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Post by Deleted on Dec 2, 2009 20:55:19 GMT
Ian
It is possible to get a very good 3D effect when using a very good headphone amplifier with decent headphones.
However, the soundstage is never as good as with decent speakers. I have a compilation test CD, which has on it a track from Olivia Newton John called "Moth to a Flame." On speakers the "moth" does a complete anti clockwise circle, both behind the listening position and way behind the speakers. On headphones the circle is more of an ellipse, but does still appear to go behind you, and in front of you.
I also have a downmixed to stereo track, from Chesky of a storm. When I play it through speakers the cat takes off !
And yes, it also has an illusion of height!
Sometimes when I play this compilation through the PC while laying on the bed at a relatively low level, I think the compilation has ended but can't be bothered taking the headphones off straight away. Twice now I have heard a storm moving around in the distance, then approaching,moving around , and then the rain. I have then looked out the window and the sky is clear . That's how realistic headphones can sound with good source material. Especially high res stuff.
Alex
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Post by Deleted on Dec 2, 2009 21:05:28 GMT
Yes, I've heard this stuff but it may be to do with my pear shaped head and polo mint ears.
I can convince myself it's 3d but the reality is an awful let down for me. Binaural is a totally different matter. I prefer that to speakers for imaging actually.
I have been using an earmax amp and have tried all kinds of exotic things strapped to my head and never fet much more than up/down, left/right.
It's a bit like those 3d films - you see flat planes at different depths. Not really 3d if you see or hear what I mean!!
But then again, there are people who easily hear this, I am told and there you are ........ ;D
It's too much effort - stick to speakers, it's easier to hear.
Fit a fat cable and it takes you into 4d.
Ian
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Post by Deleted on Dec 2, 2009 21:22:42 GMT
Ian
I prefer speakers too, but with my family around,and a very noisy grandson, it's not always possible to enjoy speaker listening properly.
Alex
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Post by Deleted on Dec 2, 2009 21:29:32 GMT
Nigel Some are even using Turntables and cartridges that were designed before then, or not too much later !  Some people still like Rice Bubbles , even though they are grown up ! (snap, crackle and pop !) Alex |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 2, 2009 21:30:42 GMT
Ian I prefer speakers too, but with my family around,and a very noisy grandson, it's not always possible to enjoy speaker listening properly. Alex It's all in the training Alex!! Yes it is difficult. I have headphone setups in different rooms so I can just move off somewhere else and hide. (That's why I have headphones and amps all over the place!!) Don't want to delve into multi speaker set ups. I like the different flavours of different set ups. Imagine the cables for multi ....... Definitly python time. Ian |
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Post by clausdk on Dec 2, 2009 21:34:01 GMT
I must be one of those people, sometimes the sound goes to the back of where I am.
The Fugees "ready or not" has that effect on me, I get the best results using inears (shure E500, my q-JAYS can not do it)
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Post by Deleted on Dec 2, 2009 21:53:05 GMT
I must be one of those people, sometimes the sound goes to the back of where I am. The Fugees "ready or not" has that effect on me, I get the best results using inears (shure E500, my q-JAYS can not do it) Funny you mention that - I often hear stuff behind my head - my wife does too. It's just this idea that cables provide a better image when I can't form a proper one whatever I hook up. It may be my melon head though. Ian |
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Post by clausdk on Dec 2, 2009 22:21:40 GMT
I must be one of those people, sometimes the sound goes to the back of where I am. The Fugees "ready or not" has that effect on me, I get the best results using inears (shure E500, my q-JAYS can not do it) Funny you mention that - I often hear stuff behind my head - my wife does too. It's just this idea that cables provide a better image when I can't form a proper one whatever I hook up. It may be my melon head though. Ian I do not think that every song has it in them, to make the scene spin around your melon. So maybe it is "just" your taste in music that is the "problem". I also does not hear it very often, but I made a rewiev of e500 vs q-JAYS on headfi, that is why I remember taht song |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2009 5:57:37 GMT
So maybe it is "just" your taste in music that is the "problem"Yes, that's probably exactly my problem!!  Ian
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Post by clausdk on Dec 3, 2009 9:51:43 GMT
So maybe it is "just" your taste in music that is the "problem"Yes, that's probably exactly my problem!! Ian You do know I was joking or was I ??  |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2009 15:12:35 GMT
Yes Claus, I did know! ;D
Having said that, I do have strange tastes in music.
