A calling, part two

Cables require break-in is real. Cables are just another conductors delivering digital signal, voltage signal and power, you are being a nuisance. As with audio, hearing is believing, cables do make a difference. Even used cables benefit from cable run in for 2-3 hours. Congrats if you didn't discern it, your money is safe in your bank but do yourself a favor, don't ask others to comment about the sound. 

Hence, cables represent an alternative "low-cost" upgrade, relative to electronics or loudspeakers upgrade. We need cables to bend our sound just like ironworker with his iron. Probably a 15% improvement, that's a lot. Come on, a high-end system can offer 30% over its lower sibling, you generally have to spend a lot more to attain a marginal improvement. 

And the cable in use is only the tip of the iceberg, what you don't see are my two big boxes of cable inventory hidden in a closet. This is the price I paid to arrive where I am today. I am a hell picky on sound. Generic cable can still do the job if you are not picky. 

A cable that compliment 100% is a wishful thinking. It doesn't exist. You can dish your MBA inspired cable budgeting relative to a system, logics ride above listening, people who advocate this thought is not a listener. The same with gridding your room and place your loudspeakers on the one-third rule. Believe me, there are many like-minded out there. 

Cables needed to be hooked up to determine their suitability. Having said so, cables alone are not and will not be an absolute fix, it requires room tuning and speaker positioning to realize their full benefit. This is a common mistake that leads to a headless chicken, more cable change, and if they don't really remedy the sonic shortfalls, the frustration looms up and quit. Gam over. 

In my case with a no name power cable, my most expensive cable, realizes its full value in my current system. This is the most revealing power cable in my collection. My friend couldn't bear with information overload. In use, I have to relook into my other in-use cables not to lose musical rightness. Hell no to techno-sound.

Well, many things were done since my last posting. Climax after another, I'm in cloud nine as the time I'm posting now. Operation "Leave no stones unturned", I scrutinized the entire system and will not bore with details. The peak arrived after attaining 20hz to 20khz. The delay is due to the shitty and cheap loudspeaker binding posts until I figure a way to hook them up. 

A paradigm shift, a passion I began 34 years ago, I now find myself no longer nitpicking, fault finding or analyzing the sound. My audiophilia nervosa is nursed and my cognitive torture is now over. My head rocks with the music reproduced from my system. Smooth, rhythmic and musical with minimum digital artifacts. I feel a sense of accomplishment and emptiness at the same time like a part of my life has lost.

This contradicts with modern audio where details rule. At some point of time, you will stop and ask yourself how much detail is enough? The State of the Art ultra high-end system strives to retrieve maximum detail and these systems are good for one hour listening. Why you ask? The colossal detail wears our brain out, all you hear is a slice of music and missing the whole picture. Are you with me? 

To be continued.......

A calling, part one

Good sound is the end goal of audioing, full stop.

Now, many have defined good sound, tonality, soundstage, sonic spectacular, emotional impact, measurements and et cetera. I have a lot of respect for them who are working tirelessly to attain good sound even if they may go off track. They will eventually get on track. Ups and downs are common, but on a longer term, I believe the audio trajectory is on an ascending trend.

Cables are important, they are a game changer, they separate greatness from mediocrity. I don't believe in branding but in the sound they deliver. In this context, the cables must fit into the system. The general perception of cable is cable geometry representing the Western school of thought and purity of conductor pioneered by the Japanese. Both have their side of arguments but listening is believing. Again, a fit into the system is the objective. On one occasion, a lesser model from cable lineup produces better synergy.  To the engineers, cables are vastly a snake oil. They try to quantify cables in terms of performance. This is a daunting task, they can't explain cable break-in let alone why even a simple digital cable can sound so different or how current flow through a conductor, scientifically. You know what, when a mind is handcuffed, auditory perception holds no bearing on technology, they will make justification. I came to know them, I mum and flee.

On one fine day, a calling came to my mind, why not try this power cable in my system and hear the outcome. The thought came not by accident, my system could use some "liveliness" in regard of slight dullness. When sound is bass supreme as mine today, the airiness, expansiveness and liveliness are compromised. Yet I don't want to relinquish the strengths. This is a wishful thinking, I know. What the heck, no cost involved and the worst-case scenario, I revert back.

