Behind The Scenes (Dec. 1975)

by Bert Whyte

I see by my calendar that December has arrived for its appointed round, and the end of the year is nigh, and it is time for the rotund little chap in the red suit and "Ho, Ho, Ho" and all that jazz.

How did the hi-fi industry fare in 1975? It certainly wasn't "the best of all years," but it was a great deal better than most people expected. That the industry weathered this recession year as well as it has is continuing proof of its basic strength. Yet there were warning flags flying in 1975, and the industry will jeopardize this strength if these signals are ignored.

In 1974, the FTC ruling on power amplifier rating, with its controversial "burn-in" provision, became law. That it caused consternation within the hi-fi industry is to put it mildly. Audio engineers en masse, led by colleague Len Feldman, Chairman of the IHF technical committee, denounced the "burn-in" period as "harmful" and not "relevant to the normal mode of amplifier usage in the home." In spite of documenting to the FTC that compliance to the "conditioning" provision would in most cases require technical modifications to the amplifiers that would ultimately mean higher costs to the consumer, the FTC has barely budged from its position. It appears the FTC knows that they made a bad ruling and in fact have been looking for a way to retreat from their position without causing themselves too much embarrassment. What we must remember is that part of their intransigence is due to the fact that they consider that they gave ample time for the hi-fi industry to study the power amplifier ruling and suggest possible changes or amendments. It must be admitted that by and large the industry ignored this matter, and when they finally did become aware of the perils of this ruling, it was already too late.

The latest word is-and this is only at the "opinion" level, not the full "promulgated ruling" level--is that the FTC will allow an amp's thermal cutout to operate during the preconditioning until the required one hour burn-in time has been accumulated.

I have a feeling that the power amplifier ruling of the FTC is just the tip of the iceberg. Government agencies are always trying to perpetuate themselves and justify their existence. Inevitably, other aspects of the advertising and promotional activities of the hi-fi industry will come under FTC scrutiny. Now please don't misunderstand me ... I'm not saying the hi-fi industry has anything to hide or is in any way engaged in any chicanerous practices.

In fact, as I have said many times before, the industry is virtually unique as one of the last bastions of the "good value for the money" philosophy.

Nonetheless, it is conceivable that the wording and even the validity of product specifications and performance parameters might be questioned. Let us not delude ourselves that manufacturers do not interpret specifications to their competitive advantage in their advertising. This is, of course, entirely due to a lack of hi-fi industry standards for the various aspects of product performance. One cannot blame the manufacturer for taking the "leeway" this affords in quoting specifications.

For some time now, there has been a groundswell of opinion in favor of the establishment of performance standards for all audio equipment. In view of the unfortunate experience with the FTC power amplifier ruling, the industry should act now to establish these standards. The IHF could be the regulatory body for such standards and, as noted previously, has already in existence a technical committee which could initiate this program. It is realized that there are many types of audio components, with many different performance parameters and formulating standards for them will be technically difficult and a most arduous task. However the need is obvious, and the time for action is now, if further brouhahas with the FTC are to be avoided.

Writing in the September, 1975 edition of Radio-Electronics, Len Feldman points out some of the "inconsistencies" in the quoting of signal-to-noise ratio figures for phono pre amps and turntables. For example, if a phono pre-amp stage has a true input sensitivity of 2 millivolts at 1 kHz with the usual test procedure, the S/N ratio may turn out to be-55 dB, and be accurately quoted as "-55 dB below 2 mV." However, for some years now, in this country and abroad there seems to be a "tacit agreement or acceptance" among manufacturers to the use of a "reference" phono input sensitivity of 10 mV. Thus, while the manufacturer states the true input sensitivity (i.e. 2 mV), they quote the S/N ratio at the "reference" input of 10 mV, which magically improves the S/N ratio by 14 dB and enables them to state the specification as "-69 dB below 10 mV." While this may seem a deplorable practice, most of the manufacturers do it in self-defense, much in the same fashion of using the term "rms" in rating power amplifiers, in which the use of rms is not really relevant. Len also relates a similar situation in the manufacturers specifications for the rumble content of turntables. There are four different methods of measuring rumble ... the NAB, CBS/ARLL, and the German DIN A (unweighted), and DIN B (weighted). (And don't forget the CCIR standard, Bert. -Ed.) In all of these methods, the turnover frequencies are different, the rate of attenuation for the filters is different, and they do not employ the same "reference" frequency or amplitude in establishing the "0 dB" point, below which the rumble is measured. Thus, depending on the actual distribution and amplitude of the rumble frequencies in a turntable, the manufacturer can choose from among the four methods, that which gives the highest "number" and therefore the most favorable rumble specification.

