I know its probably not broken in yet, but I was just wondering what you think of your new PC so far?
Bo1972,
"Many people who say my hobby is audio often are not even happy with it. This says a lot. So be aware!!!"
In many cases, I think people expect too much from an audio system. When that happens, they don't look at things with a "healthy" mindset. There's no better example than cables. When you first start out, most people think its crazy that cables will make a difference you can hear. (I'm no exception). Then when you are to see they do make a difference, people tend to become excited over this and forget the rest of the system. When that happens they have no focus and forget its very important to have balance in a system.
"Wenn people say: audio is my hobby. Many times I have my doubts. I did visit people with audio sets over 70.000 euro and they had about 30-40 cd's. I saw it as my job to let them know that at the end it should be about music, never about audio."
You're absolutely correct. Its one of the biggest reasons people fail or give up on audio. There's no sense running around with the same handful of audiophile recordings to test equipment if thats not what you want to listen to. A system needs to be built around your musical tastes and the recordings you listen, to in order for you to be happy.
I am aware of the reason why people change so often with cables. And yess they are nog happy with there set. Many people can not hear directley all the parts in audio what should be there. Wenn they are nog happy with the high freq. for example, they focus only on this part. Wenn they change a cable, source or amp and they fixes this problem. Some time later they get aware of another flaw. It is the combination of the limited knowledge of the people who buy it ( they are Always responsible for there own sold stuff) and they people who sell it. 2 months ago at the show were I was I made on monday a tour with my own cd's. Mannn I was listening to flaw's of other distributers. Many of them really do not understand music and audio. Here is were the problem starts!!
Hi Zd542, My Amp is at Krell, even thou I will be useing the cobalt power cord on my digital player, with out the amp, LOL!, I currently have no tunes!, However, I do want to clear one thing up here, the conversation above I do not remotely fall in any of the catorgorys of people at all, I use a full loom of Taralabs best cables period, I am very happy with the out come of the music!I do not change cables!, I am simply adding more of the matching cables of what I do own! I Am very, very Happy with my set!,, The funny thing is, I have said this many, many times!, I am building a system that I can Ride off into the sunset with!, there you go, I do not have the ocd, obsession, or what ever else there is to say!, I do not care what comes out tomorrow that is better!, a great sound for today will never become obsolete tomorrow! and at the end of the day, my set has complete balance, I have been doing this for so long, and specialize in resonance tunning, that I have never seen a dealer, or distributor do a better set than what I have ever built!, no offense!, please, I am sorry to believe that, I have traveled litterally half the total united states, gave many siminaires in my time about sound systems, etc..., Bo1972, you were not aware you were talking to an ex audio proffesional like your self!, Its ok, I do not want a pissing contest with no one!, I am just tring to have music in my home that does make me and my wife Happy!, cheers genleman!, Happy listening!
@ Zd542, Hi, Thankyou so much in your interest of the sound of the Taralabs cobalt power cord I just bought, I will post my thoughts latter on the sound of the cord, might be fricken november!, my amp will not be back till mid august or september, then I have to break in a renewed Krell 700cx, the cables again, etc... other words my friend, A real pain in the butt I will be going thru here!, As I said, I am litterally getting ready to ride off into the sunset!, The Krell was only 8 years old!, I need it to get ready to last!, cheers!
@ Bo1972, Thanks Bobby, As you see from the post above, It may be a couple of months on the Tara cobalt review, I will let all of you know my impresseions with a review.,, cheers!
One day ago I was on the AVS website. There was a discussion about the Plasma's ZT60/VT60 and F8500. So I thought I will make an account as well. Mannnnnnn I was very popular.....hahahahahaha. I asked people with there expierence in HDMI cables. I said I tested many and there is one which is by far the most convincing. They all believe in calibrate your screen but not in differences between hdmi cables. They did not appriciate my thoughts about cables. I even got banned from the website. And no I did not insult any person. Maybe a website not for persons like me? I guess Audiogon is a different kind of website, or am I wrong?
@Bo1972, I have found that more audio/video websites despise cables than those that discuss differences. Audiogon is one of the few where cable differences are allowed to be discussed. There are still a couple of naysayers here who pop up from time to time, but this site certainly isn't overrun by naysayers as the majority of other sites are.
