[GreenKeys] What is value of DS3100 and ST6

[Bob McConnell]

Ralph Mowery wrote:
> 
> The HI-FI people seem to be gulliable about many things.  One item that 
> always gets to me is the replacement AC cord that goes from the hi-fi to the 
> wall socket.  About 6 feet of the special wire can cost over $ 100.  Even if 
> that wire could make a differance, there is about 50 to 100 feet of 
> inexpensive wire in the wall going to the breaker/fuse box.  Some of the old 
> 'bumble bee' capacitors are going for a very high price also.  The hi-fi 
> people have been convienced that the tube equipment sounds lots beter than 
> solid state.  Bet most could not tell the differance.  I do understand some 
> of the differances in the sound, but I could not hear them.  Maybe like 
> wine, experts claim to tell the differance and maybe they can.

The HI-FI market is all about EGO. When that becomes a factor, they 
don't want to be confused by facts and will go to great lengths to avoid 
them. There is a noticeable difference between hollow and solid state 
sound. The hollow state amps are terribly distorted. Some folks seem to 
like that distortion, they describe it as "a warmer sound", or they 
simply can't hear the difference. It is possible to design solid state 
amps that distort the sound the same way, but why bother? Most consumers 
don't care one way or the other, even if it could make a difference when 
playing much of the junk known as popular music over the past half century.

On the other hand, most TTY folks got where they are because they have 
some modicum of intelligence and common sense. Many are exceptionally 
gifted in the areas of diagnostics and evaluating problems, more 
commonly referred to as troubleshooting. It is much more difficult to 
pull the wool over their eyes. Unfortunately, that combination of 
character traits has become very rare.

It occurs to me that this may be why many of us still enjoy tinkering 
with these old beasts. The challenge of keeping them running, compounded 
by the lack of a viable support infrastructure, is even greater now than 
when they were in productive use. Getting one set up well enough to 
pound out perfect text for half an hour can be a major ego boost for 
both the tinkerer and his "consultants".

Oh, my current background music is the Detroit Symphony Orchestra album 
"Debussy La Mer".

Bob McConnell
N2SPP