Do you consider yourself an audiophile?
- Thread starter Doctor Carrot
- Start date
Mrs Magpie
On a bit of break...
gavman, I just read your post and imagined measuring a bassoon and checking its orientation....I also thought of the level stool for a drummer joke (drool coming out of both sides of the mouth at the same time) 
spliff
New Member
ska invita
back on the other side
http://www.musicdirect.com/product/74581
These appear to be two lumps of wood, wrapped in copper tape, with a couple of spade connectors attached.
Apparently they "prevent ultra-high frequency noise and RFI from getting into your speakers. When Reference HDLs are connected across the binding posts, they eliminate unwanted noise from the signal path, allowing the pure music signal to pass through unaffected"
As a result "The music become incredibly natural sounding. Electronic glare disappears, removing harshness and haze. The sound stage opens up hugely becoming more sharply focused, and more transparent. Harmonics within the music become cleaner, clearer and dynamic range is unleashed, with greater speed and sharper, clearer transients"
A snip at $725
what are you meant to do with them?
by the way i read in new scientist once about this crystal that was being used in tiny speakers to make them more bassy - the crystals had something to do with diving gear - i forget how. was well tempted to get me a bag, but lost my copy of the mag.
lighterthief
Well-Known Member
Just got to this thread and am very glad you went for the Nad/B&W combo - I have been running my B&W 600's through a Nad 3020i amp for the last 18 years through all genres of music and it always sounds wicked. Good choice IMOwell finally got my NAD c320bee amp. i can deffo notice the difference from my old kenwood amp... first tune i stuck on was LFO - Nurture cos the sub bass is really heavy and before when i played that tune it was just horrible, but i didnt know if it was my speakers (second hand b&w 601's) or the amp that made it sound like a distorted fart. now ive set up the NAD amp, everythings fine and sounding sweet so im buzzing, especially now i know i dont need to replace the speakers
Re using expensive cables: for years I used the simple copper speaker cables that were thrown in with the system when it was purchased. A friend pestered me for ages, telling me that the cables were degrading the sound. So he lent me his (very expensive) speaker cables. Result: terrible loss of quality.
So basically: different cable did make a huge difference in my case, just not in the right direction!
ska invita
back on the other side
definitely different speakers sound different, though i find the best thing ive got a home is a little 6 band eq on my mixer, which a quick fiddle with makes me a lot happier than the bass and treble on an amp can ever do. even shit speakers can sound nice and warm with a bit of eq'ing.
ive got two boot sale amps at home, and i had to swap them over the other day and its definitely made a difference (for the worse) - its such a hassle swapping them back but one day i will. again, with a bit of eqing you can do a lot to make it sound nice again. for examples cds always sound more toppy than vinyl, and a 5 second eq fixes that right up. i reckon if you want to buy one thing to add to your setup, get an eq.
Mrs Magpie
On a bit of break...
I've got a great CD player in my workroom. £19.99.
ska invita
back on the other side
Has this been posted yet? one for you mrs magpie
...it'll make your workroom more pliant :-D
600$$http://www.musicdirect.com/product/81909Introducing the Acoustic Revive RR-77 Ultra-Low Frequency Pulse Generator!
The RR-77 is just the thing to breathe new life into your system. Radio frequencies and EMI are constantly bombarding your system, your room and your body. Acoustic Revive's theory is that generating extremely low frequency pulses of energy in your room will clear the air, in the same way that a major thunderstorm creates great peace outside.
The Schumann Resonance
Acoustic Revive devised the RR-77 to produce a pulse at an Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) called the Schumann Resonance. This ultra-low frequency (7.83Hz) is also naturally occurring, being the lowest of the frequencies generated by a lightning strike. The RR-77 is nowhere near as powerful, but generates the same pulse and has the same effect albeit in a smaller radius. After only a few minutes of being on, the air in the room feels less heavy, more pliant and the sound of the system takes on a smoother, easier character.
