I would say no two people have the same needs, no two have the same situation, nor equipment. There can be generalities, but no hard and fast rules. The suggestions handed out are for folks who have no idea what to do. If they do not work for an individual, it does not invalidate the endless numbers who were assisted buy the guidelines.
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Source... I use a 'bought off eBay for $40' five disc CD changer.(to my Marantz SA-10) The Toslink cost three times as much as the CD player. The Marantz 175 times the cost... Sounds good. Not all systems are alike.
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"add up to 100%'... True it may not. but IMO 80% is fine. not a problem. Math is in your head, the real wold is not math. You can turn most of the real World into math, but that action is again, in your head.
I spent slightly more real money on AC duplex power conditioners power cords and interconnects as on my speakers...
My sources, total equals the money on speakers..The amplification also about equals the total on speakers.And yet, of all money spent in the current stereo, Less than 20% is the speakers.. fuzzy fuzzy math, but good logic.
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I agree with dave_b comment above, completely.
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Generally the idea is the 'hear it as live'... Yes? so WHO'S HEARING? do you say this person is the standard? or that person? or i it how each individual hears it? If it is 'how each individual hears it' then hearing loss has no meaning, since that IS how they hear live music. If you say noooo. it has to be how "I hear it" what are you? the Music Nazi?
Just sayin'.
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In regard to any individual ’across the board' opinion about any manufacturer... Usually some sort of sour grapes. They hear ONE, ONCE, and decided it sucked. So naturally they concluded that manufacture could never make anything.
I know, it is how I judged MAC Gear LOL |
I have to agree that wires are needed. actually better wires. And not just the interconnects, The power cords and AC duplex matter too.
I would say my system resolution jumped a few percent when I added Furutech AC duplex all around my system.
I already had much better interconnects, and decent power cords.
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I own 20.7 Magnepan speakers. I use Kimber 8TC.
I spent $2,250 on power cords just last month... I still use Kimber 8TC
I spent $3,500 on Duplex and plugs late Summer to early Fall. I STILL use Kimber 8TC
KImber 8TC is no slouch.
Maybe if I owned Some $72,000 speakers..MBL 101E Radialstrahler I might feel the need to upgrade my speaker cable then. |
The ’what to do after you already have a good system’ mentioned by axo0oxa is a good point. And something I could add to.
Once I have a ’decent’ system, (2010) I left it for a number of years. Mainly I finally bought some high end interconnects. Then I started last year on the system again, starting with te best speakers I would ever buy. Going from 3.6 Magnepans to 20.7 Magnepan.
I wondered what to get next, but ended up buying a high end SACD player to use mainly as a DAC. (The usual thing to get, a new amplifier, my trusted dealer said I did not need one, So I accepted his advice..) I COULD have gone for a Rega P10 turntable. But my previous DAC was a used $250 device... And I thought I also own already a Kuzma Stabi/Stogi S turntable which is pretty good already
Then I suddenly got back to some basics. Power cords, a few, that instilled the ideal to finally buy some real better AC duplex. and actually that was because they were on sale, getting something that is considered on of the best possible, at half price,, I jumped on it! Even though I did not start out to do it.) Discovering how much a difference a few made, I went crazy and replaced the entire system wide duplex, including replacing the AC duplex in the two power conditioners.This also was a ’get the best I can’, since I will never re-visit buying different ones. I went back to a basic underlying thing. (like when I bought cables, so those would last through other changes.)
So I kind of would say there are TWO areas of a SYSTEM.. the main part of components, and the underlying structure, like cables, AC, cords, conditioning, even racks.
At this point I am resting.. Actually just adjusting (still) the little bits, like the resistors in the midrange of my speakers. After spending months critically listening and adjusting... I am tired of it, and just want to listen to music...
But in the future.. I can see revisiting the turntable upgrade, and by another year will need at minimum new cartridges for my two TTs.
So my upgrading went in two cycles, the components, and the support system of cables etc. Curious the components, I cannot really say I am finished, the support some parts I did go as far as one can go.
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Refrigerator magnets are the next big thing. Wait and see. Or 'hear'... as the case may be. They are way more pertinent to the site than... Worm holes ... which fill up when it rains. then worms are easy pick'ns for Robins.
Robins also use tiny refrigerator magnets in their nests... |
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And I wrote it. that thread start. New ideas.. new places...Audio Circle is not longer the exclusive property of angry EE in their dotage, ranting away at the like of me... Well, still some.. but others as well!
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I have a polarity switch and use it often.
Much of the time in makes little difference.The fact is, particularly for rock, the song or album is mixed from discrete tracks, any of which may be reverse polarity, and certainly many songs have parts right and parts in reverse at the same time!I would say only about 20% of Rock albums I can actually notice a proper polarity. And some of those it is based on the vocals, some on the percussion instruments.
And on NONE of them does the positive, or reverse sound ’bad’... But for those recording which do have a noticeable difference, the ’right’ one generally is slightly better sounding due to mainly better clarity.
Then the FACT speaker crossovers alter the polarity to odd angles NOT 180! What good is polarity if your speakers alter the bass 120 off counterclockwise, at some peak frequency, mids 90 off clockwise, and the treble 250 counterclockwise? Did you ever actually look at some of the charts in Stereophile???
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On the other hand... I own a Marantz SA-10 and yeah it is wonderful etc... But my LP playback is also fine. No problems with either one.
The great mystery seems to be... No one has figured out the one thing that made magic in THEIR system might be worthless in someone else’ system. PERIOD. I think most folks seem to get the junk some other guy found, might be no big deal. It is realizing the same is true for our own favorite steaming pile, if it were put in some other system.
Take for example my latest spectacular find: Refrigerator magnetic white board.. under the CD changer. I would GUARANTEE nine out of ten others(probably more!) who might be so foolish to try it would find it worthless, or terrible. Not my problem. But at least I recognize the fact!!
So take all your psychobabble about black goo magic cards, and whatever gizmo you found... and stop expecting to get praise as if those are the next coming. For you, maybe they work wonders... Realize the near infinitesimal chance they will do the same for somebody else.
So back to the op.. Glad your gizmo worked for you. No need to claim it is the SOLUTION in the Audiophile Universe to all there is.
(Do not mind me, I think it is the cold weather.. Cranky geesh.)
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Spending $3000 on duplex outlets (on sale! retail was over $4500) changed my perception of what is important. (ten Furutech GTX-D Gold, eight Furutech GTX-D NCF Rhodium)
Mainly that anyone claiming they have THE ANSWER for all, is confusing what worked for them, with some fantasy of ’universal law’.
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With the $500 CD player on $10K speakers, main thing is it will sound bad.
With the $10K CD player on the $500 speakers, it will sound like $500 speakers. (which to some folks will also sound bad, but different bad.)
The other problem is you have to have some sort of AMPLIFIER included.. So is the amp high end? or another $500 gizmo.
Seriously I would take my old used $250 DAC, plus a $40 eBay changer, $400 for 2 pair cables used amplifier ($2500) used preamp ($1500 ) and a $6000 pair of new speakers.
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