The DIY'rs Cookbook

[Soundsgoodtome]

Right on right on. I'm going to give away the two I got from you and Bob, for people to try on their rig. Going to be making my own to keep the cable the same on my custom cables.

Cheers!

 

[johnjen]

  I found the settings of Tyl's inner fidelity EQ :
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/sennheiser-hd-800-s-tweaked-and-delightfuland-french-diy-response
 
comparing tyl's setting to sonarworks, I still prefer sonarworks.
 
snip
 
Finally, can you share your eq settings and what VST eq you use? Im still using sonarworks demo and would like to compare your vst eq and settings vs sonarworks! 
 
thanks for this awesome thread, ill be following your development for sure!

I'm currently using Tone Boosters EQ, their TB FLX 4 v.3 and TB FLX v.3 concurrently.
 
I chose this EQ because it has a wide variety of different shaped filters so I can tailor the response curve to suit what I want vs. just what the 'standard' curves allow.
And I'm using the built in parametric EQ in Jriver for the SSBB as you'll see.
 
These are the settings I'm using now.
Type of curve      Hz     Gain      Q
Gamma             1358    +4.5     0.98
LSF                     362     -2.0     1.29
Analog Bell        3556     -0.8      5.0
Harmonic Log    5023    +3.5      5.0
Gamma             2130     +2.1     2.12
Analog Bell        6306     -5.0      5.0
Analog Bell           60     +2.0      4.0
Analog Bell      14550     -4.3      5.0
 
Built in EQ            12      +16       0.55
 
JJ
 

 

[Middy]

I took your advice and removed the red deoxit. I IPA cleaned the screws especially with the oxide that came off the aluminum chassis threads. A quick blast of air down the holes then very light gold on all plugs, ribbons and screws.
What I did do extra was remove the earth bond crimp washer, 1500 grit sanded with gold Deoxit and also the case frame.

This is the main earth and as you said it's the total surface area that counts. It's strange but I am hearing a wider sound stage something the OPPO never gave me much of.. My IFI IPURIFIER 2 replacement came yesterday.
Now I can really hear when it's in line. Again this was a slight effect before..

I have some Silclear silver compound coming this week to try next.

The transformer base legs underneath had conformal coating, they got cleaned/ Sanded also.

One silly earth idea... To improve the earth don't they have all grounds go to one point "star grounding". I thought this was the basic premise you are trying with the AKIKO. I thought about taking all the earth points,using fine shielded wire and attaching to the main ground? Would that introduce more RFI EMI ?

Just a thought of the day...

Thanks for the help and keep up the good cooking..

Dave

 

[johnjen]

I took your advice and removed the red deoxit. I IPA cleaned the screws especially with the oxide that came off the aluminum chassis threads. A quick blast of air down the holes then very light gold on all plugs, ribbons and screws.
What I did do extra was remove the earth bond crimp washer, 1500 grit sanded with gold Deoxit and also the case frame.

This 'star' washers (if that is what was in there) are not very good, for a variety of reasons, and getting rid of them is a step up.

This is the main earth and as you said it's the total surface area that counts. It's strange but I am hearing a wider sound stage something the OPPO never gave me much of.. My IFI IPURIFIER 2 replacement came yesterday.
Now I can really hear when it's in line. Again this was a slight effect before..

I have some Silclear silver compound coming this week to try next.

That should also really help with the 'contact patch' enhancement.

The transformer base legs underneath had conformal coating, they got cleaned/ Sanded also.

One silly earth idea... To improve the earth don't they have all grounds go to one point "star grounding". I thought this was the basic premise you are trying with the AKIKO. I thought about taking all the earth points,using fine shielded wire and attaching to the main ground? Would that introduce more RFI EMI ?

Just a thought of the day...

Thanks for the help and keep up the good cooking..

Dave

Star grounding is the 'ideal' way to ground for the lowest noise etc.
But it is seldom actually used in it's 'strict' sense, especially inside most components.
 
And speaking of star grounding, Big Poppa has been trying different grounding schemes and is now using a Granite Audio Ground Zero model 500 grounding box with surprising results, especially since he is running ungrounded, by necessity because his apartment only has 2 wire power distribution.
 
And we just finished re-grounding his Single Power amp.
I replaced the corroded 4-40 screws and added silver paste to the contact points for the main grounding points.
I'll let him comment on what changes/improvements he has noticed.
 
The basic idea, at least as far as I see it is, the Akiko sticks are lowering the noise floor of whatever they are plugged into.  And proximity seems to be an important factor as well.
And while a star ground will also help, adding the Akiko sticks at the sources of the noise seems to make a greater improvement vs adding an Akiko stick at a star ground point.
 
But doing both also seems to help as well.
 
