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Re: Words of wisdom from the past?

Thanks for resurrecting the quote Charles, I remembered it well but could not exactly place it in time. I do, however, know exactly where Alvin Gold's article on his experience with Peter Belt's devices is - it is in Stereophile 1987 issue, Vol. 10 No. 6 .
And here Charles (you will obviously be interested) is JA's comment at the end of Alvin's article - to quote
"Peter Belt was for many years the manufacturer of an excellent sounding British electrostatic headphone and his accessories are based, in the main, on the work he did with permanently charged electrostatic materials (electrets). We have collected a set of Peter's palliative measures in the Stereophile office and will report further on their audible effects when I can find a writer willing to suspend his disbelief. JA."

With Peter's history of being at the leading edge of audio technology in headphones and loudspeakers, and just having demonstrated an actively driven "State of the Art" low mass diaphragm orthodynamic Tower loudspeaker system at the 1981 Hi Fi Show, (and being quoted in Hi Fi News - then edited by John Atkinson !!! - "One of the undoubted star attractions at the show was PWB's active full range system using a 50 litre bass reflex unit with, from 200 Hz, The Orthodynamic Tower), to suddenly find that, in the middle of conducting listening experiments, we suddenly found ourselves with the best sound we have ever had in our lives (sound which Peter had been struggling to achieve in 30 years of designing and manufacturing audio products, by doing what ? By applying a chemical to the steel central heating radiator, to the wall lights, to a piano in the corner of the room, to the perspex lid of the turntable !!!
To now be systematically regarded by Jim Austin as SUPERFICIALLY dismissing that what we heard must have been the product of 'suggestion', 'the placebo effect', 'imagination', 'mood changes' or 'effective marketing'. When, in reality it was actually the very opposite. We gave all of these intense and lengthy consideration. It is presumed by many people (who have no knowledge of our background) that we heard an effect and suddenly, without further consideration, jumped to a certain conclusion. Again, the reality was completely the opposite. We struggled for months, going through every eventuality. Far from NOT seriously considering that what happened was because of suggestion, placebo, imagination, mood changes or effective marketing we were actually wishing it had never happened - we wished the nightmare would stop and we could go back to how it had been. But, what we had discovered would not let us. We had to try to work out what was going !!

Referring also to John's words you quote.
<< But when the tweak is both expensive and comes with a ridiculous explanation, file it away in your Pending tray until someone else you trust tries it out. >>

Some of our products are expensive but some are not and SOME are free !!

Do you really think practically half the audio industry in the UK would risk being attacked and ridiculed in reporting Peter's work and techniques if they did not regard it important to do so ?
Do you really think the people would risk being attacked and ridiculed reporting ANY tweak they can hear create an improvement if they did not firmly believe that they think people should know ?
Regards,
May Belt.

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