Proof of improvements in audio system sound quality....


i was at a audio store yesterday with my wife. she was very unhappy to be there...

but i told her to stay because of course we are in love. she said she would help me with choosing a audio system on valentines day. but she did not keep her promise.

we had to leave the store early since she had to cook dinner.

so why am i telling you guys this?

its all because i got real expert opinions from a sales person at that audio store.

it was about my last topic ---- tweaks with audio systems

i believe for some time, i have believed that @mahgister was getting great sound quality. 

sure it looks messy, but never judge a book by the cover.... right?

so i asked the sales person about it and he said that the sound quality would be very bad...also he explained the copper tape blocks and other stuff would be bad for music and reduce the clarity of the sound. the sales guy said that @mahgister was crazy. actually i think i get premium sound quality with my earbuds and smartphone...so why build a system anyway?? i think the sales guy at the store is right. 

so what do you guys think is right?? i am lost for words and in complete confusion of my of state in my mind at the moment. i need someone to help explain how to make a less expensive system sound better, truthfully. with no lies at all.

- viper

128x128digitalviper
Post removed 

@waytoomuchstuff 

Possibly you do not understand the the spatial effects of listening on headphones.  When you listen on speakers both of your ears hear both channels.  Your right ear hears a lot of the right channel and a bit of the left, and vice versa.  So, assuming the musical event was recorded with the classic two microphone positionings, you will hear something that approximates to that event.  

If you listen on headphones where the right channel goes into the right ear and the left channel into the left and there is no mixing in your pre-amp or 'dummy head' processing, you will still hear stereo but the channel separation will not be the width of your head, rather it will approximate to infinity since each ear hears only one channel.  Of course, this gives an entirely different spatial presentation.  One that I have enjoyed but is not classical stereo.

@cptrips

I would say best bang for buck is get a nice set of headphones and a matching headphone amp. Or save until you can afford a nice set of speakers. Go listen to as many speakers as you can and pick your favorite. Take your wife with you and treat her to dinner afterwards. It always comes down to speakers. Quality speakers with mediocre equipment will always sound better than mediocre speakers with quality equipment.

Great advice. A headphone system may be just right for him.

@digitalviper

Check out my profile. I would recommend a power conditioner to get started. Buy good quality power cables if necessary. The one I’m using already has a hard-wired power cord... no need to replace it (it’s actually over-specified) it will never be damaged due to overheating or a loss of current transfer. The designer of this power conditioner spent a lot of time, resources, and invested in plenty of research to build a superior product.

I’m listening to the Meters Novu-1 headphones with a Panasonic CD player paired to an audio techica headphone amp. Based on the amount of electricity used, this system is tough to beat! The headphone out of the portable CD players I own all sound different, as do their outputs. So.. a lot of variety in terms of finlding the most suitable sound signature for you.

I think a slightly warm, fairly neutral-sounding rig would be fine for you. Once you get in to audio forensics, tracks that usually sound alright might sound start to sound really ugly. So keep that in mind...