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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
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,739 posts
 
I do think that clean power, however that is achieved in any particular listener's case, helps. I have heard this to be the case even when I first introduced my modest Monster power strip into my system.

There are many threads here on A'gon about the effects of having clean power and how to go about assuring or achieving it. My recommendation would be to handle it once at the source via a power conditioner suitable for the task at hand. The best/most respected ones also provide specifications that clearly indicate power/current delivery and noise filtering capabilities so one can make an educated decision about which one to try. Wires/power cords and many other esoteric tweaks seldom provide much of anything in terms of specifications or other measurable attributes that can be used to make an educated decision. Even if it turns out a particular gadget seems to work, why it does what it appears to do is still a mystery and the chances of similar results being repeated elsewhere in any kind of predictable manner is probably low.
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
Mapman wrote,

"Wires/power cords and many other esoteric tweaks seldom provide much of anything in terms of specifications or other measurable attributes that can be used to make an educated decision."

That is SO funny. If you ever bothered to get up out of that Lazy Boy and take a look around, you might find that things have changed since the 1980s. :-) All major brands of audiophile cables and power cords, Cardas, Audioquest, Nordost, to name a few of the big boys, provide specs for their products. Power cords are required to Meet certain standards and specifications. Only a backsliding mossback would lump wires and cables in with esoteric tweaks. Besides, any yutz with ears knows that specs are meaningless. For anything. Welcome to the next century. :-)
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,739 posts
 
" any yutz with ears knows that specs are meaningless"

Well, then I guess I am not a yutz with ears, neophyte or otherwise.

GEoff, with you as ones guru, I am sure most anything of actual value is pretty meaningless.
csontos
1,311 posts
 
The most educated decision you can make if you're reading this thread is to understand and follow Al's responses, however sometimes veiled they may be. He can be far too diplomatic at times imo. But he's been pretty clear here once you've weeded through it. The thing with conditioners is that when you use your power at the optimal time of day, it'll probably sound better without it. Biggest difference I've experienced with that issue is when I installed a dedicated line. I once accidentally plugged my amp into the wrong strip and wondered what was wrong till I noticed it. Very significant difference when I changed it back. That and decent interconnects/speaker cables with large enough awg. is what you need to realize the potential of your gear. The probable non-existent change you'll realize by spending huge money on gimmicky products is far better spent on a nicer piece of gear.
sabai OP
2,027 posts
 
Csontos,
Regarding your competence to judge this matter on more than a "my-opinion" basis, please let us know how many Bybee products you have in your system and if you are running them in series with HiDiamond power cords, interconnects, digital cable and speaker cables and a equivalent line-up of Synergistic Research active cables.

Once you fill us in with the details of your system we will have a basis on which to judge if you have enough experience in this area to make competent judgments about the systems of others who are doing series cabling. Please give us the details of your system and your cabling.
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