geoffkait,
I do believe that you have the right to your opinions -- and that your attitude needs no comment.
I do believe that you have the right to your opinions -- and that your attitude needs no comment.
A Big DIY Bang for Your Buck?
I believe in getting the biggest bang out of my audio buck that I can. I don't know about you but my audio budget is actually limited.
I find it interesting when I hear about folks spending a zillion on the best magnetic cables and then someone comes along with some new cable technology like new liquid-infused cables that equal or best the magnetic cables at a fraction of the price. Some makers of magnetic and other cables may want you to believe that a patent pending means there must be something there that ordinary Joe Audio could never make himself. My experience leads me to say -- don't believe it.
I have been using neodymium magnets for years in my cables and around my system to improve SQ -- at a fraction of the cost that makers of magnet-containing products charge. OK, mine may not be at the very top of the performance chain when compared to those expensive products, but who cares? I have managed to get stunning returns for a pittance. It would have cost thousands, or tens of thousands, to obtain similar results from various makers.
The same applies to audio makers with a patent pending (or an actual patent) who market little aluminum audio resonators the size of pimples. I make my own resonator pimples for about a buck apiece -- with stunning results. I saved over $4,000 making 70 of my own. Maybe they are not at the very top of the performance chain compared to those expensive products, but who cares? I am very happy with results that are far beyond what I expected when I started out.
I am having a lot of fun doing DIY projects at home that reap wonderful results at a small fraction of the cost charged by audio makers for their similar products. Have others had similar experiences making their own audio products at home? Can you share your DIY experiences with us?
I have been using neodymium magnets for years in my cables and around my system to improve SQ -- at a fraction of the cost that makers of magnet-containing products charge. OK, mine may not be at the very top of the performance chain when compared to those expensive products, but who cares? I have managed to get stunning returns for a pittance. It would have cost thousands, or tens of thousands, to obtain similar results from various makers.
The same applies to audio makers with a patent pending (or an actual patent) who market little aluminum audio resonators the size of pimples. I make my own resonator pimples for about a buck apiece -- with stunning results. I saved over $4,000 making 70 of my own. Maybe they are not at the very top of the performance chain compared to those expensive products, but who cares? I am very happy with results that are far beyond what I expected when I started out.
I am having a lot of fun doing DIY projects at home that reap wonderful results at a small fraction of the cost charged by audio makers for their similar products. Have others had similar experiences making their own audio products at home? Can you share your DIY experiences with us?
219 responses Add your response
Uberdine, " 1. Turns out you absolutely have to spend $500-$700 bucks on speaker cable, but no more. In fact I made the TNT cable out of cat5 for around $50 and that was superb" These sentences seem contradictory. Is the first a fable you are disproving? Also I read that placing set of steel plates on top of a component was a great tweak, so I put an old, small transformer on my receiver's case and experimented with different locations. My jaw is still in place and the transformer is not. ;^) Koestner, I LMAO! |
sabai OP We may also note that anyone who disagrees with you in a direct and forthright manner is liable to be the subject of one of your confrontational and disrespectful replies such as "revenge of the nerds". Of course, this was said in jest. How foolish of me. Whoa! Hey, lighten up, Sabai. If you go back and check what was actually posted you’re see I only responded in kind. If you go back and read what was posted on this thread you'll see I don't attack people, I attack ideas. A sufficiently advanced technology often seems like witchcraft. - Old audiophile expression Have a nice day |
Can we quit the nattering and get back to some useful suggestions? Please? I made my first power cord. I believe physics would dictate that a cord cannot improve the quality of the electricity fed into it; but can degrade it. So I made a power cord out of the same 12/2 romex I used to wire my house. It’s stiff but works as long as I don’t move my amp before unplugging it. I don’t notice any improvement, so I guess the Rotel stock 16 AWG cord is pretty good. I will say I probably selected the wrong IEC connector. The IEC LOCK+ is unreliable in terms of making a connection and does not lock at all on most components. https://www.amazon.com/Rewireable-IEC320-C13-Accidental-Unplugging-Disconnections/dp/B01DCFVXKK/ref=... I need another suggestion. I'm restless for improvement; but CHEAP. No real complaints about my current SQ, but I wonder how good it can get. (or how good my hearing is.) |
geoffkait, Perhaps you did not read my links and my comments carefully enough. There is much that is still unknown about electromagnetic fields and photons. Empirically, the bottom line is the fact that magnets can greatly improve the sound. Frankly, if I were an audio manufacturer posting to Audiogon I would be more careful about being glib and disrespectful so as not to turn off prospective customers -- trying to attract whom is presumably one of the reasons audio manufacturers post to the forum and why, presumably, some audio manufacturers try to demonstrate their knowledge -- while not forgetting to mention their products frequently. 2channel8, Connectors can be as important as the wire. I use top Furutech wire and connectors for my DIY power cords and other wires. I have tried connectors from many companies and I find Furutech is far above all others in my system. |
Sabai, we have both been lured into yet another convoluted thread where geoff alternates his position . He has stated that magnets do not affect the signal
He has also emphatically stated that it does
I am ashamed to admit I got pulled in yet again. |
herman, Are you implying that geoffkait alternates his position -- and that we have been lured into a convoluted thread? This is just geoffkait being himself. No harm in that, is there? And no harm in giving him a platform on which to pontificate -- and a place where he can hopefully attract prospective customers. Shame on you for being ashamed. We should take his advice and lighten up and take advantage of this opportunity. This is more fun than watching MSM television. |
