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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
sabai OP
2,027 posts
 
Mapman,
For my system "tweaks" are much more than fine tuning. They are as important as components and often have as great an effect as changing a component.

Chadeffect,
When you stated "... I doubt you can reach that level of 3D performance without the tweaks." I have to agree with you completely. This is my experience after being at this for 7 years in a very active way.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,979 posts
 
"For my system "tweaks" are much more than fine tuning. They are as important as components and often have as great an effect as changing a component."

No doubt, tweaks can have a large effect as much as anything. I observe this as well with simple IC changes for example.

Again, to me, anything that changes the sound is a tweak. Changing DAC, amp, IC, power source are all tweaks to help achieve a desired goal. But not all tweaks are created equal some do nothing except change the way the user thinks, perhaps the mind matter interaction that Geoff is so fond of touting.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,979 posts
 
FWIW, I added an elliptical training machine to my larger listening room where my large OHM F5s reside yesterday. I had to do some significant re-arranging of furniture including a large cushioned couch. THe speakers remained where they are and have been for months now. Yes, the sound changed! I am of the opinion that any change to what resides in a listening room effects the sound. The only question is how much and in what way. Some effects are so small however as to not be noticeable or significant, at least to human ears.

I also have no doubt that placing certain objects close to electronic circuits may very well have an effect. Again the questions are how much, what is the change, and is it for the better or worse or perhaps even a mixed bag. I suspect the third case is the most common, ie many well designed tweaks produce a combination of both positive and negative effects. However, the mindset initially is to listen for anything that might be different as positive. Over the long term, the assessment might change as our thought patterns change. More mind/matter interaction.....
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
Mapman wrote,

"Again, to me, anything that changes the sound is a tweak. Changing DAC, amp, IC, power source are all tweaks to help achieve a desired goal. But not all tweaks are created equal some do nothing except change the way the user thinks, perhaps the mind matter interaction that Geoff is so fond of touting."

I'm afraid you're confusing tweaks with modifications or even upgrading components. Have you ever considered it might be time to change the way you think. Time to throw away all those McGuffey Readers and high school physics books.

Mapman also wrote,

"I also have no doubt that placing certain objects close to electronic circuits may very well have an effect."

Nice strawman argument but that is NOT what I'm talking about at all. I'm talking about objects, images and information that change your sensory perception, as opposed to anything that has a DIRECT effect on the audio signal ANYWHERE in the system - the power provided at the wall, cables or electronics, or the acoustic waves in the room. You can't hear the sound you worked so hard to get, the sound that's actually there in the room, because your sensory perception is hurt by the objects, patterns, images, and information - books, CDs, DVDs, telephone books, etc. - in the room. What you are hearing is a distorted, compressed, noisy facsimile of what is actually coming from the speakers. Relatively speaking, of course. You're used to it, so you believe that everything is as it should be. This is the big secret! Lol

"It's what I chose to believe". - Dr. Shaw in the movie, Prometheus
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,979 posts
 
"Have you ever considered it might be time to change the way you think. "

Have you?
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