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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
unfairlane's avatar
unfairlane
140 posts
 
All this tweaking on a low end system is wasted maghister
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
Somebody hasn’t heard of the Hierarchy of Sound. I won’t mention any names. The gist of it is, a tweaked inexpensive system can be made to sound better than an un-tweaked moderate price system. And a tweaked moderate price system can be made to sound better than an un-tweaked expensive system. The only constraints are the ones you bring with you. 
mahgister's avatar
mahgister OP
12,987 posts
 
What is a low end system?
This is relative...

My tweaking are not a wasted Unfairlane , you have not listen to my audio system before and after the last 2 years tweaks...

And a tweaked moderate price system can be made to sound better than an un-tweaked expensive system.
Geoffkait is right on the spot....

I dont dream with a sense of urgency anymore about a high end system...I had my dreamed system in head for sure... For example to beat My Sansui AU 7700, a ZOTL Berning amplifier...

To beat my speakers that are very good one, a pair of Harbeth will do...

To beat my Starting Point Systems dac at lea the best of  Denafrips  theTerminator will do...

Total cost with power supply around 15,000 thousands...

My actual real cost systems bought used (speakers 50 bucks), amplifier (vintage 100 bucks) and new on ebay bid my dac ( 20 bucks) sound so good it will takes this dreamed system of mine to really beat it... And I am not even sure of that, after all, what is the difference between a great big upgrade and some improvement?  In dollars enormous for me...In sound quality perhaps not so....

If you own already natural timbre of instrument,and detailed imaging, you owned music and no more just sound, good or bad...

When I listened to the  same system I own now before addressing the vibrations-resonance embeddings, before the acoustical room embeddings,before the electrical embeddings in the room and house, the same audio system sounded almost  very bad to my ears... The same extraordinary dac, the legendary Sansui, and the best speakers Mission ever designed I dont liked them really...After the tweaks all that sound so good that upgrading them with the cost implied seems preposterous... This is my impressions after reading your remark.... My best really to you and thanks for your participation, you will be always welcome...
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
You might be interested to know I bought a prototype David Berning amp, if I recall it was EA- 230 some 40 years ago. Berning lived just down the street in MD from Bruce Wenger, (now BWS Consulting in Arlington, VA), another high end amp designer, whose high power Class A tube mono-blocks and power supplies tip the scales at 600 lbs, shipping weight.

- Your humble scribe and audio insider from the future.
mahgister's avatar
mahgister OP
12,987 posts
 
Yes indeed.... And what is your overall impression of the guy and amp?

Your humble friend from the past …. :)
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