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Increasing the Sum of Communciable
Knowledge OK, I admit its getting very big (thanks to wonderful contributions from fellow audio enthusiasts -- I'll organise it into proper sections soon...)
Dennis Goh's Passive Pre-amp Project 1) Purchased a TKD conductive
plastic pot ($70) and 4 gold plated, teflon insulated female RCAs The PP sounded better than my Melos SHA-1 preamp. The transparency was improved substantially. The biggest and most obvious improvements were the more natural timbres of instruments, airier highs and tighter bass but maybe less deep in the lowest octaves. Dynamics were comparable. In the meantime my audio dealer buddy gave me a "dead" preamp to use as chassis but since it came with an ALPS Black Beauty pot that the highend magazines always rave about, I decided to do an A/B of 2 PPs, one with the ALPS and the other with the TKD. By the way, the ALPS pot cost about $35 compared to the TKD at $70 at local stores. No, you don't always get "cheap & good". The ALPS was obviously inferior sounding - veiled, rolled off highs and less dynamic. So my conclusion was that pots make a BIG sonic difference and if they were out of the signal path I should get better results. So I rewired the TKD such that it is used only as a shunt to ground: I used a semi-good resistor (holco - sonic frontiers uses them in the volume control of their best preamps) to connect between the hot portion of the input RCAs and output RCA directly with no wires, the TKD pot was wired to the output RCA (hot) and shunted to ground. With this design, the signal now bypasses the pot (and its inferior conductive plastic rail) and only through the holco resistor and the pot controlled volume by controlling how much current was shunted to ground. The sound? More of the sonic goodies that I heard earlier but the PP was now performing at a higher level on all fronts. I decided to do the same for the ALPS pot only to find that although it improved on its previous self, it still lagged behind the TKD pot using the same shunt design. SO, different pots still make a difference even when it is not in the direct signal path. My guess is that the pot still affects the signal because any variations in resistance from vibrations on the contact in the pot would change the signal passing to the power amp. The only improvement a shunt design had over the "traditional" connection method was lower distortion as the signal did not have to flow through the conductive plastic and the contact point in the pot. I set out to eliminate that problem once and for all so I got rid of the pot altogether. I made some calculations on resistors to be used based on the specs of my CD player and power amp and connected a resistor between the input and output RCAs (hot only) and connected another resistor (different value) from the output RCA to ground (to bring the volume down to listening levels). I had created a "single level volume control" with the signal passing through only one semi-good resistor and no hookup wires. I was not ready for the improvement it made over the shunt design (which was better than the 1st wdesign hich was better than the Melos). It was HUGE, BIG, AWESOME. It sounded like I had a new super high end CD player connected. The difference between this single level design over the shunt design was greater than the shunt design over the Melos (which was already significant). As I have used my Melos to A/B other pres in shops during my initial search for a better preamp, I can quite safely say that the improvement of the fixed level passive over the Melos was only MATCHED (not exceeded) by the best of the best preamps that I A/Bed - the CJ Premier 16 (mini-ART). I even had deep bass now. The extreme highs at first sounded bright to me but after listening closely, there was no grain, cymbals actually sounded like they did in real life! - bright and shimmering but with no grain, not smooth and pleasing (read veiled and rolled off) like most audiophiles like it. The drawback - I have a volume control device with only one volume setting, which was fine with me because I'm the consistent type and listen mostly at the same volume, in any case I could use the CD player's volume control to make small adjustments which didn't seem to affect the sound quality as long as the adjustments were small. In order to make the "potless" PP more usable in other setups I am planning on making another PP with switchable volumes and using Vishay resistors which cost 12 times more than the holcos. I will be using a very high quality, gold contact switcher to change the values which hopefully will not degrade the sound noticeably. With the final method of
using discrete resistors, I think I can overcome the single biggest problem
with passive devices - impedance and level matching of the source and
amplifier components ie. I can select the best combination of resistors
to suit anybody's setup. They just need to tell me the output impedance
and output voltage of their source, and the input impedance and sensitivity
of their power amps - just 4 numbers. I will verify that my setup is not
just a fluke by making one based on my friend's tube based setup and test
that out in the weeks to come. Cheers
(YC: and you do know why you should try and keep your electrical connections dust free and clean as possible right? Not only to improve conductivity but because a large layer of dust could result in the dust becoming itself a conductor, albeit one of extremely high impedance/resistance [ok, i'm not sure whether its impedance or resistance]) Steven comments on the Audioprism line conditioner & Shakti Stone I think I have to warn you about the Audioprism Foundation conditioners as it may not be suitable for use in Singapore. The detachable power cord supplied is only 1 m and horrendously thick. Early this month (after several months of long wait) my friend and I
were told by (claimed to be offical agent for Audioprism products) that
the Audioprism Foundation 1 & Foundation 2 were available in As for my Foundation 2, I was not exactly comforable to use the unit
after hearing what my friend experience. When I used the F2 I get a slight
static feel whenever I switched on the last unit of my components (ie
after all components are powered on). The F2 cannot be used on a multisocket
which is used for other power cord extension.This is because with the
main switch still on and the F2 switch off, I had a temporary electcic
shock when I touched my audio components, which are not powered on.This
is very strange as the F2 was off. I off the main switch and on again
and this phenomena disappeared. The dealer could not explain.
