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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
22,308 posts
 
Csontos,

I would tend to agree that the home audio territories we are discussing are very well understood and not all that complicated on grand scale of things.

No doubt there are still some frontiers though. You can explore on your own or hire a guide. If you hire a guide, be sure you can trust them....
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
Mapman wrote,

"Personally, as one who seeks perfection in my home audio sound (yet knows that is not likely to happen 100%) I tend to want to well exceed the 80/20 rule when it comes to home audio matters. I would say I want my rig to achieve 90% or better of what is possible in theory. Some tweaking will be necessary to get that but realizing the fundamentals has a good chance of putting one in the game based on the Pareto Principle.. "

You appear to assume in advance what 100% sounds like, so it would be rather difficult to say you have achieved 80 or 90%, or whatever. Besides, there is no consensus for what constitutes "what is possible in theory," as you put it. Any limit or ceiling or percentage is strictly artificial or imagined. The only thing you can logically conclude is that you've gotten your system to sound as good as it sounds to you.

Cheers
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,308 posts
 
Geoff.

Each of us can obviously only assess relative to what each of us have actually heard.

In my case and I'm sure in the case of many other experienced listeners I have heard a lot of live music and home and pro systems over the years. Many performances, many venues, many genres of music, many systems including many high end systems. I have a lot of practical reference in this area as I am sure many do.

So what I mean by what one can expect "in theory" is each person's personal experiences and understandings.

Theory is probably a poor choice of words in this case. ITs really more about having a reference standard and then attempting to hit it.
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
Mapman wrote,

"Each of us can obviously only assess relative to what each of us have actually heard."

Yes! That's the whole problem in a nutshell.

Cheers
sabai OP
2,027 posts
 
Charles1dad,
You make a good point. There are many different destinations in this vast audio world. Not everyone has the same wants and needs. So, to quote someone famous, "different strokes for different folks".

Mapman,
With no Bybees and single cabling you can only speculate about the kind of system that I have created. There is nothing wrong with speculation as long as we realize it for what it is. But those who have experience with what I have done will have opinions that are of higher value because they are based on actual experience and not simply speculation.

Mapman,
When I was referring to hot air it was in regards to making speculative statements that have no basis in actual fact. They are what I call hot air -- no experience behind them. Everyone takes their own approach -- which does not mean that a radically different approach should be regarded lightly or summarily dismissed because of preconceived notions that may or may not be correct.

Mapman,
Simple for simple sake may not be the answer to better sound. It is very easy for me to figure out what is going on with any single item in my system. I take it out and listen. I put it back in and I listen. The ears will tell very quickly, or after an appropriate break-in interval, whether it is adding or subtracting -- and to what extent -- or if it is more or less neutral. So, yes, my system very often does not sound right if the item added is not improving things. So, out it goes and then it sounds right again.

Mapman,
Different strokes for different folks. You abandoned complex for simple, I abandoned simple for complex. Yes, it is quite complicated and takes a lot of time and effort and money. But, for me, the rewards have been more than worth the time and the effort and the money.

Chadeffect,
You make a good point. I have no experience with the internal Bybee purifiers. I only have the plug-and-play versions in my system and they are all amazing. Otherwise -- out they would have gone.

Mapman,
The "tweaks" in my system have made such a fundamental improvement to the sound that I consider them as fundamental as components.

Mapman,
By the way, Bybee "tweaks" are so unrecognized and underrated in the audio community that I was lucky to pick most of them up at a very reasonable price. The cumulative price was quite substantial, I will admit. And, by the way, there is no "quicksand" in my system. And, by the way, I don't work on percentages. I just use what works. If that amount to 20% or 40% of my system then so be it. I am only interested in the best possible results.
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