WHY CABLES MATTER!

@squared80 

my post was about the only system you can improve at no monetary cost, your listening ability - it wasn’t about the money one chooses to spend on cables, a silly issue that imposes your limits, or lack of, upon someone else.

We summarily accept at face value whenever someone says their sense of sight is better than their hearing, or that one has a more developed sense of taste than touch. It is, consequently, very amusing whenever someone makes a claim of snake oil based on their belief that the hearing of others must certainly be as underdeveloped as theirs : ) 

squared80, differences in human beings exist - seeing, smelling, tasting, touching, and listening/hearing ability is different for different people. The good news is that these differences are not usually biological, they’re  psycho-acoustic. This means that one can learn to develop one’s abilities to listen, and thus ‘hear’ better, in much the same way one can learn to observe, or ‘see’ better, in order to depend less on a confirmation biased mind so as to critically ‘think’ better. The bad news is that it means more effort for some of us to develop better listening ability. 

For those truly biologically hard of hearing, I would say what a blessing, not needing to make all that effort to able to listen better, in building their systems. The effort and discipline to create a listening space where only one thing at a time is changed is far more difficult than bringing in that hard earned money to do it. I feel nothing but admiration for those who are more capable and skilled in ways I am not, be it with listening or modifying and building their own equipment and listening rooms that I try to learn from, instead ignorantly criticising others further along in their journey of listening ability in the same hobby we all share.- how idiomatically lazy and  unkind your words are.

Please read my additional post to smurfstain ahead, if you believe that there is always something new to learn. Do ignore me otherwise ; )
 

@mihorn 

Alex, tonywinga’s comment notwithstanding, my post was about sound realism, not natural or unnatural sound. It may simply be a matter of terminology, but I suspect it isn’t. The sound quality of your speakers for their given electronic chain as evident in all your previously posted videos tell me you have created good and decent speakers for their value, but they are still quite far down the scale in relation to realistic sound. By realistic, I mean the same sound waves we all may hear differently internally as individuals, but that we can all identify as realistic, as they all emanate from the same external objective sources. Piano or guitar sound waves don’t change what they are just because we hear differently - realism sounds differently to different people but we will use the same term to describe it. Natural sound, on the other hand, is subject to what your definition of natural is. I suspect you actually mean to use the word ‘realistic’, in which case, your speaker still has some ways to go, however good a value it may be. 
 

In friendship - kevin

@calvinj
Thanks for your kind words, and yes, cables do make a difference. It is a difference I would never have truly learned about, if I hadn’t been fortunate enough to have had access to demo a huge variety of them in the familiarity of my own system and listening space, with my own ears. I have learned from as huge a variety of cables as I have from other audiophiles in relation to what works better for me in bringing more depth, air and timbre to the realism I seek. Just in the domain of speaker cables, this has ranged from affordable supra swords and duelunds, through silversmith fideliums and tellurium Qs, up to Kharma enigma veyrons and nordost Odin golds. My listening experience with USB cables and interconnects is quite varied and comprehensive as well.

I also just wanted to say thanks for not driving your marketing on the forum as unrelentingly as some have. While you’re clearly no Ralph of atmasphere or Duke of audiokinesis, you’ve still practiced some restraint, and it’s not unappreciated. But do try to put your credentials at the end of every post you make, as a newcomer to audiogon might easily miss your affiliation to the commercial side of the industry - thanks again for your contributions : )

In friendship - kevin 

@smurfstain

I am so sorry for my earlier rambling post that caught the wrong kind of attention. What I had meant to say, in response to your very specific original questions, was that learning how to listen is the only way to answer your questions, and no, you cannot just target top-notch equipment to get there - attempting to do so would be the equivalent of heading straight for a college degree without the preparatory foundation of all the lower levels of education before that - you will neither understand nor appreciate what you hear, never mind the fact that top-notch means different things at a variety and range of price points. Education with listening must involve equipment, it is the only means to understand the nuance of music, the time domain. As such, improving listening ability as an audiophile will involve spending money - how much of that, however, will be entirely up to you to decide. And when I refer to an audiophile listening education, I do so in relation to equipment, as there is no other way to achieve this. The thing is, we all know there is a difference between how different equipment sounds - and unfortunately, based on my listening tests with equipment of very different price points, circuit typologies, and makes, there is general but direct proportional correlation between cost and performance. 

