The only problem with Peter Aczel is that never comes to the point or speaks his mind. {:>) He also happens to be right because he has science on his side.

I just subscribed to The Audio Critic, which is now strictly an Internet publication. And it only costs $13 for life!

Well, I for one believe there is a lot of voodoo in the audio industry. I don't however believe that science has all the answers.

There is a lot of monster companies, that make big profits on items that would make good welding cables.

The reason I think Outlaw builds good products is there is a lot of heart, sole and science that goes into the product, which make good sound. A lot of foreign products are built on straight science. It should sound good, because the science says so on paper..

And yes, weight does make a difference... and yes, that has to do with science..

God, I haven't read anything from Peter Aczel since the 80's! Always liked his no nonsense, rational point of view.

Electrons have changed since the 80's so it may not be relevent anymore..

Other voodoo babble from the pages of Stereophile et al. I swear that none of it is made up.

1. Put a brick on you amplifier to dampen vibration. Not just any brick, mind you, but an expensive one from VPI.
2. Put your equipment rack on tiptoes. This also reduces vibration and improves sound. We're not talking turntables either.
3. Clean your contacts with Brand X contact cleaner for better sound. By that I mean you will get better sound than by using Brand Y of contact cleaner.
4. Preamp A has more "air" than preamp B, some genuius said, listening to the two units six months apart. What a memory!
5. Purchase this special clock that has been "bombarded" with electrons, pixie dust, or whatever. Once plugged in, it will properly align the electrons in your house's AC line and VASTLY improve your audio system's sound quality. By the way, the clock came from Radio Shack and cost $20 - $30. After bombardment, it was more like $450.
6. Mobile Fidelty Sound Labs, whose re-mastering skills have created excellent recordings, came out with gold-plated CDs some years back and insisted that gold sounded better than aluminum. Yep, those 1s and 0s really care what kind of metal on which they exist. The FTC took umbrage at that little advertising slogan and put a stop to it. Yes, gold will last longer than aluminum - assuming you store your CDs outside without a case.
7. A young salesman in a nationally-known Chicago hifi store showed me a headphone amp/volume control the store had built and were selling for $350. It was powered by a 9-volt battery, but he warned me to use Brand A battery because it sounds SO much better than Brand B's battery. He never suggested that Brand B couldn't deliver 9 volts under load conditions, just that it sounded worse. You gotta admit the kid was good. He could hear DC.

Remember, these are all things that so-called self-professed "experts" have insisted made significant improvements, sometimes shocking them or sucking the breath from their lungs. I am not exaggerating those claims. Sadly, they also have powerful influence. That they have any at all is a disgrace.

Didn't I just go through this discussion?

BTW, you for got 'burn in' of electronic and cables. Stereopile is really big on that.

And my personal favourite tweak: Michael Green's clamp-racks. You place your gear between the adjustable height shelving and squeeeeeze the equipment until it produces good sound. They call it "tuning"; I call it for what it is: torture.

I cannot look at this thread any longer without commenting. Regarding the information in the link a while back revealing "lies" in the audio industry he makes some good points, but over all he is makes himself out to be exactly like the “self proclaimed experts” he is putting down. As a soon to be engineer, I disagree with the RCL comments he makes regarding interconnects and speaker wire. He does not make any mention of skin effect or current bunching in conductors, which become a problem as frequencies rise (in the audible realm). So I guess I am taking a different side than many of the other engineers and saying that science is on my side as far as cables go. http://www.analysis-plus.com/ this is a good link regarding the more complex properties of conductors, and they are able to explain the information so that everyone can understand. I am taking a class in signal analysis for mechanical engineers right now so this stuff is rather fresh in my head. I also understand that this is a manufacturer’s web site and they are trying to sell a product. As far as speaker cable goes no one can tell me that there is no audible difference and that all the change is psychological, and no I have not done any blind testing of any kind, but when my mom can hear a positive difference in cables she didn’t even want me to buy, that really sells it for me.

Sorry if this is off topic, but I just figured somebody needed to stick up for the other side of this argument.

I might suggest at this point that this thread has long ago left any hint of dealing with the 990. Perhaps if people would like to continue the discussion, it could be moved somewhere a bit more appropriate.

Edit:

Took my own advice. Here's the new thread .