[r3cc0s]

Wow... thats a case of OCD

Whatever happened just good ole "listening" to the music

In regards to mass dampening, decoupling etc..
I can understanding the factors required to perform these isolation techniques to the source... but to the cables, especially on a headphone system?

I call ******** & placebo

I know for fact that companies such as Nordost, VD and a few others, such as Cardas insinuate that decoupling from the floor reduces overall resonance, and apparently "floor noise"

However now... this may be the case if you have incredibly well trained ears and are listening to "Speakers" at an over-reference level (92 db+) of which certain frequency humps in a room or materials in your system are causing unwanted resonance...

however you'd sooner run into issues with your room's acoustics, or the resonance from the TV on the wall well before you need to worry about decoupling cables...

In fact... if you talk to some "super" tweakers
They claim that the color of the cable makes differences to the sound's transparency and timbre

 

[Akabeth]

This has got to be one of the most "unique" equipment insight I've ever come across in head-fi. Thanks patrick

ygpm btw

 

[Patrick82]

I have replaced my dCS setup with a laptop with built in audio. I have HD590 plugged into the laptop. The laptop is on top of my usual vibration isolation setup (Feet of Silence + Magix). Surprisingly there was a lot of bass from the cheap laptop because of vibration isolation, but it was boomy and veiled. Then I plugged the laptop into my power conditioning setup (Genesis + Quintet + Genesis + Premier) and the improvement was so HUGE it gave me an eargasm, and I almost never get an eargasm...

These Genesis power cables are crazy. I'm selling my dCS rig. Laptop fed by Genesis power cable is the way to go! Tweaks are what matter, the component comes last as long as the specs are good.

For HD590 I rather choose laptop with Genesis power cable than a dCS rig with stock cables. The reason is that HD590 are easily driven from the laptop output, and that's enough. The power supply of the laptop needs to be fed with clean power, that is what improves the sound. dCS Elgar Plus DAC has more bits than other DACs which results in smooth vinyl type sound, but HD590 aren't revealing enough to hear it, a cheap laptop soundcard is good enough as long as it's driven by Genesis power cable!

 

[colonelkernel8]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patrick82 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have replaced my dCS setup with a laptop with built in audio. I have HD590 plugged into the laptop. The laptop is on top of my usual vibration isolation setup (Feet of Silence + Magix). Surprisingly there was a lot of bass from the cheap laptop because of vibration isolation, but it was boomy and veiled. Then I plugged the laptop into my power conditioning setup (Genesis + Quintet + Genesis + Premier) and the improvement was so HUGE it gave me an eargasm, and I almost never get an eargasm... These Genesis power cables are crazy. I'm selling my dCS rig. Laptop fed by Genesis power cable is the way to go! Tweaks are what matter, the component comes last as long as the specs are good. For HD590 I rather choose laptop with Genesis power cable than a dCS rig with stock cables. The reason is that HD590 are easily driven from the laptop output, and that's enough. The power supply of the laptop needs to be fed with clean power, that is what improves the sound. dCS Elgar Plus DAC has more bits than other DACs which results in smooth vinyl type sound, but HD590 aren't revealing enough to hear it, a cheap laptop soundcard is good enough as long as it's driven by Genesis power cable!

Its posts like this that make me sad. Please don't listen to this garbage.

 

[Patrick82]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patrick82 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Then I plugged the laptop into my power conditioning setup (Genesis + Quintet + Genesis + Premier) and the improvement was so HUGE it gave me an eargasm, and I almost never get an eargasm...

Now I further replaced the laptop stock power cable with Genesis. It gave bigger and tighter bass! The bass is crazy HUGE now! It also sounds smoother and clearer. It's very smooth! The vocals are transparent and distinct from the huge and tight bass. Sometimes it feels like Genesis has a sound signature because it gives the same improvement for every component it is plugged into = bigger and tighter bass with more resolution. But that's how clean power should sound like anyway. For the cheapest components the improvement from Genesis power cable is bigger.

Edit: Another eargasm OMG!!!

 

[Patrick82]

Quote:

Originally Posted by colonelkernel8 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Its posts like this that make me sad. Please don't listen to this garbage.

The laptops sold today have High Definition Audio. I'm surprised that the built in audio of the laptop isn't the bottleneck, I'm hearing very clear highs! In the future the best audio quality comes from the smallest components because they have a shorter signal path.

