Everything sounds the same

[tmtomh]

41 minutes ago, fas42 said:

You see, I didn't know it had a chance of ever working ... the first time. But it did, and everything since has constantly confirmed the behaviour, and allowed me to steadily build up a database of understanding about "what to worry about" - once you know something works, that knowledge tends to hang around, a bit .

 

I think many folks here would value seeing your database. Please share a link to where we can view it so we can learn what aspects of our systems to worry about and, I presume, what aspects not to be so concerned about. I presume the database includes notations of which aspect of a system are most important based on which brands or models or typology of components one has, so that will be useful too. 

 

Looking forward to it. Thanks!

[tmtomh]

10 hours ago, fas42 said:

Yes, in jest .... you don't like what I worry about, which I've mentioned so many times, here and elsewhere - and you're disturbed that I hold things that you consider sacrosanct to be of a far lower order of importance. "It does not compute!" is the rejoinder ...

 

In the end, the same things, to some degree, are considered to be meaningful by myself, and everyone else... it's all about the weighting.

 

How can you know whether or not I like what you worry about, when I don't have any way of knowing what you actually worry about - and when I have no way of knowing what I should be worrying about in my own system?

 

For example, should I remove my component interconnects and remove (or bypass) the RCA jacks on my components, and instead directly solder connector wires between my components? That's something you say you've done - but if I'm not hearing noise or "rattles and squeaks," as you say, from my interconnects, then maybe I shouldn't worry about messing with them, yes?

 

Or how about better physical isolation of my components? Should I change my equipment rack? Or should I instead just put isolation feet of some kind under my components? Should I worry about isolating my source components, or my amplifier, or both? If I am not hearing harshness or vibrations/resonances in my system, then on what basis should I be concerned about physical isolation? If I were hearing resonances, how would you recommend that I distinguish between resonances caused by physical vibration of components on the one hand, versus a room resonance that could be addressed with room treatments, versus a resonance that could be addressed by speaker placement changes?

 

What about the power supplies in my components, particularly digital source components that might have a switching power supply somewhere in the chain? If I am not hearing harshness or graininess in my music, do I have to be concerned about putting in an aftermarket LPS?

 

And am I being too narrow in my focus on all of the above? In other words, could graininess - if I were hearing it my system - be addressed by soldering interconnects rather than by upgrading a power supply? Could vibration be related to power supply rather than isolation issues?

 

Is your answer to all of this, "Yes, all of the above"? In other words, if your answer is that we should experiment and tweak and change things around until we hear an improvement in our systems, then I would of course agree with you, and I would imagine pretty much everyone else here would agree with you too - but in that case, you're not really saying anything that has any particular informational value.

 

So perhaps rather than attributing feelings to others, putting words in their mouths, and claiming that they're mocking you, you could instead provide the information you claim to have, or clarify exactly what it is that you do and are recommending, that's different from what everyone else here already does.

[tmtomh]

I actually - finally - found some value in Frank's answer to my most recent comment. Not saying this to be self-centered - I just happen to find his response to me fairly clear.

 

After reading his response, I guess I'd say I find most of it benign and unobjectionable - nothing earth-shattering, but nothing that irritates me either. ?

 

One area where I do agree with Frank, at least to a degree, is about interconnects. I'm not ready to solder mine, because I don't believe contact noise/problems are an issue in properly looked-after RCA connections using decent interconnects. But I am a strong believer in using RCA interconnects with gold-plated or otherwise highly conductive, oxidization-resistant connectors, and with connectors that connect rather tightly to the RCA jacks of one's equipment. And I've also found that the odd RCA interconnect will start giving me trouble after several years, which has prompted me to buy a new set every 5-10 years or so. (I buy stuff like BlueJeans cable - so trivially expensive to replace, if one amortizes the cost over the years of service the cables provide.)

 

And I agree that vibration and resonance are good things to be aware of and try to minimize - although again, I don't feel there's a need to take particularly heroic measures to deal with those issues, except for speakers and turntables.

 

But I guess my bottom line is that if one doesn't hear gremlins in one's system - if the noise floor is good and the transformers aren't buzzing, and he sound isn't hashy or grainy, and the transients aren't smeared, etc - then I don't see the point of getting into all of what Frank does, unless one enjoys it or finds it fulfilling to engage in that process.

 

To each their own.

[tmtomh]

10 minutes ago, PeterSt said:

 

I am not Frank, but I can see what he is doing different from everyone else; he doesn't buy new gear to improve sound. At least that is the general gist.

I won't (because can't) judge about anyone's result in approaching it like this, but I think I can tell that buying new gear (like a new DAC each year) is usually leading to more inconsistency, while always working on the same gear (and then by Frank's "methods") gives a better result because more consistent (or more coherent, if you want).

 

Interesting - I hadn't considered this aspect. While I don't think there's a single best way to do things - I would be suspicious of anyone who advocated either always or never buying new gear to solve issues - I certainly am skeptical of "upgrade-itis." I can appreciate sticking with solid gear and keeping it running its best over time, with incremental improvements or refurbishment - like recapping a 25+ year old amp, for example. And I do think it can become a slippery slope spending 100s or 1000s of dollars on multiple new DACs and/or USB cables and/or power supplies - it can become very difficult to remember what it all sounded like before, and all too easy to get lost in the minute sonic differences you hear (or think you hear) among them, losing any stable sense of a reference sound as a baseline for comparison. I've experienced that sometimes when comparing different masterings of an album: I'll listen to each of several masterings, developing a sense of which one I think sounds best, only to return to the first one I listened to... and find that it sounds somewhat different than what I remembered it as sounding like just an hour or so beforehand.

 

At the same time, I have upgraded my system in a few areas over the past few years, albeit almost entirely incrementally: I replaced my B&W CDM1-SE speakers with the similar but two-generations-later 705s. And I recently replaced my Oppo BDP-105 with a 205. In both cases, I perceived the overall sonic character to be similar, but the sound quality within that overall character to be a marked improvement, in cleanliness of sound, tightness of bass, soundstage imaging, smoothness and refinement of midrange and treble, and so on. In both cases the difference was immediate and hit me before I'd even settled in to take note of differences in an organized way.

 

I don't think this is precisely what Frank is on about, but I do think there is a thread of resonance (no pun intended!) there.