[johnjen]

So I succumbed to swapping out the Dekoni's back to my fairly new stock pads.
I mean what I was hearing was nice and all, but the more I listened the more I knew I wasn't getting everything in terms of focus and depth and inner detail etc. that my system was capable of delivering.
I KNEW that there was more there, there, than what was being presented.

So I fussed and learned how to remove these fairly easy to install pads.
Which weren't as easy to remove I might add…

Immediately the impact of all percussion returned with proper leading edge dynamics, and obviously so.
The same with the degree of focus and inner detail and REALNESS, all returned to levels that were missing.
To the extent that I could say that the 'moisture on their breath' returned.

And yes the soundstage also stopped being 'pushed back' and was more immediate and 4d.
IOW more evenly spaced in 3d and stable thru time (the 4th d).

I figure they might just be the perfect way to smooth out the delivery of music for those who might find this makes for 'better' in their system.
And they are very comfortable even though the total contact area is many times greater than the stock pads.

Perhaps I'll cut out the inner dust shields and try them again.
I figure they should make them at least 1/2 the thickness, perhaps even less.
Which might be why the stock pads are so thin to begin with.

But for now, I just wanna enjoy it as my system grabs me and my feet and head start danc'n in place (HB&W - T3)

JJ

 

[gefski]

So the Dekonis are at best a side grade, depending on system. I have seen more comments of late leaning toward sticking with (new or nearly new) stock pads on many cans. But trying stuff is finding out!

On a different topic, there is an interesting dac out there from Border Patrol. R2R, non-oversampling, focused on Redbook. Most interesting for this group, I think, is the major emphasis on power supply quality, including a tube RECTIFIER. Right, the tube is not in the analog stage -- as several dacs & cd players have done. $1350 for best power supply and one input. No AES input though for Dante fans.

 

[johnjen]

Well I only tried the one set, the Fenestrated Sheepskin version.
Even so I think most of the reduction of those valued aspects that were affected is due to the volume of these earpads.
Which is why I figure reducing their girth by at least 1/2 (or more) seems like a good place to start.

But I gotta say I'm glad to be hearing the full acoustic presentation, again.

JJ

 

[johnjen]

And for those who may not be aware of this post I recently made.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sch...bable-start-up.701900/page-2069#post-14143952
And there are a few subsequent posts as well.

This is a teaser for the paper I'm writing about power flow into our gear.

JJ

 

[gefski]

Your "veil lifting" got em' going!

 

[Golfnutz]

Thought I'd post this here instead of the Rednet thread since it's a DIY thing.

Reading around on the internet, there's some thought that using 100mb/s has less noise than 1gb/s.

So I changed the pcie setting in Windows to 100mb/s and had no issues at all (latency didn't change at all either). I'm not sure I could tell any difference between the two (100mb/s vs 1gb/s).

This lead me to my next step. Why not try making an Ethernet cable using pins 1,2,3, and 6 from pure silver (Neotech PTFE SOST 22awg). Used a drill to make the twisted wires (fairly tight). Forgot to mention, I also added 1/4" tinned copper shielding.

Well I'll be damned. It turned out to be a very nice tweek. Most noticeable were the improvements in the upper frequencies.

 

[johnjen]

Your "veil lifting" got em' going!

And speaking of veil lifting…

I swapped out the duplex receptacles in my isolation transformer with Synergistic Black receptacles (yeah those stupidly expensive ones).
And yet another veil, I didn't even know was there, dropped away, and they haven't even fully settled in.

I've also noticed that the pattern of SQ morphing and changing as the hours accumulate due to the new addition to the system, has also changed.
What is happening now is the degree of change of the SQ dropping down to (near) Toilet Dump (TD) SQ, to the new 'better' than the previous high water mark, has narrowed and in a big way.

This is where the term IDMA (It Doesn't Matter Anymore) comes into play.
The new pattern of SQ changes has reduced the TD type of SQ to being almost nonexistent, while the improvements standout all the more.
IOW the 'dynamic range' of the bad to good has narrowed, all the while the SQ continues to rise.
This in turn means I no longer have to 'suffer' (most assuredly a 1st world problem ) thru TD episodes and instead anytime I focus on the music the SQ is simply lovely or even 'better'.

This change is nearly enough to where I may be able to cease making daily audio log entries of the changes in SQ in my system.
But it does evince that I can simplify the format of documenting these changes from 12hr intervals to 24hr.
This will make the format much easier to maintain.

I see this as an overall indication of improvement and lessening of the need to have to pay attention to how bad is bad, while focusing more on the improvements.
I call this a win-win-win!

JJ

 

[johnjen]

Thought I'd post this here instead of the Rednet thread since it's a DIY thing.

Reading around on the internet, there's some thought that using 100mb/s has less noise than 1gb/s.

So I changed the pcie setting in Windows to 100mb/s and had no issues at all (latency didn't change at all either). I'm not sure I could tell any difference between the two (100mb/s vs 1gb/s).

This lead me to my next step. Why not try making an Ethernet cable using pins 1,2,3, and 6 from pure silver (Neotech PTFE SOST 22awg). Used a drill to make the twisted wires (fairly tight). Forgot to mention, I also added 1/4" tinned copper shielding.

