Schiit Happened: The Story of the World's Most Improbable Start-Up

[sludgeogre]

Double post please remove.

 

[TonyNewman]

  I hope this isn't too much of an aside, but I was wondering what you do with powering your devices? Just right into the wall? Any thoughts on power conditioning? I plug my amps (including subs) into the wall and everything else into a ~$80 pro Furman conditioner just to hopefully protect them from any kind of brown out. It did the trick during a wind storm and shut off my equipment any time the voltage went low, which was nice to see, but I can't fathom what any of the other $500+ conditioners are doing, especially the ridiculous $2000+ conditioners that make the most ridiculous claims about improving dynamics. If dynamics are lacking on your amp, then your amp sucks, get a better one, right? As far as cables I own a couple decent (~$200) headphone cables that I like for ergonomic/aesthetic reasons, everything else Blue Jeans and all power cables are just whatever came with them.

 
My own experience with a "fancy" power supply - a PS Audio P3 - has been positive. It is expensive, and weighs ton, but it does seem to enable a noticeably 'blacker' background. With a very revealing audio chain this is noticeable. That's about all it does to my ears. No change in dynamics or detail or anything else. Unless the power unit changes the audio signal being carried along, then how could it impact those things? That doesn't make sense to me, but then neither does a lot of audiophile folklore.
 
Worth getting? I would not do it again. Nice to have one, but I could think of better ways to spend the money.

 

[Ableza]

  I hope this isn't too much of an aside, but I was wondering what you do with powering your devices? Just right into the wall? Any thoughts on power conditioning? I plug my amps (including subs) into the wall and everything else into a ~$80 pro Furman conditioner just to hopefully protect them from any kind of brown out.

That describes my process as well, although instead of Furman my "conditioners" are by Belkin.
 
As an old guy who sort of misses the time display from my VCR, an addition I would readily make to my home theater system would be a power conditioner with a TIME display on the front. 

 

[StanD]

  The perfect conductor: signal in=signal out.  The closest we can come to that without using superconductors is signal in=(signal out less resistive losses.)  Any alteration to the signal by the conductor is undesirable and considered "noise."  Conductors which introduce enough "noise" are defective.

I don't see how this even remotely applies to power cords as IMO the basic copper wire used by most OEM supplied power cords is more then up to the job and highly unlikely to degrade audio performance as it is not in the signal path. Even audio interconnects are overrated, unless they are defective or made of metal coated paper strands I don't see the miracle of superconducting wires in the audio path. A 0.1 Ohm difference in a line input wire is for all purposes meaningless when one considers that the terminating might be 5 orders of magnitude higher.
As you say, Conductors which introduce enough "noise" are defective. I'd get a refund.

 

[MOFOfunk]

Jason, you should run this chapter as your next full-page ad in Stereophile or TAS.

Go on, I double-dare ya...

That would be a legendary dump in the carefully constructed gold cable peddling anthill.


Hi fellow schiit Kommerads.
I have been enjoying the quiet existence as student of this and Baldrs fine sagas for some years now. I guess it was the expectation of yet another educating and entertaining chapter that caught me. But it is the whole attitude of this thread that has made me stay.
Mike and Jason are both great teachers and their "chapters" creates new discussions relevant to the common goal of spreading excellent sound to the masses. This has me so hooked that I even preach the words of Schittology to my unfortunate surroundings.
HIFI is a human right - viva la revolution.

Aehmm.. And now to what I actually set out to say.
It is very refreshing and fascinating to see an insider in the audio biz challenge those "audio nervosa truths". Perhaps the fascination is amplified here in Denmark, the country of the emperors new clothes.

I acknowledge the reason for well screened cables with good terminations. But it seems like a "well kept" / commonly accepted secret that manufacturing and selling golden Power-, speaker - and interconnecting cables is the most profitable part of the Hifi business. Unfortunately for us it is also where we get the least SQ improvements for our hard earned silver.

Consider this a wish for more Decoding from this one. - A manifesto.

 

[Ableza]

The perfect power conductor = sufficient insulation to withstand source voltage in its intended usage, sufficient gauge to carry load current while inserting minimal power losses, appropriate connectors for I/O, and acceptable flexibility for the intended routing.  Anything else is superfluous.

