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
Someone said to me that I cannot have Ron Carter in my room with the speakers i own and the amplifier i also own....

This someone said that without big magnepan with very big amplifier it is impossible to have Ron Carter in my room....

But i have it, not because of my amplifier and speakers choice, they are good, but way less powerful and refined than a big magnepan with a very costly and powerful amplifier....He called my version of Ron Carter in my room, diplomatically, a "miniature"... It is not false for sure but it is not true either....Do i have a complete sound of a bass in my room? Yes....Is it on the exact same level than with the big Amp+ Magnepan.... Not so....But we speak about a low cost gear versus very costly one here.... And my point is this: i am not so far off the costly system with mine than people are willing to suppose....:)

I have Ron Carter in my Room because of the acoustic controls....

Not an electronic costly one, like the brand this person suggest, but with homemade cheap metal buckets "singing resonators" with Herkimer diamond, and my golden plates and some few others devices of my own....

The lesson learned by me is that acoustic controls is the most important of the 3 embeddings and the most transformative and upgrading feature there is in audio....

I know that most will think that i am nut.... But this is my experience....

I will not go on describing more my acoustic controls because i lack patience with peoples who instead of experiments trust only the sellers of acoustic materials orthodox view...Or people who think that bass frequencies is the thing to begin with in room control....

The analysis of sound in a room is more akin to the study of a "cellular organism" living in his own time frame (hundreth of seconds) something i call an "informed wave" than to a set of frequencies only...

Timbre is the embodiment of tonality and timbre is impossible to understand in term of frequencies only....Room controls is first and last the controls of timbre  expression.... Not bass nor higher frequencies ....But it takes very good speakers to begin with to express timbre in a perfect way for sure....But without room controls most speakers will not gives their best at all....

I will not go forward anymore....

Arguing when the world crumble is not the thing to do....

My best to all.....








These are great on top of components and shelves, and on transformers. They come fully assembled, too.
Great value.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001302651100.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.7f7f4c4dgrVxHm

So these go under components to support them or loose on top?  Any idea what weight they support under a component?  I can understand the isolating effect underneath but what do they do if placed on top?
These are great on top of components and shelves, and on transformers. They come fully assembled, too.
Great value.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001302651100.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.7f7f4c4dgrVxHm
They are very good and cost nothing.... I bought them and the results are amazing...

BUT the adjustment by ears takes few days, and must be finetune with a load (this is more precise than taking off springs if you can). The fine tuning of the load must be around 1and 2 % of the compressing load...They must be highly compressed, with the speakers i place on them around 80 pounds.... 

You must listen to TIMBRE to adjust them optimally not towards high frequencies or bass one, but toward natural timbre....Too much high means they aure not enough compressed, too much bass they are too much compressed....The right compression will be audible with 1 or 2 pounds variation of load near their optimum.... And the timbre will be at his best.... 
So these go under components to support them or loose on top?  Any idea what weight they support under a component?  I can understand the isolating effect underneath but what do they do if placed on top?
You put them UNDER speakers...What i know is in my last post...

I cannot  gives more measure numbers only approximation because i use my ears for adjustment...

My best to you....