I pulled this particular no name power cable out from my cable inventory, yeah, inventory. Two big boxes of them. This is the most expensive and the most revealing power cable one out of the pack I ever bought. The selling point of this power cable is the varying conductor gauges, deployment of silver and copper and shielding. 

The first hour was somewhat run-of-the mill, the morphing occurred in the second hour. A newfound definition and airiness slowly emerging. The gradual improvement kept coming. I need to cook the cable for more hours to finalize my finding. 

The life of audio tuner

Is it a curse or a blessing? 

Like minded audio enthusiasts believe a good sounding system direly require a tuning. Full stop, where else the gearsluts keep upgrading their equipment believing it is the real sonic gain. Two lines with no meeting point, hence, there is no common ground to have a decent discussion. Upgrading for the sake of upgrading is purposeless, merely sweeping the troubles under the carpet, only gain is the joy of new equipment ownership.

Equipment upgrade is a bottomless pit. The notion of the pricier the better audio is sold among audio enthusiasts. the marketeers exploit it. Given the decade old technology, audio has made a steady progressive improvement, certainly not by night and day. Achieving the synergy, complimenting your system make more sense, you achieve a thorough improvement. Tuning is an alternative audio, offering a lot of fun. It makes you a better listener, identify a problem and solve it. 

It all begins with speaker placement. Sadly, many do not master this. They prioritize soundstage before tonality. This is unwise. Soundstage should not override tonality! When speaker placement is done right, you will get a transformation. Different placements offer different presentation but, in a room, there will only one speaker placement with optimum performance. 

The familiarity of my room, I know my optimum speaker placement but this is far from done. I allow time to give space for mechanical settling, where the loudspeakers find their final footing. Thereon, I focus on the image solidarity if the voice is light or heavy or the air is claggy on one side. I checked if the chair at the dead center and my head is on axis, thereafter, zoomed into the finest speaker placement. Bear in mind that both loudspeakers are not matched, there will be a tolerance. This voids absolute symmetry. Common sense, you must a room for this.

Next up, the routine by millimeters fine adjustment, the finishing line. Once this is dialed in, everything falls into its rightful place with the air becomes balanced and the stage becomes one-ness. Holographic, many think it is flat speakers proprietary. No, it is not. There is no placebo response, but a rigorous examination. The voice is right smack in the middle, no blurring edges. Listening is believing, the magic is gone with a slight change. A true revelation. This speaker placement exercise is based on measurement first and listening has the final say. 

Free of charge, have you place your speakers lately? 

Happy audioing

December is my favorite time of the year, not for Christmas present but less traffic, less queue, less crowd, less of everything and most of all, the weather is nice. Anyway, I always buy Christmas present for myself, a stocking hanging on the tree is not required. This time of the year is mood lifting. No more blues. What is more exciting is I had bought my Christmas and worked on them for the past two months. It has been fascinating ever since...

2025 was a fascinating year, from the source, the amp and the speakers nothing short of a progressive complete system reconfiguration. The sound was a revelation, inching closer to my definition of real-world sound. Nothing extraordinary but it is its ordinality unordinary. Forgive me for being philosophical. 

We all know that a slight rise in 2khz to 4khz on the recordings appeal to general public, a more detailed and fleshed-out sound that most would not oppose, everybody walks away happily. Hence, the sound I inspired to achieve is a sound that does not woe you on first listening. It makes me forget about hi-fi and enjoy the music. Music is the ultimate goal here. Whatever breaks the music is not worth listening, it is sonic spectacular. 

I congratulate you if you are unable to discern the differences, you keep your money. Nevertheless, audio enthusiasts are going distance, even with a slight improvement, it means a lot until the day comes, you realize that you have lost interest and have spent a fortune on this passion. Picture this, after all your efforts, you received unfavorable comments, you get upset. As such, do unto others you would have them do unto you, silence is golden. 

Because audio community is diversified and biased, all walk of audio enthusiasts, they develop an ideology paralysis, some are an outright snob. I say this because they are out to make you feel inferior. It is not about sound but the implicit social ranking. I flee from them. On sound and sound alone, I judge. Nothing personal.