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What Matters and What is Nonsense

I’ve been an audiophile for approximately 50 years. In my college days, I used to hang around the factory of a very well regarded speaker manufacturer where I learned a lot from the owners. When I started with audio it was a technical hobby. You were expected to know something about electronics and acoustics. Listening was important, but understanding why something sounded good or not so good was just as important. No one in 1968 would have known what you were talking about if you said you had tweaked your system and it sounded so much better. But if you talked about constant power output with frequency, or pleasing second-order harmonic distortion versus jarring odd-order harmonics in amplification, you were part of the tribe.

Starting in the 1980s, a lot of pseudo scientific nonsense started appearing. Power cords were important. One meter interconnects made a big difference. Using a green magic marker on the edge of a CD was amazing. Putting isolation dampers under a CD transport lifted the veil on the music. Ugh. This stuff still make my eyes roll, even after all these years.

So I have decided to impart years and years of hard won knowledge to today’s hobbists who might be interested in reality. This is my list of the steps in the audio reproduction chain, and the relative importance of each step. My ranking of relative importance includes a big dose of cost/benefit ratio. At this point in the evolution of audio, I am assuming digital recording and reproduction.

Item / Importance to the sound on a scale of 1-10 / Cost benefit ratio

  • The room the recording was made in / 8 / Nothing you can do about it
  • The microphones and setup used in the recording / 8 / nothing you can do about it.
  • The equalization and mixing of the recording / 10 / Nothing you can do about it
  • The technology used for the recording (analog, digital, sample rate, etc.) / 5 / nothing you can do about it.
  • The format of the consumer recording (vinyl, CD, DSD, etc.) 44.1 - 16 really is good enough / 3 / moderate CB ratio
  • The playback device i.e. cartridge or DAC / 5 / can be a horribe CB ratio - do this almost last
  • The electronics - preamp and amp / 4 / the amount of money wasted on $5,000 preamps and amps is amazing.
  • Low leve interconnects / 2 / save your money, folks
  • Speaker cables / 3 / another place to save your money
  • Speakers / 10 / very very high cost to benefit ratio. Spend your money here.
  • Listening room / 9 / an excellent place to put your money. DSPs have revolutionized audio reproduction
In summary, buy the best speakers you can afford, and invest in something like Dirac Live or learn how to use REW and buy a MiniDSP HD to implement the filters. Almost everything else is a gross waste of money.
128x128phomchick

Showing 12 responses by craigl59

craigl59
307 posts
 
Excellent topic, phomchick.
Agree with much of your analysis. Would give higher ratings to format because JRiver can significantly improve the SQ through upsampling a CD with SoX (am upsampling to 768khz, then direct by USB to a RME ADI-2 DAC and find the analogue result stunningly quiet and transparent). Also, use Belden 1800f balanced interconnects and find they offer audible improvement higher than a "2.".
Think, as well, that improvement levels are layered based upon the maturity of your system. Found that when I got quality speakers (Tekton Double Impacts), did physical room correction and Furman power conditioning, then used REW to establish EQ, my system reached a certain basic level. Since then have improved the DAC to great effect, tried quality power cables (little change but some help with noise/transparency) and welded speaker cables (no change at all). Found that a Class D amp made a substantial change in SQ but not for the better by comparison to Class A mono blocks.
Suspect your topic is going to generate contradictory claims and look forward to the wars about to ensue...
craigl59
307 posts
 
geoffkait:
Overly compressed masterings have, truly, become the bane of audiophile's enjoyment. The new Old Crow Medicine Show album is a classic case of the CD sounding just like MP3 because all is compressed way too close to 0 DB. Cannot listen to it for any length of time.
Studios are under pressure from labels to make all WAY TOO LOUD because they believe it makes the sound preferable/saleable over less loud/compressed masterings. This might be affected by lower quality listening equipment where volume is confused with quality.
Higher quality orchestral recordings (now becoming dinosaurs) have a transparency that makes all sound LESS LOUD. The timbral accuracy and soundstage definition pay off big dividends in return.
And, for a pop example of great mastering, listen to the self-titled Natalie Merchant album that is crystal clear and beautifully dynamic. Sarah Jarosz's offerings are also well done in this regard.
craigl59
307 posts
 
Al:
Agree completely with your approach and, also, listen largely to dense orchestral feeds. Have been able to achieve your two conditions with (highly efficient) Tekton Double Impact speakers and A/AB Emotiva mono blocks. The combined price for both is only about $6k. When coupled with an excellent orchestral feed the speakers disappear nicely and you can spend your time listening to sections and their timbral qualities.
What speakers have you settled on? Have found it is difficult to step up from the Emotive mono blocks because other Class A amps are so much more expensive.
craigl59
307 posts
 

My preference is for a DAC/Pre and the new RME ADI-2 unit just released offers full preamp flexibilities in a single half-rack space. Also have an Emotiva XMC-1, which is brilliantly designed/based on a Linux computer, and use it for a 5-channel control box where it works fine. The converters, however, are far less accurate than the RME ones.