Now, I FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE LEAVING MY F2 ON ROUND-THE-CLOCK as I am worried
for the safety of my family members.
I wrote to Audioprism and todate they could not give me a reply ON THE
ELECTIC SHOCK. However, they advised that the dealer in Singapore should
be Musicbox (Note: the above xxx was not Musicbox but another dealer).
Otherwise, the F2 is an excellent product: you will hear more solid
bass, better soundstaging and more focus.
SHAKTI STONE YCs note: Company name deleted to protect them. Please note that
the shop that sold him the Audioprism was not Musicbox. Musicbox are the
authorised dealers so they should be OK (though they are also sticky about
letting you test). Anyway, I think that for power conditioners, I'm going
to mail order a Van Evers power conditioner.
Mike Vans Evers will sell you a 230v version directly and absorb the postage
cost to Singapore.
Mike Chua, a Singaporean studying in UK,
reports from Liverpool : A Singaporean's perspective on the UK Hi-Fi scene
Just to give you some idea what it is like here in UK (Hi-Fi stuff that
is) Well it might not be so accurate as i am staying in Liverpool, not
exactly the richest region.
Like most Hi-Fi enthusiasts i started this wonderfully addictive hobby
by buying What Hi*Fi when i was in secondary school. Reading each article
with the thought that it was written by real 'experts' whose opinion was
an end to all opinions.
Gone are those days though. Now it is Stereophile, Hi Fi News & Record
Review etc. Although it is good to read these articles from 'renowned'
reviewers, ultimately the most important and vital reviewing equipments
is YOUR EARS.
Anyway i can sum up the Hi Fi scene here in UK in just a few words:
"What Hi*Fi" & "Richer Sounds".
Richer Sounds sells mass market and entry level components that are
well rated in What Hi*Fi. The prices are quite reasonable too. But the
thing is when they give a certain product so called 5 stars, people would
go buy them WITHOUT auditioning! So the UK market is very What Hi*Fi influenced
(i think it is the same back home right?).
The sales staff in UK are all very friendly and helpful. They would
not mind us demoing their products. Once i demoed a few floor standers
and Chord amplifiers and this guy just carried them to and from the demo
room and even refused to let me help. Anyway i did not purchase any of
the auditioned components in the end, that's after about 3 Hrs and he
just said "No problem mate, just take all the time you need to think it
over and please come again". Now if you did this little trick back home
you would be getting something else! A few months later i recommended
his shop to an english friend of mine and in the end he bought a pair
of Proacs. So There.
As i have been to the 96 and 97 Midland Hi Fi Fair held in Manchester,
i found that not much effort is being put into drawing the American manufacturers.
So its quite an all British event. Still if you looked carefully one could
see many of the exhibitors using Krells, Audioquest etc to partner their
source and drive their speakers. That says a lot doesn't it?
This year i'm hoping to check out the Tag Mclarens (seen it but not
heard it) Though i don't think they are going to be better than the original
Audiolabs in terms of performance to price ratio.
