Re: [ARSCLIST] Mostly for laughs

[phillip holmes <insuranceman@xxxxxxxxxx>]

I'd be very afraid to freeze a brass instrument.  What if those minute 
imperfections were what gave the instrument its character?  I think the 
only place where it is measurable is wear resistance.  Blades stay sharp 
longer.  Engines last longer and have fewer stress fractures.  It's 
plausible, though not likely, that if you took an entire system, 
including AC wiring from the transformer, breakers, sockets, that there 
might be a cumulative affect.  Let's say that when the house was wired, 
there was a stress fracture in the Romex, and cryogenics partially 
"cured" the problem (don't ask me how--this is hypothetical), that 
contact resistance would be reduced and noise would go down with that.  
This also means that you were dealing with either faulty products or 
workmanship.  Also, most of the wires being "tweaked" by audiophools are 
more than a decent CD player.  I don't see how or why a $500 cable would 
need to be "tweaked" to sound good.  The best "tweak" I ever found was 
unplugging and plugging back every connections and tightening the screws 
on the wall outlets.  It lowered noise (hum and hiss). 
Phillip

Peter Hirsch wrote:
> This topic has been raised and debated on the list for hornplayers that I also
> subscribe to. There are repair shops that will cryogenically treat entire
> instruments in hopes of aligning the crystal structure of the metal. The
> upshot, as I recall, was that some claimed that they could tell the difference
> between before and after and some couldn't. Some of the metallurgically
> inclined on the list cited facts to prove or disprove claims of the process'
> efficacy, but no clear conclusion was agreed upon (big surprise). It is agreed
> that there is a measurable effect on the metals, but whether or not that
> amounts to a hill of beans when the metals are used and measured acoustically,
> is highly debatable (that's what listservs are here for, right?)
>
> So, I am glad to have fully cleared all of that up <wry, wincing grin>. If
> anyone is particularly interested in this angle, contact me and I can search
> the hornlist's archives for the actual postings.
>
> Regards,
>
> Peter Hirsch
>
>   
>