Not quite deserving of a Darwin Award but.....

Suzy Wong posted:

Ardbeg10y posted:

How is it, violins on the right side of an orchestra?

OTOH “Made in Japan” would be the right way round!

It is.  ...if you are a member of the band!

Jonners - I also plugged my speakers into the nearest plug sockets 14 years ago - got my Naim system in 2004. I also made a policy decision never to waste time reading HiFi mags and sites as there are more important things to do. It's only when I just joined this forum recently that I read someone saying that Jimmy Page always played stage left - so should come out of the right speaker that I twigged it and swtiched my cables. The good thing is I didn't get obessed with HiFi - the bad thing is I would have ended up developing a very good system years ago when I had more money and no children.

This is off topic but I also seem to remember you saying that a child stuck their finger into your woofer cone and that you sucked out the dent with a vacuum cleaner. was that you and if so is there any risk of ripping the whole cone out - as I need to do this too. Some one told me to do it with a kitchen roll cardboard tube instead?

Also, to your note above - should I get a Hydra cable to power the hi-fi a Russ Andrews XBlock (or similar posh multiplug socket) to clear up the nest of cables behind my hifi/tv setup? Would this maybe help me get better sound and picture??

JimDog posted:

This is off topic but I also seem to remember you saying that a child stuck their finger into your woofer cone and that you sucked out the dent with a vacuum cleaner. was that you and if so is there any risk of ripping the whole cone out - as I need to do this too. Some one told me to do it with a kitchen roll cardboard tube instead?

If using a vacuum cleaner great care may be needed especially with a powerful one (e.g. bleeding air to reduce suction. I have done it for someone with pushed in tweeter domes, by mouth not vac cleaner. You need a tube with a diameter such that it will fit the rim of the dome (if a tweeter, not including the flexible surround). Cardboard, plastic - anything will do, but it wants a nice clean straight cut. Then hold gently against the dome and apply suction. With 3/4 inch tweeter domes I used a bit of off cut 19mm drain pipe, and it was quite easy. 

That said, it is quite common for woofer central domes to be porous, when suction may have no effect.

As a student I used to buy tickets for the seats behind the orchestra, which were significantly cheaper than those in front. Consequently I got quite used to hearing the violins on the right.

JimDog posted:

Jonners - I also plugged my speakers into the nearest plug sockets 14 years ago - got my Naim system in 2004. I also made a policy decision never to waste time reading HiFi mags and sites as there are more important things to do. It's only when I just joined this forum recently that I read someone saying that Jimmy Page always played stage left - so should come out of the right speaker that I twigged it and swtiched my cables. The good thing is I didn't get obessed with HiFi - the bad thing is I would have ended up developing a very good system years ago when I had more money and no children.

This is off topic but I also seem to remember you saying that a child stuck their finger into your woofer cone and that you sucked out the dent with a vacuum cleaner. was that you and if so is there any risk of ripping the whole cone out - as I need to do this too. Some one told me to do it with a kitchen roll cardboard tube instead?

Also, to your note above - should I get a Hydra cable to power the hi-fi a Russ Andrews XBlock (or similar posh multiplug socket) to clear up the nest of cables behind my hifi/tv setup? Would this maybe help me get better sound and picture??

Well JimDog I'm glad I'm not the only one! Yes, my children and the children of friends were drawn like magnets to the soft dome tweeters on my Dynaudios. Fingers were inserted on many occasions! As Innocent Bystander has already advised, great care was/is needed. I used a Henry with the diffuse open and a sock over the end and approached the tweeter slowly and carefully until I got the optimum position for the suction to do it's thing. Maybe I got lucky but I never had an accident and I've done it countless times. There is a big risk of damage so perhaps the cardboard tube with your mouth taking the place of Henry is probably the best idea!

As for power, Naim kit is designed to be powered in a "star" configuration. I believe this is to ensure that each component can draw the power it needs on demand. What you'd get with a Hydra cable is a single plug to put in your wall socket and then several power leads which you'd plug into your individual Naim boxes, usually 4. If you do a search on the Forum you'll find lots of threads about this subject and where you can buy them. You will be able to potentially recoup some of your outlay by selling off the original Naim cables you'll no longer need on eBay. I did, they go for about £25-30 a pop.

I'd absolutely recommend getting some form of "clean" multi-way power solution for your TV, DVD or whatever else you have. Most of the multi-socket solutions on the market aimed at audiophile solutions today feature filtering and I reckon that's what will help with the TV picture. I originally bought the Russ Andrews XBlock for hi-fi use but it's a bit OTT for TV. I reckon something like the Olsen "Sounds Fantastic" 6-way block is cheap enough to experiment with IMHO. If it doesn't make that much of a different it'll certainly be a nice "cable tidy" solution for that snake's nest of wires! 

Clive B posted:

As a student I used to buy tickets for the seats behind the orchestra, which were significantly cheaper than those in front. Consequently I got quite used to hearing the violins on the right.

Did you by any chance study in the Kensington area? I did the orchestra stalls at the Proms for many years, first as a student and then for years after when employed. One important learning, never get the seats behind the timps for the Choral Symphony. A funny memory, in one impassioned performance Salonen (I think it was him) stabbed forward towards the cellos, and his baton arrowed past the violins, he conducted the rest of the piece barehanded.

I've seen Beethoven's Choral Symphony perhaps 10 times at the RAH from every part of the house except behind the stage. I never listen to it recorded for some reason. But Mozart's Requiem works a treat through the 272.

This thread prompted me to put on side 3 of Electric Ladyland this aferrnoon, loud, and soak up the stereo effects, the amazing Drums, keyboards - my 6 year old son danced around whacking things with drumsticks - a vortex of sound whirling 'clockwise' (seen from above) - and yet each cymbal and drum and instrument clear and present in 3D stereo space.

Innocent Bystander posted:

Suzy Wong posted:

Ardbeg10y posted:

How is it, violins on the right side of an orchestra?

OTOH “Made in Japan” would be the right way round!

It is.  ...if you are a member of the band!

Quite. Unfortunately my guitar skills are not up to Blackmore standards, I can’t sing, or play keyboards, or bass, and even Ringo is a better drummer .

So after 40 odd years of listening to MiJ the wrong way round (LP and CD), when I recently got around to ripping it, I swapped channels using Audacity.

So now it’s the right way round from my seat in the Free Trade Hall in 1973.....

..and it sounds really weird!