Since all artifical sources are imperfect and all auditoria have flaws I recommend benchmarking sound reproduction systems against the only pure sound source - a choir of angels in the only unbounded auditorium - heaven.

 

This is some snippets off an audiophile board:
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The "form" was too good to pass up.

Well never underestimate the placebo effect. I am into wine tasting also, and I shudder then someone praise a wine just because it is expensive and therefore should taste good. But I guess the really expensive HIFI gear pushers laugh all the way to the bank

 

Since all artifical sources are imperfect and all auditoria have flaws I recommend benchmarking sound reproduction systems against the only pure sound source - a choir of angels in the only unbounded auditorium - heaven.

No, I've heard them sing live: the bass was weak and the midrange sounded hollow.

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by rjenkins
Speaker cables can drastically affect the sound:
A higher series resistance reduces the time constant of an inductor, so thin, higher resistance cables increase the treble output from speakers, which can make them sound tinny in comparison to the same speakers with heavy, low resistance cables.

Anyone who knows the Thiele-Small equations for speaker building knows that increasing series resistance increqses the speaker "Q", causing a higher hump in the woofer's response at its resonant frequency. The sound will be BOOMY, not TINNY.

Bob

OK, so I'm a heavy rock nut.. I don't winge about excess base..

However you describe it, an otherwise decent setup using thin speaker cable will not sound as good as the same setup using a decent heavy cable.

A small amount of cable resistance makes a very audible difference: I got some new gear just as I was about to move house, and rather than cut up some decent cable for a temporary setup I used a couple of yards of four core alarm cable to extend a short speaker lead while trying out the new amp.

The effect on the balance was dramatic, with just a few feet of thinner cable in line, using all four cores. I had to put the same length of cable in the other speaker connection to get a decent surround effect.

I forgot to mention cable microphonics - yet another design problem, it can only occur if there is a DC bias on the cable. If the connections have a DC ground there can be no bias and no capacitor microphone effect.

The other basic 'good sound' requirements are enough power for the occasional peaks without distortion and an acceptable frequency response.

Only ever look at the RMS power figures, the common PMP figures are meaningless when it comes to a seriously decent sound.

Some manufacturers don't even quote proper frequency response figures anymore, and some current so-called 'high end' gear (with a subwoofer and multiple three inch speakers - you've seen them) is a joke compared to a basic old HiFi setup with decent large speakers and possibly a sub..

My setup is a decent Sony surround amp - 600W RMS (and dirt cheap off Ebay), a mix of old, large (woofer/mid/tweeter) and smaller surround speakers, plus a Yamaha servo subwoofer, with 6 sq mm power cable feeding the speakers and digital feeds from a media PC and home automation PC. It works, it sounds nice on music and shakes the room on explosions in movies - who could want more..

(Did you know that virtually all music produced since the Quadrophonic era has been encoded in Quad or Surround (using Dolby pro logic?) Try playing your CDs/MP3s through a Surround system, you will be amazed!).

 

The best stuff is that "varnish" you can buy that has the *same density as the little bones in the human ear*. You paint it all over your caps and PCBs and transistors etc and your amp sounds MUCH better.

Sad but true. The fact that the product exists is true anyway.

The funniest part of the thread was when someone painted it all over the cardboard speaker cones of his $$$$$ pro speakers...

 

The best stuff is that "varnish" you can buy that has the *same density as the little bones in the human ear*. You paint it all over your caps and PCBs and transistors etc and your amp sounds MUCH better..

That explains why it didn't work. I kept pouring it into my ears....