As American products cost twice the price here, there is not many places
which import them let alone display and demo them. So most of the Hi Fi
stuff sold here are British. Most of the British made stuff are expensive
in my opinion and you can get much better and cheaper alternatives. For
example the highly awarded 5 star interconnect Cambridge Audio, Pacific,
costing about £30 here sounds TERRIBLE and you can get a much superior
Tara Labs Prism 22(in s'pore) for less. Have not compared it with Audioquest
equivalents like Jade or Turquoise 2 but i'm very sure they will perform
better.
Don't get me wrong, there are some very good British/Euro stuff that
i have personally auditioned during my two years here like the Meridian
508.24, Linn Sondek LP12/Lingo, Michell Gyrodec & Orbe, Musical Fidelity
X-A1, B&W CDM1 SE & Silver Signature, Proac Response 2.5, Audio Synthesis
DAX2 etc.
ps opinions: Marantz's SEs' & KI sig.s' are way way over rated! Note: Belden Cables section moved here.
New Capacitors by Tsung-Yang
My system is a rather rojak combination. It consists
of a Denon PMA-2000R amplifier, an old Technics tuner, Infinity Reference
40 (3-way) speakers(lousy I know), and a Sunfire Subwoofer. The Infinitys
used to sound very horrible, i.e. too bright and sibilant and the bass was
muddy. But I have been able to live with it after I modified them myself
to my liking. I 'threw out' the original EMIT-R polycell tweeters and replaced
them with tweeters from SEAS. I then changed the high pass capacitors in
the crossovers to Solen capacitors. As for the bass, I took out the ferrite
core inductor(which due to its laminated iron core, looks like a transformer!)
and replaced it with an air core inductor. The result: the sibilance was
gone(making my pop recordings more bearable), and the bass tightened up!
75 Ohm Resistor by Thomas Lin
Anyways, here's an inexpensive tweek you may want your readers to try
out. If your CD player has an unused digital output, try installing a
75 ohm resistor in place. My Cambridge Audio CD6 has one with a BNC connector
so I went to the local electronics supply store and bought a 75 ohm "F"
type terminator and a F-to-BNC adapter for under $7.00 US. Not expecting
much difference, my girlfriend and I sat down one late evening for a listening
session. We both found the sound to be less grainy, smoother overall and
with a darker background. Overall, it sounded more effortless and relaxed.
All quite cliche but they were the best terms for describing our findings.
If it doesn't work for your player, you're only out chump change.
Comments on the Chang Lightspeed 6400 by Foo
H.Y.:
I found the Chang Lightspeed 6400 to be better the
similar products from API if you intend to use it with your power amplifier.
Isolation transformers on API and others are usually not large enough
for power amplifier. They are not capable of supplying enough current
during the peak demand of high power consuming devices. So usually you
will need a separate power conditioner for the power amplifier (and that
is costly).
Chang Lightspeed do not use isolation transformers. They use MOVs and
some power stabilize circuits (I am not sure what's the working theory...probably
commercial secrets). So it does not suffer the inherent defect of under-rated
isolation transformers.
OK, here's my first impression. At first I thought there was no changes
in sound when I first get the system plugged in. But after a few CDs only
did I realize there is a darker and blacker background. I start to notice
more ambient info. on the recordings, the sound stage seems to be bigger
and wider, and every notes comes through cleaner and clearer then before.
I believe the above effect is due to the lower of noise floor in the power
supply. I will not say it's day and night that kind of difference but
the difference (in my system) is large enough to justify the price tag.
On another way, I noticed the Chang didn't get in the way of supplying
large current to the system, like the API powerwedge and MIT Z-center.
The above two conditioner is good for source components but I believe
their internal isolation transformers are too small for regular power
amplifier.
Some comments by Hansen on his system compared
to others he auditioned:
Some comments about other cd players:
Classe' CDP-1 (somewhat brash sounding, poor focus) The DNA 1 deluxe is very musical. Yes it is also laidback sounding,
or at least more laidback than the MPD, but less laidback than the 0.5.
It is warmer and sweeter than the DNA 0.5 deluxe (better listen for yourself
though, because I know some DNA 0.5 deluxe owners whose opinions are the
exact opposite!) but the 0.5 deluxe has slightly better focus. (an advantage
for more laidback sounding electronics) But all McMk amps sound the same
to a degree.
