The last 5 ?????


Sometimes as an Audiophile I come to a place where words no longer express the experience I’m having with my system. In this past year I have needed to sell off parts of my system, the biggest changes were going from two Plinius SA-102 amps bi-amped to a single amp, and replacing my Nordost Valhalla cabling with the far more affordable Kubala-Sosna Emotion cables.

The loss of the amp was clear, less dynamics and less involving. The cable change was something significantly different however. The Kubala-Sosna cables are every cliché we audiophiles use. Blacker, better definition, more space between notes, dynamic, extended… These words fail to express the improvement over my Valhalla cables however, and all I can say is I’m more musically involved. This was a clear improvement to my system, and for less money!!! But words fail to adequately express the improvements.

The second experience came when my Sony SCD-1 receiving all the remaining modifications available through Richard Kern at Audiomod.com I had half the mod’s done four years ago, and received the remaining just last month. The fully modified player is said to better the EMM Meitner/Phillips combination. I can not speak to that in that I have never heard this combination, so my basis is strictly within my experiences listening to other systems.

The fully modified Sony is simply amazing, beyond my limits of expression. I could say it’s more analog than any digital system I’ve heard, and yet it’s well beyond analog. It is simply so much more than the analog most of us can afford. It’s also not at all digital, it has none of the electronic, edgy artifacts of solid state and digital systems. The best way I can explain this system is it’s beyond digital and analog that I’m aware of.

Words like three dimensional, attack, tightness, extended, clear, dynamic, natural, subtle all fall completely inadequate when trying to explain my system today. Words just can not explain the sound.

This leads me to my purpose of this post. The topic actually came up talking to Albert Porter when we were discussing continued improvements we make to systems that are already beyond 95% of anything available. In Albert’s case I suspect he is beyond 99.99% and yet we continue to change our systems and reach DRAMATIC improvements.

How is this possible if the last five or three or one percent is as significant as 50% to 90%? What I mean is when I moved from a $1000 system to a $4000 system the improvements were dramatic. Then I moved to a $9000 then $20,000 and finally to where I am now. Each step was marked improvement over the earlier step and even at $4000 I was far beyond anything 95% of the consumers will ever hear. So what’s actually going on? If $4000 gets me to the last few percent, how can each additional step be doubling or tripling the previous systems musicality or involvement or measurable improvement?

Why do some of us get to a point where we believe a single multi-thousand dollar interconnect brought us 100% closer to the music? Why are there some who still claim cables do not effect sound? Clearly they want good sound, but somehow are not aware of what is possible due to limits in there 95% system.

My answer is either the last couple percent are actually far more significant than the first 95% or we are actually only 25% “there” with a $4000 system. I can not even express how big the changes I have made are. They are well beyond two times, maybe three or four times the significance on the system before these changes. That would mean I was something like 25% or 45% “there” before. Well that is crazy because I have not hear a system I enjoyed more than mine. I’ve heard some that were better in one area or another, but overall… Of course this is a subjective topic, and I understand that, but the point is for my room, my ears, my taste I was already 100%, yet now I’ve bettered it by two or three fold.

All I can think is this is not a 100% issue. This is something more like the open ended Richter scale. On the Richter scale every tenth of a point is doubling the magnitude of an earthquake. The Richter scale is logarithmic, that is an increase of 1 magnitude unit represents a factor of ten times in amplitude. The seismic waves of a magnitude 6 earthquake are 10 times greater in amplitude than those of a magnitude 5 earthquake. However, in terms of energy release, a magnitude 6 earthquake is about 31 times greater than a magnitude 5.

-1.5 on Richter scale, equals 6 ounces of TNT
1.0 on Richter scale, equals 30 pounds of TNT
1.5 on Richter scale, equals 320 pounds of TNT
2.0 on Richter scale, equals 1 ton of TNT
2.5 on Richter scale, equals 4.6 tons of TNT
3.0 on Richter scale, equals 29 tons of TNT
3.5 on Richter scale, equals 73 tons of TNT
4.0 on Richter scale, equals 1,000 tons of TNT
4.5 on Richter scale, equals 5,100 tons of TNT
5.0 on Richter scale, equals 32,000 tons of TNT
5.5 on Richter scale, equals 80,000 tons of TNT
6.0 on Richter scale, equals 1 million tons of TNT
6.5 on Richter scale, equals 5 million tons of TNT
7.0 on Richter scale, equals 32 million tons of TNT
7.5 on Richter scale, equals 160 million tons of TNT
8.0 on Richter scale, equals 1 billion tons of TNT
8.5 on Richter scale, equals 5 billion tons of TNT
9.0 on Richter scale, equals 32 billion tons of TNT
10.0 on Richter scale, equals 1 trillion tons of TNT
12.0 on Richter scale, equals 160 trillion tons of TNT

