Doug Schroeder Method, Double ic

A worthwhile tweak to try...

Regarding the mention of digital interconnections, one thing that theory can predict with certainty is that doubling a digital cable will result in a substantial mismatch between the characteristic impedance of the cable and the 75 ohm or 110 ohm impedance (for coaxial S/PDIF or balanced AES/EBU, respectively) of the components being connected.

That in turn can be predicted with certainty to cause or increase signal reflection effects at the high frequencies that are present in digital audio signals, and consequently to degrade waveform quality to some degree, in some manner. Which can certainly be expected to result in sonic differences in many and probably most systems, in part by contributing to timing jitter at the point of D/A conversion. And while those differences might turn out to be to be preferable to some listeners with some systems and some recordings, they would constitute a reduction in how accurately the recordings are being reproduced.

An interesting excerpt from this paper by Steve Nugent of Empirical Audio:

Another interesting thing about audibility of jitter is it’s ability to mask other sibilance in a system. Sometimes, when the jitter is reduced in a system, other component sibilance is now obvious and even more objectionable than the original jitter was. Removing the jitter is the right thing to do however, and then replace the objectionable component. The end result will be much more enjoyable.

Jitter can even be euphonic in nature if it has the right frequency content. Some audiophiles like the effect of even-order harmonics in tubes, and like tubes, jitter distortion can in some systems "smooth" vocals. Again, the right thing to do is reduce the jitter and replace the objectionable components. It is fairly easy to become convinced that reducing jitter is not necessarily a positive step, however this is definitely going down the garden path and will ultimately limit your achievement of audio nirvana.

Regards,
-- Al

Just today I added one more double ic on my vynil set up on my main system, this is my third set , the improvement is so consistent , music comes out effortlessly Live like....

jayctoy, yes, the effect is cumulative with successive additions. Agreed; the sense of the music being more lifelike, whether a studio or live recording, is powerful. The characteristics of a particular interconnect's properties is intensified and the entire system is changed profoundly. The experience is much more convincing as to recreation of a real event. 

" Regarding the mention of digital interconnections, one thing that theory can predict with certainty is that doubling a digital cable will result in a substantial mismatch between the characteristic impedance of the cable and the 75 ohm or 110 ohm impedance (for coaxial S/PDIF or balanced AES/EBU, respectively) of the components being connected."

+1 almarg,...well said, thanks for the rest of the message as well.

In short, this method should not be used for any digital connection that expects specific impedance, S/PDIF, AES/EBU, Word-clocking or Master clocking cabling of any kind whether 50-ohm or 75-ohm are all examples.