This laidback sound is however a desirable factor in my case. Like you,
I have a small room. I listen to the Concerto 6.5-7' away only, so any
forwardness will dump the music right into my face! The laidback sound
according to some people will detract from the overall pace n rhythm (the
Malaysian reviewer in Audiofile & A/V seems to think this way, but the
guy owns Thiel 22s w/c are poor in rhythm in my opinion! ) but I don't
find this to be so in my case; in fact all the McMk amps are excellent
when it comes to timing nuances.
Midrange is warm, (but not as creamy as Classe) and has excellent palpability
& presence. Its is edge free, rounded and very very smooth.
Soundstaging is tops as SS amps go - though not particulary wide nor
deep when compared to tubes. At least instruments are layered in 3D space
- and not stacked on each other unlike many ss amps in the same price
range.
Like all McCormacks - including the little MPD, bass is superb, it is
a bit warm but very tight, fast, punchy and visceral. The 0.5 has more
powerful bass than the MPD, the DNA 1 has more powerful bass than the
0.5; and the DNA 2, though I haven't heard it yet is said to significantly
better the DNA 1 in this dept.
The combination of the McCormack MLD (passive) + DNA 1 deluxe when connected
by a good interconnect like the WW Eclipse far surpasses the Krell KAV300i
when it comes to musicality, transparency and soundstaging. The Krell
is good but over-rated.
In another contrast, the Pass Aleph 3 is extremely gentle, sweet and
even more transparent than any of the McCormacks, it has a purity and
directness that sounds akin to SETs ... but it is anemic in the bass,
lightweght, no power, no slam ... and ultimately boring for someone like
me who listen to all kinds of music, including rock.
Classe' & Conrad Johnson SS amps are even sweeter, smoother and easy
sounding than McCormacks but they are downbeat, and are poor choices for
rock n roll.
I highly recommend McCormack if you listen to a wide range of music.
They are not like other amps that excel on classical then flunk on rock,
or vice versa. They are very well balanced, they do not prefer one type
of music to another, they don't really excel in anything either but sounds
very good all across the board with all types of music.
The DNA 1 was reviewed by RH on Stereophile 3/92, the DNA 1 deluxe again
by RH on Stereophile 3/95, and DNA 0.5 by TJN 2/95, and DNA 0.5 deluxe
by ST, 12/95. These reviews are very accurate and speaks the truth about
McCormacks. The interview of RH w/ Steve McCormack is most insightful
about his product philosophy and objectives, and highly recommended reading
- if you are interested, you can send me your snail mail address and I'll
happily mail a photocopies of these literature to you.
Note: He has since converted to tubes :)
Hi! Noticed that you have bought a pair of Nordost Blue Heavens. Being
a Nordost user myself, I just wanted to e-mail my 2 cents about how they
sound. I started out with Black Knight and I'm now using a pair of SPMs.
As you move upwards within the range you will get a more natural and coherent
sound. I discovered that 'true transperencey' is starts only with the
Blue Heavens and above. All the cables below it tend to sweeten things
a little, being more euphonic than transparent. However, contrary to popular
opinion, upgrading to a better cable will not make your system 'overly-analytical'
instead it will only make things better-Better timbres, transparency,
detail, frequency response, timing and reduced grain. This extends to
all your recordings not just to Audiophile Approved Labels. To cut things
short, here's my round-up: Flatline Magic (Auditioned at Margil in 1995
apologies if my memory fails me) Compared this to an Audioquest Ruby 2.
Sounded leaner, but with a wider soundstage. Black Knight (owned for 3
months) Throws a wider soundstage and opens up the sound. Smooth sound
with quick transients for its price. Blue Angel Cooler sounding than the
Black Knight (more neutral?) better detail resolution. Vocals sound lighter
and less thick. Maybe slightly lean for solid state electronics. Solar
Wind (5 min comparision in my friend's system) Designed to replace the
Blue Angels. Sounds richer and warmer and more coherent. Better than the
Blue Angels.IMO Blue Heaven (Entry level reference) A big jump in transparencey.
