The intelligent chip has caused lengthy discussions on Audio Asylum.
The explanation as provided by the manufacturer "moving pits and lands
across the CD's surface" seems to be BS, to put it mildly.

I'm not familiar with the field of quantum dots, so I had a look and
found the following:

quantum dots are tiny (2-10 nm) crystals made of semiconductor
material having both absorptive and emmissive characteristics, the
wavelength of emitted radiation can be tailored by modifying
composition, size and geometry of the dot.

The dots have electrical, optical and magnetic properties. They appear
to need an external stimulus (voltage, heat, light) in order to be
operational. The dots emit radiation from 350 nm up to infrared. The
stimulating wavelength can be shorter than the dots' rated peak
emmission wavelength, which includes infrared, visible light, UV,
x-ray and gamma-ray.

Quantum dots undergo natural degradation unless they are encapsulated
or put into a matrix.

If my understanding of the working principles is correct, I'm asking
what the external stimulus might be when you place the chip onto the
CD player (as compared to when the chip is left its plastic case). The
chip is claimed to have a limited number of charges, I could not find
any background information on that.

The chip is claimed to be able to detect defective pits and lands, it
is also claimed to recognize a treated disc. Would this mean that the
external stimulus has its origin in the CD itself, that some sort of
signal, which must be voltage, heat or light, is coming from the CD
when spinning? And that this signal is able to travel through the
CD-player's housing ?

Klaus

"Klaus Rampelmann" wrote in message ...
The intelligent chip has caused lengthy discussions on Audio Asylum.
The explanation as provided by the manufacturer "moving pits and
lands across the CD's surface" seems to be BS, to put it mildly.

I'm not familiar with the field of quantum dots, so I had a look and
found the following:

quantum dots are tiny (2-10 nm) crystals made of semiconductor
material having both absorptive and emmissive characteristics, the
wavelength of emitted radiation can be tailored by modifying
composition, size and geometry of the dot.

The dots have electrical, optical and magnetic properties. They appear
to need an external stimulus (voltage, heat, light) in order to be
operational. The dots emit radiation from 350 nm up to infrared. The
stimulating wavelength can be shorter than the dots' rated peak
emmission wavelength, which includes infrared, visible light, UV,
x-ray and gamma-ray.

Quantum dots undergo natural degradation unless they are encapsulated
or put into a matrix.

If my understanding of the working principles is correct, I'm asking
what the external stimulus might be when you place the chip onto the
CD player (as compared to when the chip is left its plastic case). The
chip is claimed to have a limited number of charges, I could not find
any background information on that.

The chip is claimed to be able to detect defective pits and lands, it
is also claimed to recognize a treated disc. Would this mean that the
external stimulus has its origin in the CD itself, that some sort of
signal, which must be voltage, heat or light, is coming from the CD
when spinning? And that this signal is able to travel through the
CD-player's housing ?

Klaus

You got it right the first time: It's an incredible load of horse crap.
But it's the best laugh I've had today. Thanks.

L David Matheny wrote:
"Klaus Rampelmann" wrote in message ...

The intelligent chip has caused lengthy discussions on Audio Asylum.
The explanation as provided by the manufacturer "moving pits and
lands across the CD's surface" seems to be BS, to put it mildly.

I'm not familiar with the field of quantum dots, so I had a look and
found the following:

quantum dots are tiny (2-10 nm) crystals made of semiconductor
material having both absorptive and emmissive characteristics, the
wavelength of emitted radiation can be tailored by modifying
composition, size and geometry of the dot.

The dots have electrical, optical and magnetic properties. They appear
to need an external stimulus (voltage, heat, light) in order to be
operational. The dots emit radiation from 350 nm up to infrared. The
stimulating wavelength can be shorter than the dots' rated peak
emmission wavelength, which includes infrared, visible light, UV,
x-ray and gamma-ray.

Quantum dots undergo natural degradation unless they are encapsulated
or put into a matrix.

If my understanding of the working principles is correct, I'm asking
what the external stimulus might be when you place the chip onto the
CD player (as compared to when the chip is left its plastic case). The
chip is claimed to have a limited number of charges, I could not find
any background information on that.

The chip is claimed to be able to detect defective pits and lands, it
is also claimed to recognize a treated disc. Would this mean that the
external stimulus has its origin in the CD itself, that some sort of
signal, which must be voltage, heat or light, is coming from the CD
when spinning? And that this signal is able to travel through the
CD-player's housing ?

