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Miracles in Audio, by luck, by good choices,by design or by tweaking...

I owned a low cost headphone for many years, the Fostex TH7B, first version( a new one close version exist Fostex TH7BK), semi-open headphone...I was never completely satisfied by any headphones I ever owned: Hifiman 400, Stax basic lamda, Stax 5 gold,Akg 340,Akg 701, beyerdynamic 990, and T150... Because in each of them with all their qualities I never listen to at the same times, a confortable headphone with natural timbre and voicing, with a good imaging and a realistic soundstage(not too close to my ears)...


For the last days I tweaked this Fostex, to damp his internal resonance I used sorbothane, I put some shungite stones at the exterior part of the cups and I use some Herkimer diamond in the interior pads( 3 at 120 degree) … Now this low cost headphones crush all my others if I sum all his qualities... For example his mids and voicing cannot beat the AKG 340 but among all my other headphones it is the best that is near that mids and it is more confortable, and with longer cable than the 340...His imaging is better and more realistic than the 340 etc etc...It is the same if I compare with the others...


His most important qualities is natural timbre and clear imaging,very precise pinned point accuracy and natural, so clear it crush for that ALL the others to dust...In the French audio circle the reviews were more than very positive few years ago...Diapason d’or and choc Classica...I am not the only one impressed buy the ratio quality/price... But remember that thesae reviewers dont tweak their headphone...The difference between before and after the tweaks are staggering...


Yes Miracles happens in Audio: cost is under 100 American dollars... Few years ago they cost me 50 bucks new... I never dreamed that I will go back to headphones...


I will enjoy your miracles stories of any kind ….My best to all...
128x128mahgister
mahgister's avatar
mahgister OP
13,207 posts
 
A LAST THING, remember that audiophiles are sometimes ready to pay big money for a little change in their imaging or soundstage or bass etc...


I am also an amateur of good sound but I dont have big money... The change I observe toward improvement and a better musical experience were sometimes spectacular in my audio system and way more astounding sometimes than just a normal upgrading effect... My system nude without nothing to improve the electrical grid, the acoustic of the room, without controls of the bad resonance, my system before is no comparison at all with his state after...


The money I pay in trials and errors to pick the right headphone, the right dac, the right amplifier ,the right speakers were a few thousand dollars... But the cost of my actual system of choice is around 600 bucks in total perhaps less...( I bought TOTL vintage and used except the dac)


The cost to improve it to his optimal level is around a 600 bucks for the different stones only...The cost for treating my room is low and homemade, same thing for the cost of vibrations controls except for some more costly product...

ALL in ALL the cost of the " therapeutical" means must be equal to the cost of the audio system...

But after all that I am way more impermeable to marketing influence ,hype, new product, because my audio system gives me real music now not a frustrating interesting noise that I would upgrade by unsatisfaction each weeks God gives to us...
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,511 posts
 
I’m all for inexpensive or just plain practical  home grown tweaks that work. Smart audiophiles do it all the time. Rugs, fuses, furniture, plants.....you name it.
mahgister's avatar
mahgister OP
13,207 posts
 
I am in the same league with you about that Mapman...Most of my tweaks are homemade...


For example to controls vibrations of my gear I use a sandwich of different materials that " couple-decouple" at the same times in some filtering way the transmission of vibrations and resonance... A level with quartz feet, granite plate, pieces of sorbothane, another granite plate, 4 large cork feet, bamboo plate, other sorbothane pieces... This same sandwich is under my speakers and under my dac, and under my amplifier... All that is on my desk (I know that this is not an ideal location but it is like it must be in my room now)… When the speakers are playing I touch my desk and sense no vibrations at all...The level of vibration is indeed minimal... The cost of that is around 100 bucks...

And I will improve it greatly one day with a quartz crystal sand bed (an Acoustic Revive idea) and some springs for the dac and amp.( the springs are an idea of Geoffkait)… My other project are the preparation of sand crystals bands for cables (an idea of Whostolethebatmobile), and the homemade fabrication of room resonator with brass bowl ( this idea comes from some audio designers that sell it at too costly price for my purse, except Geoffkait that sell some at reasonable price).
mahgister's avatar
mahgister OP
13,207 posts
 
An example of the power of the stones to affect sound quality :

I add shungite to the exterior cups of the orthodynamic Fostex T10, and at the jack at the end of cable, I wrapped in a bag a mix of 4 mm lava beads with 4 mm chrysocolla beads + one Herkimer diamond of 8 mm...The results is astounding...The sound coming from the T10 is now more around my head than just around my brain if you know what I means... The imaging improve but especially the soundstage is more coherent, and more holographic...I am in love with the T10 now... And I had not even damped it yet...This rare vintage orthodynamic is the best of my headphone now but with the stones, without them no way...He replace the marvellous cheap and modified dynamic Fostex TH-7b in my heart ...


You can doubt what I say, you can trust what I say, I dont give a damn... But this year instead of expansive upgrade use your actuel audio system and improve it at low cost in the 3 directions I had described, the electro magnetic grid of the house and of the gear, the acoustic atmosphere of the room, the vibrations resonance field of the audio system.... You will perhaps thanks me later...
mahgister's avatar
mahgister OP
13,207 posts
 
MKGUS if you want going on with the stones, buy 200 grams of chrysocolla beads and put them at various location with the shungite and the tourmaline you already have... Rotate them, or add them together, try every variation or location and you will discovered the optimal use...Chrysocolla is a powerful stone indeed like malachite but cheaper...But before going on with too many stones, you must treat your room first, improve the resonance vibrations controls of your gear...
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