@Jmcgrogan2, this was new for me. If you were not allowed to have your own oppinion. And they really believe that cables do not matter. They do not want to talk about it. How stuppid you can be? I Always say; more than 90% of everything in sound and vision is not that special. But......I Always want to Judge first before I know how good or bad it is. And wenn I do not know it, I say: I can not say anything about it. How simple things can be....
@Bo1972, there are many out there who believe in listening with their eyes. They let specifications tell them what they can and cannot hear. Go figure.
The funny thing is that I do not care about changing their perception of cables, but they seem hell bent on changing my perception of cables. I tend to just avoid those sites.
Open question: what sounds better? All other things being equal, NM10/3 copper coming directly from the breaker box and terminated at the amp/source in an IEC plug OR NM10/3 terminating at a good quality recepticle with a $10,000+ power cord?
07-03-13: Noromance Open question: what sounds better? All other things being equal, NM10/3 copper coming directly from the breaker box and terminated at the amp/source in an IEC plug OR NM10/3 terminating at a good quality recepticle with a $10,000+ power cord?
Interesting philosophical question.
My guess is that in those cases where a difference is perceivable between the two alternatives (which is not to say that a difference will always or even usually be perceivable), more often than not the good quality receptacle + $10,000 power cord will be preferable. The main reason being better rejection of EMI/RFI that may be coupled to or from the power cord and other parts of the system. That would include rejection of noise that would otherwise be generated within the connected component, fed back into its power cord, and radiated from there to other components, with unpredictable sonic effects.
Other variables, such as differences in resistance and voltage drop, and differences in responsiveness to abrupt changes in demand for current, would seem likely to be negligible between the two alternatives. And if there were any differences between the two alternatives with respect to those variables, the resulting sonic effects would certainly figure to be dependent on the designs of the specific components that are involved, IMO.
Of course, power cords providing quality shielding and noise rejection can be had for vastly less than $10,000.
Yesterday I met Bill Low from Audioquest. I had spoken to him about 5 years ago also. Also a very nive person like Jim Aud from Purist Audio Design. He still developes there new cables. They do this with only 2 persons. He still does the main part of of. Yesterday I heard the way I like it to be. Extreme 3d touchable image with blacks to die for. Just like it would be in real. Cheeeeeers!!!!
"07-02-13: Bo1972 @Jmcgrogan2, this was new for me. If you were not allowed to have your own oppinion. And they really believe that cables do not matter. They do not want to talk about it. How stuppid you can be? I Always say; more than 90% of everything in sound and vision is not that special. But......I Always want to Judge first before I know how good or bad it is. And wenn I do not know it, I say: I can not say anything about it. How simple things can be.... Bo1972 (Reviews | Threads | Answers | This Thread)
07-02-13: Jmcgrogan2 @Bo1972, there are many out there who believe in listening with their eyes. They let specifications tell them what they can and cannot hear. Go figure. "
I don't get those people either. They claim to be objective yet everything they do is subjective. They advocate the use of science to evaluate audio equipment, but they do it from such a biased and emotional standpoint the science becomes a joke. Only the tests that yield results to support the objective claims are used, while others are labeled no valid. What I find is the most amazing thing in all of this, is the amount of time they dedicate in trying to talk other people into believing they have some type of psychological issue if you disagree with them. You would think its their lifes work.
The people of AVS are F.......insane. Wenn you do not let other people give ther own opinion. You never can and will be subjective. I never met such blind people in my life before in this business. Let them be happy with there simple sets and screens with budget cables. I guess they like to limited themselves. Who am I to Judge!!!
"Now if you need eye candy there are vendors everywhere sell that to ya and all kinds of snake oil available too."
I think I found the problem. We are talking about audio cables here. You need to listen to them, not watch them. Try that and you'll get much better results.