Another provocative and informative article on the use and abuse of test procedures and the interpretation of manufacturers specifications appears under the title of "The Specification Says ..." by Hugh Ford, writing in the September, 1975 issue of that most estimable British journal, Studio Sound. Mr. Ford examines in depth, measurement techniques for frequency response, S/N ratio, input and output sensitivities, total harmonic distortion, and intermodulation distortion, as applied to various audio equipment and warns us about interpretive pitfalls. Speaking of Studio Sound, if you are into professional audio or if you are a very advanced audiophile, this is a "must" publication providing comprehensive coverage on audio subjects simply not available elsewhere. Recent issues on quadraphonic sound and ambisonic recording were real gems. If you want to subscribe to Studio Sound, which is published monthly, it will cost you the dollar equivalent of 4 pounds, 20 pence; write to the magazine at Link House, Dingwall Avenue, Croydon CR9 2TA, England.

The authors of the aforementioned articles have given us very cogent arguments on the need for the establishment of internationally accepted standards of audio measurement and performance. Needless to say, this has been true for many years ... let us hope that we will have an end to procrastination and assorted excuses, the "backing and filling," and finally get some action.

As mentioned at the beginning of this article, it seems that Christmas is upon us. Although I may be stretching the term a little, herewith some "super stocking stuffers" that should gladden the Christmas spirits of any audiophile.... With the winter months ahead of us, the heat will be turned on in homes and apartments (Allah willing) and the humidity will drop, and all that dry air will bedevil our vinyl records with static. The use of a humidifier helps some (supposed to be better for your health, too) but I have been testing a Jim Dandy gadget that positively eliminates the static charge on your precious discs. It is called a Zerostat, and looks at first glance to be similar to a white plastic toy water pistol, with a large, elongated metal trigger. The action is quite mysterious, and the construction of the unit does not encourage explorations into its innards. However, as far as I can determine, it seems to be some sort of "strain gauge" affair. In any case, it takes a fair amount of pressure to squeeze the trigger. The instructions state that you must exert a slow constant pressure on the trigger. If you are too fast you will hear a "click" and the desired reaction will not happen.

What is happening is that when you fully depress the trigger in the proper manner, a stream of positive ions is flowing from the tip of the gun. By then releasing the trigger in the same slow controlled motion, negative ions are produced. To test the Zerostat, I briskly rubbed a record with a dry cloth, and created enough static that when I passed the disc just above my arm, the hair on my arm was attracted to it. Then, holding the Zerostat about 4 in. above the center of the record (as per instructions), I went through the squeezing operation. When I passed the now "treated" disc over my arm, I could neither observe nor feel any attraction ... the static charge had been completely removed. The Zerostat is a British product and is imported by the Discwasher Company.

It retails for $29.95. In my view, when you use Dr. Bruce Meier's Discwasher system, which really does a superlative job of cleaning a record, followed by a treatment with the Zerostat, your record will be in pristine condition.

For those fortunate audiophiles who own professional tape machines, they will appreciate the AKG K-140 headphones, whose 600-ohm impedance allows you to hear a signal at a good level from the headphone jacks of the tape machine amplifier. Add an ingenious headband that easily adjusts to different shaped "noggins," a light weight of 6 oz., and an extremely smooth and extended frequency response, all for around $34.00, and you have a worthwhile gift. There are other phones in the 600-ohm category, but I happen to like the combination of features on the K-140. Another stocking stuffer that would be a welcome gift for the tape recording enthusiast is a professional quality alignment tape, such as those made by Magnetic Reference Laboratory, on which I reported some months ago. Price, around $30.00. Lastly, the well-known CBS Labs Technical series test records have recently been updated and remastered.

There are nine of them covering such areas as square wave, tracking and intermodulation tests, wide range pickup test, RIAA pink noise acoustical test, RIAA frequency response, stereo frequency test, etc. For the serious audiophile, they are an inexpensive, but most thoughtful gift. See the ad elsewhere in this issue for details on how to order.

(Audio magazine, Dec. 1975; Bert Whyte)

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