[cplus44]

I was listening to a topping L30 E30 I got with a pair of Sundaras. I thought it didn’t sound great and thought the wall outlet was having power issues (I’ve never had any other amp and DAC before this so I wasn’t sure) so I literally started googling stuff about wall outlets. I then realized I could go to my basement and grab an extension cord and try a different outlet so I did. Plugged the extension cord, plugged the gear, turn on, press play and I couldn’t believe how incredible it sounded so I listened for the last three hours and thought ‘yeah that outlet is bad’. I then decided to try plugging the amp and DAC back into the original outlet to see how different it sounded and…. IT SOUNDED EXACTLY THE SAME LOL!

This completely opened my eyes To how powerful placebo can be. It completely caught me off guard, I’ve been sitting here for the last ten minutes thinking about it.

Just thought id share, I’ll never underestimate how powerful it can be again.

 

[chezzer]

Hahaha, at least you didn't spend any money on dedicated power supplies and filters

 

[omniweltall]

I was listening to a topping L30 E30 I got with a pair of Sundaras. I thought it didn’t sound great and thought the wall outlet was having power issues (I’ve never had any other amp and DAC before this so I wasn’t sure) so I literally started googling stuff about wall outlets. I then realized I could go to my basement and grab an extension cord and try a different outlet so I did. Plugged the extension cord, plugged the gear, turn on, press play and I couldn’t believe how incredible it sounded so I listened for the last three hours and thought ‘yeah that outlet is bad’. I then decided to try plugging the amp and DAC back into the original outlet to see how different it sounded and…. IT SOUNDED EXACTLY THE SAME LOL!

This completely opened my eyes To how powerful placebo can be. It completely caught me off guard, I’ve been sitting here for the last ten minutes thinking about it.

Just thought id share, I’ll never underestimate how powerful it can be again.

This is exactly what the industry has been relying on for years. And how it has flourished.

 

[venussea]

I was listening to a topping L30 E30 I got with a pair of Sundaras. I thought it didn’t sound great and thought the wall outlet was having power issues (I’ve never had any other amp and DAC before this so I wasn’t sure) so I literally started googling stuff about wall outlets. I then realized I could go to my basement and grab an extension cord and try a different outlet so I did. Plugged the extension cord, plugged the gear, turn on, press play and I couldn’t believe how incredible it sounded so I listened for the last three hours and thought ‘yeah that outlet is bad’. I then decided to try plugging the amp and DAC back into the original outlet to see how different it sounded and…. IT SOUNDED EXACTLY THE SAME LOL!

This completely opened my eyes To how powerful placebo can be. It completely caught me off guard, I’ve been sitting here for the last ten minutes thinking about it.

Just thought id share, I’ll never underestimate how powerful it can be again.

Well, that was a great discovering. You'll get addicted now that figured it out.

 

[Elegiac]

That's great. I mean it. Stay smart.

But I also just need somewhere to post this.

 

[SilverEars]

As you have more and more listen sessions, you will get an idea that you hear differently at different points in time, which is due to many factors due to your physical condition that not the same all the time. A persona may think it was burn-in, but are they sure? So much is involved that changes your perception on things at any given moment.

For example it's possible some person may think the headphone has channel imbalance, but actually at the time their ears are hearing louder on one side over other. It's not even just those types of physical conditions, but also mood (even if you swear it's not effecting your perception, it probably is). Channel imbalance has huge effect on sound presentation.

 

[Spareribs]

In my opinion the best placebo is simply listening at night and turning off the lights.

Listening in a dark room can potentially make a big difference psychologically

 

[BobSmith8901]

In my opinion the best placebo is simply listening at night and turning off the lights.

Listening in a dark room can potentially make a big difference psychologically

Word. The other night I debuted the new Hania Rani Ghosts in deliberate fashion-dark room, no extraneous noise and a simple set-up: DAP, planars, balanced connection. l sat transfixed for over an hour and only looked at the app briefly toward the end of the album.

Interesting things start to happen aurally and mentally when you give your full, relaxed attention to great music with amazing production. The soundstage starts to expand and you hear details in the music that you'd miss with a standard session, among other things. I wish I could do it that way every time but you just have to be in the right mood/situation. It's a kind of musical meditation and a great way to listen to something that's brand new as you have no pre-conceptions.

 

[Spareribs]

In the guitar world, capacitors can be a popular placebo thing.

I’ve done DIY guitar electronics and I like to use the famous Orange Drop capacitors. It probably doesn’t make a difference in sound but they were originally designed by Sprague Electronics which has a cool history for making military and aerospace capacitors back in the old days.

If there is any real advantage with the Orange Drop capacitors, they are considered reasonably accurate with their value measurements. Known to be stable in high humidity environments…..Plus they look cool with that orange color.

 

[chesebert]

I was listening to a topping L30 E30 I got with a pair of Sundaras. I thought it didn’t sound great and thought the wall outlet was having power issues (I’ve never had any other amp and DAC before this so I wasn’t sure) so I literally started googling stuff about wall outlets. I then realized I could go to my basement and grab an extension cord and try a different outlet so I did. Plugged the extension cord, plugged the gear, turn on, press play and I couldn’t believe how incredible it sounded so I listened for the last three hours and thought ‘yeah that outlet is bad’. I then decided to try plugging the amp and DAC back into the original outlet to see how different it sounded and…. IT SOUNDED EXACTLY THE SAME LOL!

This completely opened my eyes To how powerful placebo can be. It completely caught me off guard, I’ve been sitting here for the last ten minutes thinking about it.

Just thought id share, I’ll never underestimate how powerful it can be again.

May not be placebo. Wait until it's raining outside and you will get a bump in performance - not sure if you can hear it with your gear. Find the signal ground on your gear and then connect a copper wire to the ground on the outlet (if you are concerned about safety you can buy an ifi AC thing and insert the ground wire into that). Enjoy.