Well I'll be damned. It turned out to be a very nice tweek. Most noticeable were the improvements in the upper frequencies.

That is EXCELLENT!

Silver, due to it's ability to handle high frequencies 'better' than copper, should be an excellent wire to use in these applications.
I know that silver does a better job when I use it for my AES cables.

And in another turn of events my cable cooker now has ethernet cable adapters so I can cook cat 5-6 cables.
It will be an interesting experiment to cook my extremely short 'stubby' cat 5e cables (6" & 9") that I'm using for the TP Link optical isolation that feeds from my Mac to the Rednet 3.
And since I also cook my USB cables and have noticed a significant improvement, it will be interesting to find out if the ethernet cables yield similar results.

JJ

 

[johnjen]

Another change I have noticed recently is…

After ≈ 8-10 minutes of listening, my perceptual proclivity, or acuity, or resolution, or the cohesion of the sonic image, kicks into overdrive.
SQ goes Whole-istic aka, Hear Everything (HE) & all acoustic energy is moar coherent and coupled with and to itself - in a 4D Holographic way.
i.e. the acoustic image created in my minds eye accounts for everything, all created energy, and
is whole as a complete sonic image should be, and
incorporates and integrates all generated acoustic energy.

This energy is perceived as more completely bonded and coupled where and when it should be, and especially, is NOT present where it shouldn't be.

JJ

 

[johnjen]

Status report 5/14/18…

I sent my Jggy in for the upgrade and so I swapped it out for my backup PWD dac.

The differences between them were rather immediately apparent.
And thus far I have got ≈ 80hrs on the PWD and it is settling in, stabilizing and improving nicely.

However the differences remain, albeit they are lessening in magnitude.

What I noticed is the D/S dac (the PWD) is a very good, to great, simulation.
A high resolution best guess approximation.

The Multibit dac (the Jggy) is a non-simulation.
It is high resolution, resolved.
It is much closer to analog but without analogs limitations, such as limited dynamic range, increased noise floor, wow and flutter, drop outs, etc.

And the bass from the PWD is slightly better in terms of the LEDI (Leading Edge Dynamic Impact).
Which is confirmation of what I noticed when I first started using the Jggy.
And as I have read from others and previously mentioned, the changes made to the Jggy's v.2 analog output circuitry seems to have addressed this issue, both by measurement and as noted by experience.

Now granted these differences are not night and day, nor smack you upside the head obvious, but they are quite noticeable TO ME.
Mostly because this is the only system I listen to, and do so day in and day out for hours on end.
As a result I am very familiar with what this system is capable of, since I have been repeatedly re-calibrated by this system for many years now.

This calibration, or degree of familiarity, should be a common enough experience for most of us who read these words.
This allows us to more easily notice what (if any) differences are heard, and to come to know which of the changes are ‘better’,
or not,
and why we think so.

JJ

 

[shyamwanne]

Well I only tried the one set, the Fenestrated Sheepskin version.

I tried both the Fenestrated and Standard (no little holes) Sheepskin Dekoni pads, and agree that the Fenestrated did not improve the sound. However, using the standard solid sheepskin pads without the stock dust shield proved to greatly improve detail, dynamics and soundstage. It was not a subtle improvement over the stock pads with stock dust shield. This has been my setup now for the last month and I can't imagine going back. Just thought I'd share incase you wanted to experiment further

 

[johnjen]

I did wonder if the the non fenestrated version would be much if any different from the 'standard' set.
Thanks for the observations, perhaps I'll get a chance to order up another set and try them.

JJ

 

[shyamwanne]

JJ, I’m curious if you ever tested the Synergistic Black Receptacle against the Furutech GTX-D NCF. I seem to be always chasing that extra bit of veil lifting that you mention too! Ha ha

 

[johnjen]

No I haven't.
For me fuses and duplex receptacles are the only things Synergistic Research offers that I'm interested in.
But those 2 items do a really good job in my system.

But that isn't to say the furutech receptacle isn't at the same level, but when you get to these levels (and beyond) of $$$ for the 'simple stuff' my desire to experiment and compare different flavors of these do-dads starts to wane.
As in do I spend $$$ on them or on other experiments that are unexplored, by me at least.

Like, my cable cooker is getting an upgrade of sorts as I'm adding the ability to cook ethernet cables, and perhaps more significantly, be able to cook my power cables ground connections instead of just the hot and neutral circuits.

This purportedly is a big step up and what with my other experiments with the ground circuit, and the positive results I've seen thus far, this new ability to improve the performance of the ground circuit intrigues me.

JJ

 

[BIG POPPA]

I have. Had both a year or so. If your piece of gear sounds dull, get the furutech, it will help bring it back to life. If it sounds artificial, maybe a little irritating get the synergistic Research Black. It will bring a more organic tone. Keep in mind my gear has black fuses also. All my gear is cabled up very nicely.

JJ, I’m curious if you ever tested the Synergistic Black Receptacle against the Furutech GTX-D NCF. I seem to be always chasing that extra bit of veil lifting that you mention too! Ha ha