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One Small Step ... That Transforms Your System

I just had an interesting thing happen to my system that I wanted to share.

I use PCs, SCs and ICs in series. I have talked about this in other threads and will not restate this here. Some of the patch wiring I use is Supra LoRad that I attach to other wires using a burn-in adapter. I use mostly Oyaide plugs and IECs for the DIY LoRad cables.

I am near the end of a long audio journey. After 6 years of upgrades and changes my system is finally sounding great. But, being an inveterate tinkerer, I wanted to hear the difference between an Oyaide M1 and an Oyaide P-079 upstream. The other day I substituted an F1 IEC for a C-004 IEC and the former was a big improvement. What would switching the M1 and the P-079 do to the sound? Which one would sound better upstream? I was curious. Before making the switch the P-079 was upstream. I figured there was an even chance the M1 would improve the sound. After all, it is the top of the Oyaide line, and deservedly so. I have three M1s and 3 F1s in my system.

How important is location with these little Oyaide miracle makers? Well, if you think you know about your audio system you should try a similar experiment. The M1 upstream killed the sound. Even with all the high end cables in my system humming the sound became lifeless and thin. The synergy was awful. My system needed the warmth and fullness of the P-079 upstream of the M1 to give it the beautiful sound I had been enjoying before making the change.

The fact that a single plug can change the sound so profoundly -- completely transforming it for the better or the worst in the face of high end components and cables -- is both surprising and humbling. The moral of the story is that you can never do too much tinkering to find the very best sound that your system is capable of producing.

Needless to say, back the M1 and P-79 went to their original places. Have you had an experience with your system where one small step completely made -- or ruined -- the sound?

Disclosure: I have no connection with any audio company except as a customer.
sabai
mrtennis
3,295 posts
 
one of the problems with this thread is the indefinite nayure of "large" and small changes in one's audio system.

two listeners may disagree as to whether the affect of a change is large or small.

without a more descriptive grounding of the aforementioned terms, makes this discussion moot.

what is a small step-- the change of one component ?

could one argue that a change of an interconnect is a small step ?

there is too much ambiguity here.

perhaps there is a genre of changes that would be considered small, while others, say a speaker would be considered large.

i have heard a significant change from moving one speaker one half an inch. is that a small step ??
nonoise's avatar
nonoise
10,878 posts
 
I believe one would have to be present to understand and appreciate small and large changes in someone else's system. In one's personal system, all one can do is relate the findings. Others have to take their word on it or move on or call on it. We all know what happens next: threads for days, threads with legs, ruminations that border on epic.

Having said that and keeping with the OPs question, yes, I have witnessed a rather large change just by going back to some older cables I had stored away.
The best change I've had in a great while.

All the best,
Nonoise
rok2id's avatar
rok2id
7,859 posts
 
'changes' or 'differences' do not mean much unless you put them in context. Since almost everyone has a cd or lp of Beethoven's 9th sym, why not describe for fellow members the impact your precevived 'differences' or 'changes' made when listening to the LvB Masterpiece.
Cheers
sabai OP
2,027 posts
 
Elescher,
I didn't allow any break-in time because both plugs were well broken in -- thousands of hours.

Mrtennis,
This is subjective. Each person is judging his own system. Who knows your system better than you, after all? It is not a matter of disagreeing if a change is large or small. It is up to each person to report what they hear in the system they know best -- their own. No one else is there to tell anyone what they are hearing is other than what they are hearing.

One small step -- we are obviously not talking about changing components here. They cannot be considered small. We are talking cables and tweaks and half inches. Would anyone consider one half inch a big step?

Rok2id,
The perceived changes were observable with all recordings. The sound was thin and lifeless, lacking the body, fullness and naturalness that the system is capable of producing.
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,226 posts
 
It took you six years to put together a thin and lifeless sounding system. Contradicting yourself you also describe your system as sounding great. Then you make a subtle change and the system is transformed and is now highly musical.

How many other transformative tweaks have you experimented with?
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