Fast attack and good delineation of transients. Macrodynamics better resolved.
Better/More natural sense of width and depth. Timbres are significantly
more natural with greater fine detail. A slight sense of mid treble emphasis
with some speakers. More powerful bass. Red Dawn Smooth! Grainless Presentation.
Better transients and speed. Better sense of rhytm and pace. Leaner more
resolving bass presentation, seems to go lower then the Blue Heavens.
More natural timbres. High frequencies are lighter and airier with no
sense of emphasis or glare. SPM Reference (Still running in) Even smoother
than the Red Dawns, totally grainless mids and highs. Amazing transient
attack. All harmonics emerge fully intact resulting in perfectly natural
timbres. Bass is lithe and rhythmic with excellent detail. No flaws that
I can think of. Things to note: Nordost should improve on their documentation/product
literature. There is simply no sense in publishing cable specs when basic
hook-up instructions are omitted! I feel that for the entire range below
the SPM the cables should be connected with the directional arrows pointing
TOWARDS the SOURCE. This results in a smoother sound with less grain in
the highs. This is stated only on the boxes of the Blue Heaven and Red
Dawn. I discovered this after using my Blue Angels for 2 years connected
the wrong way. However the instructions for the SPM state that they should
be connected conventionally and I haven't experimented with the contrary.
Yours Truly, Chia Ti Yan BTW: Here's my updated system list. CAL Delta
connected via Illuminati D-60 to Classe DAC-1 via Red Dawn NAD 402 Tuner
via Blue Heaven to Sonic Frontiers SFL-2 via SPM Reference to VTL MB-225/MB300(when
I get them back from servicing) via Symo LS5X to Apogee Centaurus Slant
6. Note: All other items have been traded in for the VTL MB-225 and MB-300.
Tubes
From Jonathan
I think anybody who is really serious about music, or play an instrument
will choose valve gear over solid state. They are inherently more musical
and can be the closest way reproduced music can approximate the 'live'
experience. The only problem is that there is too much really bad valve
gear around even name stuff - and these are often lauded in the press.
Valve sound has come to be synonymous with warm, rolled-off, gentle sound,
not raucous or uncouth - just smooth and friendly. This is not the case.
Really well made amps will scare the pants off you, bring chills down
your spine, completely amaze you, bother you with precise transparency
and detail and teach you that 99% of hifi is useful for landfill.
There are several things to note about valve gear, and are of importance:
1. the topology ie single-ended (SE) vs pushpull (PP). Note we are now
talking only Class A - by default, SE amps are Class A, but PP are not
necessarily so.
SE is the closest recorded music is to the 'live' experience. Only SE
amps are able to capture the fast low level detail and linearity that
is in sound and music. SE amps have the ability to convey true harmonic
space, capture the essence of the music. This is often difficult to listen
for - perhaps the naturalness of the music is what is the best description.
You will know after you have had an SE amp for a while and you are unable
to listen to PP or solid state. Many people have tried to analyse this
('96 - good scientific articles in Sterophile about SE vs PP) - it may
the euharmonic distortions, it may just be the very simple amplification
steps without phase splitters etc. - whatever the reason, I am not sure
that we can measure accurately the 'musical ability' of hifi gear and
that what measures well is often not what is musical. The proof of any
hifi is in the listening and SE amps just sound the best.
2. the types of tubes you use and the brand.
There is a reason why the Japanese pay thousands of dollars for NOS
tubes like the Western Electric 300B. (NOS=New Old Stock ie unused tubes
made in the olden days) You will find that every man and his dog has a
favourite tube because each tube imparts their own sound. Personally,
a really well designed SE amp will have no sound - that is be transparent
and have no colourations inherent in the amp that gives a particular sound.
However, there are particular attributes that certain valves have.
Basically, triodes have far less distortions than pentodes and tetrodes
and if you are serious, is the only consideration. These are the common
triodes-
The 300B is my favourite. It is very musical, gives a fantastic tonal
colour to vocals and has the sole ability of all the triodes that I have
heard to delineate tonal and harmonic space - that is that each instrument/vocalist
has their own sound and space that influences the other instruments and
sounds in that space. Mind boggling. Drawbacks - in single tube SE mode
the max power is probably 7-9W per channel.