Disagree with phomchick's assessment of DACs over $800 sounding the same. Currently have over 10 DA converters (home and studio) ranging from Oppo, to Audient, to Emotiva, to RME and find they all sound different. The amount of difference depend on how good the rest of the system is (and especially speaker quality). The newly-released RME converter has made a large improvement in my stereo system -- all reviewers and owners have noted its startling realism. Sadly, they are VERY hard to get -- RME misjudged their appeal and has not been able to catch up with production.

The Preamp question is also impacted by computer capabilities. JRiver allows you to add plugins to its DSP Studio. For a number of years have used apQualizr (a German app) in conjunction with REW to tune my stereo room. It has impressive EQ capabilities but is not ergonomic. In the studio world, the standard EQ plugin is FabFilter and it is worth the price (about $180).

Think we are headed in this plugin direction for all room correction and DSP functions and believe it is better handled there in order to achieve the best audio quality.

craigl59
307 posts
 

For me and my systems, "tweaks" are improvements such as Herbie's Loudpeaker Feet. These were recommended on the Double Impact thread and I ordered them with trepidation because they were about $65 a speaker and the design improvement was not clear at first.

Turns out they work splendidly with the Tektons and are well worth the minor investment -- the speakers stay rock steady over time and the subtle cushioning improves bass response, soundstage, and security.

Have had my share of non-working tweaks and can only say that I will spend relatively little on an untrusted, untested, or non-reviewed addition. Spend time on Audiogon and other sites to benefit from user comments on these kinds of threads. Believe you get the best information from users/owners who describe their experiences devoid of special interest or economic motives.

The cable issue stopped being a concern for me when I discovered Blue Jeans Cable 7 years ago and started using their custom builds for studio and home setups. Check out Gearslutz for studio advice on cables. The standard used to be Monster mic cables but these have been replaced by Belden 1800f ones. Blue Jeans makes custom lengths and connectors so you avoid excess length and adaptors.

Like bstbomber above, am a lifelong musician with studio and audiophile setups. Move equipment back and forth between the two and have found that professional studio equipment always sounds good in audiophile settings but the reverse is not always the case.

craigl59
307 posts
 
+1 barrarich
Agree completely with your emphasis on room control and the changes from the new computer reality. Have described several times on Audiogon my belief that soon there will be only one box and it will include a media server, open-ended preamp with room correction (= accepts plug-ins), class D amp and as much memory as appropriate. All currently exists, it's just a question of some company making the business model and copyrights work out.
craigl59
307 posts
 

+1 phomchick

Another downside...we all have that "purchase a new box" urge. Those that have gone the Lyngdorf way are both smug and lonely at the same time...

craigl59
307 posts
 
Congrats, UBW
Have had my pair for over a year and they please every time they speak. You will not be disappointed. What convinced me to purchase was the uniform positive response from ACTUAL owners on all threads. Trust the owners and their honest response.
craigl59
307 posts
 
Went for the upgrade that, supposedly, was recommended/designed by Terry London. Can't compare the two because have not heard your version. Suspect most of the speaker's quality is the result of the 7-tweeter array that shares mid-range and treble duties.
Check with Eric about upgrade possibilities; the folks on the Tekton thread are knowledgeable about custom work and KDude66 is very helpful.
craigl59
307 posts
 

+1 playmore

To me, the central issue coming out of this thread is the process of improving your system versus getting ripped off. All has become more difficult as audio transactions become "over the Internet" as opposed to selecting/auditing from a local dealer who stocks a large number of products (no longer the norm).

So, product threads and reviews are essential to increasing the chances of making a good decision and I reiterate the necessity for being able to identify owners who provide honest assessments of the item. This worked for me for the Tekton Double Impacts AND did not work for the Nord Stereo UP amplifier.

You pays your money and takes your chances...

craigl59
307 posts
 

phomchick:

Haven't used the REW/JRiver combo since I upgraded to the 64 bit version. Do you mean that REW will do an automatic dump of the EQ value (after you make the corrections) directly into JRiver? In the past have had to insert these by hand into Apqualizr and it has been dreary.

Am now using JRiver in connection with RME ADI-2 DAC to upsample CDs to 768khz; the result is astounding, even better than the 192khz I was using earlier. Give this a try if your DAC will support it -- even if it sound illogical. Don't forget to select the SoX upsample option in the audio menu.

craigl59
307 posts
 
phomchick:
Thanks; this is very clear and, as you certainly know, a very powerful way to tune your room.
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