Ian
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Post by Deleted on Dec 4, 2009 21:46:36 GMT
I've changed the cable.
Put an AKG K701 on the end of it. That makes a massive difference. and it was cheaper than a cable.
Ian
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Post by PinkFloyd on Dec 4, 2009 22:19:23 GMT
I've changed the cable. Put an AKG K701 on the end of it. That makes a massive difference. and it was cheaper than a cable. Ian You've bought a pair of K-701 Ian? |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 4, 2009 22:43:32 GMT
I've changed the cable. Put an AKG K701 on the end of it. That makes a massive difference. and it was cheaper than a cable. Ian You've bought a pair of K-701 Ian? Yes. It's burning in. I don't want to hear it for a little while 'cos if it's edgy, I'll get pissed with it. I'm more sensitive to treble than bass. Found a place with one and he did a nice deal 'cos he likes me.  Ian |
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Post by PinkFloyd on Dec 4, 2009 23:17:29 GMT
You've bought a pair of K-701 Ian? Yes. It's burning in. I don't want to hear it for a little while 'cos if it's edgy, I'll get pissed with it. I'm more sensitive to treble than bass. Found a place with one and he did a nice deal 'cos he likes me. Ian Ian...... "seriously" the K-701 need a "good" year before they come totally on song..... they just get better and better..... don't waste time "burning in" just use them and abuse them.... the pads need to soften up and "bed in" too..... they're one of the stiffest headphones I have come across, along with K-501, they need a lot of breaking in before they become "old glove" status. Mike. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 5, 2009 10:14:10 GMT
Thanks Mike. Yes, I've heard about this. The minimum time before they settle is supposed to be around 300 hours.
Probably those cones - they're fatter in the middle in comparison to the edges?
It's OK. I'll give them as much time as they need. I know what you're saying - stick with them and after a quick listen this morning, I think I will.
They do actually sound a bit 'stiff' but I can live with it. The first impression was 'space'. They spread sound out a lot more than I'm used to from the start. Real low end hasn't hit in yet. It has bass but not a great deal of impact. I suspect that'll improve.
Top is OK. I also hear that settles and it mellows a little after 300 or so.
First impressions are, it's nice and does spread the sound around your head. (In my case backwards in my head - I always hear soundstage (if it exists) backwards) Definitley more 'space' than the HD600 and 650.
It's a lot 'cleaner' sounding than my Sennheisers, that's for sure. The 250 has a similar (slightly harder) top but more 'slam' down below at the moment.
The thing is, it was cheaper than a cable for a Senn and I'm not convinced about the cable thing at all. When people get angry about a cable, I get suspicious about whether what they're saying is true!!! (On HF) (I was after a bit more sparkle in the top - and now I've got it!!!) I would like a bit more bass presence though, but as you say, with time it may appear. Good attack with both X-Cans though.
Image is a bit of a problem - it looks like two toilets on your head. I wondered about the housing and whether it maybe resonates 'cos it's so lightweight.
I presume you have a pair of these then, Mike. Good with X-Can as well? I think they'll work out well together.
Ian
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Post by PinkFloyd on Dec 5, 2009 11:52:49 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Dec 5, 2009 18:01:57 GMT
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Post by guadixman on Jan 4, 2010 12:57:04 GMT
Here we go - a new year but the same old debate.
Having worked in construction for most of my life I have had to have contact with prats called architects - they do not know their arse from their elbow and then there are EEs - electrical engineers.