The 845 is probably the most transparent tube imparting little of its
sound to the music. It however is a big valve (27-35W) and needs very
expensive gear to drive them - ie 1200volts - All 845 amps are expensive
because of this. If it is cheap, it is done badly.
The 211 is bright and glarey.
The 2A3 is reportedly the most linear and musical. It can only produce
2-3W so it can really only be used with horns.
Other tubes I like include the EL34 (this is used as a pentode in all
Marshall guitar amps etc - nice rich melliflous sound). I currently have
an push pull EL34 in triode mode at my place and is very nice. In fact,
so nice, I may lay off building my 300B amp for a long time. It is PP
but the distortions are such that I can more than happily live with them.
3. The build of the amp. This is probably the most important factor
in good valve amps. I have heard crappy tubes in good amps that have sounded
magical. I have also heard very expensive tubes in amps that sound boring.
(eg KT66s in original QuadIIs that sound rich and warm but really nothing
like the 'live' sound in transparency and distortions).
This factor alone is what makes choosing valve gear so interesting.
Generally, good amps have good designs (note that a valve amp is so simple
that everything matters - the way capacitors sit, the way cables run in
the chassis - everything!)
Go to the Audio Note dealer and ask to listen to the Oto SE - IMHO the
best budget amp money can buy. This is an pentode SE amp. (Even the press
note that this is special - Sterophile in '97). Compare it even with your
favourite amps, better still, compare it to amps like the much vaunted
Myriads, Audiolab. Yet AudioNote's slightly more expensive Soro and Meishu
(with 300Bs) sound like crap.
I haven't heard the Jadis - I'm not sure what it sounds like. But before
you spend $$$ listen to the Oto. Do not be concerned about the power output.
As long as your speakers are relatively easy to drive (ie not Aerius'
like the idiots at Star Online used it with), you will be staggered. I
have old Kefs rated at 86dB at 8ohms. I used the EL34 amp (rated at max
30W) with some Apogee Centaurs - these are actually horribly difficult
speakers to drive - and they sounded much more dynamic and faster than
a 275W Bryston 4B solid state.
This sounds like a plug for AudioNote. I am actually not a fan of any
of their cheap gear apart from the Oto - but of all the affordable valve
amps that I've heard, only the Oto has been good enough for me to actually
want to buy it. It's got to the stage where I am actually building my
own - the level of amps that I can achieve that way will be equivalent
to several tens of thousands of dollars.
To summarise and answer your quesions:
2. Well designed valve amps need little care. I just turn on my amp
and leave it playing sometimes for 10-12 hours. The way the tubes have
been biased have been for longevity at the expense of power rating.
I should get 5 years life before I should start thinking about getting
replacements. All tubes run hot - biasing involves the amount of current
needed to heat the filaments. More current = hotter, less life but more
available electrons to amplify the signal. Any tube in a well designed
circuit should last 18-24 months before really needing replacement.
Note that the brand matters. I've had chinese EL34s that have lasted
only 9 months. But I've currently got Svetlana EL34s that have been
in there for close to 36 months and are still sounding fast, tight and
musical. Note that solid state stuff also have a life. Big expensive
solid state monster amps that run hot (eg the Bryston) have caps that
are massively loaded and these are probably more prone to death than
good tubes in a good circuit.
3. There is little time needed for maintenance if you have a good
circuit with good tubes. You will however find that you won't have enough
time to do stuff because you can't stop listening ;-)
Albert speaks on the DIY hi-fi scene in Singapore:
There are also a few other DIYers in Singapore
who are in the net. And as for the monoblocks, I spent about S$5000 on
them. The high cost is mainly due to the good audio quality component
used (not all, only a few). In fact, one can built that 300B monoblock
with about S$1000 or less or he can easily spent up to S$100,000 depending
on the quality of the components used. But always keep in mind that there
is the theory of diminishing returns.
Generally, tube amps are not that difficult to make especially Direct
Heated, No negative Feedback, Single Ended tube amps (some the terms used
to classify tube amps). The circuitry is simple and requires very little
components. However, unlike solid state amp, tube amps requires quality
components as every component on the amp effect the sound. Once, I changed
a resistor in my amp to another non audio brand. I was shock to discover
the effect that resistor had on the amp!
