[iGig]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mastergill ...BTW, strange, the first post seems to have disappeared...

it's true

where is the original post? that post can not disappear, all headfiers should read it twice... luckily you can still read post #19.

Great post WellyWu, you make me feel good about being a cheap person.

Some of my mistakes include:
-buying too many portables...and I still have 2 more to buy

-buying an expensive amp before I upgraded my source (I returned the amp, got a better source, had money left and I was much happier)
-building a system around a bright headphone when I prefer dark sound.
-I also ruined a few CDs with the Case Logic but I have since switched to Slappa and I've had no problems since.

 

[Patrick82]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thaddy Are you serious? Did you actually listen to hear a diference in sound? You're insane dude, you have to be. I mean, I guess all of us are on this forum, but how would a .5mm change in height translate to a different sound?

You misinterpreted my post. There is an optimal stretched position of the rubber rings on the feet. If they don't stretch at all they aren't very helpful in reducing the vibrations to the equipment.

 

[EscaBoi]

Let's see what I can come up with.

1) Discovering Head-Fi
2) Joining Head-Fi
3) Posting and asking for opinions on Head-Fi
4) Making my first purchase a low end ear bud (Senn. MX500's)
5) Thus making me upgrade to IEM's (ER6i's)
6) Spending more money upgrading IEM's (ER4P)
7) Going to Head-Fi meets (upgraditus would not happen were it not for this)
8) Testing out amps (I told myself I did NOT WANT AN AMP!!)
9) Continue spending money despite being a poor College student
10) Going to BayBloor Radio with my friend while he bought Grado's *this was what introduced me to the world of headphones

I BLAME HEAD-FI!!

 

[Thaddy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patrick82 You misinterpreted my post. There is an optimal stretched position of the rubber rings on the feet. If they don't stretch at all they aren't very helpful in reducing the vibrations to the equipment.

No I didn't, you're just too dense to understand what I was saying. How can you pick out any sonic differences between +-.5mm of travel? If the isolation feet are not bottomed out, and are suspended like they are supposed to be (this is how they work right?), then how can you make out any audible differences?

I'm calling B.S.

 

[Patrick82]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thaddy No I didn't, you're just too dense to understand what I was saying. How can you pick out any sonic differences between +-.5mm of travel? If the isolation feet are not bottomed out, and are suspended like they are supposed to be (this is how they work right?), then how can you make out any audible differences? I'm calling B.S.

1) Those feet don't remove 100% of the vibrations (no isolation device does!), so there is a difference between different rubber materials and how much they are stretched.

2) Too much stretch isn't good because it makes the equipment sound loose instead of tight, it's like having soft isolation feet. A review says the optimal stretch is somewhere between 3-5 mm which leaves 2 mm margin to get it right.
But as I said, I couldn't hear a difference with 0.5 mm.

3) They are great and I will buy more to put under my Power Plants.


Mistake #5) I wish I had bought Feet of Silence sooner, but instead I listened to skeptics because I wanted to spend the money on other things.

 

[Thaddy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patrick82 2) Too much stretch isn't good because it makes the equipment sound loose instead of tight, it's like having soft isolation feet. A review says the optimal stretch is somewhere between 3-5 mm which leaves 2 mm margin to get it right. But as I said, I couldn't hear a difference with 0.5 mm.

So a stretched rubber band sounds loose and a tight rubber band sounds tight? Gotcha. Placebo at it's finest.

 

[Alex Altorfer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patrick82 I have tested Valhalla cabling with a cheap system (DAC1 + T-Amp: $1000) and it sounded much better than high-end ($9000) with cheap cables. Better as in more detailed, neutral, bassy, dynamic, and not forgiving, "musical" and "romantic" that you get from muddy copper wiring.

Before blaming it on the cables I would check if all the components of the high end system are synergistic. Lack of synergy can ruin a U$ 9000.00 sound system a lot easier than cables. If the cabling was to blame it must have been really craptacular, like the cheapest wiring found at Radio Shack stores.

 

[Sovkiller]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ferbose "....If hi-end cables transform so many modern systems left and right, should not have hi-fi systems sucked in th 60's because hi-end cables weren't popular yet? Why do we even believe those audio magazine reviewers who don't provide any kind of credentials to suggest their competence and trustworthiness, and spend thousands of bucks based on their opinions? Why have debates about certain issues turned into the crusades of believers and believe-nots, for instance double-blinded testing? ...."

Well there is still a blind test in action with three interconnects 1m long each, all black and similar in appearance, offered by our creative Edwood, that has not shown any results yet, I'm anxiously waiting for the results to laugh my ass out, and to see how many headfi "golden ears" will fail miserably, but unfortunately for me (at least, but I'm sure others as well will like to see the same) some of the ones I would like to see fail, has not even signed up for the test yet....chickens!!!!....

Details here:

http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showt...01#post2140801

 

[Patrick82]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thaddy So a stretched rubber band sounds loose and a tight rubber band sounds tight? Gotcha. Placebo at it's finest.

