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Miracles in Audio, by luck, by good choices,by design or by tweaking...

I owned a low cost headphone for many years, the Fostex TH7B, first version( a new one close version exist Fostex TH7BK), semi-open headphone...I was never completely satisfied by any headphones I ever owned: Hifiman 400, Stax basic lamda, Stax 5 gold,Akg 340,Akg 701, beyerdynamic 990, and T150... Because in each of them with all their qualities I never listen to at the same times, a confortable headphone with natural timbre and voicing, with a good imaging and a realistic soundstage(not too close to my ears)...


For the last days I tweaked this Fostex, to damp his internal resonance I used sorbothane, I put some shungite stones at the exterior part of the cups and I use some Herkimer diamond in the interior pads( 3 at 120 degree) … Now this low cost headphones crush all my others if I sum all his qualities... For example his mids and voicing cannot beat the AKG 340 but among all my other headphones it is the best that is near that mids and it is more confortable, and with longer cable than the 340...His imaging is better and more realistic than the 340 etc etc...It is the same if I compare with the others...


His most important qualities is natural timbre and clear imaging,very precise pinned point accuracy and natural, so clear it crush for that ALL the others to dust...In the French audio circle the reviews were more than very positive few years ago...Diapason d’or and choc Classica...I am not the only one impressed buy the ratio quality/price... But remember that thesae reviewers dont tweak their headphone...The difference between before and after the tweaks are staggering...


Yes Miracles happens in Audio: cost is under 100 American dollars... Few years ago they cost me 50 bucks new... I never dreamed that I will go back to headphones...


I will enjoy your miracles stories of any kind ….My best to all...
mahgister

Showing 8 responses by b_mueller

b_mueller
45 posts
 
Hi mahgister
Thank you very much for your inspiration. I am following your suggestions. Bought shungite, ataxite, tourmaline, malachite, chrysocolla, Herkimer crystals, and other stones, also copper foil... I used shungite with HD on my SR and on the electric panel in the basement, I used shungite with tourmaline. I will do more experimenting for sure. It is sometimes not easy to keep track with what you do, and I am still a Newbie:-) But I can certainly replicate your findings.
My next move will be hang the loudspeakers from the ceiling by four wires. This will allow them tree horizontal movements and realizes Sven Boenickes swing base for cheap. I will also dig into these Golden Strings of yours.
b_mueller
45 posts
 
I would not say there is a loss in bass... the bass has a different quality, less punch but more texture. Also, I have a subwoofer for the bass from 11 to 60 Hz that operates as before.
But you are right, I need to optimize the set up stilll. I am sure your solution works great!
b_mueller
45 posts
 
Actually, I did it: hanging the loudspeakers from the ceiling! Before, I used bedrock stands from Mapleshade. Loudspeakers were close to the floor and tilted upwards. Now, they are not tilted anymore and positioned higher, the tweeter is now at 110 cm above ground. Stil fighting with exact positioning- I have to control the position with the length of the wires which is tedious.
The sound is brighter, highs are more pronounced. - I attribute this to the changed position. There is less punch in the middle and lower bass. Everything opened up, there is more space and texture to the sound, voices are more lifelike. Satisfaction comes at lower volumes.
A spontaneous analogy: it is like swimming naked instead of wearing a swimming suit - there is more joy and life to the sound.
b_mueller
45 posts
 
@cd318 Thank you for your kind words.
After some time with the suspended speakers, I grew to like this setup even more. I can listen to music for hours without fatigue.
The motivation to try this was: With suspension, loudspeakers can move freely in the horizontal plane. And they will, in response to the music signal emitted by the drivers (Newton 3rd law). However, they do so with a frequency below the audible spectrum and the movements have no detrimental effect on the sound. To the contrary, the fixation of loudspeakers with stands, spikes etc. may transform these movements into nasty sound colorations. 
b_mueller
45 posts
 
I used 1 mm stainless steel cables. Maybe other choices could improve the results?
b_mueller
45 posts
 
I drilled four holes to the top of each loudspeaker case and inserted threads that take lugs. There are four ropes per speaker. Each speaker weighs 25 kg. At the ceilings, the four lugs are positioned wider compared to the top of the speaker.
b_mueller
45 posts
 
Actually, there is a commercial solution called swing bases by Swiss loudspeaker manufacturer Sven Boenicke, however it comes at a price. It is esthetically more pleasing though and offers flexibility to reposition speakers.
Anyway, I am looking forward to realize more of your solutions that you generously publish here, mahgister.
b_mueller
45 posts
 
Thank you for the guidance and encouragement, mahgister! 
I will next start with Helmholtz resonators. The golden plates are on the way, and I habe one SG so far. 
I think the swing base is around 1200 Euro.

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