Getting back on track for just a sec and I realize I mentioned this very briefly already, you know, just to see if anyone picked up on it. But I’ll mention it again. The tiny little bowls, the copper ones, are doing magical things for my headphone system. So far I’ve installed maybe 40 copper bowls of various sizes in most rooms here, including bathroom, kitchen and bedrooms. Does anyone find that a little odd? all comments welcome. |
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Sabai, you are right. The posts are purely for entertainment value since they can't possibly be based on anything factual All you need is plain old tap water. Everyone should be familiar with the relationship of heat and sound, that sound travels faster through warm air than it does through cold air. So you can easily control how sound waves travel through the air in your room by placing bowls of very cold water out in front of the speakers in a row, let's say 3 or 4 bowls depending on how big the room is and how big the bowls are. Thus when you listen to your favorite track you'll notice it's clearer, more open and more realistic. Because the sound waves are bending downwards due to the slowing up of the waves close to the bowls of cold water more sound reaches the listener's ears.What if the speakers are lower than the listener's ear? How can you possibly assume that the sound waves "are bending downwards.?" Why else would I go to the trouble of putting up 40 copper bowls since I do not have a conventional speaker system, only the headphone system? So Geoff claims that the bowls he is using clean up the sound of speakers but he doesn't have any speakers. This guy has been , as you suggest, an endless source of amusement. However, since as I see it, the forum is a means to help all of us reach the goal of audiophile nirvana, the baseless, idiotic, suppositions that we often get here just serve to muddy the waters and the only useful purpose is to entertain the trolls and possibly enrich them as they sell magic pebbles, flowers, clocks, and ................ |
You know, try not to let things get to you here. No need to take things seriously all the time.
If you lighten up a bit all will be well. Try your best to keep the fun coming -- anything good for a laugh will do. After all, you're good at that. Remember, this is just a hobby. The comic relief will be wonderful -- and greatly appreciated. To make it easier, everything is fair game. Don't feel restricted. You can even improvise if this is what it takes. The possibilities are limitless. |
@2channel8 I’ve made loads of different power cables, interconnects and speaker cables. You absolutely can get better sound with DIY cables, but you need to choose connectors and cables wisely. I’m a cheapskate, so my choices in connectors and cables are good to start with if you’re sceptical and want to experiment. They’re good enough to hear a difference over stock cables if your system is resolving enough and your components’ power supplies would benefit. I use sonarquest connectors that are $40 for a set with aluminum housing. If you want to go fancier, I’ve heard the iego connectors are very good, especially considering their price. I’ve used yarbo cables with the sonarquest connectors to good effect. I’ve also been using a PC made from lots of braided cat 5 cable, but I won’t recommend that because it’s not as robust as a PC for the general public should be. Here’s a great sounding DIY PC: http://image99.net/blog/index.html Also, if you don’t have decent interconnects or speaker cables, you won’t hear a difference from power cables. I made speaker cables from cat 5, but all you need to start is wire of good copper and sufficiently large diameter with no or good connectors. Interconnects should be of sufficient quality, the crappy RCA cables that come with components are hardly up to the task. Have fun! |
what is interesting is he sells magic pebbles, magic plastic flowers, magic little digital clocks, magic phone calls that transform your room when you hold the receiver up in the room, etc....... So how do you explain he currently has 1193 positive feedbacks with 2 neutral, no negative. It is inconceivable that in over a thousand sales of voodoo nobody would post negative feedback.... shame on Audiogon |
toddverrone, I use top-of-the-line Futurech wire and connectors for my DIY wire. I have used other wires, and the connectors you mention, including Oyaide. Nothing comes close to Furutech in my system. Regarding magnets in power cords, I use small cylindrical neodymium magnets in the empty spaces inside the connectors. dave_b, You make a lot of sense. herman, I agree. |
on topic, no anger too Todd's point, I use DIY cat5 cables for both speaker and interconnects. IMHO opinion there are so many other variables that the wires you use are the final piece to the puzzle. Since things like speaker placement and electronics (amps, sources, etc.) play such a huge role in the sound and wires so little I don't see any reason to spend megabucks on wires when other things have so much more impact. As I see it I will never reach the point, for that matter get even close, to spending money to improve components that I can justify spending more on wires. If I was filthy rich I would play with wires but paying so much for wire is a huge waste of money on my budget. I think the elephant in the room is how much the sound varies between recordings. People spend way too much time optimizing their system for a particular group of recordings (whatever they consider to be their reference recordings) when optimizing for whatever they picked may have a negative impact on recordings they don't On the other hand, I do find that when I have my wife stand in the corner on one leg and cluck like a chicken for a few minutes before a listening session that the sound waves bend downwards then slightly upwards as they approach my chair revealing subtle details that I would otherwise overlook. YMMV |
Dream come true for the cheap DIYers among us. From what I hear through the grapevine there’s a new contact enhancer in town. The active ingredient of which is ...drum roll...Graphene! Now I have a sneaking suspicion this stuff ain’t going to be cheap so which one of you knuckleheads is going to be the first one on your block to knock off the Graphene contact enhancer? Pop quiz: Assuming you wanted to make some how would you do it? |