[valiant66]

The Freya S would be an excellent alternative.

Too big. Wouldn't fit a Kallax cabinet. Saga/Bifrost width is great.
.

 

[misterpumpy]

Custom-shop Hart Audio. Got a second one just like that, but ¼"-terminated instead of XLR.
Doesn't sound any better than stock, but it's so much nicer to deal with in every other way. Worth the 100 bucks, and supporting a small Texas family business in the process. Win-win-win.

I have hart audio cables with the disconnects for all my headphones except for my Focal Celestee which uses a fog city audio cable. Spending a hundo on a headphone I love to have a better listening experience and better aesthetic it’s a no brainer!

 

[Ripper2860]

Too big. Wouldn't fit a Kallax cabinet. Saga/Bifrost width is great.
.

Are you sure?

https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/kallax-tv-bench-with-underframe-s69569438/#content

 

[valiant66]

I always thought my music sounded pretty good, but after discovering Plankton it now sounds even better!! Thank you, Planktonites!

Everybody knows they're planktonians!
.

 

[Balthazar B]

Flashbacks from getting an "unexpected surprise" when I turned around too fast on the bench in the YMCA locker room ...

Or San Quentin...

 

[Balthazar B]

 

[OldRoadToad]

..... "but my system's not a monarchy, it's anarchy" ..... ..... []

Superbly done, brother!

ORT

 

[Jason Stoddard]

Serious question for everyone.

After 10 years here I may have missed it due to the sheer volume of posts, but on the Schiit Sine Wave, is there a point on the sine wave for the never ending topic of phoooolisnes of cables being a waste of money after a small sum and at what price point does that start?

If someone isn't mechanically inclined to build their own superior sounding cables for $23.79 is it buy a set for $59.00?

Still the newbie has to realize that their $59.00 will sound inferior to the $23.79 one! LOL, what a hobby.


So, a survey might help establish a "sign" to the newbies to fall in line with the tribal mentally of the sine wave threshold or go somewhere else. Because saying, "but do what you do" feels like a passive aggressive way of saying "you're an idiot".

This is a great question, but it touches on the "questions that shall not be asked," or "things that shall never be said," in audio.

I need to do a chapter on this someday (soon), because I have lost much patience with "thou shalt nots" here.

But to answer your question somewhat more expeditiously: I think it comes down to personal preference and budget.

For example, I pretty much ignore cables (whether signal or power), fuses, line conditioners, and many other tweaks. This is mainly due to personal preference, because I don't want the nervosa of worrying about whether or not I am missing out on some real or imagined synergy. It's also due to the fact that I design electronics, complex systems that have their own nervosas, ones that don't end at the sonic level, but extend to usability, reliability, etc.

That said, it's easy to get too reductionist and say, "nothing matters except for the measurements." I don't believe that, or the gear I design would be very different.

What I want to stay away from is being too inclusionist and saying, "everything matters, including chassis metallurgy, stickers, Schumann resonance generators, and other stuff we can't fathom."

Or, to make it simple:

Measurements alone matter --> Me --> Literally everything matters

Personally I wouldn't spend big money on a cable and zero dollars on a fuse. Canare and such are great. Neutrik is wonderful. Beyond that I don't see it. But that's me, and it's colored by my own prejudices and my own business.

You?

You have to choose what's right for you. If you're like a neighbor who recently got bored of their cars and decided to get a new GT3, a Panamera, and a Taycan all on the same day, yeah maybe cost-no-object accessories are for you. If not, maybe not. What I do know is you can get very good cables very affordably from many credible companies, or learn to make your own if you're interested.

Hopefully that helps a bit.

 

[JanMc]

Flashbacks from getting an "unexpected surprise" when I turned around too fast on the bench in the YMCA locker room ...

God! I was wondering how to say that in a 'nice' way. Congrats on being so clever.

 

[Balthazar B]

Ditto with the Drop-supplied cable for the HD-6XX's. I think an old lamp cord with chunks of insulation missing would be an upgrade on that.

Maxon Crumb's purification cloth, after running its course, would be an upgrade.

 

[ImagesbyMurray]

But to answer your question somewhat more expeditiously: I think it comes down to personal preference and budget.

Thank you!

 

[artur9]

Did you say Merrill Audio?

I had one of those. Serious disappointment for non-audio reasons.

 

[Ableza]

and decided to get a new GT3, a Panamera, and a Taycan all on the same day,

So he's a Volkswagen fan? Like a Fanagen?

 

[ArmchairPhilosopher]

For example, I pretty much ignore cables (whether signal or power), fuses, line conditioners, and many other tweaks. This is mainly due to personal preference, because I don't want the nervosa of worrying about whether or not I am missing out on some real or imagined synergy. It's also due to the fact that I design electronics, complex systems that have their own nervosas, ones that don't end at the sonic level, but extend to usability, reliability, etc.

If I may be so brazen and add another point to that: As the designer of audio gear, I think that you're somewhat obligated to dog-food that gear in the worst possible environment that some of your customers will be using it in.

The same thing applies to software development. If you only ever test your own product in a sterile, best-case environment, you'll never get a true understanding of how your products behave in the average customers' hands. (Case in point: If a software engineer tells me in all earnest that they believe that comprehensive unit-testing is enough, I can only try to smile at them and wish them best of luck with that.)

That's why I often have to cringe when I see some audio gear manufacturers proudly present their six digits reference systems that they use to test and calibrate their gear with. That's great, because now I know that whatever it is that I'm shopping for will perform well if it's sitting between a 10 grand power regenerator and a pair of 50 grand speakers with custom-made filters in them, and is feeding it's output signal to those speakers via cables that cost more than most people's cars.

Nah, I'd rather buy my Schiit from someone who dog-foods their own designs like any other Joe Schmoe. If they're happy with the result, then I know that I will be, too.

 

[adias]

If you're like a neighbor who recently got bored of their cars and decided to get a new GT3, a Panamera, and a Taycan all on the same day,

A GT3 and a Panamera sure. A Taycan… hell No!