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What Matters and What is Nonsense

I’ve been an audiophile for approximately 50 years. In my college days, I used to hang around the factory of a very well regarded speaker manufacturer where I learned a lot from the owners. When I started with audio it was a technical hobby. You were expected to know something about electronics and acoustics. Listening was important, but understanding why something sounded good or not so good was just as important. No one in 1968 would have known what you were talking about if you said you had tweaked your system and it sounded so much better. But if you talked about constant power output with frequency, or pleasing second-order harmonic distortion versus jarring odd-order harmonics in amplification, you were part of the tribe.

Starting in the 1980s, a lot of pseudo scientific nonsense started appearing. Power cords were important. One meter interconnects made a big difference. Using a green magic marker on the edge of a CD was amazing. Putting isolation dampers under a CD transport lifted the veil on the music. Ugh. This stuff still make my eyes roll, even after all these years.

So I have decided to impart years and years of hard won knowledge to today’s hobbists who might be interested in reality. This is my list of the steps in the audio reproduction chain, and the relative importance of each step. My ranking of relative importance includes a big dose of cost/benefit ratio. At this point in the evolution of audio, I am assuming digital recording and reproduction.

Item / Importance to the sound on a scale of 1-10 / Cost benefit ratio

  • The room the recording was made in / 8 / Nothing you can do about it
  • The microphones and setup used in the recording / 8 / nothing you can do about it.
  • The equalization and mixing of the recording / 10 / Nothing you can do about it
  • The technology used for the recording (analog, digital, sample rate, etc.) / 5 / nothing you can do about it.
  • The format of the consumer recording (vinyl, CD, DSD, etc.) 44.1 - 16 really is good enough / 3 / moderate CB ratio
  • The playback device i.e. cartridge or DAC / 5 / can be a horribe CB ratio - do this almost last
  • The electronics - preamp and amp / 4 / the amount of money wasted on $5,000 preamps and amps is amazing.
  • Low leve interconnects / 2 / save your money, folks
  • Speaker cables / 3 / another place to save your money
  • Speakers / 10 / very very high cost to benefit ratio. Spend your money here.
  • Listening room / 9 / an excellent place to put your money. DSPs have revolutionized audio reproduction
In summary, buy the best speakers you can afford, and invest in something like Dirac Live or learn how to use REW and buy a MiniDSP HD to implement the filters. Almost everything else is a gross waste of money.
128x128phomchick
craigl59
307 posts
 
Excellent topic, phomchick.
Agree with much of your analysis. Would give higher ratings to format because JRiver can significantly improve the SQ through upsampling a CD with SoX (am upsampling to 768khz, then direct by USB to a RME ADI-2 DAC and find the analogue result stunningly quiet and transparent). Also, use Belden 1800f balanced interconnects and find they offer audible improvement higher than a "2.".
Think, as well, that improvement levels are layered based upon the maturity of your system. Found that when I got quality speakers (Tekton Double Impacts), did physical room correction and Furman power conditioning, then used REW to establish EQ, my system reached a certain basic level. Since then have improved the DAC to great effect, tried quality power cables (little change but some help with noise/transparency) and welded speaker cables (no change at all). Found that a Class D amp made a substantial change in SQ but not for the better by comparison to Class A mono blocks.
Suspect your topic is going to generate contradictory claims and look forward to the wars about to ensue...
tutetibiimperes
202 posts
 
I'd agree with most of that, though the room the recording is made in can be corrected quite a bit through microphone placement and post-processing.  Still, you're right in that the ultimate limit is always going to be in the quality of the recording.  

I've been toying with the idea of trying out a Class AB or A/AB amp in my 2-channel setup, I realized that all I've owned has been class D (well, my computer integrated is a BASH amp).  But I'm leaning towards doing some physical room treatments first.  I have been using Dirac Live in that setup, and it made a big improvement, especially in the clarity and quality of the bass.

I use Amazon Basics interconnects, which are well built and inexpensive, and Sewell Silverback speaker cables, which are 12ga OFC and come pre-terminated with nice banana plugs, and are also inexpensive.  


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amg56
887 posts
 

My current setup in the lounge is crammed with surround speakers, 16awg speaker cable off the reel (99.9% OFC) @$3/m, cables mixed with power boards and power cables and ethernet cables in the back of an entertainment cabinet, an amplifier in one of the cabinet ends (cooled with a computer fan cut into one end) and an OPPO-105, Yamaha Tuner and a mini computer in the other end cabinet (cooled the same as the other) and 2 NAS units either side of the centre speaker, and a 65" Samsung sitting on top in the middle of the L & R main speakers, oh and the Sub sitting to one end on the wood floor. No spikes, nothing special apart from an Isotek conditioner.

I still get fantastic sound out of stereo music or surround movies. I certainly don't see the need for change. But change will happen when our new home is built and I get a separate music room. I just ordered my equipment stands. 6 chunky coffee tables (@$125ea), 2 for the turntables and pre at the front and 4 double stacked for the other stuff at the side of the room. Upgrade of speakers mean I'll use 3 matching chunky lamp tables @$99) for the LCR speakers up front. I'll use some felt on the feet so the herringbone French Oak floors don't get scratched. The other speakers will fit at their required places as will the 2 new Subs. Same telly on the wall, the room will be great and I have spare change! Who says I need high brow wires and interconnects? May be I am a realist with my money vs the great sound I appreciate.


tgrisham
1,291 posts
 
I love this. I know it’s been beat to death but I do love the balls of it. Let’s face it. The recording is where it all starts. If it’s crap you can’t make a silk purse out of a sows ear. If it’s a fabulous recording- the studio/hall, the microphones, the mixing board, the tape or digital, the final production....now we have something. From there it’s your speakers and the room they play in. You can converse about cables and such but the yield is much lower. Make your room right, your choice of speakers right and enjoy the music. The rest is fiddling. Nomex suit on. Tuning out. 
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