One possible complication to adding additional grounds to our audio systems is the potential for introducing a ground loop into the system, which raises the noise (mostly hum) into the system.
 
It will be obvious when this happens, but what to do about is more problematic.
 
Sometimes just isolating (removing from the newly added grounding wiring) a specific component will suffice, or in some case the reverse does the trick (only adding a more robust ground to just one 'noisy' piece of gear).
 
This is some of why grounds are a little talked about, let alone explored aspect of improving our gear.
But there be HUGE SQ gains to be had by 'improving' (reducing) the 'stray' voltages and frequencies on the ground plane for our systems.
IOW as we lower the ground potential and make it more 'stable' even if only in a local area (our audio systems), there are quite impressive gains to be had.
 
And the approach we are taking using the Akiko sticks is not the only approach available.
But it is completely non electronic, albeit it is an electro-mechanical device and there are 'sticks' and a canister with no wires, at all.
I'm in the middle of evaluating a wireless canister right now.
 
 
And having not even tried any of the other approaches to stabilizing the electro-mechanical environment other than using these sticks I can only assume they too might result in a change.
The evaluation of these changes (Better or not) is for each to make.
 
But I am suitably impressed ever since tuubz mysteriously manifested into my system of all SS gear.
And it was these silly sticks and especially the canister that was/is responsible for this new level of SQ.
 
And we've really only begun to delve into this entire subject.
 
But so far so good.
 
JJ

 

[gefski]

I've been using the Caig DeOxit for a couple of decades now.
The Red and Blue are really meant for industrial switch contacts, as in high current contactors etc.
Their primary purpose is to dissolve the metal oxides that build up on the contacts as they oxidize (this is what Red does) and then 'protect them' (this is what Blue does).

For our audio uses I much prefer the DeOxit Gold instead.
It is a cleaner and 'contact enhancer' and is very effective on gold and silver etc metals.
The trick here is to use VERY little, as in lightly burnish the contact surface area with a light moistened cloth, but to make sure the metal contact area is free of any contamination.
Using more will attract more dust and surface contaminants all that much faster.
And usually the first use of these products will yield the most significant results mostly due to removal of surface contamination.

Gefski posted a picture of his cleaning kit previously in this thread ( I think) and you can see the removed contamination that has built up on his kit.
This 'crud' will degrade the SQ of the audio signal in very audible ways.

Also using DeOxit Gold on computer memory dimms and connectors (usb especially) etc can also help reduce 'errors'.

And I use the DeOxit gold cloth wipes and 'augment' the amount of 'gold' cleaner with a spray bottle to the wipes.
These wipes and spray bottle will last a REALLY long time, as in I am still using my original container of wipes and spray bottle from the 80's.

And there are other 'contact enhancer' type chemicals out there but they are more 'involved' in their use and are more costly as well.

So as a entry into 'contact enhancement' the Caig DeOxit Gold is the best place to start, at least from my experience.

JJ

Cleaning some nos tube pins today, I was reminded of another product that we haven't covered in the contact cleaning discussion.

For significantly old/tarnished surfaces, I've always started with a good siver/metal polish. I like Maas or Simichrome. One tube will last your lifetime (unless you use it up polishing your wheels). Rub til you get lots of black residue, then when you polish off you'll see that you're down to a brilliant metal finish. I don't use this where I can't get to it for complete removal.

I follow with Caig Red then finish with Gold. As JJ suggests, red is a more powerful cleaner. (You can see the specs for the cleaner concentration on the Caig site.)

 

[Middy]

Maybe strap the stick to the power cable like the single stick in conjuction with the other points you guys are trying...

With the esoteric experimental end of headfi The nuclear powered BYBEE on the earth...I just don't want to spent to much.. I can see now there are so many options you can play with. I will follow the work with open minded interest... Good luck as always..

 

[johnjen]

After my next paper on Designer's vs. Users, I'm going to write one on contact resistance reduction.
 
This is aimed at using contact enhancement products and the benefits of 'clean' metal to metal contact, among other aspects.
 
Most never clean their I-C's nor any of the other connections and as a result when the 1st cleaning is performed it usually makes a big difference as all of the crud that gets built up inside the connector contacts is removed.
 
If you look back at gefski's picture of his cleaning gear, earlier in this thread you'll see evidence of the residual amount of crud that contaminates these connections.
 
 
JJ

 

[Middy]

That would be a great help and back up the reasons why both external and internal breakable connections influence the equipments ability to reproduce the sound. Would micro ohm meter show this as a before and after cleaning?

