AN INSIDIOUS ENEMY

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 16, 19 January 1924, Page 22

AN INSIDIOUS ENEMY

Every wireless amateur should be on the look-out for an insidious enemy, who masquerades under the name of 'Wolume," but whose real name is distortion. There is a simple way of detecting his presence. Ask a friend of-some musical taste, preferably one with little or no experience of wireless, to listen to a broadcast programme- and give :i frank criticism. Pobably the'owner of the set will in most cases.be shocked and possibly he will be indignant and incredulous at the result. Distortion is very commonly-present when a wireless receiver is operated to give maximum volume; and with the ordinary constitution of a human being, volume is what jis sought. But the owner of the set is generally ignorant of the faulty result. This is because his ears have become used to the defects. Some people have curious voices, but they are unaware of the fact. How many New Zea- t landers have been annoyed to be told : that : they speak with a "colonial twang" ? Let anyone who is sceptical about the reality of bad reproduction of music and the large tolerance which custom gives listen to a few different gramophones and note the differences in the resultant music. Some instruments will reproduce certain items so faithfully that there is little noticeable difference from the original; others are quite recognisably gramophonic. Yet even the poorest gramophone becomes an uncriticised friend if one lives With it long enough. In the same way the user of a wireless set, tempted to push its volume to the utmost, learns to tolerate, and finally to deny, the inevitable defects. But these are only too apparent to Strangers, and when they are introduced to the novelties of wireless in such circumstances they are apt to say "Yes, of course, it's awfully interesting. But don't you think it heeds to be improved a lot before it's much good?" This leads to the shattering >of old friendships and the Ijreaking of hearts.