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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
douglas_schroeder
3,281 posts
 
It needs to be stated that there WILL be a tradeoff for all this "holographic" sound; the trade off will be a loss of detail/defintion. It is impossible to keep interrupting/adding to the signal path and have an absolute increase in definition and detail.

For this reason I keep my signal path as short as possible.

The "holographic" sound can be generated readily enough via products which treat the signal, i.e. cables with networks, room correction devices, etc. I find these all to ultimately fail my Law of Efficacy as they all detract from the sound quality as much as enhance it. I fear the daisy chaining of cables would do similarly.

I have not yet, but do intend on testing this with XLR cables.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,341 posts
 
Look, if continuous tweaking is what floats one boat or keeps one of trouble, then by all means have at it and tweak away.

I guess I'm more of a music person. The gear tweaks, etc. is just a means to an end for me. Once I am there I am done until something changes. I find I place less and less value in esoteric tweaks these days than in past when perhaps my gear was not performing up to snuff and I did not have the knowledge and finances needed to get the fundamental things right first.
chadeffect
586 posts
 
I have never heard the MBL speakers sound anything but defuse and phasey. Probably a room boundary issue.

A big magnepan would get you just as far if not further IMHO. The money you save could go towards SOTA amplification.
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
Mapman wrote,

"mbl set up really well are hard to best in the holography dept."

I heard them at the Vegas Show, actually I couldn't help but hear them as the Mbl room was next door to the room I was in. I did visit the Mbl room, which had the complete Mbl system including amps the size of Volkswagons but I thought the system sounded pretty irritating.
sabai OP
2,027 posts
 
Douglas_schroeder,
I beg to differ. If there were a loss in detail with any item added to my system, that item would not be in my system. If the use of series cabling and "tweaks" were detracting from the sound I would have abandoned this approach long ago. I do not have the time or money to waste on things that do not work.

On the contrary, each and every cable and "tweak" in series adds significantly to the sound. There is no "trade off" or "loss" whatsoever. The facts are the exact opposite of what your comments state. Every series cable and "tweak" enhances the sound in my system. I am extremely meticulous in what I do. I test each addition to the system with my reference CDs. I look for even the slightest loss of detail or definition. These are CDs I have played thousands of times. They are chosen for their subtle qualities.

You stated that "It is impossible to keep interrupting/adding to the signal path and have an absolute increase in definition and detail." I'm sorry but you are absolutely incorrect on this point. If you travel to Asia please let me know and we'll have you over for a good home-cooked meal and a nice listening session. I have no doubt whatsoever that you will change your mind after you listen to my system.

According to your reasoning, if I have 20 Bybee products in my system there should be a noticeable degradation in the quality of the sound with each Bybee product added. But the opposite is actually what happens. I imagine this is similar to what Nordost claims for their Quantum Q4X. The positive effects are cumulative.

Mapman,
Your lighthearted comment missed the point completely when you stated, "Look, if continuous tweaking is what floats one boat or keeps one of trouble, then by all means have at it and tweak away." It is as though you think I an doing this just for fun. I am not in audio for fun. This is a serious pursuit for me. I do not waste time or money on things that do not work -- certainly not the time and money I have invested in my audio system. If you think that Jack Bybee's products are "esoteric tweaks" I imagine you have never heard what they can do for a good system. They are as fundamental in my system as components.
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