Quote:
Originally Posted by Pacific Microsonics /img/forum/go_quote.gif
It may be sensitive to different batteries, but is it sensitive enough so that when I pass gas over here, the micro-changes in air density is detected as a subtle impact on sound quality of your SR-71A over there?
|
It would be difficult to observe that phenomenon in the longer range, since, as the distance-to-"over there" (radius) increases, the delta-volume element increases as a cube of the delta-radius, increasing the likelihood that someone within that element is passing gas. Normally, to observe a change resulting from a factor one would observe with and without the factor. As the distance increases, how can observations be made with no passings of gas at that distance? Those difficulties in view, what CAN we say about this proposed phenomenon?
First of all, in discussing this particular potential effect on the SQ of the SR-71A, we do not place any less importance on other possible influences such as
the phase of the moon, color/pattern of socks worn (by the listener and others around them), what the people within various radii of the listener had for lunch yesterday (of which this last one may be influencing their passing of gas today - both severity and frequency), ...
About gas passing:
I HAVE noticed that my appreciation of the sound quality of what I hear is detectably not quite as good while I'M passing gas (and shortly thereafter), and that this phenomenon is also detectable, but at something qualitatively like an inverse distance-squared/cubed magnitude, with a distance-related time delay, when someone in close proximity to me passes gas. In fact, I've noticed this effect at work or home after a "Silent But Deadly" from a co-worker or family member, which is somewhat like a single blind test - although in this case politeness to my co-worker prevents me from gathering work time-delay data, but I have gathered rough home-based time-delay data following the detection of an "SBD" . What I'm less sure about is the extent to which this phenomenon is related to micro-changes in air
density and the extent to which it may be related to other attributes/effects of a passing of gas. But the good news is: over the life of my use of the SR-71A, I'll have the opportunity to make MANY more observations of this phenomenon, at least in the short-range.
Another bit of good news to us audiophiles is that, because the magnitude of this effect (again, observed in the short-range) appears (at least to MY ears/nose, workplace/home/public settings) to follow an inverse distance-squared/cubed relationship, that the effect, as the distance (radius) increases, will be less attributable to a particular passing of gas, and more attributable to an aggregate of passings of gas within the corresponding delta-volume element. As the size of this delta-volume element increases, it is more likely that the number of gas passings encountered at any delta time interval will vary decreasingly. With the longer-distance contribution to the phenomenon expected to have vanishingly smaller magnitude and lower fluctuation, the likely detectable contributions to this phenomenon will be relatively short-ranged.
Along the lines of those "good news" expectations, I, for one, have not been able to detect fluctuations in my appreciation of the Sound Quality of the SR-71A similar to that observed in conjuction with the short-range passing of gas, but without the short-range passing of gas having occured. Those fluctuations may not be detected because a) the longer-range passing of gas does not have a detectable influence on my appreciation of the Sound Quality of the SR-71A - OR - b) it may be because the longer-range passing of gas DOES have such a detectable effect, and, because that effect is constantly being exerted, I don't notice it -OR- c) your favorite
tertium quid here. Even within possibility b) there is still "good news". While the SR-71A MAY sound (who knows how much) better without the constant influence of the long-range passing of gas, under that influence, it sounds wonderful (and even detectably better with the Tysonic ULD 9V rechargeables).
Since those ("good news") expectations are based mainly on short-range observations (from one posted observer at this point - whose short-range observations will need to verified by other observers), the expectations will need to be tested with some actual longer range observations. After all, there may be longer-range components of a gas passing which do not follow the patterns or expectations based on the observations, and hence, reasoning above - which is why time and funds are spent to make actual observations. Until the events and conditions under which those observations can be made and verified can be arranged, "While, based on the short-range observations of one careful, but qualitative, observer, we expect the longer-range effects of gas-passing on a listener's appreciation of the Sound Quality using a SR-71A amp to fall below a detectable threshhold, until the observations are actually made under longer-range and verifiable conditions and found to follow the observed pattern of the observations made in the shorter-range, we must keep an open mind and say, 'You may be on to something'."
That was fun for me, and I hope, good infotainment for others. And for all those for whom it wasn't, there's the ignore list. And don't forget, we still need corroborating short-range observations as well as verifiable longer-range observations, at a variety of ranges, with a way to get longer-range measurements which can be controlled for no passings of gas. Since I got the ball rolling on this with these short-range observations, I would expect those of you with ideas about how to get the longer-range observations to make and contribute those. C'mon now, fair's fair.
Next up: Phase of the Moon ... (stay tuned)