Noise Harvester

[rrcrain]

OK, I know what my opinion of this item is. What are a few other opinions?

http://www.psaudio.com/products/noiseharvester_overview.asp

According to the write up, it converts AC line noise into "another form of energy", light.

[Carlspeak]

Hmmmmm......more audio snake oil perhaps? Blinking lights are always impressive and complementary to an audio system.

They seem to have applied for and received a tradmark, but there is no mention of a patent received or applied for. If their solution is so novel, why didn't they get one to protect their idea?

It's all about the music

Carl

Carl's Custom Loudspeakers

[JKent]

"Use as many Harvesters as you can to lower the overall line noise in your home. They can be placed anywhere in the home to do their job and the more the merrier" They even offer a special deal: 5 for $400! They're leaping off the shelves!!!

Remember a few years back when some respected company (was it Tice) was selling an over-priced digital clock whose mere presence in the listening room improved the sound? Then I think someone "discovered" that a Rat Shack clock worked "just as well." I'm sure an egg timer would also work just as well ;-)

[jwjensen356]

How about this gem? (just 'reviewed' in Stereophile magazine).

http://www.ultrasystem.com/usfeaturedprodsFUSE.html

[dynaco_dan]

Hi there;

I read what they have posted and I am running out to buy a 2 pack!

It does not come right out and say that all noise is eliminated, just reduced.

I like where the ad is ending, it jumps from one pack to two packs.

I have come across a few heating, "miracles", that were well promoted locally over my 39 years in the heating trade.

None of them claimed to quieten furnaces or boilers though.

I like the flashing LED idea, the more the merrier, particularly in blue, my favourite colour.

Perhaps they will flash with the beat of the woofers, like a light strobe.

[dynaco_dan]

Hi there;

I haven't seen a fuse for 5 cents for a long time.

Obviously the reference to the nickel is to make it sound like it will not pass hifi like the $30.00 fuse.

A status symbol, for sure.

[rrcrain]

Yup, an honest to god "noise harvester" from the same company that brings us over priced gold plated fuses. I can sense pocket books draining somewhere across this great country as I type this.

And keep in mind, the audio wire industry has been pushing silver for a number of years, extolling the vitrues of their magic wire. Is silver no longer expensive enough for some people?

[dingus]

Affordable$$Audio e-zine did a nice review and impartial evaluation of the Noise Harvester in their March, 07 issue. the results varied from no effect whatsoever to noticeable improvement in sound. its in a rather large .pdf file so download at your own peril, but i think its more than worth the time and trouble to read their findings.

http://www.affordableaudio.org/aa2007-03.pdf

[rrcrain]

I skimmed the article and it's not much more than opinion based upon observation and opinion. It should be pretty easy and cheap to build a filter circunit that blocks 60hz while passing most anything else, and power a tiny LED.

Keep in mind most LEDs are 12 volt or less and use a few milliamps. If this device were really turning noise into light, we're talking milliwatts.

I want to see this things guts before I'm willing to think it's anything other than snake oil.

[dingus]

>I skimmed the article and it's not much more than opinion

>based upon observation and opinion.

well yeah, after all, in the end ones assessment is still going to be based on what your ears tell you. i'm not trying to imply that the Noise Harvester is anything other than snake oil, i wont be buying the product, only that i felt the article was fair and impartial.

[dynaco_dan]

Hi there;

I just read that article a few minutes ago.

Five units evaluated by 5 different people in 5 different locations.

I didn't read any negative comments that jumped out at me.

At this point I will accept that they heard a positive, albeit small, difference with it installed in their individual home locations.

I am curious what is inside the cute little black box.

People have spent a lot more money and liked what they heard a lot less.

There is always room for improvement in hifi.

This may be one of them, and if the price dropped considerably, who knows?

We can look at this device in a few years and see where it sits in our hifi hobby.

[dingus]

>Five units evaluated by 5 different people in 5 different

>locations.

>

>I didn't read any negative comments that jumped out at me.

true but one guy praised them only for their liberal return policy ...

[rrcrain]

I don't remember if it was here, or someone I ran into locally, but he made the discovery that his system sounded better with the room darkened. He was curious and soon discovered what he was hearing was purely in his mind. His system sounded exactly the same either way; his perception was simply altered because he was more relaxed with the lights being off.

With this in mind, I am highly skeptical of testimonial type reviews for anything on the planet.

[Carlspeak]

>I don't remember if it was here, or someone I ran into

>locally, but he made the discovery that his system sounded

>better with the room darkened.

>He was curious and soon discovered what he was hearing was purely in his mind.

His system sounded exactly the same either way; his perception was

>simply altered because he was more relaxed with the lights

>being off......

Psychoacoustics at work again. We all need to keep this in mind when evaluating our speakers.

It's all about the music

Carl

Carl's Custom Loudspeakers

[dingus]

every once in a while my system will sound different on a particular day. sometimes its for the worse, sometimes for the better, there doesnt appear to be any rhyme or reason to it. the only consistent is that the next day the sound is back to 'normal'. i havent figured out if this is a psychoacoustic phenomenon or if there is something real at work here, but i suspect it has more to do with me than with the gear.

[rrcrain]

I've heard the same thing myself.

I attribute it to mood, weather, especially relative humidity, and line voltage. Some say power factor might be at play, but I'm reluctant to buy that since there is no power factor in a DC circuit. Some days, there is a very faint 60hz hum, other days, its absolutely dead silent.

We are very rural and our power lines are grossly exposed to trees in spite of the power companies minimal efforts to trim them back.