They go to tech colledge where they are 'indoctrinated' into the 'religion' called science. the fact that, with increasing frequency science is stood on it's head passes them by.
When Einstein was really active (along with numerous others) it caused huge head problems for many physicists - because mentally they had to stand on their heads and tap-dance at the same time.
This resulted in many of them collapsing mentally.
Fast forward until 4 years ago and being really disappointed with the sound of my new h/amp - Bada PH12 and looking at a few threads on Head-fi I decided to buy some really high spec. military wire from Navships in the US and make my own power cord.
This wire - silver/plated OFC copper (rated at 1200V) was for the first 2 days nothing special then it opened up and the amp began to breathe.
This I found quite SHOCKING (don't forget I had up till then bought the accepted bullshit) and before some prat jumps in with the usual crap about expensive cables - it was dirt cheap to make, since I was being subsidised by the US tax payer.
I then quickly moved on to i/cs - tried all kinds of configurations and without realising it arrived at something very similar to Nordost's 4 x conductor/ 4 x return system.
Connectors don't make a difference - really! I've tried everything except WBT, I'm simply not prepared to pay the price.
So which connector comes out best for me - Eichman bullit plugs. Last year they ramped their prices up (for no good reason) - they are a rip-off when you look at their production costs and their construction could be way better - none-the-less they let more of the signal pass through.
I've tried all kinds of wire except CCC and to my ears - silver/plated HCC comes out best by a mile.
Costs - depending on where you buy and rip-off Britain is a no-no, the Eichmans' can be had for $62 a set. The dialectric I use is cheap @ 89p/€1 per metre, then there is the cost of the wire @ approx. 50-60p per metre (silver has quadrupled in price). Plus heat shrink/Techflex and treatment with De-oxit and Pro-gold.
So - say approx. $75-78 and that's without labour. These i/cs take a lot of work to construct - first I have to remove the centre conductor from the low loss sat. cable and then work with 26AWG wire, in such a way that when the cable is quite naturally bent to fix from one piece of equipment to another, this action does'nt break any of the fragile 26AWG conductors.
So how much should I charge if I decide to go into commercial production. I also live in France which has very high costs built into their excellant social security system and probably the best health system on the planet. So come on - how much should I charge?
I bought s/hand via Head-fi some Cardas Blue after/market cable for my Senn 650s' do they make a difference - you betcha and it is'nt subtle. I totally agree about the sound of the 650s' being bloated bass with the stock cables. You can't hear this clearly - do you have a hearing problem or a mental one?
The only measuring instrument I use are - my ears. There was one wally on Head-fi who said - "he did'nt trust his ears, only his measuring instruments". So I aked him who listens to the music in his home - him or his measuring instruments - funny but he never came back with an answer - I wonder why - or maybe he was only out on day release - quien save?
In the 60s' & 70s' all these so called hi-fi gurus were using bell wire for speaker cable and used the same kind of crap inside their badly designed amps etc.
So who was it that first tried something other than bell wire - that's right the audio buffs - only reluctantly did the pro wankers start experimenting with something other than bell wire.
It's always the pros who talk about wasting money on boutique components. That's so they can justify using crap cheap components that do nothing for the sound.
Imagine being stupid enough to waste money on a penis extension aka a Porsche/Ferrari etc. - would you then use cheap fuel with lots of impurities - after having spent so much money on a penis extension would make you even more crazy.
The signal IS the music, ergo it needs to be conveyed by the best means possible - whether your preference is for copper or silver or silver/plated copper - the purer the metals used more of the signal will pass through your system - voila - an enriched musical experience.
Time to de-programme yourselves - if you have the courage.
I would always advocate making your own cables because it's way cheaper than buying commercial - if using a good design and the design you use is hugely important, then, if you have de-programmed yourself from all Kant and brainwashing - you will hear a difference, if you don't then you need to consult the medics to find out if you have a hearing problem. It always surprises me when I encounter those with really serious tinnitus problems who go on to spout about their ability to hear or not hear - too much Largactyl (almost certainly).