 

[Patrick82]

My tweaked desktop setup with HD590 plugged to EMU0404 never sounded as good as HD590 plugged into laptop sounds now. However, with my desktop setup I was using only one Genesis power cable.

When experimenting with my K1000 I found that 2 power conditioners and 3 Genesis power cables are required per component. Plugging another component into the same Premier Power Plant makes it worse overall because the extra wattage draw of the Premier gives a distorted output. I tried the power conditioning setup for dCS Elgar Plus DAC and computer transport, the sound improvement was almost identical between them; plugging the computer transport into the Premier gave almost as big difference as plugging Elgar into the Premier. But plugging them both in gave worse sound than either combo. Using a 2nd identical power conditioning setup is required for double performance. As you can see, when having the transport and DAC in the same box this problem is solved. This is the reason why HD590 plugged into laptop sounds so good, both the transport and DAC are fed with the cleanest power. There is noise interference between them but the difference isn't as big as the AC noise entering the laptop.

Vibration is 99.99% of audio.

 

[Patrick82]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patrick82 /img/forum/go_quote.gif My tweaked desktop setup with HD590 plugged to EMU0404 never sounded as good as HD590 plugged into laptop sounds now. However, with my desktop setup I was using only one Genesis power cable. When experimenting with my K1000 I found that 2 power conditioners and 3 Genesis power cables are required per component. Plugging another component into the same Premier Power Plant makes it worse overall because the extra wattage draw of the Premier gives a distorted output. I tried the power conditioning setup for dCS Elgar Plus DAC and computer transport, the sound improvement was almost identical between them; plugging the computer transport into the Premier gave almost as big difference as plugging Elgar into the Premier. But plugging them both in gave worse sound than either combo. Using a 2nd identical power conditioning setup is required for double performance. As you can see, when having the transport and DAC in the same box this problem is solved. This is the reason why HD590 plugged into laptop sounds so good, both the transport and DAC are fed with the cleanest power. There is noise interference between them but the difference isn't as big as the AC noise entering the laptop. Vibration is 99.99% of audio.

I just realized it's because of a lower wattage draw. The laptop has a 2.5 inch harddrive while my desktop has 3.5 inch. That makes a huge difference in watts!
I have never heard so smooth sound from a computer before. All the components in laptops are made to use as little power as possible. Laptops are great for audio, but very sensitive. Lot of tweaks are required!

I have made a lot of wattage draw experiments, lower wattage always had the best sound, but it required more tweaks to transform the brightness into smoothness/transparency.
Large capacitors make everything sound muddy with lack of detail. A weak power supply is more sensitive to AC noise which gives bright sound with lack of detail, Genesis power cable transforms that brightness into smooth resolution.

It appears that HD590 plugged into laptop sounds better than HD590 plugged into dCS Elgar Plus DAC. I have never heard this good sound from HD590 before. It's because of lower wattage and because the whole setup receives the cleanest power. With Elgar + computer transport setup it was running on half resolution because only the Elgar got the best power.


Edit: I have never heard this silky and detailed sound from HD590 before. It used to sound sibilant end edgy in the highs, but not anymore. It sounds smoother than with dCS Elgar Plus DAC with more low-level detail because of lower wattage. It is very relaxing. I don't see the point of using expensive components when laptop is good enough. BTW, I have the laptop display and stuff turned off to get lower wattage.

 

[Patrick82]

I turned on my dCS rig and because of the extra wattage draw of Premier Power Plant I got muddier and edgier sound from the sensitive laptop. After I turned the dCS off I got silky and transparent sound from the laptop! There are loads of new low-level detail because of lower wattage!

I compared my dCS rig + K1000 against my laptop + HD590. I like the sound of my laptop more, so I'm selling my dCS rig for peanut price (send PM if interested to buy). I will upgrade into Virtual Dynamics Judge power cable and plug it into laptop.

 

[Lapwing]

This guy is either really bored and playing some kind of bizarre joke, or he is completely schizophrenic and suffering from extreme OCD. No healthy mind could delude itself to this extent. If he is in fact just playing a joke he needs to come clean already. If he is being serious I urge him to seek psychiatric consoling before this obsession hurts something else besides this apparently limitless wallet.

