Interconnect galore

Cabling is one of the easiest tunings ever, just putting them in and listen. Is that simple? Not so. There are more you can do to enhance the performance.

As a rule of thumb, should you still can't shake the sonic revelation off after three weeks, you are screwed. Unrest soul, no cure but to make the purchase. Even though you may have top notch audio hardware, cables can enhance the sound quality. Poorly designed cable will mess up your signal voltage and therefore, a muddling sound.

In contrary to Audioholic's Top ten snake oil, I believe a change in cable properties would bring about a change in sound. These technocrats ridiculed cable deceptions and view cable scientifically despite the dramatic audible difference. I quibbled about the exorbitant prices and wouldn't even think about some craziest claims cable, price shouldn't be the determinant of the cable. As a matter of fact, I like the Plain Jane LCOFC which stands for Long Crystal Oxygen Free Copper do to the sound.

Cryogenic was a closely guarded secret in a cable industry but it is now an open secret. However, the know how is still largely a commercial secret, the temperature, the duration, the temperature and the conductor properties, these factors affecting the outcome. How contradicting? They too suggest evaluateing loudspeaker via listening and not measurement.

Cable is a sonic alteration agent, period. It is said that there isn't any straight wire, the closest being the standard red and black stock wire. They can be had for little money. This goes without saying all audiophile cables or more so with pro sound cables, they impart colourations. What is neutrality? Even pro sound cables can sound different. Thus, I enjoy cables for tone control. So, do they by any mean suggest JVC studio does not scientific for using Harmonix power cords throughout? Carnegie Hall and pro sound endorsement with Tara Labs? Even guitarists play around with tubes, amplifiers and yes, power cords. Thing isn't as simply as it is, there could be hidden commercial dealings, or a deal too hard to turn down. Being the most saleable or popular does not equal to superiority.

I was once resisted to succumb to audiophile cables, I thought I could cheat with DIY cables. Tried many DIY cables or even some pros sound cables, Belden, Mogami, Canare, Sommer etc. They tipped the balance and make the situation difficult. Their compromised resolution is noticeable. Cat5 as speaker cable for instance, there hardly carry any bass weight, so to speak, the sound is tilted to the highs. They are not the quietest cable around either.

Venturing into audiophile cable is a natural progress. I look for cables with certain signatures that enhance my system voicing. Price comes later, I mainly glance at used cables. When comes to cable, I am very specific. Most commercial cables beefed up midbass to excite, these type of cables sell. Cable loom in theory sounded perfectly logical. Besides a strong commerce interest, only a handful of cable looms perform remarkably according to a cable reviewer. In an unfamiliar environment, I don't know. It adds a twist.
    
For the benefits to the readers, the following interconnect sonic impression is the work of a guy whom I believed is from Hong Kong.

