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Miracles in Audio, by luck, by good choices,by design or by tweaking...

I owned a low cost headphone for many years, the Fostex TH7B, first version( a new one close version exist Fostex TH7BK), semi-open headphone...I was never completely satisfied by any headphones I ever owned: Hifiman 400, Stax basic lamda, Stax 5 gold,Akg 340,Akg 701, beyerdynamic 990, and T150... Because in each of them with all their qualities I never listen to at the same times, a confortable headphone with natural timbre and voicing, with a good imaging and a realistic soundstage(not too close to my ears)...


For the last days I tweaked this Fostex, to damp his internal resonance I used sorbothane, I put some shungite stones at the exterior part of the cups and I use some Herkimer diamond in the interior pads( 3 at 120 degree) … Now this low cost headphones crush all my others if I sum all his qualities... For example his mids and voicing cannot beat the AKG 340 but among all my other headphones it is the best that is near that mids and it is more confortable, and with longer cable than the 340...His imaging is better and more realistic than the 340 etc etc...It is the same if I compare with the others...


His most important qualities is natural timbre and clear imaging,very precise pinned point accuracy and natural, so clear it crush for that ALL the others to dust...In the French audio circle the reviews were more than very positive few years ago...Diapason d’or and choc Classica...I am not the only one impressed buy the ratio quality/price... But remember that thesae reviewers dont tweak their headphone...The difference between before and after the tweaks are staggering...


Yes Miracles happens in Audio: cost is under 100 American dollars... Few years ago they cost me 50 bucks new... I never dreamed that I will go back to headphones...


I will enjoy your miracles stories of any kind ….My best to all...
mahgister
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mahgister OP
13,800 posts
 
No Herkimer is more potent than quartz try them...Herkimer are more impactful positively, not so simple with all kind of quartz...I put them on a stone I want to be more impactful in my grid...

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mahgister OP
13,800 posts
 
The 3 more potent stones I know are in order : Shungite( may damage sound if too much near some gear but act more on the environment of the sound), Herkimer (enhancer and clarifier of sound), Tourmaline (clarity of sound)...They are useful in audio, and without them really my actual system does not please me...


Some other stones are interesting and I use them...varieties of Quartz, pink, lemurian etc they all have their particularities...Audible...


Agathe of Madagascar and amethyst are good also but way less potent act more on timbre …. I like the effect of Kambaba Jasper, this kind of stone had an effect very special on the imaging of the sound in space... Jade or his cousin nephrite also but more tenderly...I love nephrite...
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mahgister OP
13,800 posts
 
Remember that cabling the stones augment their compensating mutual influence and power (the thinner the cable the better with some battery)

If I take off my stones my soundspace decrease between my speakers without any depth...In nearfield listening or normal listening...In my headphone or in my speakers the effect is the same and audible ...
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mahgister OP
13,800 posts
 
For me the greatest scientist of the 2 last centuries,after Newton of course and Galileo is Goethe...And Goethe love stones and crystals...Soul of nature, ears of sound, the stones really listen better than any human ears...
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mahgister OP
13,800 posts
 
I listen now a files that I listened to the last time 45 years ago on a turntable with Tannoy speakers....David Munrow medieval music Art of the Netherlands....And the effect is speaker- like in my headphone cheap Fostex with Herkimer and each cup damped with sorbothane and the headband also damped for negative resonance; for sure also with shungite on each of  the cup... … I remember each sound of this marvellous interpretation like yesterday because the sound from my Fostex now is the same that from my speakers at these times... In my other headphone that does not sound so much like 45 years ago with this astounding bass voice behind....The most important factor for me in music listening is the naturalness of the timbre and after that imaging...
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