 

[Patrick82]

I inserted the battery inside the laptop and compared it against my power conditioning setup. I heard more low-level detail but it was flat and thin, I believe this is how neutral sounds like. It appears that Genesis power cables give bigger and tighter bass than neutral, if this is true, I like Genesis more than battery power. With Genesis the low-level details were less emphasized because the bass was bigger. With battery power the bass was thinner.

I also compared sinewave vs MultiWave of the Premier Power Plant. The MultiWave gives a similar coloration as Nordost Valhalla cable for headphones and Oyaide 037 AC connectors, the MultiWave makes it clear, sharp and fresh. But it sounds too bright without Genesis power cables.

For HD590 the best tweaks are:
1) Genesis power cables to make the sibilant highs silkier and the boomy bass tighter.

2) MultiWave of Premier Power Plant to change the muddiness into clarity.


The best bang for the buck is laptop with battery power, the resolution was very good but it sounded boring. Battery power doesn't sound like real life even when it gives more neutral audio quality. I like to manipulate the AC power to make it sound like real life instead.

I also tried to use both battery and power conditioning at the same time and it sounded very bright for some reason (probably since it was charging). When using power conditioning the battery must be removed.

It seems that HD590 plugged into laptop with battery power is better than HD590 plugged into dCS Elgar Plus DAC. The only tweaks I used for the laptop was my vibration isolation setup. A HD590 setup with battery power will be very cheap.

 

[Patrick82]

I forgot to say that the CleanWave function of the Premier Power Plant is a must. After an hour it sounds very edgy and harsh, but when doing the 60 second CleanWave it gets silky smooth. Other components I tried it with didn't make big differences, but with the laptop the difference is HUGE.

I switched from my power conditioning setup (Genesis - Quintet - Genesis - Premier - Genesis - laptop) into stock cable plugged into the wall.
The reduction in sound quality was HUGE. The bass was gone, it sounded muddy, veiled, edgy and cold. The warmth is gone and it gives me a headache! I need to stop music, it is not acceptable without Genesis power cable.

Based on my experiments, the power conditioning setup with Genesis power cables is almost equal to battery power. Which one is the best depends on what flavor you like. However, the battery is a thousand times cheaper.

 

[Patrick82]

I purchased EMU 0404 USB and plugged my HD590 into it instead of the laptop. It sounds like crap. For a long time I have believed that people are greatly exaggerating the improvements of audio components, this upgrade confirms this. The difference in sound is big yes, but I'm not hearing any improvement, only a change into warmer and muddier sound. Tweaks are what give the real improvements.

BTW, the EMU doesn't have any vibration isolation while the laptop has. The EMU sounds very muddy, boomy and veiled, horrible sound. At least it doesn't give me fatigue. For a HD590 setup with stock cables and no tweaks, laptop + EMU 0404 USB is the way to go.

 

[Patrick82]

OMG!!!
I put the EMU on top of my best vibration isolation setup. I'm hearing crazy improvement in clarity! The bass isn't boomy and emphasized anymore, it isn't in the way of the rest of the music. The transients are clearer and more focused. I'm in love with vibration isolation!
The bass is tighter and sharper! I think that people are greatly underestimating the improvement from vibration isolation, it is 99.99% of the sound.

Upgrading from laptop soundcard into USB0404 USB didn't give an improvement because the EMU wasn't using vibration isolation while the laptop was.

EMU and laptop are on top of their own vibration isolation setup, but they are both plugged into the wall with stock cables. It doesn't sound as good as laptop on battery power or Genesis power cables. Adding extra audio gear into the system only makes it better when not using any tweaks, but it makes it worse if you have to downgrade the tweaks. The cheapest setup is a single box system using the best vibration isolation and battery/power conditioning.

I think the EMU makes HD590 sound worse because of longer signal path. I'm not hearing any potential from the EMU, it's already warm so there isn't any brightness that can be transformed into resolution when using battery power like with the laptop. The EMU with vibration isolation and stock power cable sounds warmer and less detailed than laptop with vibration isolation and battery power.

 

[Patrick82]

I plugged my laptop into my power conditioning setup and it didn't make an apparent difference to the sound when the HD590 were plugged into the EMU. The EMU was plugged into the wall with stock power cable. I switched off the EMU and plugged my HD590 into the power conditioned laptop and got better sound!

The USB soundcard should make it better than the integrated laptop soundcard but it made it worse instead. It's only "better" for audiophiles who like muddy/warm sound with details veiled.

Edit: I think they are equal overall, I just prefer the flavor of the laptop more.