calibrating the FEP scale

Posted by: Joe Petrik on 10 October 2000

With all the FEPs being awarded and rescinded on the forum, maybe we should calibrate the scale so the points mean something.

Although some components work together synergistically -- suggesting that FEPs awarded to individual components can be multiplied -- for simplicity we should add individual points to get an overall FEP score.

Ready? Get a pad and pencil out and tally your FEPs...

Source FEPS
· Is your turntable worth more than your speakers? If yes, add 35 points.

· Do you own a record cleaner? If yes, add 25 points.

· Is your turntable placed on a dedicated altar? If yes, add 20 points.

· Do you use fancy anti-static inner sleeves? If yes, add 10 points.

· Does your turntable's platter weigh 50 kg or more? If yes, subtract 25 points.

· Is CD your only source? If yes, subtract 20 points, unless you own a CDS-II.

· Does your turntable have a record clamp? If yes, subtract 10 points.

Electronics FEPs
· Does your preamp have a mono switch? If yes, add 30 points.

· Have you ever accidentally left the preamp in mono but didn't notice for days? If yes, add 20 points.

· Did you paint the front of your 52 silver? If yes, add 10 points.

· Did you chintz out and get the preamp without a phono input? If yes, subtract 50 points.

· Does your preamp weigh 5 pounds and your power amp weigh 500? If yes, subtract 40 points.

· Does your preamp have tubes? If yes, subtract 30 points.

Speaker FEPs
· Do you own any of the following speakers: Kan I, Kan II, Sara, Isobarik, IBL, SBL, DBL, Quad 57s? If so, add 40 points.

· Do you position your speakers for the best overall groove and image (zero points), best groove (add 20 points), or best image (subtract 20 points)?

Lifestyle FEPs
· Do you enjoy air, space and blackness? If yes, subtract 40 points.

· Is it better to have thin but groovy bass (add 20 points) or full but flubby bass (subtract 20 points)?

· Have you ever spent an afternoon adjusting the tracking force for that magic value between 1.95 g and 1.97g? If yes, add 20 points.

· Do you vacuum your cartridge regularly, knowing full well that one day you'll suck the generator right out? If yes, add 15 points.

· Did you try all four positions of the belt and both positions of the mat on your LP12 to determine which sounds best? If yes, add 10 points. (If you ever wondered whether the belt and mat combinations interact and therefore exponentially increase the number of permutations add another 10 points. Add another 10 if you tried all permutations.)

· Do you spend Saturday afternoon at garage sales, looking for 50 cent LPs? If yes, add 10 points.

· Do you own a 45 RMP version of Yello's "Stella"? If yes, add 5 points.

· Do you own a half-speed master of ELP's "Tarkus"? If yes, subtract 40 points.

· Do you buy audiophool LPs for their smooth, silky sound? If yes subtract 35 points.

· Do you use a record clamp? If yes, subtract 20 points.

Posted on: 12 October 2000 by Joe Petrik

quote:
Minus 25. But, Your Honour, I do object...

Take it up with General V. Nutter. His decisions are final and binding.

quote:
You punish me for buying a line-only preamp. Yet, I have a £1500 phono stage.

Scoring error. You don't lose points for chintzing on the phono input if you have an outboard phono stage.

quote:
Half the questions are about LP12's. Gyro owners are left in the cold. Should there not be
points for testing the Gyro with one belt or two?

Sorry, rotating cake stands named after a Greek sandwich are far too Art Noveau to earn FEPs.

quote:
Surely air, space and blackness are benefits and should only be punished if they are more important to me than PRaT (they are not)?

Benefits? You've just lost 10 FEPs. All air, space and blackness must be expunged from you system.

quote:
Surely abusing your cartridge with a vacuum cleaner constitutes sacrilege and a loss of
3000 points???

Sorry, flat erathers go where others fear to tread. We are the few, the proud, the foolish...

quote:
If one appreciates the smooth silky sound of audiophool records, does this mean one should
deduct the 35 points? I have deducted them, but I buy the records for the music, as well as the sound quality.

Deduct away. Like the general says, "A snare drum is a metal or wood cylinder with a taut tuned skin on the two flat ends, with a series of tensioned metal springs on the underside. Picture this
construction; now hit it hard with a wooden stick. Did you get a soft sound?

A cymbal is a bit of sheet metal formed into a slightly conical profile that is repeatedly hit with a wooden stick... sweet, smooth, delicate... yeah right."

