Plankton... and the ability to resolve properly

Discussion in 'General Audio Discussion' started by Mikoss, Sep 14, 2016.

  1. Case

    Case Anxious Head (Formerly Wilson)

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    This thread makes me feel out of my element, like a child who who wanders into the middle of a movie and wants to know...
     
  2. OJneg

    OJneg The Most Insufferable

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    Clearly (as you have just stated yourself) we do not have problems with people who own low to mid-fi "objectivist approved" gear, for either reasons of frugality or disinterest. How else could an "objectivist" infiltrate our inner circle? There are folks among us who believe all X sound the same or that we're all kidding ourselves with placebo, or maybe even that plankton is a form of distortion.

    We really aren't hating on you because of your ownership of any particular gear, it's more the claims you make. Not even the claims on second thought; I'd say it's more of your general lack of honest inquiry into this question of plankton which has tripped the fire alarm. This fire alarm seems to go off every few months we have a minion wander into our midst.

    Marv's advice is not meant to be taken literally obviously. The fact that you run with that semantic point shows how resistant you are to the real meaning. That is, perhaps you should attempt to break out of your dogmatic shell and do some empircal legwork before you defer to some non-related regurgitated academic talk (that we've heard for the millionth time) that is almost totally unrelated to the matter we are referring to here. I have a lot more respect for STAX fanboys who genuinely don't hear (for whatever reason) all the plankton in the sea as opposed to minions who claim that plankton does not exist because a paper has not been written on it by Sean Olive.

    There are plenty of Frenchies on this forum, some of them who might even own these evil toob amps. Perhaps get into contact with them.
     
  3. Case

    Case Anxious Head (Formerly Wilson)

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    @castleofargh , to me you are coming across like someone who insists on describing colors in a painting in terms of wavelength frequency to the point of invalidating all other forms of descriptors.
     
  4. Case

    Case Anxious Head (Formerly Wilson)

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    Is changstar link available?
     
  5. Dino

    Dino Friend

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  6. Thad E Ginathom

    Thad E Ginathom Friend

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    Plankton is Marv's word (or if not Marv, then some other individual in the circle). It's definition is not going to found on Wikkipedia or in a dictionary --- although they might catch up one day.

    I don't really understand what he means. It is possible that I never will. Even if my ears still worked well, I don't think I ever listened at that level of detail.

    So, sometimes, when I see the word used here, I picture the user as a huge aquatic beast, with a vast open mouth, sieving microscopic organisms from countless gallons of water, getting nutrition and growing even bigger.

    Hey! maybe that is what it is like!

    ;)
     
  7. james444

    james444 Mad IEM modding wizard level 99

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    Well I looked it up on Wikipedia. Marine biologists distinguish between (among others) microplankton, nanoplankton, picoplankton and femtoplankton.

    Wow, just imagine the possibilities! Opens up a whole new range of audio jargon... :)
     
  8. Thad E Ginathom

    Thad E Ginathom Friend

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    Oh yeah! :bow:

    Come on Marv... If you are going to talk plankton, I think you should be more specific! :D

    (or... can one just have full-range plankton?)


    .
     
  9. Case

    Case Anxious Head (Formerly Wilson)

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    From what has been written, plankton is an array of sonic qualities that add realsim and engagment to music. These qualities operate in synergy, and at this point, cannot be measured. Plankton appears to be desirable: No one seems to say, "Too much plankton" or "Plankton ruined this music for me."

    A Marvey quote from Changstar page Dino supplied:

    "It's like the Force. Can't be measured. No one believed in the midi-chlorian tricorder thing anyways"
     
  10. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Remind me to write up something on this later, since Castle basically crapped all over the thread.
     
  11. lm4der

    lm4der A very good sport - Friend

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    that was awesome. just sayin'
     
  12. shaizada

    shaizada Friend

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    Plankton is less a definition and more an attempt at a feeling being described. I think Marv can write a paragraph or two on it and still NOT get it 100% across to all readers :p:p
     
  13. Dino

    Dino Friend

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    Some experiences don't fit neatly into the container of words.

    It can be valuable to try nevertheless sometimes.

    (That has been my experience anyway.)
     
  14. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    With my son at a Brazilian BBQ. My wife and daughter went to Corner Bakery to see some friends. My son and I said F that shit, we're getting some brown man food. So going to be concise.

    Plankton has a technical meaning, but more than that, as @shaizada has alluded, it is also a feeling. When music reproduction lacks plankton, we get an unsettled feeling. A feeling of unsatisfactoryness. As a result, our ears strain harder and harder to hear what what exists in real life sounds. For initiates, the usual response is to turn up the sharpness knob. Brighter headphones, more etched sounding amps, etc.

    Of course none of this helps. All we get in return is being acclimated to brighter and more etched sounding gear. In time, some of us become like GUTB and end up only focusing on bass performance coupled with treble peaks, thinking this is true high-end.

    This is why I'm so on to the plankton thing and place such a high priority on it. The unfortunate thing is that few sources, amps, and transducers are capable of reproducing it. But when you hear it, you know it. By my estimates, most audiophiles have not. Maybe 10% have.
     
    Last edited: Oct 30, 2016
  15. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    P.S.

    Tube amps do much better than solid state at plankton. The problem is that the quality of tube amps tends to be more all over the place compared to solid state. Too many distorted tube amps out there.

    As someone else said, some tube amp manufacturers didn't get the memo that lots of second order distortion isn't pleasing - it sucks.
     
  16. Hrodulf

    Hrodulf Prohibited from acting as an MOT until year 2050

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    What's the cheapest plankton-capable rig you've heard, Marv?
     
  17. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Eddie Current Super 7, which I believe had an intro price at $1299 for folks who went to the Venice meet.

    There are some good lower priced tube amps out there that come close, some cathode follower OTLs, etc. I haven't heard everything. Probably some good stuff out there.
     
  18. Neal

    Neal Facebook Friend

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    So I guess I'm trying to reconcile this with the Plankton axis in the Schiit amp compendium. Are they all below the plankton threshold, just varying degrees of below it?
     
  19. Madaboutaudio

    Madaboutaudio Friend

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    FWIW: I was able to improve plankton* details on my system from applying deoxit gold on the interconnects and various other metal points where electricity(electrons) flows through.

    * I define plankton as the sense of height/spacing/depth/airiness/clarity of small details and ability to hear the subtle tail decay of instruments.

    I would reckon planton is like the taste of Umami in Japanese cuisine. Something that's hard to describe but once you experience it, it's hard to go back to other stuff.
     
    Last edited: Oct 30, 2016
  20. Kattefjaes

    Kattefjaes Mostly Harmless

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    If only it were that well quantified!

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umami#Background
     

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