@ mental, Hi, Cool name!,In a way, you have a good point, I do not agree with top performance cable pricing!, However, I bought into the best Taralabs makes, very over the top exspensive!, Its a cable right?, As much as I hated to pay the prices of such cables, there is no comparison to the performance you get!, I have no regrets!, what most audiophiles do not want to realize is that cables are one of the most important part of your sound set!, many times have I taken Taralabs exspensive cables and showcased them on inferior componets only to out perform much pricer componets and speakers with inferrior cables!, thats my life factual experience!, Happy Listening
@ mental, It all depends on system synergy!, As stringreen said, you should audition the cables before you buy!, In my situation, I do not need too!, I have been with the Taralabs house sound since the incarnation of their company, I simply buy componets to match my cables, If the componet does not sound shockinly good on Taralabs cables, I get rid of that componet!, leaves a narrow window for mistakes, I do not believe in mixing brands, I call that chaseing the cables by the tail syndrome!, you will never find absolution! I would need to know the amp and pre-amp in question before a recomendation!, I bought the Taralabs zero gold i/c, the Taralabs omega gold speaker cables, now the Taralabs cobalt a/c power cord with the up-graded top tier oyaide plugs terminated at the Tara factory, then I have the Tara the one i/c and speaker cables for another system, and I own the Taralabs omega jumpers for bi-amping on the main system.,,,, cheers!
"Audiolabyrinth says the Taralabs are to die for, I can try those to see if what he says is true. It's the dinero they want for a simple interconnect that costs nothing to produce that bothers me."
If you wanted to make a rectangular solid core conductor to put in an audio cable, how would you go about doing that for nothing?
07-05-13: Mental Audiolabyrinth says the Taralabs are to die for, I can try those to see if what he says is true. It's the dinero they want for a simple interconnect that costs nothing to produce that bothers me.
Keep in mind that there are many paths to audio nirvana, and Audiolabyrinth's is but one path. It works for him, and that's great, but don't fall for anyone telling you there is only one way to reach musical heaven. I've read many different opinions about many different paths over the last decade or more on these forums, some have worked, many have not. Many are simple hobbyists, while some have hidden agendas. Buyer beware.
I recently took a peek at the VH Audio internet site and liked what I saw!, Brownsfan really got my interest stirred!, man, what a great company, you can litterally make your own cables buying the material from them!,they also carried multiple name brand tweeks, etc...,, and to top it off, for all of you people that make over $40,000.00 a year and can not bring your selfs to spending money on cables that are over a $1,000.00 a meter I/Cs, this VH Audio sine a/c power cable to me is the best $800.00 retail 6 ft power cord in the market place! Congrats to Brownsfan for a great choice he made!,, cheers!
Audiolabyrinth, the Airsines are though to beat at the price. I only have one component in my system that prefers another power cord over the AirSines. VH Audio can offer a generous trial period for a reason. I'm guessing Chris doesn't get many returns. Huge bang for the buck with these power cords!
@ Brownsfan, Good to see you made it here, I Agree with everything you have said!, what an awsome company!cheers to Chris for a quality product that does not break the bank!, Happy listening!
@Mental, sometimes I think that Blue Jean cables are marketed to the old school cable skeptics who feel like they will get close to the same presentation of the music from the "comfy ol blue jeans". I can hear them now..."my ol blue jeans are just right" and I don't wanna change. Well, my linen pants feel just right too. The fabric feels even better on my skin and there is plenty of sack room. My ol Levi's are a bit restrictive in that area and a little rough at the seams. My Tara Labs Air 1 are not at all restrictive and allow my good equipment to do what it was made to do. The Blue Jeans cables just weren't capable of allowing me to hear this kind of intimate and lifelike presentation of the tunes that the Air 1 are capable of. Yeah, I had to spend a lil more $ to have this. But music is very important in my life, so it was definately worth it to me. My point is, there are somewhat inexpensive higher end cable offerings out there in the used market that will amaze you! Did me anyway. I did not realize my equipment could make music that sounded this good. IMO, it is worth the time, trouble, and $$ to find good high end cabling that works for you. You can audition many different high end cables at the Cable Co. Website and find what you like best! Then find a deal on the used marketplace. With better cabling in my system, I enjoy listening now more than ever! In fact, it is downright exciting! Hope this comes across as me trying to be helpful! LOL! Happy listening!