 

[StanD]

A few years ago I tried to convince someone that they were going to waste a few grand on a custom made amp with an "LPR" that had banks of large filter caps hanging off the rectifier, probably could hold enough charge to start a car LOL. The Amp didn't have a power switch, not even on back, as one wasn't supposed to turn it off. I did the math for him showing what PSRR means as well as the ripple at peak power discharging what a normal capacitor would result in and that anything else was a waste of money. He did not listen, at the time an Asgard 2 would have been just as good (which is what I bought). All too often the audiophile belief system puts someone's wallet on fire.

 

[castleofargh]

  The perfect power conductor = sufficient insulation to withstand source voltage in its intended usage, sufficient gauge to carry load current while inserting minimal power losses, appropriate connectors for I/O, and acceptable flexibility for the intended routing.  Anything else is superfluous.

obviously good amps should give up on using PCB, all my power can't get through those tinny copper lines. instead the amp should be entirely made of 5mm wire. that should give the best sound. and then we could start making chipset the same way, each transistor soldered to some good reliable wire.

my kind of playback system.
it works great with headphones that also have coils made of 5mm wire for better matching.

 

[FrivolsListener]

That would be a legendary dump in the carefully constructed gold cable peddling anthill.

 
I recall vaguely someone deciding to take apart one of those multi-thousand dollar power cords and not only found it to be rather pedestrian wire, the connectors were potted with bathroom RTV (which outgasses acetic acid, which in turn corrodes copper).  I believe it was online.

 

[MOFOfunk]

It would be interesting to get some more insider history on how and when the "golden cables" became the new standard in most HiFi dealerships around the globe.
The motive would be to stuff some extra bucks in their own pockets after landing the sweet deal on a discounted stereo.
This could be movie material..

 

[rkw]

I enjoyed Ars Technica's teardown of an Audioquest audiophile $340 Ethernet cable.
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/07/gallery-we-tear-apart-a-340-audiophile-ethernet-cable-and-look-inside/
 

Caption: "Is that...masking tape? Inside our $350 cable? Looks like, yes."
Note the arrow — Audioquest says it's a directional Ethernet cable.
 
That's not even their top model, which is the Diamond, featuring "Carbon-based 3-Layer Noise-Dissipation System (NDS)".
Available on Amazon for $5,400 (down since its $10,000 introduction price): https://www.amazon.com/263-Audioquest-Diamond-Ethernet-Cable/dp/B0073HJVSK
It's one of those Amazon listings that went viral — check out the hilarious Q&A and reviews.
 
And then there is the $13,500 Audioquest HDMI cable: https://www.amazon.com/AudioQuest-Diamond-52-49-Braided-Cable/dp/B00IL3TZSQ

 

[lblb]

I incorporated 2017 Chapter 4 in the ebook, see my signature.

 

[GearMe]

I enjoyed Ars Technica's teardown of an Audioquest audiophile $340 Ethernet cable.
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/07/gallery-we-tear-apart-a-340-audiophile-ethernet-cable-and-look-inside/



Caption: "Is that...masking tape? Inside our $350 cable? Looks like, yes."
Note the arrow — Audioquest says it's a directional Ethernet cable.

First off...Masking tape is galvanically isolating
Yes...this is real and not some buzzword mumbo-jumbo. It has to be real, it's in Wikipedia!

That's not even their top model, which is the Diamond, featuring "Carbon-based 3-Layer Noise-Dissipation System (NDS)".
Available on Amazon for $5,400 (down since its $10,000 introduction price): https://www.amazon.com/263-Audioquest-Diamond-Ethernet-Cable/dp/B0073HJVSK
It's one of those Amazon listings that went viral — check out the hilarious Q&A and reviews.

Secondly...The Diamond actually uses Carbon-infused masking tape...AND 3 layers of it; hence the price differential.

And then there is the $13,500 Audioquest HDMI cable: https://www.amazon.com/AudioQuest-Diamond-52-49-Braided-Cable/dp/B00IL3TZSQ

Braiding the masking tape is excruciatingly difficult, time consuming, and costly. BTW, they have Two U.S. Patents (7,126,055 & 7,872,195 B1)! ...merely trying to recoup their research dollars; shame on you people!

 

[StanD]

 
obviously good amps should give up on using PCB, all my power can't get through those tinny copper lines. instead the amp should be entirely made of 5mm wire. that should give the best sound. and then we could start making chipset the same way, each transistor soldered to some good reliable wire.

 

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

 
my kind of playback system.
it works great with headphones that also have coils made of 5mm wire for better matching.

The guitar tube amp that I used decades ago managed to get by on something like this.

 

[Ableza]

The exact same rules apply to PC boards.  Electricity is electricity.