Model	Sonic Impression
Accuphase 7N RCA	Less sweet, balanced. Very thin wire gauge, matches perfectly with Accuphase electronics
Acrolink 2110	Detailed, quiet, warm, good mids, good frequency extension, a better choice than Acrolink 2200 in all respects.
Acrolink 2110 MkII	Detailed, bright, forward mids, layered, good extreme frequency extension but moderate transparency.
Acrolink 2200	Detailed, quiet, warm, rather flat sounding, lacking in layering.
Acrolink 2400	Recepticle is of green copper and carbon fiber. Super quiet, smooth highs, warm, solid bass. Very balanced overall.
Analysis Plus Solo Crystal	Very good IC indeed, warm yet lively and detailed, good high and mid, full body, less refine bass as compare to KS1130, Heimdall and Quattro Fil.
Audioquest Columbia	Very good vocal, exquisite highs, possess a little character.
Audioquest King Cobra	Pacey, good mids, solid lows.
Cardas Golden Cross RCA	Flavoured, bulging mids, slow, dull highs and weighted bottom.
DDL Encore Plus MK II	Pacey, slight lack in bass, precise imaging, sounds similar to Zu Gede Mk II.
JPS Superconductor Mk II	Very detailed, exquisite layered highs, good depth, balanced with good extreme frequency extension.
JPS Superconductor Q	Pacey, airy,  above average detailed and slightly on the thin side.
Kimber KS1130	Very detailed, transparent and 3D, excellent high, tight and extended bass, the only downside is a bit tense and aggressive.
Kimber Select 1121	Neither fast or slow, good detailed, super quiet, densed, refined highs but sounds thin and lacking bass.
Kimber Silver Streak	Transparent, vivid high and mid, loose bass, forward, a bit coarse when compare to KS1130 and Heimdall
Nordost Heimdall	Excellent cable! Crystal clear, lively, focus and palpable vocal, excellent low level, details, tight and extended bass though not as powerful as KS1130.
Nordost Quattro Fil	The best IC I have used ever. If you find heimdall is good, Quattro fil is better in all aspects. I found all other cables I've ever heard are congested, artificial, coloured or defective, since I own the QF! Don't know how good Vahalla is but don't want to try as can't afford it yet!
Siltech G5 SQ28 MKII	Believe it or not, Silver streak excels in all departments!
Stealh RCA Nanofiber	Very airy, transparency, forward mids. Sound marvellous, what more to ask!
TaraLabs Air 3 Series 1 RCA	Good detailed, dynamic, highs tend to be a little hard and lacking in mid bass. Very stiff cable.
TaraLabs Vector Mk II	Pacey, airy,  good detailed,  slightly on the thin side and not as densed. Others in the family do not possess similar midbass.
Van Den Hul D102 MkIII	Not worth mentioning.
vDH Integration Hybrid	Smooth, laid back, dark (not only the background but the music itself) and boring
XLO Reference 2 RCA	Bigger than usual, balanced, the cable has strong coiling.
XLO Signature 2 Shielded RCA	Very quiet, natural. Both ended must be grounded.
XLO Signature 2 XLR	Average detailed, dynamic, bold, not as quiet as its RCA cousin.
XLO Ultra 1	Holographic, transparent and quiet.
Zu OxyFuel	Good highs extension, weak bass relatively. Good cure for thick and fat sound.

I trust that it will be useful for reference. Never let your endorphin overrules your mind. Be patient and listen for a few more days and swap back to the resident cable to see if the changes are for real. Good luck.

Science or myth

Hokkien mee

Hokkien mee is a local delicacy, you shouldn't miss it if you are coming to KL. It will not taste the same in any other place. There are many opinions which are the best Hokkien mee in town, I have tried most of the big names but I got to give to this one, a small unassuming road side stall in Jalan Sentul. Not Ah Yap Sentul Hokkien mee. I bumped into this unassuming Hokkien mee stall by accident, I didn't want rice on that hot afternoon. There weren't many people there too.

Some are tasty but after it gets yucky after a few bites. O boy! Was I in for a surprise? This one is dangerously delicious. Everything is nicely done, not overpowering. Three important ingredients, broth, pork fat and wok time to prepare a killer Hokkien mee. And usually, you don't get a good Hokkien mee from a busy shop, the cook simply will not have time to allow the sufficient stewing time. Hence, taste flat.

This Hokkien mee is heavenly. It dethrones the all time champ, Jalan Silang alley. The nearby famous competitor, Kam Leng Kee has a little bitterness to Hokkien mee. Soya sauce gravy is richly soaked in, that's the way Hokkien mee ought to be prepared. What makes this different from others is it doesn't have the greasiness that turns you off. He charges RM6.50 per pax, comes with three mid size shrimps. That's alone is good value. The shrimps were fresh and springy, that's a rare find. I ended up eating there and take away. I'm happy.

Audiophiles always talk about sense and sensibility. We all know sense is related to logics, sensibility as defined by Oxford dictionaries is the quality of being able to appreciate and respond to complex emotional or aesthetic influences. In short, sense is scientific and sensibility is not scientific.

Shouldn't a system be balanced? A simple test is male and females voices. Some systems render female voices beautifully, sounded like gay on male voices. While some systems present more masculine, female voices are as if tomboy. No name, don't ask because anything that affect commerce is better left silent. Some people livelihood might be affected, they have a family to feed. Dudes, it is all about tonal balance. And voices, you just can't beat the Brit.

In audio, you must know what you want, how will you get there and stick to your gun. Get on top of the issue. When hardware has done their deed, it's time for fine tuning. If the result of tweak is consistent and repeatable, I'd happily obliged. However, Even Franck Chang, the great tweaker does not publish his measurements (assuming he does not conduct any measurement), is tweaks are deemed not scientific? Truth is, he may know more than most of us. Come on, the man introduced resonance grails. If you really want to know, try out and discern the difference. Not that they will cost you an arm and leg.