I'm not interested in tweaking my system via cables - for me they must be neutral. A good neutral cable will show you if you have problems with your system.
It's a bit like wine - I do not enjoy mezclas/ mixtures - for me they are neither one thing or the other. So - I use the same wire throughout my system - balanced wiring I have found will sound right - simply because it is balanced. So if as I do you use more than one conductor, you must replicate for the return anything else will sound 'unbalanced' - you don't accept this - then make up 2 sets of i/cs. One set using the same amount of conductors for signal and return and another set using more than one conductor for signal and only one conductor for return.
Keep all signal conductors apart (cross talk) this is very important. For the Brits visit any Maplin and buy some FT125 low loss sat. cable, this is a the dialectric I use - it's double sheilded and the signal wires are virtually in free space each inside their own compartment.
This sat. cable BTW is excellant for it's original purpose since the copper conductor is surrounded by air and the sheilding does not interfere with the signal conduction - hugely important this.
So - inside my Bada I use 4 x conductors, exactly the same as for my i/cs. Ideally I would like to do away with all connectors and solder directly from one piece of equipment to the other.
Do cables make a difference yes - if you have an open mind, should you pay fortunes for cables - no, if you make your own but using top quality materials will never make for cheap cables.
It is unfortunately very hard for those with rigid mentalities to understand that not everyone is the same as them. There are many who will happily pay for others to make cables for them since as one American said to me - "hell I can make more money by working than by spending time constructing cables" - it was simply a question of economics - what's wrong with that.
The man who turned me onto so much good music years and years ago would not even wire up a plug - so what - he knew his music.
I really do get an image of the EEs waving the equivalent of the 'little red book' or Das Kapital or Mien Kamf or whatever - throw away the books or use them for toilet paper and use your ears instead.
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Will
Been here a while! 
Ribena abuser!
Member since 2008
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Post by Will on Jan 4, 2010 19:18:52 GMT
guadixman, well that's a Gauntlet thrown down! You've obviously found something that you feel is worthwhile, and I for one, would like to try it out. How about doing a pictorial on how to make the guadixman ic? I can say now that I won't be using the eichmann bullets, but if you suggest a less pricey replacement, I'll try it out. Like you, I trust my ears, regardless of bits/bytes/cables/colour/frequency/skin and fotm  Oh, and I completed my HNC in Electrical & Electronic Engineering in 1994, so have had plenty of time to forget it all |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2010 20:44:57 GMT
guadixman
I have seen speakers connected by 2 pair telephone cable in the era that you mentioned. Graham Slee actually suggested using sateliite cable for interconnects. I am only wary about the use of too much silver in cables, as it can make a system sound too bright.
Be careful too with speaker cables, as too big and fat a cable can actually make them sound slightly worse. Many speakers are actually designed to work with a certain amount of series resistance. e.g. QED DCM1A, which are designed to be properly damped with .25 ohm series resistance in the speaker wire between them and the amplifier..
SandyK
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Post by guadixman on Jan 11, 2010 18:37:21 GMT
Wow!
I was expecting a torrent of irrational abuse - oh sorry, wrong forum.
I'm going to be a bit long winded here but I feel it's nec.
When I first got involved with building and modding hi-fi equipment it was via a then new forum WAD (circa 1999). Knowing that a great many who were building their amps with zero knowledge of the science, with hindsight it now seems insane for WAD not to have created a series of basic treatises on how electricity works, how signals are conducted etc.
In fact I don't think any of the forums really approached this in a rational way. My gut feeling is that they never even thought about educating others at all. Many posts appeared by know-it-alls who immediately started spouting in techno-speak - look how clever we are - in reality just being pompous prats.
It may make it easier to get my point across if I use building a house as an example (I'm a builder BTW).