Klaus


You got it right the first time: It's an incredible load of horse crap.
But it's the best laugh I've had today. Thanks.

Keep Laughing:

"Speaking of CDs... What's the sonic improvement? Put it this way: More
like analogue. Nor am I the first to remark this. The listener
immediately notices a seeming rearrangement of voices, in which each
strand becomes clearer, relieved of a haze that masked its individual
contribution to the musical texture. Soon thereafter an awareness
arrives of each isolated note's magical decay. Thereafter a wonderful
likeness to the live instrument engages one's attention. Also a good
deal of digital edginess disappears and, as with several other
treatments, bass articulation in this highly-touted-flat-bass medium
noticeably improves."

http://www.positive-feedback.com/Iss...ligentchip.htm

WVK

WVK wrote:

Keep Laughing:

"Speaking of CDs... What's the sonic improvement? Put it this way:
More
like analogue. Nor am I the first to remark this. The listener
immediately notices a seeming rearrangement of voices, in which each
strand becomes clearer, relieved of a haze that masked its individual

contribution to the musical texture. Soon thereafter an awareness
arrives of each isolated note's magical decay. Thereafter a wonderful

likeness to the live instrument engages one's attention. Also a good
deal of digital edginess disappears and, as with several other
treatments, bass articulation in this highly-touted-flat-bass medium
noticeably improves."

http://www.positive-feedback.com/Iss...ligentchip.htm

What a gasbag! One thing to be said for such "innovations" as the
Intelligent Chip, however, is that they make it easier to tell who is
and is not part of the reality-based community here. I don't think I'd
ever trust an amplifier, say, designed by someone who actually thinks
this thing works.

bob

"WVK" wrote in message
...
Keep Laughing:

"Speaking of C^Ds... What's the sonic improvement? Put it this
way: ^More like analogue. Nor am I the first to remark this. The
listener immediately notices a seeming rearrangement of voices,
in which each strand becomes clearer, relieved of a haze that
masked its individual contribution to the musical texture.
Soon thereafter an awareness arrives of each isolated note's
magical decay. Thereafter a wonderful likeness to the live
instrument engages one's attention. Also a good deal of digital
edginess disappears and, as with several other treatments, bass
articulation in this highly-touted-flat-bass medium noticeably
improves."

http://www.positive-feedback.com/Iss...ligentchip.htm

I read that article and it was indeed entertaining.

The chip is simply placed on top of a CD player while it is
playing a CD. It is alleged to not only improve the sound but to
actually create a *permanent* improvement in the CD, by patching
it up somehow.

Now this would require capabilities that are outright magical.
No mere quantum dot would do. Quantum dots are new technology,
but not really new physics. Everything they can do is explained
by good old fashioned quantum mechanics, the same thing that
makes atoms work. And nothing in quantum mechanics could explain
the magical capabilities of the chip.

If the claim was merely that the chip improves the sound of CDs
while it's in use, I could at least imagine semi-plausible
mechanisms of action -- for example, it could contain a battery
and a tiny transmitter that adds subliminal amounts of noise to
the output of the CD player, which might be interpreted as a
warmer, more analog sound, free of digital "harshness". But for
it to make a permanent improvement to the CD itself, as claimed,
an improvement that stays in place after the chip is gone, it
would have to make a change to the bits stored on the CD. If it
could do this, it could be easily and objectively verified --
just output the before and after bit streams to a file and do a
diff. The fact that no such objective evidence is provided is
telling.

Now which is easier to believe:

1. Some brilliant inventor discovered a radical new principal in
physics, and instead of publishing his results, and then heading
straight to Stockholm to pick up his Nobel prize, decided to
apply it to that vitally important area of human endeavor,
agriculture^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H
medicine^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H
energy production^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H
um, high end audio tweaking.

2. Many audiophiles are predisposed to hear a difference when
they make a tweak, and as a result do hear a difference, even
when there is no actual change to the sound produced.

If you picked (1), then by all means spend your money on foolish
tweaks. Somebody has to keep this post dot-com bust economy
moving.

John P. Green wrote:

I read that article and it was indeed entertaining.

The chip is simply placed on top of a CD player while it is
playing a CD.

If you ask me, it sounds like a high-tech variation of the standard Buffalo
Chip.

michael

John P. Green wrote:

If you picked (1), then by all means spend your money on foolish
tweaks. Somebody has to keep this post dot-com bust economy
moving.


You mean the "post quantum dot-com bust economy", right?