The web is a good place to start DIYing. There are a lot of informative
websites and very knowledgeable people with full of experience. And not
forgetting all the audio 'gurus'.
While reading your article on cable recommendations, I've already fixed
my mind on those AQ cables that Pertama offer with that "special price".
I might even replace all the cables on my system with AQ cables. Frankly
speaking, I have some power cables that are bigger than the garden hose
cables. I would call them firehose cables (made from submarine cables).
The sound quality..... horrible.
The Nordost Super Flatline cable is good for the highs but compromises
the lows and lower mids. Their speaker cables can also be used as power
cable.
Presently, I'm looking for a sub-woofer. I'm considering either the
Rel-Strata II or a DIY one. What do you think?
And just to add on... , the configuration of the wire (braided or non
braided, stranded or solid core, shielded or non shielded), directional
and the list goes.
A tip for home cable brewers. The best metal for cable is still the
silver wire (very expensive). Get three lengths of pure silver wire of
various cross sectional area (eg. 20awg, 24awg and 28awg) from a goldsmith
store or any shop. Thicker wires are better for bass and thinner wires
for highs. Clean them, insulate them and braid those wires like those
PBJ Kimber cables. Use good connectors. Result... wonderful cable. I haven't
try it out yet, but from others experience, this cable would not dissapoint
you.
If you know any source of pure silver wire in Singapore, please drop
me an e-mail. Thanks :)
Power Cord Experiments by "The Very Excellent Chap :)" KH
I recently bought a used Denon PMA-880R integrated amp - 75 watts, true
Class A, with remote control (!). The mistake I made was not auditioning
it before buying it. Frankly, come to think of it, I am not even sure
why the heck I picked it up........ oh well, anyway. Brought home the
amp, plugged it in and blah! What a pathetic sound. I mean, it was totally
bad! I can't quite remember having heard an amp that sounds so ludicrously
bass heavy, and with a weirdly obscured vocal range. I was using a pair
of Cardas Quadlink 5C interconnect at that time, which sounded reasonably
bright when used to connect my Cambridge Audio CD-6 player and A3i amp.
Read somewhere on the web that using speaker cables as powercords sometimes
make a dramatic diff in the sound. So I whipped out my soldering iron,
removed the hardwired AC cord in the Denon, and replaced it with a short
run of my old disused, cheap Sam Motion speaker cable (multistrand, 99.975%
oxygen free copper, bought a roll at a home DIY store), and plugged the
power back in.
Result?: The overwhelming bass went away, and the highs/mids/lows became
much more 'normally' balanced and I suddenly could hear good details from
my CD player (which as reviews go, is supposed to be a very detailed player
at its price point). This is a dramatic difference due to a powercord
switch. I have done A/B/A/B tests with the old cord (the back of the Denon
allows for a convenient switch) and the difference is NOT subtle here.
The recessed vocals though was still there and could not be fixed without
disabling the pure direct switch and fiddling with the treble control.
This was fixed by replacing the Cardas interconnects with a pair of DH
Labs Silver Sonics. Now I don't have use the treble control anymore. Vocals
now occupy their properly pronounced position in the soundstage.
I figured, why not go built a similar powercord for the CD player and
see what that will do. So I did. Result?: Well, the hiss that was noticeable
in the previous set up disappeared completely with the 'new' powercord
in place. Perceived detail increased a fair amount. The BIG 'BUT' is that
the music now came across with fair less conviction and bite than with
the OEM supplied powercord since the bass was killed quite a lot. Works
good though for late night listening at low volumes with vocal pieces
that have uncomplicated instrumental accompaniments - like Diana Krall
songs. With pop stuff, the music is just too flat and liveless. Back goes
the orig power cord. The change in the Denon powercord stays though.