So you want to build a house - do you start by talking about what colour to paint the kitchen or what face bricks to use, one or two stories etc. - all complete bollocks but that is how many approach hi-fi as well, especially as many have no formal training. For training read indoctrination - that is what happens when you study anything and whoever heard of trainers/teachers warning their pupils to not accept anything that has'nt been proved to them as stone cold fact.
The correct way to approach building a house is first to ascertain what the sub-soil conditions are, this will determine what kind of foundations are nec. What kind of weather conditions/temps will be encountered in the life of the house will/should determine the structure. Will maintenance costs be considered - all these are far more important than anything else but does Jo Punter even think to ask, no of course not- and so they get stiffed.
Put another way all societies indoctrinate their young - to see life THEIR way and their way only. Very often along with the indoctrination the young are taught to treat other ways of looking at life with contempt or worse - just look at how the white European treated all those they came into contact with in their so called New World - we deliberately destroyed all those cultures we encountered, perhaps because they were in effect a mirror and we did'nt like to look into too closely, so smashed them all to pieces - just who were and are the savages?
So to all those who 'believe' in science I have some questions;
(1) how, in space/time is an electrical signal structured. Is the signal a melange, or does it travel in segments or layers according to frequency?
(2) how does this electrical signal 'travel' via the conductor from point A to point B. Is the signal carried through the whole conductor uniformly, or are different percentages of the signal travel conveyed in different parts of the conductor?
(3) conductors - there are many types but the ones I know of are; copper, standard/OFC/HC,OFC/CCC. Silver, different purities. Carbon (Van den Huul) . Aluminium etc. All of these mediums have different properties and different crystal structures - CCC is one long crystal. Basically, the purer the metal used the less crystals.
(4) does the structure and purity matter re. signal conducting from point A to point B? Has anyone anywhere done any tests to prove/disprove this point. I've heard lots of opnions but never been presented with bone fide facts.
The ear can only 'hear' up to a certain level of frequencies - who did these tests; under what conditions were the tests carried out; what was the mindset of those who carried out these tests; what types of people were tested - all from the western world and mindset?
It is well known in physics that the observer is always a part of the experiment - indeed it is impossible for anyone to be truly 'objective' but how often do we hear the believers abusing this word objectivity.
Everyone who is interested in hi-fi that I have personally met can hear a difference with different cables, that's why I asked if those who cannot/will not hear a difference has ever had a hearing test - so far none of these have stepped forward to answer that question, why not?
I have had such a test and was informed that I had a 15% loss at the top in my left ear (this did'nt surprise me) and above average hearing in my right ear.
So, how did I arrive cable wise where I am today. Well I made all the twisted pairs of different materials. I made i/cs without sheilding and the sound was more open but there was a shifting of frequencies. I much preferred the unsheilded cables but they just were'nt 'right'.
I then decided to try the FT125 sat cable, stripping out the centre conductor and suddenly there was this wondeful quieteness. My mate Harry up near Groningen first alerted me to what was wrong with this my best effort so far - unbalanced was the word he used and as I had sent a pair of i/cs already made up he asked me how it was constructed.
As I explained to Harry exactly what I had done, I had one of those Eureka moments and that was thanks to his use of the word 'unbalanced'. So straight away I built a pair of i/cs using 4 wires for signal and 4 for return. Due to the limited amount of air segments inside the sat. cable I had 6 to use, 4 for the signal wires (1 wire per segment) and only 2 for the return wires ie. 2 per segment. I don't think this matters, what does is that the circuit of wires is now balanced - the electrical current sees exactly the same material and quantity of material both into and out of the amp.
I tried using cheaper wire of the same gauge (26AWG) for the return - the difference is audible, which is where the crystal structure of different materials comes into play.
Now according to the science believers I should have 'conned' myself into 'believing' there was no difference and saved money using the cheaper wire for return - I don't play mind games with myself or others and have a total contempt for those that do.