Posted on: 13 October 2000 by Tony L

Frank is that really your total score?

quote:
You punish me for buying a line-only preamp.
Yet, I have a £1500 phono stage.

You have a phono stage, so technically you get the points. It has however been noted that you have a round-earth amp, and unfortunately Joe never thought anyone here would, so you escape severe penalisation on a technicality. For the record, flat earth amps were / are Naim, Exposure, Onix, Inca Tech, Myst, Nytech. The only newcomer that might just qualify on tune playing ability is Densen.

quote:
Half the questions are about LP12's. Gyro owners are left in the cold.

And the problem is?

quote:
Surely abusing your cartridge with a vacuum cleaner constitutes sacrilege and a loss of 3000 points???

This is the stuff that separates the men from the boys, a lot of dust and other debris is attracted to the generator assembly, a very careful hoovering can remove this without any damage at all to the cartridge at all. Obviously the hoover never comes into contact with the cartridge at all. Is however far easier to do on decks without subchassis - anyone successfully achieving this on a LP/Aro combination without damage deserves an additional 10 points. If memory serves, this tip was recommended by Hi-Fi Review, back in the days where audio magazines were almost worth buying.

quote:
If one appreciates the smooth silky sound of audiophool records, does this mean one should deduct the 35 points? I have deducted them, but I buy the records for the music, as well as the sound quality.

Its all on how you interpret the question, if you honestly buy them because they are good quality pressings of established performers that is only available on hard to find second hand and less than perfect condition original vinyl then that is ok. If however you have records by pathetic "audiophile" acts who would never get taken seriously by the record buying public at large, then the penalty more than stands. Re-issues of classic jazz albums are safe, and I probably have as many as I do original 50s / 60s vinyl.

If your score remains below 150 your punishment is to publish here three alignment charts you have made using an original Elite alignment protractor. YOU MUST RESPECT MY AUTHORITAH!

Tony.

Posted on: 13 October 2000 by Andrew Randle

Tony said: "For the record, flat earth amps were / are Naim, Exposure, Onix, Inca Tech, Myst, Nytech. The only newcomer that might just qualify on tune playing ability is Densen."

Also include the sadly missed Ion Systems (used to by Nytech).

I started my journey on the Flat Earth with an Ion Systems Obelisk One... fantastic.

You mention Densen, who I also hold in high regard. They are probably now the only real competitor to Naim in the PRaT stakes. Interesting how they also claim to have "true zero feedback"

Conundrum
---------
How many FEPs does someone get who has no system and spends their money on concerts and gigs?

Andrew

Andrew Randle
2B || !2B;
4 ^ = ?;

Posted on: 13 October 2000 by Tony L

quote:
Also include the sadly missed Ion Systems (used to by Nytech).

I remember them, and what about the Arc active 101 speakers that were designed for Nytech / Ion kit. They must be worth a few FEPs.

I also forgot to mention NVA in the acceptable amp list, they more than deserve to be there.

Tony.

Posted on: 13 October 2000 by Joe Petrik

General V. Nutter on Patrol

Posted on: 13 October 2000 by Joe Petrik

no... mo'... p'aih

Posted on: 13 October 2000 by Arthur Bye

I just figured out that if I switch my P9 over to my Sony surround system i'll end up with an FEP score of 80.

With my fully Naimed system it only goes to 120!

El Generalissimo the scoring needs to be tweaked.

Arthur Bye

Posted on: 13 October 2000 by Arun Mehan

Hey Joe "Flat Earth" Petrik,

The last email you sent me was deleted "by accident" (I blame Microsoft and Hotmail), but I will email you soon. This is a great posting and seems to be getting a lot of replies. I see that your still posting to it so it must be keeping your attention! As someone else stated, I think you should get some points for those amazing Royds that you listen to, they ain't no round earth jobbies!

I dare not even attempt to calculate my points on the FEP scale. Onkyo 6 disc changer into an Onkyo receiver with Kef Q15s on the end...but it's not exactly round earth either. I'm a student people, give me time.

Posted on: 14 October 2000 by Eric Barry

Sorry folks, Stereophile has been recommending them for years, and Ken Kessler had several different dedicated mains wired with different stuff (inc. Kimber cable) so he could compare the effects of mains cable. And though I haven't done it, I'm pretty sure dedicated mains increase air, blackness, and space. Mains twiddling is merely tweak, not exclusively flat earth.

Frank, several of the entries on my proposed additions were designed to reward those with no cd players (or very cheap ones), for instance owning more cartridges than cds.

And I said "designed", not made in England or Scotland.

--Eri