Happy Holidays to all regardless of what equipment you use. BTW; I just received "Midnight Sugar" by Yamamoto, Tsuyoshi Trio and three of their other CD's. I'm listening to Midnight Sugar right now and all I can say is Wow! A very good trio and well recorded, dynamic CD. Best regards, |
@lak that's what I'm talking about. The music on that cd is intoxicating. It is a ealy great recording. My revel studio2 and my high fidelity ultimates plugged in to the arc ref3 give this recording snap, drive and musicality that is off the charts. I like to hear about audiophiles enjoying the music and turning off the background noise. That is a great trio and recording. Very high quality. I'm out in Houston but I can't wait to get back home to fire my system up. I will post another suggestion soon. |
@lak I have 2 suggestions for you. One is called "Two Shade" by Gerald Clayton. The other is called "Alive" by Hiromi. These are two really good albums. The other piano album I suggest is called "saturday morning" by ahmad Jamal. He is 85 years old and has been recording for 60 plus years. This last cd is smoking. Lol. Give it a try. This material with the high fidelity ultimates you have will be complete ear candy. |
08-11-14: Badman "System Wide" is unambiguous and includes loudspeakers. They're all just handwaving claims, meaningless and absurd. "3rd party" is a copout, and doesn't stand in any industry. Whose data, whose test did you use? Are they legit or someone you paid to produce false data to substantiate your claims? Laboratories LOVE to have their name referenced when they performed testing, it's free advertising. The only reason it's not mentioned is because it's a sham. Proper test results are a great marketing tool, and if they could do what they claimed, they would be used by military, nasa, everyone and their brother.
It's impossible to reduce "System wide" THD and IMD by 14% in the cables, since the cables are not meaningful contributors of these types of distortion. Cables cannot positively influence the operating behavior of properly working gear in THD and IMD. SNR improvement of 1.5dB is within typical measurement variance- someone's cell phone being in their pocket can make that difference, or broadcast schedules, or freeway traffic, or or or...... but I don't take issue with that 1.5dB claim, which is entirely possible.
Take a look at Stereophile. They measure amplifiers, preamplifiers, speakers, DACs, but not cables- why? Because cables don't show up on measurements in a meaningful way, unless they're broken (and "not nice enough" doesn't qualify as broken). Note that this is within audio cables specifically- when you get into true high power and/or high frequency design, every little thing gets more complex including cables, but we're talking about the audio band here.
Every person disagreeing with me has one simple task to "win". Show meaningful distortion measurements from an audio cable (not claimed nonsense measurements by some unnamed 3rd party, proper measurements with methodology, etc). Any audio cable. If it were a big enough issue to reduce system distortion by 14%, you'd better believe it would have published measurements- just like every other type of gear around. Such testing doesn't exist, because cables don't add meaningful THD, IMD, or most other measureable distortions. Noise is definitely one area where they can contribute but 1.5dB is NOTHING.
While I'm not an audioholics fan, this testing does indicate that there are not significant THD components derived from the cables themselves, which would be a prerequisite for achieving the claimed improvements. These are at levels well below a typical system's noise and distortion floor, even with loudspeakers excluded.
www.audioholics
Use 'em, enjoy 'em, I don't really care- there are legitimate mechanisms by which cables can introduce their own sound into a system. THD and IMD claims of this magnitude are outright lies. Badman (Reviews | Answers | This Thread)
Badman, I think some of your points are valid. Maybe TBG or someone with Rick's ear can garner a better explanation of said results. A more interesting topic would be magnetism and audio and its effects on RFI, EMI and potential "timing errors" in the music that was highlighted by software co-developed by Vertex and Nordost: http://www.stereophile.com/rmaf2010/nordost_and_vertex_measurements/index.html Badman, what are cables doing in your opinion if anything? |
After several attempts to allow HFC cables a proper break-in...mostly due to HFC model upgrades, I am pleased to proclaim my system is sounding more musical than ever. I have a combination of HFC UR interconnects, Hidiamond speaker cable and power cords, plus an HFC URR power cord feeding the conditioner. Lower noise floor, better extension, excellent and non-exaggerated imaging/staging...and plainly, less colored throughout.
That being said, I share the sentiment of some, who feel the unrelenting barrage of superlatives by the daily crowd is not merely tawdry, but suspicious. These cables, in my opinion do not require iterated and re-iterated laudations from the same 5 or 6 members. I mean we get it. You love em...can't and will never wire with anything else. I get it. I can see comments when upgrading, but reports of another night of bliss? Does begin to smell.
The discussion on price is another story. All the wires I have bought have been on the used market for substantially less than retail. Sabai, I do not know if your home-constructed cables perform as well as, or better than HFC...you'll never know until you try a set...so what's up with the attempt to disparage a product you are inexperienced with? I personally am blown away at how well my system sounds with these cables, but I do not feel compelled to convert anyone, nor do I know how well they might perform in other systems.
I do wish the gushing would end. It detracts from the substance and leads me, and apparently others to believe an on-going loop of marketing has intruded upon this thread. |