beryllium vs diamond

Verdant that you for the kind words.

What we find so fascinating is how many uber technical guys here think that system matching is bunk and that amplifiers, cabling, and digital front ends don't dramatically or subtitly alter the sound.

We can tell you even with subtitle changes in an amp, digital and cables that those subtitle changes add up and up and up until bam different sounding system.

In the one gentleman who states that he heard different digital front ends and they didn't radically change the sound, we say he heard dacs that were very similarly voiced, like if you had three ESS Sabre dac based units, vs an AKM and Burr Brown, (however the analog stage of the dac also makes a big dif) if you compare a Mytek super clean clear defined to an IFI DSD a tube based dac which sounds lush your system is going to sound different. 

The other funny issue is the guys who don't subsribe to cabling making a big difference we did one demo where an expensive power cable made an $8k dac outperform a $20k one with a much cheaper power cord.

Audio is a lot like cooking, too sweet add salt, too salty add sweet.

Our analogy that a high pefromance car is the sum of all of its parts and not just the engine is an analogy that most people can clearly grasp. 

Simply taking a crashed Ferraris 660 hp engine and putting into your Toyota Camry will not equil the performance of the Ferrari. 

Audio is all about synergies and finding systems and components that work together to create magic. 

When we get in a new loudspeaker the testing process is not just listening to it and positioning it, sometimes that means changing out cabling, or dacs or trying different electronics to acchieve the sound quality we are looking for. 

Sometimes you get lucky and new speakers just work perfectly and other times that requires a rebalancing.

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ

@Audiotroy  I have no POV on swapping wires and the impact it can have on sound.  My experience is largely with lower end cables in direct swaps with mid-fi systems.  The exception is Kimber who I have partnered with.  I use their wire inside my speakers and in my demo rooms and can only say that my systems have never sounded better.  I have never done any formal testing with power cables.  Though a person I have a lot of respect for reported some results of power cable testing and said the results were not subtle but that gauge was a bigger driver than manufacturer.  Again, I have no formal POV.

Regarding speakers, am pairing is critical but some speakers are more sensitive to changes in amplifiers than others.  There are some speakers that will expose tiny changes in amplification and it is rarely a good thing.  It is usually when the speaker is so forward that it is brutally fatiguing.  

I have a hypothesis on why.  My feeling is, based on T/S parameters, there is an optimal crossover design for a speaker combination in a perfectly damped box. Reality deviates from that optimal scenario.  The further you deviate, the more sensitive the speakers will become to small changes in amplification.  That is a hypothesis that is unproven but supported by my empirical observations.  I am looking forward to testing the theory through the years.

What I sometimes find is that a speaker that might not be as "exciting" and dynamic in a short test might prove to be the better choice long term because it will be less fatiguing.  The goal is creating a speaker that is revealing and can deliver amazing detail without being forward.  My hypothesis is the answer is in the cabinet and it's overall ability to dampen rather than the drivers themselves.  

Additionally, there is an inherent "sonic character" to a speaker.  You can change amps and make a speaker better but if you just don't like the fundamentals of what the speaker does, a swap in amplification may mitigate the issue to some extent but will likely never completely resolve someones underlying distaste.

I will offer an example from my own line when showing at AXPONA.  Like my partner company Art Audio, we don't have a "house sound."  The goal is to make the ultimate expression using specific component parts and let the sound fall where it may.  

My Nightshade speaker is very soulful.  Wonderful detail but decidedly colored.  They make horns and female voices shine like the sun.  My Blackthorn's are precise and analytic.  Sound is intended to be very true.  Through the three days at AXPONA, I had dozens of consumers in and we would make hot swaps between the speakers in the middle of songs so they could hear the difference. 

No one thought the differences were subtle.  As many people would say something along the lines of; I get the Blackthorn.  It is "accurate" but it lacks the soul of the Nightshade and is a bit to "audiophile" for my taste.  Others would say, I get the Nightshade.  It is soulful and female voices sound great, but I love the Balckthorn because it delivers more of a pure, "Audiophile" sound.  

In my opinion, no amp swap, no cable swap, no change in source is going to change the underlying character of those two speakers.  They are very intentionally, radically different speakers.  If you love one, you probably won't love the other.  

That being said, at some point I really want to stop into your store.  I live in CT and my manufacturing is in PA.  I drive through NJ frequently.  Next time I make that trip I think I will reach out and schedule an appointment to see you guys.  

I fear that too often the word synergy in audio is used to describe overcoming the sonic problems of one component by matching them with another component whose sonic problems are the polar opposite. 

jsautter, I think you are on the right path. All anyone can ever do with problems is compound them. Not that you can't tune your system to sound a certain way with the attractive characteristics of certain components. In spite of my system being very solid state and digitized I use a tube phono amp because it fits my concept of what vinyl should sound like. 

Jasutter, then where does perfect sound lie? Is there such a thing as a perfect dish, a perfect car, a perfect wife, or husband?

Everything made by man is imperfect, even if you subscribe to the we make everything camp, with companies such as Burmester or T+A you will invariably come to the realization that somewhere along the lines you will find a better something out of that chain.

Take for example Naim, Naim makes great components, their speakers were decent never great, and their cabling is okay at best.

However, Naim’s electronics are excellent when used with many speakers sounds fantastic and we did a shootout of the Naim power cables vs the AQ and again no contest there and the stock Naim speaker cables are easlily out gunned by companies such as Wireworld.

We have the outstanding T+A electronics and their wonderful reference class CD/SACD player Dac, however, again, the Light Harmonic Davinci and the Aqua Forumula did sound even better. Also their cables weren’t good.

So the moral of the story is that nirvanah in any brand is very difficult and you really need to judge each component in a chain and see what each piece does and if you can get better results by moving into a different companies products in each catagory,

Sometimes company A’s amplifier and preamplifier is magical, sometimes mixing company A’s preamp tube with company B’s solid state amplifier will be magical.

Sometimes Company A’s amp and preamp and digital will be magical while other times adding an entirely different companies CD player or Dac will sound better.

If you belong to the mix and match approach s best camp, you will invariably be using the best of each product catagory that you have found which works well with the other parts, unless your favorite brand makes, loudspeakers, electronics, cabling, and sources, you will have to try something else.

The other thing is that when you have all the same everything like in a Burmester system you are subsribing to one companies vision of what sounds good which may or may not be a 100% what you find pleasing.

This is the point where mixing and matching different brands and different producdts might flavor the system to give you 100% off what you want. 

Think of it like cooking if a dish is too salty add sugar, conversely if a dish is too sweet add salt the addtion of the sugar or salt is not frowned upon, the finished dish is celebrated as tasting delicious.

Our approach is too judge each part in a chain individually.

Sometimes the best systems are all made out of different components sometimes it is the same compaies amp and preamp with other companies digital.

The nice thing about high end is that you can subsribe to any camp.

We have heard all Linn systems as well as all Burmester and many others over the years. No ones approach is right it is up to you to find what you enjoy.

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