So if we said a boom box was a 1.0, a Bose radio might be considered a 3.0. A top of the line Best Buy system might be a 4.0. The typical audiophile system might then be a 5.5 where the old 98% system might be a 6.5. If my system was a 7.5 before the changes it might be a 7.9 now. Albert’s system might be an 8.5, but his new cables could make his system 100% better, or become an 8.6.

In my mind this is more logical for explaining the effects I have experienced. This also means we never find 100% for this scale has no end. Now the issue is how we actually mathematically quantify this logarithmic expression. I figure if some of the engineering minds out there might have an answer for this and this could be a new expression for us to use. If we could come up with a quantifiable formula, it might be a new language for us to express our systems to each other. If we had something like this maybe it could be a part of the virtual systems. We could then begin to understand how an improved cable is affecting our systems.

I may be way off here; it would not be the first time. I do however feel we need another language to express the “last couple percent” because the system we are using is inadequate, and at some point all the clichés mean nothing, and words are wholly inadequate. Perhaps this is a start???
128x128jadem6
I don't know if it really exist, but I imagine that at one point somewhere somebody made an audiophile boombox. It was battery operated, had a single cross-overless mono speaker powered by tube amplification and came with both a Karaoke and phono input (MM only). There was probably also a Reference upgrade that included improved cyro wiring and a non-resonant myrtle wood carrying handle. If this product really existed I am sure that a small industry dedicated to mods would spring into existence. If anybody actually bought this boombox, then upgraded to the Reference version and then had it modded..., well they're my kind of audiophile. I also hope they would be your kind too.
I am qualifying myself as an Audiophile-Lite.small>


...less filling!

...Tastes great!

Does that make Jadem an "Audiophile Savant"?

Where do I fit in? Wait, don't answer that! Please allow the secret to remain
safe in my Audiophile Decoder Ring!

Now lets all join in a rousing chorus of the Audiophile Anthem!!! Will
everyone please stand....

Marco
Clearly I need to apologize. I apparently come across as an elitist, and I see I created this impression. I debated whether or not to use the term Audiophile. My fault lay in the fact I do not spend the time I used to in the forums and clearly a new group have become active. I meant not to insinuate that dollars equal quality or even that a certain amount must be spent to qualify for audio discussions.

That being said, I was under the impression people used these forums as a way to learn and share their hobby. I had no idea people who enjoy boom boxes spent time discussing cables, my mistake.

My initial and subsequent comments are trying to investigate methods of explaining to others how changes affect their system once they run out of words or numbers. For my needs, I would like a better description than “way better” to express the experience the person has had. I think I explained I had run out of words, yet I continue to find more potential in my system than I had when I thought I “was there.” Of course I realize some don’t care or “need” to have the final 5%, but I know some do. I mistakenly expected those who don’t care would simply not post on this thread. What is the point discussing something you do not care about?

It was this exact type of exchange that made me lose interest in this site in the past. I had thought it was better now, but I don’t know. I’m sorry I’m an elitist in some minds; I simply was trying to figure out why some people would even post on my question if they felt it was so esoteric and elitist. I just don’t get it, that’s all.

If questioning ones motives for posting is elitist, then yes I am an elitist. I however only post on questions I can add value to, not for the sake of disagreement. Sure disagreement has its place, it simply surprised me this thread was one that fit that description.

So yes I must be an elitist, and yes I must be looking down my nose at all you little people. If that’s what works for you, fine.

Signed your snobbery, JD
JD - Looks like your nose hairs could use some trimmin'! I doubt boom box owners are interested in wires since there are very few connections on your average boom box. Now bring up where to get the best prices on 'D' batteries, or rechargables VS. disposables and you've got yourself an exciting thread!

Marco
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