Everything in a room influences the sound, period. You do not need measurement to convince that. If you do, I feel sorry for you.

I see that my tweaks constantly attracting scrutiny. My spike works every time either at my place or at friend's place. If it is not science than, it will be myth. If it is myth, it will not produce consistent repeatable results. Surely, there is a reason behind it, is it not? To establish a test measure this, is not difficult. I have done many years in various industries and familiar with some industrial practises and tests, I ran trials in speaker and cable making too. But I must first ask myself if it's worthwhile to measure. What is it in for me? In the course of my career, I was taught to look at a broader perspective, to think outside of the box. Everything starts with big idea and not worries about engineering constraint.

Science is all about knowledge, producing consistent repeatable result in real world situation. Anyway, the spike idea is not developed by me but an Italian, I learned this from a Taiwanese.

Spectrum analyzer? Unless technologies enable us to measure sound quality possible, I have so far never heard of such measuring instrument. Anyway, could someone tell me what the unit measurement of sound quality is? Harmonic is only about loudness? What about texture? If texture does not mean anything to you, you ought to purchase cheap pro sound speaker.

Spectrum analyzer receives only signal voltage as input, it does not recognise sound wave, in a form of energy. Oscilloscope works the same way too. They were developed to measure electronics. Measuring speaker? They are not. Why then replacement of an exact value of capacitor or resistor or inductor coil would see a change in sound? Isn't value the determinant or isn't it not? Those measurements from Stereophile do not tell much about sound quality, they merely provide information on speaker behaviour. Thus, does it not suggest speaker building is not science due to immeasurability?

Incidentally, the angling and seating distance from the speaker is by inch calibration as to achieve the best balance of sound. So is my upright ear height when I'm seated. All the measures are to achieve on lateral and horizontal tweeter axis. It ends up similar to what Frequency File Display suggests. Well aware of possible compromises, some tweaks are applied to compensate the deficiencies. The fact that I have been there, I know. Even though some tweaks may not of the best material of choice, compromises is made for availability or cost. I'm crazy enough to buy materials to conduct my own little research to satisfy my inquisitive mind.

The time when I sit and listen to a system as where as is, I'd care less about the tweaks. I'm listening to the total package. Timbre, dynamic, micro dynamic, density, bass, liveliness, compression and how well the drivers blend in to produce sound. Soundstage is my least priority. By the way one audio, I learn his audio ideology and a browse at his music collection serves an insight where he is coming from.

Natural timbre, as long as it is not dubious, it should be fine. Music is powerful. I mean not only emotional aspect but the fundamental note and overtones. The integrity and strength are supposedly throughout. Of all systems, it is common an area of two stand out or in some way in a system, or rather, they are reflections of our system deficiencies. Our hearing is the best tool available for the task, no measuring instrument could even come close measuring sound and not specifically, loudness. Too bad if you suffer premature hearing loss. Enough said, my time is better spent learning music and acquiring new knowledge than fruitless arguments.

In my book, audio is more than connecting all the components and play. Hardware is elementary, managing acoustics is the real king maker. Some objects are not supposed to be in an audio room unless you know how to minimise the impact. Sound quality will be immediately picked up by any seasoned audiophiles. It requires extraordinary efforts to make a quality shine to impress, to deem successful.

People who knew me know that I do not talk much on my tweaking, let alone suggest any. Tweaking is fine tuning I know how to meet my specific sound aspirations. My audio, my business. It is my prerogative when, where and how I tweak. Nobody needs anybody to tell somebody what to do, unless asked to.

My system is currently undergoing maintenance ahead of the arrival of new toys. I am certainly delighted to welcome the new additions, and I know they will up the game. Value is important especially with people like me who has limited resources. I need to play my card right. Superlative high cost performance ratio is highly desirable, again your mileage may vary. Much time has been spent on research, user feedback and cross examination. The biggest joy of audioing is the time you do your research, you must always maintain a clear mind of what you desire. Though you may doubt my audio ideology, I might doubt yours too. That's make us even.

I got a hold of a can of contact cleaner pre GST (tax), I cleaned all of the contact pins to remove foreign particles. No skin contact thereafter. I also tested wall sockets, 16 of them in total, I know 8 will have profound differences.

The cables were hanged to dry.

I am a practical guy, preferably things that can make a difference in our daily life than to clinging on to some big theories beyond my ability to understand. Enjoying the labour of love is what makes life meaningful.