liking the music there was no attraction in being a mod for me whatsoever.

The mods at our school tended to be spotty, geeky, guys with greasy hair and were not seen as 'cool' by us in any way - at least this was our mentality at the time. They had their silly little scooters ridiculously adorned with mirrors and were to us a joke. I used to love coming into school with my Yamaha RD50 'fizzy' with its 'racing bike' exhaust and which had been tuned to do a whopping 70mph! Well, it seemed fast then as bikes in those days were restricted to 30mph... All I'll say is that I was never short of female passengers on the back and places to go during the lunch break

Musically at that time I flitted between typical 'rocker' bands of the day such as Rush, AC/DC, Sabbath, UFO, Motorhead, etc, and 'new romantic'/electronic stuff such as I described earlier and the likes of Howard Jones, The Thomson Twins, Kajagoogoo, Blancmange, OMD, ABC - all sorts of shit. I'll even admit to liking Wham!, Michael Jackson and Duran Duran

So you can see how The Who didn't really fit into my world at the time, and they've not really come into my 'zone' much since.

Marco.

[Filterlab]

its a bit far fetched though, the delorian was never that fast!!!
A...

Indeed, in fact one was lucky if the battery on the DeLorean could sustain a start up. Not the finest engineered cars in the world.

[Marco]

Paul,

Passive mains filters can actually cause a gain at some frequencies and their performance varies based on load. They only way a passive mains filter should be used is if it is designed especially for the item. However equipment with dynamic loads will cause a problem as well as constantly changing performance.

The filter may reduce some noise but will effect the current and voltage angles albeit at frequencies much higher than 50Hz. However this can have an effect on the powersupply of the equipment. You may not hear this as a reduction or increase in the noise floor but it will effect the "sound" the equipment makes.

SMPS's tend to add to the noise already on the mains. This again can't always be heard as noise floor but it will polute the equipment and can manifest as a subjective hardening of the sound. If your hifi is producing unwanted sound, even if you can't hear it its still making it along with the sound you do want. This means that its doing extra work on top of what you want it to do. Its not unresonable that it will effect the quality of the music replay.

Its late so hopefully that makes some sense.

Yes to me it makes sense as it's exactly what I was describing earlier to Tim, but put in more technical way. I completely agree with you.

Tim,

What's your opinion on what Paul has written?

Marco.

[Beechwoods]

LOL Marco, nice memories. I was 6 in '79 and my year of Musical awakening was 1987. My Bloody Valentine, House Of Love and The Sugarcubes. I was 14.

I've never had to consider taking sides in the mods v rocker thing... I'd have been a hippy anyway. On the road and off to Stonehenge