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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
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.

stringreen's avatar
stringreen
6,368 posts
 
re: cables.....in my experience, cables sound different when connected to different components....its the components' reaction with the cable that makes/breaks the effect.  
jdave's avatar
jdave
26 posts
 
+2 Marlalarsen. The front end is critical for me.
My old Kef 107s seem to make anything sound very good, except poor recordings or masterings (I really don't know which). But it wasn't till I got my MF Dac that I actually considered for a moment, ditching my vinyl. Don't worry, I didn't. Whew...
dumacker
22 posts
 
I began listening to records on a portable player when I was but a child.

If asked, I would say listening is the most important thing you can do when picking up electronics.  While this is the most obvious instruction, people get lost is a sea of statistics and opinion. 

Go to a store and hear what they can hook up for comparison.  Bring your own software and check the amp/speaker pairs for a match using the best signal you can acquire.  At least this is one way to begin your search

We all hear differently just as we all experience the different senses. Everyone deserves their opinion heard but they are just beliefs based on their particular experience.

Share what works for you but never believe that you have the best. That standard expired a week ago.

There is so much incredible equipment, and you do not have to spend that much.  If you have money to burn then give it to someone that needs it.

I will  take my $1000 interconnects with just a sprinkle of  Lark's vomit please...

There is a lot of Larks vomit out there

jhv


rlb61
742 posts
 
I agree that speakers are the place to spend most of your money. I think most people look at tweaks because they can do "something" to try and help their system, usually without spending a ridiculous amount of dough.
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