...it'll make your workroom more pliant :-D
teuchter
je suis teuchter
The concept of using an eq will send a fair proportion of the "audiophile" lot into hysterics. Have never really tried one myself. It's probably a sensible way of compensating for certain undesirable quallities of a system or the room. I think there's only so much you can do to compensate for crappy speakers though. It's just simply not physical possible to get any kind of decent bass out of some speakers for example.
I seem to remember reading a while ago about some sort of digital equaliser which you could use a microphone with and it could allegedly automatically sort out what adjustments it needed to make to make your setup balanced.
Mrs Magpie
On a bit of break...
There are audiophiles (of a sort) next door but one. The whole estate hears their sound system. Their music choices are shite and often one tune is played several times. If you knock on their door at 3am begging for peace their pitbull hurls itself at the door slavering and growling.
gavman
pj slumpy
high end subs come with a microphone for just that reason, but it is more to do with placing, phasing and roll on / rolloff than adjusting eq
i wouldn't use an eq in a domestic system as it is an additional filter, and you would be better off matching speakers to your environment than using eq to correct perceived issues
gavman
pj slumpy
perhaps you should come 'round for a 'bake off'
currently got two solid state power amps, and in the same system (same pre-amp, speakers, source etc) they sound stupendously different.
one is american and has that typical krell sound; incredible slam and attack with truly thumping, extended bass and a wide soundstage. i thought it must be the best power amp ever, until i heard an amp made by a chap i know that just made it sound rubbish- the english designed amp had all of the scale of the yank design, but a more delicate, unforced presentation that was considerably more natural and enjoyable, yet actually had 'truer', deeper bass.
best way to describe it, for big sound effects the krell sounds instantly impressive, but the english design is much more understated, musical and seductive, manages to keep the wide soundstage but adds height and depth in a way that leaves the american sounding flat, two dimensional and very coloured
gavman
pj slumpy
start doing your laundry overnight. that will piss on their chips
alternatively take up cb radio as a hobby, so they can enjoy your conversations as they are picked up by their phono stage
Mrs Magpie
On a bit of break...
Don't get the laundry bit but setting up a CB with something like Harrison Birtwhistle appeals to me. Or Ivor Cutler.
ska invita
back on the other side
sure if speakers are rubbish then theyre rubbish, but you can but try (eq)
nah mate - how can i cut the mid range and drop the bass without one?!
its not just about 'compensating' or 'correcting issues' - its also about creating a sound that you like - which in turn depends on the music, the format, and your mood: some days i have the bass up loud, and the tops off, sometimes the otherway around, sometimes with vinyl it wants more mid punch if im feeling punchy, usually with cds you need to sculpt away from the top end, some days you just listen flat, whatever takes your fancy. at different volumes i change eq too - if its on softly i may turn the bass and mids up as they disappear more etc.
also home amps usually have a bass and treble recognising that some adjustment is wanted, the eq allows for a bigger range of control.
this thread has shown that audiophilia as a term is less about an abstract love of audio, and more about attaining some kind of perfect clean sound - at the other end of this process, thi quest that has resulted in most super shiny recording from the most expensive studios sounding so bland in the vast majority of cases (to me at least). For me sound is all about character, not the removal of all character (up to a point of course).
if you hear some pre-stereo mono recordings done with a couple of mikes, those records sound great because of that - rerecord them today with all the top gear and its all too clean and perfect and the roughness is gone. that roughness is part of the warmth of a sound, and if the mission is to get rid of it at every stage your left with ... well, something that doesnt sound very good to me.
the only time super clean produced records sound good is at very high volumes - thats partly because by being played loud the systems, which are never perfect, add the character back in - but listened to in any other environment and its way too squeaky clean for me.
that said if anyone wants to give me all the top gear and prove me wrong ill be happy to take the challenge
im sure there lots of nice top end gear out there and im sure its possilble to make it sound great, but on my budget (or lack of it) im thankfull for the eq.
