posted before, ten biggest lies..

[bubbagump]

Most but the newest of the new will have read this but it's now offered in pdf format as a sample of what is in the online version of the Audio Critic, the most entertaining of all audio mags:

http://www.theaudiocritic.com/downloads/article_1.pdf

[DaHaq]

Screw them, I still want a tube amp

[Feanor]

Is that a copywrite infringement?? Oh well.

Peter Azcel is (or effects to be) extreme and dogmatic here, but he's a lot more right than wrong, IMO.

Most but the newest of the new will have read this but it's now offered in pdf format as a sample of what is in the online version of the Audio Critic, the most entertaining of all audio mags:

http://www.theaudiocritic.com/downloads/article_1.pdf

[jneutron]

hmmm..

CD treatment lie.

If a surface is not optically clear, as in lots of scratches, the application of a liquid or a suspension which has the same index of refraction as the surface, allows more light to enter the surface and not be reflected diffusely.. So why are all CD treatments equally trashed??

Bi-wire lie..

There may be a significant issue with the simple application of superposition to a wire. I'm looking into that..

There are other faults with the article..

The biggest problem with the format is the 11 by 17 one. I can't print it and put it into one of my notebooks..

Cheers, John

[RGA]

"The Peter Aczel who sucked in a lot of subscribers and then disappeared for awhile.
The Fourier speaker fiasco. He liked the NAD 3020 and original Quads,at one time was a believer. You better watch out who you put your trust in because if you have any of his original reviews he was one of the first to rave about Exotic speaker cables such as Fulton Gold and Brown and being able to hear the benefits of better cable. Now who are you going to believe?"

"I hesitated in bringing up the Fourier loudspeaker scam but hey, now that the genie is out of the bottle... Chuck, why don't you fill in Loubaloo et al on the sordid details. Perhaps a little more info on the ethics of their hero would put a different light on the man and his beliefs. Its interesting how often the evangelists, those with the most intolerant, inflexible beliefs, get caught with their pants around their ankles."

"I was an original subscriber to the Audio Critic and used to enjoy what Mr Aczel said. Back then if IAR, Absolute sound, Stereophile and Audio Critic all agreed on the merits of a component then there was a pretty good chance that it was good. The next step any logically thinking audiophile would do was to get out of his listening chair and seek out where said product could be listened to and then make a decision. I used to travel from Niagara to Toronto and to Buffalo ,the Stereo Emporium, and a place on Niagara Falls Boulevard where Mr Krell, Dan D"Agostino cut his pre-Krell teeth to listen to high ned audio.
When Mr. Aczel put his money into theFourier speaker product,his was the only mag that sang it's praises.He said it was the best that money could buy and like someone said "they are all in it to make a buck" So when the speaker failed to make it's mark, Mr. Aczel and his magazine and speaker went under leaving many people out in the cold.
When he did resurface he came back with a vengence denouncing all things high end,and apparently has a new audience with a different perspective on High end audio.
Perhaps he should start up his speaker again as it appears there are quite a few "audiophiles" on this site who would plunk down their cash because of their faith in his outlook on the High End."


"Just to make this crystal clear though- Mr Aczel and his hi-end audio print magazine, the Audio Critic, were the ONLY champions of the Fourier speaker in the high-end community. In the pages of the Audio Critic, Mr Aczel stated that the Fourier speaker was indeed the best you could buy, state-of the-art, blah blah... He did not however, reveal that he had a financial interest in the Fourier Loudspeakers company. That was discovered and revealed a short while later by his peers in the Absolute Sound if memory serves me correctly (It was a long time ago!).

The rather average sonics of the Fourier speakers, and the glaring conflict of interest that had been revealed by the other magazines destroyed Mr Aczel's reputation. There was much heated discussion about the ethics of hi-end audio reviewing and Mr Aczel's ethics specifically amongst the pages of the Absolute Sound and other 'zines at the time. The failure of both the Audio Critic print magazine and the Fourier Loudspeaker company followed shortly thereafter.

Hmmm, perhaps as Chuck (and many magazine reviewers) have implied, there was a much simpler and nastier explanation for Mr. Aczels sudden and vociferous conversion to the "other side"... Just 'cuz the guy can write well does not make him an honest or honorable individual. "

[kexodusc]

"The Peter Aczel who sucked in a lot of subscribers and then disappeared for awhile.
The Fourier speaker fiasco. He liked the NAD 3020 and original Quads,at one time was a believer. You better watch out who you put your trust in because if you have any of his original reviews he was one of the first to rave about Exotic speaker cables such as Fulton Gold and Brown and being able to hear the benefits of better cable. Now who are you going to believe?"

"I hesitated in bringing up the Fourier loudspeaker scam but hey, now that the genie is out of the bottle... Chuck, why don't you fill in Loubaloo et al on the sordid details. Perhaps a little more info on the ethics of their hero would put a different light on the man and his beliefs. Its interesting how often the evangelists, those with the most intolerant, inflexible beliefs, get caught with their pants around their ankles."