Why 4 wires per signal and return - that is the number that works for me - it maybe different for others - I have tried from 1 - 4. $ wires conveys everything naturally.
I have used copper but not as far as using CCC - I don't like copper as it seems to impart a warmth which is unnatural and it does nothing for detail retreival.
Silver by itself does'nt have to be bright but for me and others there is definately a 'sheen'.
I use HCC (high conductivity copper) with a thin silver coating (very bright finish). I have tried higher micron silver but don't like it. It is for this reason that I want to know just how the signal travels through/via the conductor.
Dialectric - it has been stated that the best dialectric is none at all aka - air. Why would this be stated and so long ago by those young men from the 30s/40s & 50s' - did they in fact experiment with different dialectrics - I'll bet they did.
Many swear by using cotton - a natural substance with zero static problems, not to be under-estimated with hi-fi equipment.
By using the air segments inside the sat. cable only a very small fraction of each signal wire is in contact with the polyethelyne walls at any one time and most importantly of all NEVER is the signal wire tightly bound by the dialectric at all, which is the norm for nearly all cables that I have come across, be they commercial or home brew.
Sheilding - there is far more space between the signal wire and the double sheilding. The sat. cable used to have a copper foil sheild and then a copper braided sheild. For economy it is now produced with an aluminium mylar sheild - I do not know if this will degrade the performance or not.
I am certain that all wire, never mind the actual material used somehow loses or distorts the signal when tightly bound inside a dialectric, which is why I want to know exactly how an electrical signal travels through a conductor - my experiments point to a co nsiderable importance of the 'skin effect' I now would never use anything other than bare wire.
Twisted wires v straight wires - for me it's no contest - I will never use twisted wires again. By using double sheilded dialectric I gain nothing by twisting the wires and what happens to the signal carried through a twisted wire arrangement - what effect does that have on the electrons -answers not conjecture please?
Does twisting the wires have an effect on the crystal structure of the material used - by changing the physical structure I fail to see how this could not affect the speed of travel of the signal - as above.
I use 'Twisted Twins' as speaker cables and I am about to make some straight runs instead to see if this will affect the sound.
Connectors - I've tried quite a few and unfortunately the Eichmans have it by quite a margin. I'm in contact with a certain Taiwanese company and if I thought I could raise the finance I will seriously look at producing a superior and much cheaper alternative. Their connector is 'unbalanced' because of that tiny little spigot they use for earthing and as many have found if you try to use the bugger a second or third time you can have real problems.
Will - you want to use a cheaper alternative but do you see that what I have tried to say that if you cut corners anywhere in a cable you cut the performance - the weakest link is the best way to describe it.
Every single thing that is directly in the signal path is important - to try to save money on the very item that carries the most important thing of all ie. the signal itself is crazy, it really is that simple.
So to hammer the final nail home - if you cannot hear any difference between i/cs made of different materials and using different construction techniques then the logical conclusion to that is simply this; a carbon/metal film or Vishay naked Z foil resistor of the same value will sound the same or nearly so - bollocks; any capacitor of the same value and voltage rating irrespective of material or construction will sound the same or very nearly so - again bollocks that is complete crap but that is what so many are saying.
To make a pair of i/cs like mine is time consuming (I wish it was'nt) but here goes.
The advantages are these - FT125 a first class dialectric that can be bought cheaply from either Maplin or RS. If you buy 100m from Maplin the price is 89P per metre buy less and the price goes upto £1.85 - RS has no discount.
You will need two peices of wood 1"x1" should be fine - now chisel out a centre run in each peice so that when they are pressed against the sat. cable they do not meet ergo they grip the sat. cable tightly. I can withdraw upto 1.5M of centre conductor this way.
