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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...
mahgister
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mahgister OP
13,803 posts
 
The "Golden Stick"
6 inches by 1/4 inch wide shungite stick with 3 sides masked with copper tape...

I cannot put a "golden plate" near my dac, then I solved the problem with the golden stick....Guess what : improvement in clarity....Cost 15 bucks...

I will put a photo in the next days on my "virtual system" page....

I am amazed by these continuous streams of improvement.... Most of us dont know at all their own audio system potential....Before blindly upgrading think about this....



The first and the most fundamental audiophile law:

" Dont upgrade before embedding it"
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mahgister OP
13,803 posts
 
I forgot to say that there is a tiny Herkimer diamond completely filling a hole in the "golden stick"...That equilibrate the overall effect....
mahgister's avatar
mahgister OP
13,803 posts
 
If I want to resume the lessons of this thread in a few words:

The first law,
which is the most fundamental audiophile law:
" Dont upgrade before embedding it"

Second law:"
There exist 3 embeddings dimensions" : MECHANICAL(resonance-vibrations), ELECTRICAL (noise level of any links and general noise floor of the house), ACOUSTICAL ( the known passive standard way and the underestimated active ways)

Third law:
"The more uplifting upgrading effects are most of the time linked to the controls of the embeddings dimensions, except most of the times if you go to a higher rung with a purchase of E.C."

Fourth law:
" All electronic components (E.C.) roughly are distributed on a 3 rungs scale of ratio quality/price, and the S.Q. ratio decrease or increase in a non linear way with these 3 steps, (low, medium, high or a Gaussian with a non normal distribution if you wish)"

Fifth law:
" Any upgrade with a new E.C. on the same rung as a past E.C. will result most of the time in a low increase of S.Q. only, compared to a more rightful way to embed the components"

Sixth law:
" Then dont upgrade before rightly embedding them"

then this circle of laws is closed....

All that is only my experience and I tried to communicate it clearly....You can criticize... :)
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mahgister OP
13,803 posts
 
UPDATE: The grids of bells (Alaskan cones)

I added 2 new group of 5 bells on walls parallell and perpendicular to the speakers, one group horizontally disposed at the level of my ears the other group vertically...

They work like some beacons on the flowing waves resulting from the interaction of the direct sound from the speakers and the refracted sound coming from the walls, and give to the ears some fixed points to make easier his Fourier analysis of the sound ….


Better imaging at near listening position and at the regular one....


Music go toward the top S.Q. for peanuts.... :)

And people everywhere discuss secondary questions, giving no thoughts to the fundamental one : the 3 embeddings, especially the acoustical one.....

That is life!
mahgister's avatar
mahgister OP
13,803 posts
 
UPDATE: 6 new "golden plates" on the computer side.


What can I say?

I added 6 new "golden plates" (shungite+copper tape) 5mm stick, 10centimeters square, I glued them on a cardboard plate and I put the shungite side against the computer...


The clarity increase again an another notch then the imaging also....


If I was a business man I would sell that like an audiophile product....But It is free idea coming from a fool, cheap cost... :)


I will not say more, I only talk to myself, but it is not so bad if I think about that....


:)
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