"I was an original subscriber to the Audio Critic and used to enjoy what Mr Aczel said. Back then if IAR, Absolute sound, Stereophile and Audio Critic all agreed on the merits of a component then there was a pretty good chance that it was good. The next step any logically thinking audiophile would do was to get out of his listening chair and seek out where said product could be listened to and then make a decision. I used to travel from Niagara to Toronto and to Buffalo ,the Stereo Emporium, and a place on Niagara Falls Boulevard where Mr Krell, Dan D"Agostino cut his pre-Krell teeth to listen to high ned audio.
When Mr. Aczel put his money into theFourier speaker product,his was the only mag that sang it's praises.He said it was the best that money could buy and like someone said "they are all in it to make a buck" So when the speaker failed to make it's mark, Mr. Aczel and his magazine and speaker went under leaving many people out in the cold.
When he did resurface he came back with a vengence denouncing all things high end,and apparently has a new audience with a different perspective on High end audio.
Perhaps he should start up his speaker again as it appears there are quite a few "audiophiles" on this site who would plunk down their cash because of their faith in his outlook on the High End."


"Just to make this crystal clear though- Mr Aczel and his hi-end audio print magazine, the Audio Critic, were the ONLY champions of the Fourier speaker in the high-end community. In the pages of the Audio Critic, Mr Aczel stated that the Fourier speaker was indeed the best you could buy, state-of the-art, blah blah... He did not however, reveal that he had a financial interest in the Fourier Loudspeakers company. That was discovered and revealed a short while later by his peers in the Absolute Sound if memory serves me correctly (It was a long time ago!).

The rather average sonics of the Fourier speakers, and the glaring conflict of interest that had been revealed by the other magazines destroyed Mr Aczel's reputation. There was much heated discussion about the ethics of hi-end audio reviewing and Mr Aczel's ethics specifically amongst the pages of the Absolute Sound and other 'zines at the time. The failure of both the Audio Critic print magazine and the Fourier Loudspeaker company followed shortly thereafter.

Hmmm, perhaps as Chuck (and many magazine reviewers) have implied, there was a much simpler and nastier explanation for Mr. Aczels sudden and vociferous conversion to the "other side"... Just 'cuz the guy can write well does not make him an honest or honorable individual. "

Does attacking the man now invalidate his claims?

[musicoverall]

Does attacking the man now invalidate his claims?

No, but it speaks to his integrity. It's a lot tougher to believe a man with zero integrity. The Fourier speaker fiasco is certainly a big part of that but the mere fact that he calls all of these audio claims "lies"... as if we're all lying to each other and ourselves... shows me he's a man that is simply an extremist that should be ignored. On the other hand, if his vitriol sells more magazines to other audio extremists, more power to him.

[bacchanal]

CD treatment lie.

If a surface is not optically clear, as in lots of scratches, the application of a liquid or a suspension which has the same index of refraction as the surface, allows more light to enter the surface and not be reflected diffusely.. So why are all CD treatments equally trashed??

It's a digital signal. If it can be read at all, it is being read as absolute 1s and 0s. If it can't be read, it's time to replace the disc. Cleaning is one thing, cd treatment is another.

The biggest problem with the format is the 11 by 17 one. I can't print it and put it into one of my notebooks..

fit to page, but it's not worth printing anyway

[jneutron]

It's a digital signal. If it can be read at all, it is being read as absolute 1s and 0s. If it can't be read, it's time to replace the disc. Cleaning is one thing, cd treatment is another.

Cleaning only removes things that are in the way. Goop, fingerprints, coffee..whatever..

Coating the surface with a material which has a matching refractive index that can fill scratches will certainly help, if the unit is unable to see adequately all those one's and zero's as a result of surface finish issues.

Both of those are valid.

Demagnetizing or using the magic chip...is certainly silly.

fit to page, but it's not worth printing anyway

It is all worth printing.

Printing and believing are two different things.

To arrive at a solution, one must know the problem. So many of the blanket diatribes are just useless, but worth reading to understand the source.

Cheers, John

[daviethek]

In my job I have qualified examination procedures to DBT where we lead a team of technicians through task of identifying flaws in components according to strict procedure instruction. First the procedure is tested and secondly the personnel are tested, thus double blind in my application. This is only partially related to the discussion here but I have a couple of observations after leading many of these exercises.

To have more than one person select the same attribute with accuracy, both need to be trained similarly, a point already made in this forum. For audio, this might require the test takers to be, at the minimum, passionate listeners as opposed to dispassionate, which most Americans are unfortunately ,Test participants need to be round the same age. Hearing loss between say 55 and 70 could be significant and skew results.

I thought improvements in equipment came from careful selection of components and attention to wiring and assembly not dbt. Anyway, I'm one of those guy that hears minor improvements from cable, DAC upsampling and vibration control. I must be cursed.

[hermanv]

Science is developed after the observation not the other way around. Someone sees a phenominon, wonders whats going on and then develops a theory or equation to explain the effect. The effect exisits before the scientific explanation. Lack of an explanation does not invalidate the observation, I or we just don't know, is a perfectly valid answer.