The Absurdity of it All

@perkri  I really enjoyed reading your list of tweaks and the rationales for each of them! I'm still learning, so can you tell me how you listen to each tweak to determine what difference it's made and whether that tweak is working or not? Serious question because the only thing that will keep me from going down a rabbit hole is a process by which I can know (a) whether a tweak has done something and (b) the degree and character of it. Thank you.

@hilde45  


Too late, you've already become trapped, deep in the rabbit hole :)

I'be built most of my "tweaks". And I consider the chain of my system. Its only as good as its weakest link. And no point in putting one insanely strong link in that chain. With one caveat - is it something that can be moved forward if you start suffering from upgradeitis.

I'm in the middle of dealing with my TT. Isolation is the main thing I'm going to be dealing with over the next little while. 

Not sure I have a specific methodology other than living with whatever I change for a while and see what I like, and what bothers me.

The big sorbothane semi circles I had under the TT as a quick thing so I could physically place the TT on my rack were deadening the sound. Was a bit flat. Made some spikes and put under it as a temporary fix until I decide to go with springs, some kind of pod, roller blocks or some kind of combo of the above. And will I need some kind of big isolation block under it as well. 

I built my own rack as well. Double layer 3/4" ply used everywhere. With all the gear on it, it weighs in excess of 120lbs. It's going to be redone, not because of any audio issues I'm having, but the design doesn't work for my set up as it is now. When rebuilding, I will implement some modifications to the build and will be able to hear whatever difference it makes.

About to redo the wires in the tonearm. The ones in it are the original ones and I'm curious to see what happens to the sound when they are replaced. I have to open it up anyway as there is a slight buzzing/hum coming from it thats bothering me. Not audible with the ESL-57's, but very audible with the Cornwalls. As it's a TT I built - Lenco L70 heavy plinth - it is new to me (put into service a week or so ago) most of the wires I installed were good, but not exceptional. Again, I want to live with it for a while before I start changing out something that may or may not be necessary.

Up until this point, with this system, I have been doing tried and true "things". I built a basic "power bar/filter" using good quality sockets, wires and capacitors to aid in filtering noise on the AC line. Built the same filter for a friend and the noise floor dropped dramatically on his system. The rack is solid, and fairly dead acoustically. I've replaced all the "black plastic" IEC cords with 'better' heavy gauge cables and plugs. I've made new power cords for my ESL's as well as its own filtered socket. They are much quieter than before. All my interconnects are Kimber as are my speaker cables. I've had them for years and see no reason to swap them out. But, having said that, I am going to build some new interconnects using some quality wire/connectors and see what I hear before I move to change anything that gets costly. My speaker wires will also be done as an experiment to see what changes happen. 

I've re-capped my main amp - EL34 based integrated - that I bought new in the early 90's. Opened it up immensely , blacker background and more transparent.

I had a 15 year hiatus from my audio interests - marriage/kids - and since the divorce 6 years ago, I have been returning to this hobby.

When I get this to a point of "done" (which it will never be...), I'm going to remove everything and listen for the difference. 

To me, this is a journey. And its a journey where in between brief moments of "adjusting", I get to lose myself in music. 

In a nutshell. I live with things for a while to get accustomed to them, then I listen acutely to what is good, what is too much or too little.

Interesting discussion.  Thanks for (almost) all of the comments.

I'm going to make the point early in my comments that even with compromised hearing with age we can have a listening experience as enjoyable and engaging (if not more) as when we had our youthful "20/20" hearing.  I'll get back this in later.

As I understand it, hearing degradation occurs primarily at higher frequencies.  Our perception of the world stays pretty well intact thru the majority of the frequency ranges.  The fundamentals of instruments, voices and other things that make music recognizable and enjoyable are still there.  And, bottom end still moves lots of air, and our clothing at full listening levels.  We also can perceive changes in amplitude (dynamic range) whether it be as dramatic as a cymbal crash, raging guitar pushing itself out from the rest of the instruments as well as subtle vibrato and trailing voices (micro dynamics).  As BB King stated:  "It's not the notes I play, it's the space between them."  Yes, our "clocks" still work and we can perceive rhythm and those "dark backgrounds" between the notes.  Our "antennas" are still sensitive enough to pick up spacial information, send it to our (aging) brains to align and position instruments in space.  Yes, our systems can still present a believable soundstage, place instruments and voices in a 3-dimensional space, and create a virtual center channel in the space between our speakers.  In other words, our "old" ears can still capture the essence of great performances and send them to our brains in good enough shape so we can still marvel at miracle of having the energy and presence of deceased musicians standing (or, sitting) in our living rooms.

Now back to the opening comment.  I have to acknowledge that my hearing has deteriorated.  The delicacy of extended high frequencies is missing in action.  However, over 40-50 years I have become a better listener.  In the 70's I wasn't listening for micro dynamics and dark backgrounds as I am today.  I have also developed a profound appreciation for gifted musicians, producers, conductors, song writers, and those who produce the hardware that contribute to those speaker cones moving back and forth coupling with the air that creates the sounds that I hear that brain interprets that sends a message to my mouth to smile.

As an "audio guy" who sold decent gear for all of my adult life, I often heard the comment:  "Well, my hearing isn't very good.  I don't need waste money on anything special."  My reply went something like this:  "So, if your eyes aren't very good, your best friends are large, dark print on white paper in good light.  Correct?  If you're ears aren't what they once were, your best friends are increased dynamic range, focus, detail and a more defined space between the notes."

The goals of better audio are not inconsistent with hearing loss.  In fact, hearing loss easy justifies the investment in better gear.

@perkri

 

I live with changes, adjustments, components in my system for a while so as to become numb to the changes. I need to hear the thing for what it is, what I like and what I dislike. That takes some time for my brain to shift to the new norm. Then I make changes. 

My exact way of assessment. I learned it by accident . But I learned it

Listening is a skill, hearing is a matter of biology...

Ditto

The best ears in the world are old musicians and especially healthy  orchestra maestros of 80 years old...

A thing i dont understand is the "doubt"  about  their experience feeling  by many....

Clean all doubts about your own hearing abilities and listen with relaxation and trust...

I am 70 years old with an average hearing degradation for my age...

I created devices and hundreds of changes in my system, and fine tune by ears my 32 tubes and pipes mechanical equalizer.... It takes times...

I never think that i had a good listening power over other people before and in fact i am pretty sure that my ability are very average....

BUT I TRUST MY EARS COMPLETELY and listen relaxed after each of my experiments....

I listen to my feeling, is it good? Is it bad? is it an improvement.... And i trust my feeling on the spot without even thinking....We listen with our BODY not only our ears, then trust your feeling without inner contestation.... Simply listen, relax, open your ears body and soul, let the feeling emerge with the sound and corresponding to the sound and you will know without error this si such or such  for me.... Simple...

After all that my system is so good for me, nothing will give me the insane costly  idea to upgrade.... All that make a system perfect, for sure on a degree which is the degree of optimal sound quality for what i have in ratio S.Q/price...But NO youtube costly system trash completely mine even the more costly.... They are better sometimes on all counts but not so much better and often they are non musical, harsh, fatiguing etc....

My Sansui amplifier or Mission cyrus speakers are not the top os the scale and NOTHING will change that...

But my system is so rightfully embedded  i feel no desire at all to buy anything at any cost.... I only listen any music forgetting sound....I can even  because  it is fun to do, times to times, new listening experiments....but i had already reach the limit of possible improvements.... It is only playing...I play relaxed...

My best to all....