The thing is, as another audiogoner had mentioned (funny how we are all goners in this hobby : ) there are no shortcuts, and no refunds for this education in audiophile listening. But there are no mistakes either, contrary to what some of us believe, as learning from a mistake commonly provides the biggest jump in our journey of listening.

Finally, for you and the many others who participate in this forum, I would like to share knowledge that although there is a general direct correlation between cost and benefit in hifi equipment, and exceptions by way of giant killers (smurfstain’s equivalent of topnotch, in a sense) are very very rare in our hobby, they nonetheless do exist. The one that springs immediately to mind which I, and quite a few others here, consider the single greatest value for dollar investment in any system, will cost all of USD399, fully refundable, and it is called the Swiss digital fuse box. It takes the safety function of the fuse out of your equipment and into a small digitally calibrated container that shuts the power down in event of a surge, based on the power rating of the related piece of equipment it is used on. A solid piece of metal called a sluggo replaces the fuse, taking out the bottleneck fuses have been suspected of for a long time now. They offer a super sounding rhodium plated tellurium sluggo at similarly super cost, but the stock sluggo that comes with the fuse box will get you most of the way there. The digital fuse box will need to be connected between your existing cable and related piece of equipment, and a basic non-audiophile c13 female to nema 5-15p male direct adaptor will do the job - https://www.amazon.com/CGTime-Standard-Computer-XH-A03-1-60320-C13/dp/B07HRJKGFD

The impact of the solid sluggo in lieu of the bottleneck fusion is so great, it renders the additional adaptor interface less consequential to final sonic outcome.

Now, most will apply this digital fuse box on their amplifier, in belief that that’s where the greatest current flow and thus improved sound quality, would be most felt. Wrong. The greatest impact is putting one of these (with the correct rating, of course) to your server, streamer, or DAC, or if you have the funds, all three. The effect of adding this device upstream is so profound, it will be heard by the laziest of listeners, and it will fundamentally change everything disbelieved about power, cables and fuses. The Swiss digital fuse makes a joke of audiophile fuses, at a fraction of the cost, while simultaneously putting to rest any false science behind why fuses shouldn’t affect sound quality.

I share this purely as an audiophile, so that you and others too may come to hear the realism possible with whatever equipment might be at hand, and also in hope that other conflicted and similarly less experienced audiophiles may come to understand that not everything at the highest performing audiophile levels is unaffordable, should time and less skill with DIY be of issue.

In particular, this digital fuse is one I have come to realise is not just a tweak the cost of which you will have no need to justify; i believe it will spearhead the sort of technology that will change traditional fuse protection forever. Its basic idea will become a fundamental part of any system in time to come.

I am not a dealer, nor do I earn any kickbacks or favours from verafi audio, the primary distribution source for the digital fuse box. I merely want you and as many wondering audiophiles to hear and understand this one rare ‘affordable’ and giant killing improvement to sound realism.

In friendship - kevin 

Kevin, I apologize for coming across so harsh.  I didn‘t understand your intentions.  But I still vehemently disagree with that video.  My brother talked me into buying this big Sony boombox last year.  He thinks it is the greatest.  He actually prefers the sound of that boombox over my stereo system.  But then I cooked a delicious, very expensive prime rib and he didn‘t like that either.  He told me he would have been happier with a hamburger.  Lesson learned.

I can‘t play that Sony boombox much louder than a whisper.  The sound  of it grates on me.  Hard to believe we both came from the same parents sometimes.  But funny how he kept listening to my stereo.  What hurt the most was him frying his slice of prime rib, his perfect slice because he thought it was still raw.  I couldn‘t convince him otherwise.  We all see, taste, feel and hear in different ways.  It‘s cause for rejoicing, not fighting.

@tonywinga 

i think the apology is mine to extend, I am sorry for not speaking more plainly. My use of ‘he term ‘notwithstanding’ was not in disagreement to your post, but in addition and perhaps even extension to it. I do feel too that wavetouch Alex could be more relevant at times, especially since he has something in his speaker that could be developed to a more sophisticated level without any adjustment to price point that might steer away potential buyers. And @mihorn, Alex, please do not take my comments in a bad way, as I do not mean any harm, just constructive criticism that might help your own journey.

In friendship - kevin