Winning

Winning on a row or what? I'm ill-at ease saying everything I touch turns gold these few days. Boastful? I'm self-conscious. 

I long curious about Nihon Onkyo wood diffuser many high-end systems are using. I had experienced them in the Philippines in 2022 but couldn't attest its effectiveness because no before-and-after comparison back then. Alas, I returned home and forget about it. 

Watching Axpona show 2026 clips on Youtube, these wood diffusers struck me again. There are growing number of usages worldwide. Something like this is totally new as I have had tweaked many diffusers, not six-well diffuser, please and place it on somewhere else with great success. Tried them in at friend's place, they all heard the difference, still applying them until today. Hence, with Nihon Onkyo wood diffuser inspiration, I improvised a prototype that adhering its principal and place them in front of the loudspeakers last night. Holly molly! Count down started, 10, 9, 8, 2, 1, lift off, eh-eh! Ni terus lompat ke lift off, tak sedia ku. The sound popped with flesh and blood, the presence is unmistakable and the bass gained authority and weight. It redefines palpability at a new height I can offer no answer.

“Only fools think that they alone
Are wise, and hear no other point of view.
À wise man is never ashamed to learn,
To listen, and bend when the time is right.
When a flood sweeps through a forest, the trees That bend survive, keep every leaf intact;
The ones that don't snap off and are swept away.
A wise man knows when to slacken sail;
À fool refuses and overturns his ship.”

― Sophocles, Antigone - Oedipus the King - Electra

Acoustics is mystical. I'm a pragmatic man. I listened and pinched myself. A cleaner sound will indeed raise the bar of your hi-fi, there are ways you can bend acoustics to reduce intermodulation if only you know how. Competency is the name of this passion you cannot spend your way out of trouble. No way.

Tasted the first fruits of success, not wasting any time, I get on to perfect my prototype and expect finished product in a couple of days. No looking back.

My secret sauce

"Getting out of the (music) way" notion took me more than thirty years to comprehend. The vicious circle of sound progression, had me chasing my own tail. The truth is that we can always come up a thousand reason for upgrade, a single reason to ditch it, don't we? We can always come up with the money too for upgrade. We are trapped in a samsara and still have fun. The catchphrase, we only live once, YOLO but I had sworn that my last upgrade was the last. The temptation is too strong and my will is too weak, that makes my swear is not trustworthy, I cheat and lie to my wife. 

Unrestrained dynamic and pace, my gut feeling that my system could a little more of these. I perceive there is a drag with my a little hesitant crescendo, anything but a gush of wind. Now, not that my system is not dynamic, audiophiles are perfectionist in nature. My hunch is that changing cables can get me there. However, I can't have a cake and eat it, compromising tonality is inevitable, a price I'm willing to pay.

The good news is the cables that I bought cost peanut compares with audiophile cables. Audiophile cables are tone control. Too much of tone control compromises, you guess right, PRaT. Too lush and smooth. Yet, too many pro sound cables in a system make the sound bland. Thus, I'm doing all pro sound signal cables and two pieces of tone control power cable. My dirty little secret sauce. to attain the best of both worlds. 

At this point of time, these cables probably will be at my doorstep in a day or two. I shall see if my expectations realized. 

A minority

I was listening to a clip via a cheap earpiece one day, the sound came through was way better than the mobile phone speaker of any kind. I know, I know, I grumbled about judging sound quality of the clip over an earpiece, my argument still stands, I still have a decent grasp on the tonality. It was the familiar Jennifer Warnes's The Hunter through Diapason Adamantes. Adamantes was underrated and mostly out of the radar of the local audio community. I recalled Diapason was shortly represented here in the 90s and no more now. Diapason and Opera were beleaguered by its countryman, Sonus Faber, the world first lays her eyes on fine Italian finishings. Everyone wants to have it.

Diapason Adamantes V version was released in 2013 since it was debut in 1989. The evolution was slow over the span of 25 years, it's a sure sign of good design. Vocal was magical and uprightness, bass was rather weak and lack weight. Beyond its weaknesses, its sound is like air vibe and beautiful nuances. The diamond cut box with a purpose, the walnut cabinetry, it was voiced through the understanding of the human perception of the sounds and the research of the most realistic recording techniques. The aesthetic is something you will treasure with time, it looks expensive. Sounding natural, tilting toward rich and warm side of neutrality, courtesy from walnut cabinetry. 

My sound ideology aligns to Diapason school of sound, faithful to music, devoid of hi-fi embellishment, more relaxed, full-size and covers more ground. My sonic mission is to cut to the heart of music by not stand in the music way. Allow me to use Chinese recordings versus Linn recordings analogy. No hyper details, no hyperbole and little compression. Now, DSP is compression in disguise. This alone makes me a minority. 

The general audio enthusiasts aspired to be sound engineer (in their own right), championing measurements, technical supremacy and sound effects over communicative sound and celebration of harmonics. Perhaps, a little warmth, I want my sound to sound like nothing. No hi-fi firework dazzlement. 

