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

FIFTH UPDATE:

THE HELMHOLTZ MECHANICAL EQUALIZER or H.M.E.




The H.M.E. is a snake whose body is an array of 30 tubes and pipes now.... I added a last one made of cardboard paper toilet rolls 😁 21 inches high with a 12 inches neck with a diameter of the mouth of the neck 1/3 of a straw diameter, and put it on top of the damping load which are on my speaker.... I added this one to my right speaker only, the TAIL of the snake...I move the long very thin neck made of 2 straw parts in the direction of the corner where the speaker is recessed in the wall corner.... Result: better dynamic and improvement in the balance between LEV and ASW... This last tube is near another one on this speaker with their 2 necks at 90 degree of one another....









The " tail speaker" is activated with 3 tubes near the bass driver.... The " head speaker" is activated by 2 thin tubes near the tweeter.... This difference separate the 2 direct wavefronts coming from each speaker, these 2 wavefronts reflect on the walls of my room early and lately, but differently for each ear, this difference help the brain to recreate spatial cues of three dimensionality and also the right balance between the listener envelopment factor LEV. and the relative source width ASW. The timing between late and early reflections and the reflections coming from behind my head are crux of the matter in creating this balance but also the distinctive voice of the 2 direct frontwaves coming from the speakers...This distinction between the head and tail speakers is the secret of my H.M. E.


The long neck of my tubes and pipes can be turned around 360 degree angle than sometimes it is useful experimenting with the change of pressure in the right zone of the room....

The effect is audible like usual in my 2 listening position....








What a journey! How fun it was! and at no cost.....

Someone asked me if i think that my system is better than some costly one.... For sure not, theoretically, practically it is very relative to the room where the good system are working.... But trust me i trail the best system and i am behind for sure, with my 500 bucks system, how could it be otherwise anyway? BUT NOT far , far behind, nearer than i never think possible in my wildest dream....And when the music is there in the room no one think about a costly upgrade anymore....

I will love that someone with a very costly system would listen to my 500 bucks system....The surprize would not be for me....For sure my system will be probably less performative but not so far behind for peanuts costs... 😎

That was the point i wanted to made: "audiophile experience which is not poor at all for the poors"....










Hi mahgister
Thank you very much for your inspiration. I am following your suggestions. Bought shungite, ataxite, tourmaline, malachite, chrysocolla, Herkimer crystals, and other stones, also copper foil... I used shungite with HD on my SR and on the electric panel in the basement, I used shungite with tourmaline. I will do more experimenting for sure. It is sometimes not easy to keep track with what you do, and I am still a Newbie:-) But I can certainly replicate your findings.
My next move will be hang the loudspeakers from the ceiling by four wires. This will allow them tree horizontal movements and realizes Sven Boenickes swing base for cheap. I will also dig into these Golden Strings of yours.
I will also dig into these Golden Strings of yours
The audible effect of the golden strings are there but not comparable to the most important of my discovery with my tuned damped double set of  springs use, and the "golden plate" and the S.G. grid...

It is the Helmholtz  "mechanical equalizer"...

Read my thread in reverse the more important is at the end....

Thanks...
My next move will be hang the loudspeakers from the ceiling by four wires. This will allow them tree horizontal movements and realizes Sven Boenickes
If you do that report the results of your comparison here please....

I will be very thankful for that...

 Regards....
Actually, I did it: hanging the loudspeakers from the ceiling! Before, I used bedrock stands from Mapleshade. Loudspeakers were close to the floor and tilted upwards. Now, they are not tilted anymore and positioned higher, the tweeter is now at 110 cm above ground. Stil fighting with exact positioning- I have to control the position with the length of the wires which is tedious.
The sound is brighter, highs are more pronounced. - I attribute this to the changed position. There is less punch in the middle and lower bass. Everything opened up, there is more space and texture to the sound, voices are more lifelike. Satisfaction comes at lower volumes.
A spontaneous analogy: it is like swimming naked instead of wearing a swimming suit - there is more joy and life to the sound.