ATOMIC SUPLEX
Member Since: 1985 Post Count: 3
nah mate - how can i cut the mid range and drop the bass without one?!
its not just about 'compensating' or 'correcting issues' - its also about creating a sound that you like - which in turn depends on the music, the format, and your mood: some days i have the bass up loud, and the tops off, sometimes the otherway around, sometimes with vinyl it wants more mid punch if im feeling punchy, usually with cds you need to sculpt away from the top end, some days you just listen flat, whatever takes your fancy. at different volumes i change eq too - if its on softly i may turn the bass and mids up as they disappear more etc.
Fair enough if thats what you want to do, but I kind of get a little annoyed that after an engineer in the studio has spent all that time getting it right, some joker in his bedroom thinks he can do better. I am talking more about the million band graphic eqs of the 80s and 90s. The subtle treble and bass knobs on something like a nad are only there for some slight compensation depending on the volume of the music or the room.
gavman
pj slumpy
nah mate - how can i cut the mid range and drop the bass without one?!
the only time i would use eq would be while dj-ing, is that what you mean?
otherwise just choose speakers that sound right to you, and throw the eq over the hedge
Meltingpot
Living in our pools we soon forget about the sea
If you spray that stuff on your Nirvana or Pearl Jam CDs, then play them, you'll hear Will Young and Gareth Gates...
LOL I like that one.
I recently saw an interview with Simon Blumlein, whose father was Alan Dower Blumlein the (underrated IMO) inventor genius of the early 20th century and a pioneer in the world of modern recording technology (he actually died whilst developing radar during the war). Blumlein Junior, who owns a hi-fi shop, doesn't bother with expensive cables and gizmos but sells basic but good quality copper cables and Quad equipment.
gavman
pj slumpy
the 'best amp in the world' was an ancient design, originally built to a ww2 radar-spec
all 27wpc of it
http://www.audionote.co.uk/products/amps_integrated/ongaku_01.shtml
what made it so expensive was the hand-wound silver wiring
all 27wpc of it
http://www.audionote.co.uk/products/amps_integrated/ongaku_01.shtml
what made it so expensive was the hand-wound silver wiring
gavman
pj slumpy
By the way my housemates are all out at the moment and I am currently enjoying some high volume dub on a pair of these -
they look like lots of fun
what do you drive them with?
teuchter
je suis teuchter
they look like lots of fun
what do you drive them with?
I have them running off these at the moment which I managed to find cheap in a cash converters...
I've been thinking of swapping them over onto this though, which I have got sitting around too -
beesonthewhatnow
going deaf for a living
Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh.
ska invita
back on the other side
the only time i would use eq would be while dj-ing, is that what you mean?
otherwise just choose speakers that sound right to you, and throw the eq over the hedge
put a record on and you're djing
gavman
pj slumpy
I have them running off these at the moment which I managed to find cheap in a cash converters...
I've been thinking of swapping them over onto this though, which I have got sitting around too -
good find....cost you much? can you use the xa200 monoblocks with that nu-vista pre-amp?
they do sound rather nice...i've always had a soft spot for mf, even though michaelson is a renowned git. i happily ran an a100 for a good many years, driving my big tdl's
i'd be surprised if the audiolab sounds any better?
i always found them a bit...clinical
gavman
pj slumpy
ViolentPanda
Hardly getting over it.
You said "analog sounds more natural". I was merely making the point that to say such a thing is a value judgement, because you have other artifacts in the sound chain that will colour the sound. In other words, your perceptions inform your belief as much as any difference in sound between analogue and digital sources.
ViolentPanda
Hardly getting over it.
Washing machines, fridges etc (in fact any poorly-shielded electrical equipment) all put out rf signals, signals that can sometimes be picked up by audio equipment.
Ask Blind Lemon why musicians avoided using wireless mics etc for years. I'm sure he'll have a few stories.
ATOMIC SUPLEX
Member Since: 1985 Post Count: 3
I can't look at this anymore.
