tomek
500+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jan 30, 2003
- Posts
- 730
- Likes
- 11
Hey guys,
I know that this site is divided into people who really believe in cables and those who don't. I'd like to think that those that don't believe in cables are very skeptical about some of the other tweaks out there and really need to hear a difference to believe and then, invest.
What have you found that works and what hasn't?
For me:
No Difference
interconnects
speaker wire
power cord
despite my best efforts, i just wasn't ever able to notice any difference. i've tried silver, copper and carbon cables but when put to the blind test all differences went away. sure, at times I thought I heard big differences, but as soon as I was blind to the switching I wasn't sure if I heard a difference and I was completely unsure if anything was better than anything else.
isolation cones
solid state amps
as well, i tried several solid state head amps and really couldn't tell. i'm one of the few people that admits that the headphone out of my receiver sounded just as good as some of the better headamps. However, I'm pretty sure that I have heard a difference with tube amps although it's hard to place. They just seem to have more life to them.
I also have some isolation cones for my cdp. I didn't notice any improvement. come on, my CDP has an incredibly complex vibration reduction system.
Difference
power conditioning
there was an unmistakable difference with my old speakers. My girlfriend picked 28/30 times or so, it was unreal. however with my new speakers (much better and bigger) we didn't pick up the difference. It may be the speakers or maybe the power was just really good when we tested again.
listening environment
ambient noise level, speaker placement, placement of the headphones on my head, and listening position have always made VERY big changes to me. toeing in my speakers 20 degrees, moving them back a foot have all made big changes and I've spent a lot of time tweaking them. I still catch myself moving my head forward a foot and noticing how the richness and size of the music changes.
Still Undecided
cd players
I've compared my so called 'audiophile' cdp to aerius' lower cost rack mount player and we had trouble telling any difference. we had the same disc going on each player and switched inputs on my amp for instant changes. at first i thought i noticed a difference, and could pick it out, but several swaps later and i was back at random. The shop I got my gear from has a modded CDP that they've shown me several times and the difference has usually been quite dramatic. I'm reserving judgment until I've had it in my home and been able to test it more carefully.
rainbow foil
who knows. really, call me nuts, but i haven't discounted it yet!
replacement tubes
I've never heard them but am curious whether people with my mindset (or ears) think that they make a noticeable and worthwhile improvement.
Any input guys?
I know that this site is divided into people who really believe in cables and those who don't. I'd like to think that those that don't believe in cables are very skeptical about some of the other tweaks out there and really need to hear a difference to believe and then, invest.
What have you found that works and what hasn't?
For me:
No Difference
interconnects
speaker wire
power cord
despite my best efforts, i just wasn't ever able to notice any difference. i've tried silver, copper and carbon cables but when put to the blind test all differences went away. sure, at times I thought I heard big differences, but as soon as I was blind to the switching I wasn't sure if I heard a difference and I was completely unsure if anything was better than anything else.
isolation cones
solid state amps
as well, i tried several solid state head amps and really couldn't tell. i'm one of the few people that admits that the headphone out of my receiver sounded just as good as some of the better headamps. However, I'm pretty sure that I have heard a difference with tube amps although it's hard to place. They just seem to have more life to them.
I also have some isolation cones for my cdp. I didn't notice any improvement. come on, my CDP has an incredibly complex vibration reduction system.
Difference
power conditioning
there was an unmistakable difference with my old speakers. My girlfriend picked 28/30 times or so, it was unreal. however with my new speakers (much better and bigger) we didn't pick up the difference. It may be the speakers or maybe the power was just really good when we tested again.
listening environment
ambient noise level, speaker placement, placement of the headphones on my head, and listening position have always made VERY big changes to me. toeing in my speakers 20 degrees, moving them back a foot have all made big changes and I've spent a lot of time tweaking them. I still catch myself moving my head forward a foot and noticing how the richness and size of the music changes.
Still Undecided
cd players
I've compared my so called 'audiophile' cdp to aerius' lower cost rack mount player and we had trouble telling any difference. we had the same disc going on each player and switched inputs on my amp for instant changes. at first i thought i noticed a difference, and could pick it out, but several swaps later and i was back at random. The shop I got my gear from has a modded CDP that they've shown me several times and the difference has usually been quite dramatic. I'm reserving judgment until I've had it in my home and been able to test it more carefully.
rainbow foil
who knows. really, call me nuts, but i haven't discounted it yet!
replacement tubes
I've never heard them but am curious whether people with my mindset (or ears) think that they make a noticeable and worthwhile improvement.
Any input guys?