[sebb]

Hello everyone,

Once again, I'd like to have some opinions.

In this thread, the word "synergism" is coming up a couple of time. It's clear: the overall sound quality of a system relates to the lowest quality component. Consequence: there's no end, as there's ALWAYS a lowest-quality component... Anyway, I'm not an audio-obsessed, and today I feel pretty close to overall sonic satisfaction (thanks to you !), and frankly I would be happy to stop audio purchases for a while... But,... still,... I wonder,... maybe a there is a last *little* thing I could upgrade to get *significant* improvement... In other words, maybe there is one little compounds which is pulling the sound quality down... If not, even better ! What do you think ?

My system:
- clean, home-made MP3 192+ kbps (sorry, I can't hear any difference between this and WAV, despite a lot of a/bing...)
- iRiver H140 (supposed to be quite a good one, isn't it ?)
- Pocket Amp 2 v2 (underway, I mainly expect to get more sonic impact thanks to it)
- Sennheiser HD555 (Oh I like that one !) or Shure E2c for travel

Please don't tell me to get a new pair of headphones, or anything that would make my wallet 100+ $ lighter... but maybe a better mini-to-mini interconnect ? Anything else ? Or do you just think I have a pretty homogeneous system, and so a single upgrade would heterogenize the whole thing ?

Thanks for you answers !

 

[Thaddy]

Personally I don't think a Mini » Mini would make much of a difference. If you can't tell the difference between a 192kbps MP3 and a WAV file, then I highly doubt you'd be able to tell differences in cables. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with that, just that the cost wouldn't be justifiable.

Is you H140 filled to the brim with music? If not, I say that's the only upgrade path you should take. Buy more music!

 

[mulveling]

Actually, synergy isn't just about replacing the lowest quality component in the chain. It's about finding two or more complementary components that when coupled together can transcend the quality level of the individual pieces (the whole is greater than the sum of its parts).

Good synergy is quite hard to find, in part beacuse we all have different preferences and sonic goals - synergy also means matching up the flavor & presentation of your gear to your preferences.

As I don't have much experience with your current gear I can't really help you find synergy (or even tell if you're already there), but I do wish you luck in your quest

 

[Glod]

Yeah, synergy is a tricky business. I find that too. I am not familiar with your equipment, but I would not quickly rule out that another e.g. cable would render a different character to the sound.

What makes the hunt for a good synergy difficult is because it is easy to over compensate, IMHO. Probably especially with modest priced equipment, the really high end gear is, I would guess, is less sensitive.

 

[crazyfrenchman27]

I think you should address your source first and then your headphones.

But if you're satisfied with everything, you should just buy more music.

-Matt

 

[ColStripe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mulveling Good synergy is quite hard to find, in part beacuse we all have different preferences and sonic goals - synergy also means matching up the flavor & presentation of your gear to your preferences.

Agree big time. Everyones hearing, perception, and what sounds good/musical them is completely different. There is no formula to "synergy". It takes alot of playing with different combinations to find what you are looking for (which usually requires lots 'o money).

 

[sebb]

OK, thanks for your comments.

Actually, I would like to go on and on for better sound quality, it's a kind of funny quest, but I have the impression I've already reached the limits of what my ears can distinguish (cfr. I can't hear any difference between MP3 192 and WAV)... I suppose I should feel happy, as well as my wallet probably does

. Or maybe it's just because I don't have the equipment to highlight potential quality differences... Who knows ? Maybe I'd better stay at my first hypothesis and live with a little bit of frustration and curiosity... Or I can continue searching for these little improvements, knowing that each one of them, if I can hear them, will cost me more and more money... probably equally frustrating...