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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
sabai OP
2,027 posts
 
Mechans,
Thanks for this observation. I will be rolling tubes soon and look forward to listening to the difference between various 6DJ8 tubes.
sabai OP
2,027 posts
 
When I stated that the sound was awful -- thin and lifeless -- with the switch in Oyaide plugs, I should have clarified my statement. I did not say that the sound stage collapsed. It did not. I did not say that the holography disappeared. It did not. I did not say that the detail was no longer there. It still is there. I did not say that the dynamics disappeared. They did not. I did not say that the transparency was no longer there. It still is there. What I was referring was that ineffable thing we call musicality -- the fullness and the realness and the sense of being there. When my system was less developed I would not have perceived this change in sound with the change in plugs. But I do now, thanks to the evolution of my system over the past 6 years.
sabai OP
2,027 posts
 
Onhwy61,
With all due respect, there is no hole anywhere -- except the hole that is perceived by those who wish to see one where there is none.

There is just a lack of understanding by those who do not know what having a system based on using cables and other elements in series is all about. I will be glad to list my components but listing my whole system would be of absolutely no use because the sound depends on the synergy provided by cables and tweaks and other elements and unless you have a system like this you can only speculate -- which has little value. It's like talking about vanilla when you have never tasted it. Everyone has the right to his or her opinion -- but some opinions are more valid than others -- especially those based on direct experience.

MY SYSTEM

1. Marantz PM 15 integrated amplifier (original 1993 version).
2. Joseph Audio Pulsar monitor speakers.
3. AMR DP-777 DAC.
4. PS Audio PerfectWave transport.

I have upwards of 20 Bybee products in my system and upwards of 20 Oyaide products in my system -- plus many other tweaks including Shakti Hallographs and many so-called quantum tweaks.

By the way, I also run an isolation transformer (non-balanced) from a Tesla Plex SE wall receptacle into another Tesla Plex wall receptacle into a Monarchy power regenerator into a Synergistic Research PowerCell Mark II power conditioner into a Bybee Stealth power conditioner.

Would anyone like to comment? All opinions are welcome.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,281 posts
 
Sabai,

Have you ever tried or considered a separate power and pre_amp as a possible tweak?

From what i read about your joseph speakers, a heftier power amp + the ability to physically isolate preamp from power amp better might offer an advantage.

Good power conditioning is a good tweak usually. With power amps or even integrateds be sure the output current delivery capabilities of the conditioner does not introduce a bottleneck for performance that might not exist otherwise.
douglas_schroeder
3,281 posts
 
Yes, I have had the experience where one "step" so to speak has the power to confer far more than expected change to a rig. In fact I wrote about it and have been using it as I described in my Audio Blast article on Discrete Opamp Rolling the Eastern Electric Minimax DAC Plus.

I call the use of aftermarket discrete Opamps like the DEXA NewClassD or the Burson with the EE DAC a "digital toolkit," which is able to fundamentally alter the source, and thereby the system. I have literally saved the sound of systems costing many tens of thousands by simply rolling discrete Opamps and thereby playing to the strengths of the components.

Do I care if others can't figure out why that can be? No. Do I argue over it? No. People will either accept my advice or not. So be it. The ones who do will discover an exceptionally powerful way to make any system quite appealing to their ears for the grand price of about $1,500 for the DAC and four sets of discrete Opamps.

I disagree, however, with the premise that you can never do too much tinkering. When non-efficacious items outside the signal path are used in a vain attempt to alter the sound, then one has entered the realm of too much tinkering. There are a lot of audiophiles wasting their time and money on ridiculous "tweaks" instead of conducting serious system building, which would move their rig toward a different sound.
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