[Gradofan2]

So... how do you "cryo" something???

Put it in a "viagra solution" and pop it in the freezer???

 

[csommers]

Quote:

Originally Posted by linuxworks /img/forum/go_quote.gif cryo seems to have good use in auto mechanics and other areas where hardened metal is needed. knife blades and things like that seem to benefit. audio, well, not so much. for audio, I think you would be better advised spending money on better amps or speakers, personally.

+1

For the money its going to cost you, you might as well spend it on better tubes etc

 

[Uncle Erik]

There was a thread not too long ago where someone had cryo-treated NOS tubes that failed. Probably due to the cryo, as well.

Cryo involves immersing something in liquid nitrogen. Tube pins and the glass envelope contract and expand at different rates. If you subject them to cooling they weren't engineered for, you can easily lose the vacuum seal, destroying the tubes. If you really want cryo'ed tubes, it should be done at the factory before the vacuum is created. Anything else is an invitation to disaster.

Cryo is mostly effective for wear items: pistons, engine blocks, drill bits, and so on. I have a few cryo-treated Lie-Nielsen blades for my handplanes. I haven't done any extensive testing, but cryo treated A2 steel rocks. It keeps an edge like nothing else I've used and holds up. I have not noticed any similar effects with passimg electrons, however.

If you're curious, just Google cryogenic treatment with the name of the major city closest to you. You'll find local places that do it. Cryo for an interconnect should be $5 or less. It's cheap. Don't let some snake oil merchant tell you otherwise.

I strongly suggest that you don't cryo tubes - you can destroy them. But if you want, gather up all your cables and have them treated for $20. Go find out for yourself if they make a sonic difference. Maybe also invest in a $5 DMM, too, so you can perform measurements before and after. Personally, I think the whole audio angle to cryo is horse feces, just to make a stiff profit. But since it's so cheap, go find out for yourself.

 

[linuxworks]

but what if you cryo something and you now think it sounds *worse*?

can one un-cryo something? lol.

(as long as it was not spilled milk, maybe?)

 

[robm321]

What does cryo do the the conductivity of metal? I wouldn't cryo tubes, but I do have ALO cryo mini to mini cable. Does it just make it harder to break, or doest it conduct electricity better?

 

[TheMarchingMule]

Cryo treating is basically meant to give better resistance to wear and tear. I used to have an ALO Bling Bling and ALO Jumbo Cryo, and for the life of me, realized that whatever miniscule differences I could hear, it was placebo.

And that is when I became disillusioned by those fancy-nancy cables.

 

[robm321]

^ LOL you're probably right, but they look really cool and audiophilish.

 

[Chu]

LN2 and Dewer Flasks are dirt cheap, cryoing cables yourself is completely feasible.

One of the advantages that some of the audio cryo shops tout is that they bring down the temperature gradually, so you don't have the mechanical shock of going from freezer (or worse, room) temperature to cryogenic temperatures. They should be able to cryo a tube successfully if this is indeed true.

 

[Zippy]

For those of you that are unfamiliar with cryogenic treatment here's a link as a general primer
Deep Cryogenic Treatment - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I'll let you look up austenite and martensite if you're interested enough.

There ARE measurable differences in electrical properties in "cryoed" cables, whether that makes a audible differance is another story. I haven't listened to a side by side comparison but I could see how this MIGHT possibly make an audible difference if you have a long run of speaker cables. I doubt this is much of a concern for most headphone users.

On another note. I am (was before kids) a knife maker and there are definite advantages "cryo" treatment adds to durability (toughness) of metals.
If you're hell bent on trying it, "cryo" your headphone cables. If they don't sound better at least they'll last longer

PS: You can do it at home with dry ice with a bit of work.

 

[glitch39]

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