What Does Holographic Sound Like?


And how do you get there? This is an interesting question. I have finally arrived at a very satisfying level of holography in my system. But it has taken a lot of time, effort and money to get there. I wish there had been a faster, easier and less expensive way to get there. But I never found one.

Can you get to a high level of holography in your system with one pair of interconnects and one pair of speaker wires? I don't believe so. I run cables in series. I never found one pair of interconnects and speaker wires that would achieve what has taken a heck of a lot of wires and "tweaks" to achieve. Let alone all the power cords that I run in series. Although I have found one special cable that has enabled the system to reach a very high level of holography -- HiDiamond -- I still need to run cables in series for the sound to be at its holographic best.

There are many levels of holography. Each level is built incrementally with the addition of one more wire and one more "tweak". I have a lot of wires and "tweaks" in my system. Each cable and each "tweak" has added another level to the holography. Just when I thought things could not get any better -- which has happened many times -- the addition of one more cable or "tweak" enabled the system to reach a higher level yet.

Will one "loom" do the job. I never found that special "loom". To achieve the best effects I have combined cables from Synergistic Research, Bybee, ASI Liveline, Cardas, Supra and HiDiamond -- with "tweaks" too numerous to mention but featuring Bybee products and a variety of other products, many of which have the word "quantum" in their description.

The effort to arrive at this point with my system has been two-fold. Firstly, finding the right cables and "tweaks" for the system. Secondly, finding where to place them in the system for the best effects -- a process of trial and error. A lot of cables and "tweaks" had to be sold off in the process. I put "tweaks" in quotation marks because the best "tweaks" in my system have had as profound effect as the components on the sound. The same for the best of the cables, as well. For me, cables and "tweaks" are components.

Have I finally "arrived"? I have just about arrived at the best level that I can expect within my budget -- there are a couple of items on the way. In any case, I assume there are many levels beyond what my system has arrived at. But since I'll never get there I am sitting back and enjoying the music in the blissful recognition that I don't know what I am missing.

I should mention that there are many elements that are as important as holography for the sound to be satisfying, IMO. They include detail, transparency, coherence, tonality, and dynamics, among others. My system has all of these elements in good measure.

Have you had success with holographic sound in your system? If so, how did you get there?
sabai
Sabai, please clarify. When you say there are 5 levels of interconnects between the D/A and the integrated amp are you saying that you have daisy chained 5 different interconnects together and are using them as a "single" interconnect? And does 6 levels of speaker cable mean a similar arrangement is used between the integrated and the loudspeakers?
I think I got it. You mean only one post at a time? I don't see any problem with more than one.
Onhwy61,
There are 3 interconnects plus a Bybee product and a Combax product. That makes 5 levels. There are 3 speaker cables plus two Bybee products and one Synergistic Research product. That makes six levels.

Sabai, my experiences have been the same as yours. Before I got to where I am, Carver holography was my thing. There's no comparison with what I had and what I got.

It took years to get where I am, but fortunately "high end emporiums" existed at that time. You could pay them a visit, and mix and match various pieces of equipment. I recall one time in particular when we were grooving high on top of the line ARC electronics, and Thiel speakers, when someone came in wanting to audition a Rotel amp. Although they kept the ARC CD player, ARC preamp and Thiel speakers in the mix, the sound stage went flat, no more holography.

That illustrated that you have to have it all, and the more expensive, the better. Not only do you need top of the line equipment, but 20 or so years as an audiophile doesn't hurt either.

In regard to what it sounds like? The short answer is "heaven". When stationary instruments occupy positions on a sound stage, with a vocalist that you can reach out and touch in the center, that's heaven. I just got a new cartridge that cost more than my wife will ever know, and heaven just got a lot better.