Just thought I would share the results of this tweak with you ;-)
YC: This is so cool! I think I want to rewire my TV power cord too
(its cheaper than my hi-fi components so it'll be good practice first
:))
EQUIPMENT COMMENTS: READERS TALK ABOUT
THEIR SYSTEM
Evan's Comments on the Marantz 63 KI-S vs Arcam 8:
Comparing between the arcam and them KI, staring from it's shell aesthetics
wise and built quality i think both are really nothing to sream about.
the ki does give you the added convenience of having buttons on the player
for choosing the tracks and the remote control comes with volume control
but coming to the crux of the matter i think the essential difference
between the ki and the arcam is that the the KI is a fair bit brighter
and faster. i generally listen to vocals more than anything else so
i appreciated the warmer, richer sound that the Arcam produces. another
thing to consider is that arcam players are designed to allow easy upgrading,
ie the difference between arcam 8 and 8se is the dac and one can upgrade
to the higher model simply by changing the dac. that's in theory cos i
don't know if this can be done in singapore. well i've just started out
in this audiophilia thing so this is from one beginner to another.
Pian's Comments. Cheap system (his own words), but very intelligent comments:
What i can say that my system is acceptable,for now!in fact even though
Mine is the cheapest compare to many of my friends, this rig can still
Kick ass.
The amp is very neutral, but one thing is its has good facilities such
As a loop for an external processor and twin mains power out for two Other
components(talk about savings on power cords).
The cd player is a budget cd player so you can expect a budget quality
Sonic extract.but the transport is rather noisy though! The gales are
good being awarded best buy by what hi-fi.but sadly, after Testing it
with a test cd from stereophile, i found out it has a limited Dynamic
range of 50-18k hz.but now i have a pair of bose model 100 to Compensate
for lack of treble and guess what i found out.the bose has The most detail
mid range compare to other budget floorstanders.serious, I am aint bullshitting.another
reason i got the bose is because i need Two pair of speakers because of
bad room accoustic.in the uk i live in a Student hall ,so you should understand
my problem.one thing i learn from The bose is, if treble and mid range
turns you on, go for a full range Driver.for refference to mid and treble
i usually use `raiders of the Storm` by the doors.
Well some may `kutuk` me for using eq, but i realy need it to boost/cut
Certain bad thrash recording.anyway, i can live with 0.02% thd.
The gale speaker cable is also neutral but the c.a interconnect is Quite
limiting the treble.the tandy inter are good after i compare it With the
the c,a and also with others such as qed and ixos.what i look For in cabling
is neutrality. I dont really count on them for Manipulating sounds.that
why i use the eq.
Recently i got a tuner, a sony st-s261. Which i got it cheap even though
It got the what hi-fi 96 award.one thing i notice about malaysian is That
they dont buy tuners.i say it is a good investment considering the Radio
broadcast in malaysia is better than britain.i tell you, the Broadcast
in the uk boring gila.
Right now i am thinking of getting a turn table.what would you recommend
For a budget tt.but still i will have to consider this or getting a Better
cd player.this is another story.
What prompt me to write to you is about your tweek section.regarding
the Ferrite rings,the common misconception is that they are like Interconnect,they
alter sound.this not true because what they do is That they keep the signal
clean.the cable is an antenna and when it is Expose to r.f it will resonate
to produce noise and the noise will Effect sound quite significantly.compare
it to car stereo.if there is no Vibration supressor to guard it againts
engine vibration,what you will Get is music+noise that mirror the engine
vibration frequency.so that is The secret behind ferrite rings.but to
me , there is no difference Between branded ferrite rings and the ones
you can buy for $1 in a Electronic component shop.but beware , using ferrite
rings take Intensive experiment.placement should be tried on power cords
and Interconnect.speaker cables does not show any significant effect but
Still you can try.also remember that there is an equilibrium.to little
And you would not get a clean signal,to much and you will induce Distortion.
Ok thats all for now.any way ,i really like your site,betul, tak tipu,it
Is really interesting and gave me alot of insight in to hifi because i
Am just begun to appreciate good hi fi.
By the way, i listen to all kind of music except modern r+b.should Really
check out the sountrack to bladerunner if you are into new Age,vangelist
is good as always and the recording is just perfect.
But one sad thing is, now days more audiophile are deviating from music
Appreciation towards equipment performance , dont you think?
Thanks for contributing guys! If any readers want to contact them, I'll
forward any queries you have to them.
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