@ waxwaves, That was the best review you have ever wrote!, If I was A publisher for high-end audio, I would ask you to use this!,, you got humor, truth,and then the joy of music all wrapped up into one review!, cheers!
It solely depends on where you're at in your "system evolution" and how much passion you have for going to the "next level". The "next level" may be of no consequence to 99% but to you, it can be everything! Listen to no one. Judge for yourself!
Beyond Just Technology: SuperUltraHyperTechnology PYST cables are made from only the finest 6-nines Unobtanium™ alloy, molecularly assembled in our Alternate Universe™ reality-distortion tesseract field , using a secret geometry reverse-engineered from crashed UFOs, painstakingly smuggled out of Area 51 by deep-cover operatives. Performance is further enhanced by the use of a QuantConnect™ quantum-entangled pair of transmission interfaces, held at absolute zero by our exclusive Stasis Field™ technology. The cables are then wrapped in NanoAeroCap™, a nanotechnology-enabled aerogel anti-capacitance insulation system, featuring Fractal Interleaved Geometry™ to create negative inductance for maximum audio transmission quality.
I posted to this thread back in May only to fall silent again. I have made two changes to my system since I last posted. The first is earth shatteringly big (for me). I replaced my PSB Synchrony Two speakers (WAF issues, room issues) with a pair of ProAc Response D Two speakers. H O L Y Cow, Batman! What a difference! I am in love.
I tried a pair of Kimber Kable 8TC cables that fell flat....very flat after a thorough break in. I returned them. Then, I tried Morrow Audio SP5 biwired cables (5 day burn in). I immediately noticed a big improvement in sound stage, clarity, bass, etc. Piano music sounds great now. {Sure, a big part is the new speakers, but the SP5 cables make a real difference.
Have any of you tried Morrow Audio speaker cables, and what was your experience? Has anyone tried Clear Day Cables?
What else is out there that I don't have to spend $1200 on?
I honestly think many audiophiles people spent far too much on cables. Even though I use rather basic cables mostly I probably fall into the same category. I my current cables:
That is 2180euro spend of my current cables. The retail price of my entire system is about 25000euro (I did not play close to that)including cables. If you look at it like that I spent far too much on cables. I think about 5 to 8% of the system costs should be on cables.
Why do people spend so much on a simple piece of copper wire? I can honestly not tell. Yes cables can have a minor influence on the sound quality. But it is rather marginal and for digital BNC cables I am not sure if there is any difference between a 50 and 5000 euro cable.
Differences in cables is huge these days. What I do is many many blind tetst. Only wenn you do it this way people understand how big the influence is. What I said earlier: I give many blindtests with expensive amp/spource with cheap powercable or interconnect. And cheap amp/source with expensive powercable/interconnect. In most of the test people choose for the cheaper amp/source with more expensive cables. The thing is; use the right cables. There are many cables for sale who are not that great.
I have a hard time in believing that there are many "bad" cables. I think with brands like Cardas, Pink Faun, Kimber and Nordost you cannot really chose a bad cable. But I am open for suggestions. I am more or less looking for new speaker cables I live in the Netherlands.
Mordante - have you looked at Van Den Hul? - I think they are local to you :-)
I've used three of their Speaker cables and have been very happy - Currently using their 10 gauge D352 Hybrid cables with my Naim 50 Watt integrated amp - cost around $250 for 10ft pair in Canada
I have always used their bulk cable and put my own termination on them.
You can always step up to their Carbon Fibre - supposed to be completely transparent - bit pricey though
Vdhul? Are you kidding me. I am from Holland and I sold it for many years. I also did test them. There are enough better brands. VdHul is a very nice and funny person. There was a big audio show every year. Then he was waiting for me and wanted to look around with me togheter. We did this a couple of years. He is even graduated in colours at the university.
@ Mordante, Hi, Have you tried Taralabs best offerings of cables?, They have a great presatation, Not forward!, very revealing and have very good transparency with the blackest of black back grounds!, very exceptional!
Cabels like 352 with a little silver many times causes problems with the high freq. Always choose for pure copper in these price ranges. Focus of instruments and voices is less sharp than Audioquest or Kimber. The more expensive cables are no match with the better Audioquest. The differences is the better timing and superior blacks of the Audioquest.
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