Yes, like with cables:
"Big blocky plugs make jittery sound, orange copper is warm (orange is traditionally associated with fire and passion) while mirror-finish silver is cool and analytical (mirrored finishes are associated with sterility, ie hospitals, knives, etc.)."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alex Altorfer Before blaming it on the cables I would check if all the components of the high end system are synergistic. Lack of synergy can ruin a U$ 9000.00 sound system a lot easier than cables. If the cabling was to blame it must have been really craptacular, like the cheapest wiring found at Radio Shack stores.

Van den Hul D 102 mkIII interconnect. Stefan AudioArt Hardwired K1000 cable. PS Audio xStream Statement power cable.

With the $9000 system there is much better synergy than the $1000 system, because I have tweaked it for a year. But with the cables I listed above it isn't enjoyable because unrealistic warmth is unbearable to me

. Switching the cabling to Valhalla cures most of that but it still doesn't sound much different than the $1000 system with the same cabling. Valhalla sounds the same in every system it is put into...

Mistake #6) I wish I had bought Valhalla cables before upgrading to expensive amp and CD player. I'm selling my amp now. The smaller the better...

 

[Sovkiller]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patrick82 Mistake #6) I wish I had bought Valhalla cables before upgrading to expensive amp and CD player. I'm selling my amp now. The smaller the better...

So you prefer to keep the cable and a 30.00 T amp (I own one BTW and it is nothing to write home about) rather than the Krell amp???....IMO logic goes out of the window here...

BTW they could put more nines to the copper purity figure (I'm still trying to figure out how they indeed measure that figure, as for sure they do not manufacture the copper they use, they buy it from another manufacturer...

) and many people will still think that is BS (me included) anyway. Just for curiosity let's call Canare, IMO a respectable cable manufacturer with a lot of years manufacturing cables , and let's ask them about the purity they use the cables that wire the recording studios in the whole universe, and mics, and instruments you listen through your expensive gear after on.....

 

[Patrick82]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sovkiller So you prefer to keep the cable and a 30.00 T amp (I own one BTW and it is nothing to write home about) rather than the Krell amp???....IMO logic goes out of the window here...

I would choose T-Amp + Valhalla instead of Krell + warm cables, and Krell + Valhalla instead T-Amp + warm cables. The amp doesn't matter to me, but the cable does.
However I'm selling my amp to get one of the new small ICE Power amps, they are better than T-Amp and Krell combined, and a fraction of the price of Krell.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sovkiller BTW they could put more nines to the copper purity figure (I'm still trying to figure out how they indeed measure that figure, as for sure they do not manufacture the copper they use, they buy it from another manufacturer... ) and many people will still think that is BS (me included) anyway. Just for curiosity let's call Canare, IMO a respectable cable manufacturer with a lot of years manufacturing cables , and let's ask them about the purity they use the cables that wire the recording studios in the whole universe, and mics, and instruments you listen through your expensive gear after on.....

With Nordost cables the signal doesn't travel in the copper core, it travels in the silver plating. The high purity copper is just there in case the silver plating gets scraped off.

 

[Sovkiller]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patrick82 With Nordost cables the signal doesn't travel in the copper core, it travels in the silver plating. The high purity copper is just there in case the silver plating gets scraped off.

Really??? With all due respect, where did you get that information? Are you telling me that they bond the silver to the cooper, and then they tell the signal how it is supposed to flow inside the conductor??? For audio frequencies, I do not think that this "skin flow model" applies so accurately, there are also a lot of other factors...

Read a little bit here about how a cable works...From a company that will never rip you off...

http://www.bluejeanscable.com/articles/whatwiredoes.htm

 

[Ferbose]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patrick82 With Nordost cables the signal doesn't travel in the copper core, it travels in the silver plating. The high purity copper is just there in case the silver plating gets scraped off.

Wow, where did you get this kind of misinformation?
Even for 20 kHz AC signal, skin effect is very minimal in wires.
According to this theory, we can even coat silver over flexible plastic rods to conduct audio signal.
This must be the funniest cable snale-oil I have heard in the last few months.

 

[erikzen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EscaBoi 7) Going to Head-Fi meets (upgraditus would not happen were it not for this)

I know you had your tongue firmly planted in your cheek, but I actually found going to meets to be something that helped correct one of my mistakes. Perhaps it's because meet conditions are not optimal for listening, but after going to a couple of meets I realized that the difference between good equipment and really high end equipment is not that great. It also made me realize that the differences that we hear are so subtle that it is difficult to explain them without making it sound like the differences are greater than they are.

Bottom line, meets made me realize my gear isn't that bad.

 

[Patrick82]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sovkiller Really??? With all due respect, where did you get that information? Are you telling me that they bond the silver to the cooper, and then they tell the signal how it is supposed to flow inside the conductor??? For audio frequencies, I do not think that this "skin flow model" applies so accurately, there are also a lot of other factors... Read a little bit here about how a cable works...From a company that will never rip you off... http://www.bluejeanscable.com/articles/whatwiredoes.htm

It's simple logic. Electricity chooses the path with the lowest resistance. Silver has lower resistance than copper. So most of the signal travels in the silver plating.

I have read that, other companies write in a similar way, they tell what the customer wants to hear which makes them believe that other manufacturers are selling snake oil. They also leave out things they don't want to tell the customer. Just check this.