Good work as always and thanks for the help JJ

Dave

 

[bimmer100]

I'm clearing out a lot of my gear, and likely selling some of the big items soon too. Anyhow. those who might be interested, check some of my classifieds.
 
my modified Audio-Gd DIU8 is for sale with either NDK or crysteks
intona industrial version
less loss firewall with oyaide c-079
hdmi cables for the diu8/i2s
a teddy pardo 5v/3A linear psu 
paul pang v3 ocxo usb 3.0 pcie card with 2.5mm dc inlet option
 
likely selling some more stuff once I decide.

 

[johnjen]

That would be a great help and back up the reasons why both external and internal breakable connections influence the equipments ability to reproduce the sound. Would micro ohm meter show this as a before and after cleaning?

Good work as always and thanks for the help JJ

Dave

Being able to read micro Ω is a bit tricky for a variety of reasons, but if there were a way to do so that was reliable and repeatable then yes that would be great to have those measurements.
 
And removing surface contaminants, oxides, and all manner of crud should be evident in even static measurements.
But music is dynamic and how all of this crud affects a dynamic music signal is of even more significance than just a fixed Ω number.
 
And other aspects such as capacitance effects (as you mentioned), diode effects and other 'non linear' sorts of behaviors that occur in metal to metal contact, all of which has a greater impact upon those small signals dynamics, more so than the larger signals.
 
And it's those very small signal dynamics, when the rest of the system is sufficiently tweaked, where we hear increases in those acoustic attributes we so cherish, such as 3d sound staging, the effects the room has on the harmonic characteristics of the 'voices' etc., etc.
Not to mention being able to hear the 'proper' harmonic structure of each 'voice' vs. listening to a 'version' of it.
 
For example there are the gains that are quite evident with the reduction of the electrical system noise on the ground for the entire system.
In this case, those desirable small signals, that we don't hear, due to being obscured by additional 'noise', that when removed makes a noticeable improvement.
And with similar net gains, removing the crud from the connections results in a similar net improvement, even though the method of obscuring these small signal details is coming from a near opposite direction.
 
 
JJ

 

[gefski]

And it's those very small signal dynamics, when the rest of the system is sufficiently tweaked, where we hear increases in those acoustic attributes we so cherish, such as 3d sound staging, the effects the room has on the harmonic characteristics of the 'voices' etc., etc.
Not to mention being able to hear the 'proper' harmonic structure of each 'voice' vs. listening to a 'version' of it.


JJ

+1

 

[murphythecat]

  I'm currently using Tone Boosters EQ, their TB FLX 4 v.3 and TB FLX v.3 concurrently.
 
I chose this EQ because it has a wide variety of different shaped filters so I can tailor the response curve to suit what I want vs. just what the 'standard' curves allow.
And I'm using the parametric EQ built into Jriver for the SSBB as you'll see.
 
These are the settings I'm using now.
Type of curve      Hz     Gain      Q
Gamma             1358    +4.5     0.98
LSF                     362     -2.0     1.29
Analog Bell        3556     -0.8      5.0
Harmonic Log    5023    +3.5      5.0
Gamma             2130     +2.1     2.12
Analog Bell        6306     -5.0      5.0
Analog Bell           60     +2.0      4.0
Analog Bell      14550     -4.3      5.0
 
Built in EQ            12      +15       0.55
 
JJ
 

 
so you do prefer the SQ using tone booster over Sonarworks?
 
ive tried the exact same setting and I find the SQ is not as good as sonarworks. it sounds very different actually and sounds almost nasal. maybe Im missing something

 

[BIG POPPA]

So last night had xtreme4099 over. He had to listen to the rig. He said it was the best it ever sounded. So while he was listening I took all the Akiko sticks off the rig. That smooth glorious sound just withered away. HD700's went back to the warm harsh high frequency beasts they are.So plugged everything back in. Everything is fine now. It was a cool experience to do. Now if you have any Akiko sticks in your rig, try that and post what happens........

 

[Torq]

  So last night had xtreme4099 over. He had to listen to the rig. He said it was the best it ever sounded. So while he was listening I took all the Akiko sticks off the rig. That smooth glorious sound just withered away. HD700's went back to the warm harsh high frequency beasts they are.So plugged everything back in. Everything is fine now. It was a cool experience to do. Now if you have any Akiko sticks in your rig, try that and post what happens........

At some point this week, my girlfriend is going to pull the Akiko AC sticks I have without telling me.  I've not gone to the lengths with them that @johnjen has described, and I suspect you've taken them further too, but it'll be very interesting to see if I notice after she removes them.
 
I'll definitely post back once that's done.

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

How long have you had the hd700 and how long have you had your Akiko stuff? I'm wondering if the hd700 sounded good before the akiko on your rig and the Akiko added to this or the hd7 was never a fit and the akiko made the two a match.

I ask because if it's the former then the Akiko had a compounding effect and if it's the latter they had a proper matching effect.