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  • Audio torture

    In the 1960's, many burglar alarms measured disturbances in a high-pitched sound background to detect intrusion. The horrible screeching noise was on all the time. It drove me out of my church and left me reluctant even to step inside for funerals. (The custodian would turn it off for me, but only if asked.) When my kids were small, I could ...
    Posted to Human Nature by Mary Arneson on February 21, 2008

  • Psychologist Discusses Hypnosis To Stop And Quit Smoking

    As a psychologist and certified hypnotherapist, I understand that Hypnosis for Smoking Cessation is not necessarily for everyone. Nonetheless, according to a 1992 New Scientist article, ''Hypnosis is the most effective way of giving up smoking.'' To this day, its declaration appears applicable, especially within our present-day environment that ...
    Posted to Shopping by Jerry0065 on February 17, 2008

  • Re: Getting better? Maybe not.

    Psychedelicious: Now come on, haven't you ever sold something as ''Like new in box'' on ebay? So long as the original purchase was well researched and you buy new at the lowest price you can find, reselling on eBay usually recoups 90% of the retail, a better return than the ''restock fee'' some merchants charge. It is even possible to resell ...
    Posted to Technology by gzuckier on December 13, 2007

  • Re: hi end is baloney

    Psychedelicious: ferrellms:Please try my experiment before making your claims. Controlled listening tests (using high-end headphones) have shown that audiophiles cannot tell the difference between 192KBS MP3 and WAV. I've done better than your experiment, I have encoded MP3 and then put the compressed and uncompressed versions of the same ...
    Posted to Technology by gzuckier on December 13, 2007

  • most people don't listen to music

    I don't think most people just park themselves in front of the ''hifi'' and listen any more; they're using the music as background, or dancing, or singing along, or driving; not concentrating on the music ''experience''. There's just too many alternatives competing for our time. And the fact is, that if there's a song or classical piece you like, ...
    Posted to Technology by gzuckier on December 5, 2007

  • Re: hi end is baloney

    ferrellms:High end audio is one of the longest-running frauds ever. Getting people to part with thousands of dollars for speaker cables is evidently easier than you would think, or at least, there are a few suckers out there with lots of money.Time and time again it has been proven that high-end stuff sounds no different from the ''mid-fi'' stuff ...
    Posted to Technology by gzuckier on December 5, 2007

  • Re: Getting better? Maybe not.

    sphealey: > It's worth noting that digital audio files > will get better, just as compact discs did. The idea that technologies and their outcomes always ''get better'' is IMHO a remnant of the 1920-1980 period. In today's world driven by marketing, data mining, and the corporate buyers at Wal-Mart technology often becomes cheaper and ...
    Posted to Technology by gzuckier on December 5, 2007

  • Re: what nobody get's about hifi

    case42tlc: There is an elephant in the living room on the subject of hifi that no one ever talks about: In general, people like highly compressed music! This is the main reason most people, including audiophiles, prefer vinyl to digital. The limited dynamic range of analog is a positive; people describe the music as thicker, more intense. I ...
    Posted to Technology by gzuckier on December 5, 2007

  • HiFi

    First off, let's get one thing straight: there is NO substitute for the live performance. That said, it's a shame to see music critics, and many musicians settle for the lowsy sound quality of highly compressed digital formats. Just when CD/SACD recordings and gear had reached the level where they can be generally listenable, at least on some ...
    Posted to Technology by BillWay on December 4, 2007