Happy audioing, no EDM and discover more music.

Your choice is....

Will you ....

A. Fine dining 

B. Bak Kut Teh

C. Economy mixed rice

D. Dim Sum

Select A, you are an elite audio enthusiast who wants the best that you can afford.

Select B, you have a peculiar taste on sound who care less about what others think.

Select C, you are a utilitarian who is about natural sound.

Select D, you are a gear fetish.

Voicing

I popped in a hi-fi sampler I shall not name and can't help being annoyed with the sound. The sound is not natural and heavily edited. The sound is too clean to be real. It is attention grabbing by bending the sound to highlight in your face presence. A nerve catching sound with the thin-out midrange and lightweight-ness literally killed my listening appetite. I felt "at home" popping in Mercury's Living presence, not shouting for your attention.

Do you play a full album or selected pieces? Your answer will reveal if you are into music or sonic firework. Hi-fi demo cds play only crescendo, the climax. Carmina Burana, for instance. You are missing the buildup, the art of conducting, the composition that leads to the closing drama. Listening requires a learning process. Chill, let the music plays. The more you listen the more you appreciate music. A silky high will mean anything but a beaming high that lasts a few milliseconds more to beyond human listening capability. Some argue that we can feel beyond 20kHz, can we? Yes, we can. Will I pay extra for that? No. I have a tweak that could compensate it. 

A tweeter that blends smoothly with the bass driver is more worthwhile. The measurement in this regard serves as a guide, voicing via listening is still golden standard. In this context, it is your voicing when I listen your system given your audio perimeter. 

EDM

I'm sorry, most audio enthusiasts know little about timbre truth. They don't go live concert, they don't learn about sound, they don't have a clue about sound. They seek sonic firework. Now, if you want to be serious about sound, you ought to learn sound and get educated. Instead, they create sound in their head. Can you imagine the debate? Here go the blind men and an elephant. The loudest voice and the better system always win the debate. 

Now that the young audio wannabe with their Electronic Dance Music aka EDM, they care less about timbre truth because it doesn't have any of it. These are electronic music, they bend them as their will, incredible sound with electronics. To excel EDM reproduction, a system that is fast, dynamic and bassy will do just fine. They are not wrong to have a system to enjoy their EDM. I recalled attending an audio show years ago, I reacted WTF to a high-end system playing EDM. Do I have to pay this price for a system to play EDM? Imagine playing classical music through these systems, the balance will be off. IMO, classical music is an ideal to calibrate tonal correctness because you know exactly how it should have sound. 

I say this with a caveat. Yamaha trained, a piano tuning friend once told me he can tune a Yamaha to be like Steinway. This is not my line of work, I cannot attest to this. But coming from the expert, with his electronic tuning device and tuning fork, I have to give the benefit of doubt.

The irony

People, or mostly likely the dealers, post an exotic system on social media. It will receive unwavering likes and endorsement unless they heard and approved them. Otherwise, intelligibly gear-fetishism, a rabbit hole, an audio technocrat cult. I considered SOTA equipment a highly precision instrument will require meticulous set up to realize its full potential, but sadly .... not the case. Without good sound backing, it is a poster system with little substance. Good for picture taking. 

Sound is the real prize. These clips deliver a fraction of the sound, given the compressed file and the limited bandwidth of your laptop and mobile phone. You would not be able to discern the imaging, macro dynamics and soundstage, the inherent of two channel system. 

These systems under capable hands will deliver the true edge the technology promises. The irony is the wealthy people are generally not audio enthusiast while true audio enthusiasts are not wealthy. 

Crossroad

 A lot, I mean a lot, had been done on acoustics since my last posting. A new revelation after another, more sound is unveiled. Oh man! I can't stop and keep going with acoustics. Beyond excitement, this is like ecstasy. A private journey, a private achievement, a private fulfilment, nevertheless. This would not be possible without the love of labor. Passive tuning shows me the straight path to Rome. I know that many will not agree with, I get it, all of us walk different path, experiences and pick up things along the way to congeal their stand and approach. I can live with that.

Upon audio pursuit, you will come to a crossroad. Be honest with yourself on your audio pursuit, a system for music enjoyment or to build a technical flawless system. Both call for different approach. I'm all for the earlier system.

I got a few myths to bust. 

Accuracy is a fallacy. To begin with, you need to know real sound to benchmark. We never know the real sound of the recordings to verify. In this case, a believable sound becomes a more realistic objective, timbre that you build in your memory along the year.

Flat frequency response is a fallacy. Listen for yourself, they sound hi-fi. I can't bear the highs emphasis. not realistic, the epitome of a measure perfect system. Timbre is out.

Cable loom is a fallacy. Too much of good thing backfire. Rarely, a cable loom works if you are after timbre correctness, mix and match to dilute the character is the way to go.

Perfect system is a fallacy, there isn't any. 

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.