You will need a Black & Decker workmate or similar - fit the sat. cable inside the two pieces of wood and clamp down the length of the B&D. You will need to leave about 1.5" free on one end. Now strip away all material leaving only the exposed centre conductor. It helps to have a metal plate with a hole drilled just big enough to introduce the wire pushing against the plate and using snub nosed pliers begin to pull the wire - tough at first but once it begins to move, it comes out quite easily. do not forget to exert pressure on the metal plate or the end of the cable you are working on will deform.
You want to have as much of the double sheilding inside the connector so be very careful to have the sheilding as close to the point of soldering as possible - beware of any loose strands of copper wire. I use miniature vices to hold all the parts in place, in fact I don't know what I would do without them (bought from Lidls).
You will have 6 air cavities to work with - on no account have more than one signal conductor inside any one cavity. The return wires have to share one cavity per two wires.
Soldering 4 x 26AWG together inside the plug is not easy and that is where the time comes in. I suggest using small clamps to hold the sat. cable in a bend - always work with any natural bend in the sat. cable and not against it.
I have tried using from 40 down to 20AWG - I can see why many commercial cables use 26AWG - it just sounds right.
I know that silver still conducts very well even when it oxidises but I treat my wire with Pro-Gold before introducing it into the dialectric. I also use Pro-Gold on all the solder joints.
I finish with Techflex and plenty of heatshrink over both the connector and onto the sat. cable itself - need I say NEVER PULL AN I/C OUT BY THE CABLE.
Try using less conductors than 4 but I'll bet that's the number you'll end up using.
Try using using different materials, I have but quality silver/plated copper floats my boat as it does for many others.
I cannot make a pair of these cables in less than 1.5 hours from start to finish, partly because the Eichmans are so fiddly and so stupidly constructed - I don't use them from choice but because of their openess compared to standard cheap connectors.
So what should I charge?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 11, 2010 20:55:48 GMT
Guadixman,
What to charge? Depends on how you look at it.
1) cost of materials plus mark up + how highly you value your time + any packing/advertising costs + tax if official = your asking price.
OR
2) Wrap it up in marketing BS and a fancy pack/box, then add at least one zero to "1".
OR
3) I'm sure most poeple here have a supply of branded cables they either stand by, dislike or both. If you are confident in your cables, it certainly sounds that way, why not pass a few sets around so they may be compared against all sorts, in different systems by different ears. You should get a clear idea as to how the open market may receive them and approxiamately what price bracket to target.
If this is not a full on commercial venture then the pictorial that Will mentioned would be nice.
Thanks for sharing, you've certainly made me curious.
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Post by videoguy on Jan 16, 2010 7:02:43 GMT
I use Senn. 600's on a JLH Chiara amp. Three yrs. ago I modded them by removing the foam covering the drivers replacing it with a sheer silky type material that does not degrade or block the sound. This was like lifting a veil from the drivers; a definite improvement. I was looking at the cable forum on hf & found a test run on 2 botique cables & senn. 650 stock. The conclusion was that the stock senn. made a 90% improvement over the original senn.600 cable & the botiques only made an additional 10% improvement. Being one of the doubters of some botique claims I found Erik selling new 650 stock cables on ebay for $25- us. Bought them & found a significant improvement in audio quality across the board. The 650 cables are twice the size of the original 600's. I decided there would be no botique cables at inflated prices for me. Two days ago I increased the current drive of the output stage on my Chiara, sound was another 50% improvement. It reached out & grabbed my attention & had sound like I had never heard from my 600's before. I believe the Chiara will now drive a pair of Grado's, just looking for someone with a pair near me to try with the amp. Using an AD823 opamp & Valb stepped attenuator in the amp; futher improvements on the way. No snake oil for me.  |
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2010 7:21:10 GMT
Videoguy
I think that normally we are paying a penalty for a lightweight and very flexible headphone cable.The result is greater coupling between channels and higher capacitance leads. Increasing the amplifier's curent drive is going to enable it to better handle higher capacitance loads.
SandyK
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Some people still like Rice Bubbles , even though they are grown up ! (snap, crackle and pop !)
