Point of satisfaction

[tuff]

Maybe you moved the speakers while replacing the cables just enough to get that clarity. If i move my speakers a bit left or right, i get that same effect.

 

[drkrack]

What parameters you guys look for in a system to judge it, analogishness? Long listenability? natural tones? Bass etc?

Very Good Question here, my requirements are quite simple actually.

1.Tonality - (The First thing I look for) I used to play Tabla and Harmonium for a brief period during teens, I recognize when some instruments don't sound normal. Especially the Piano Notes in western music should sound as authentic as possible. I should be able to differentiate types of Guitar, whether Its a digital or Grand piano being used and so on.
Same applies to regular singers, Arijit and Shaan or KK and Sonu or Lata and Asha or Shreya and Alka differentiation should be no brainer.

2. Transparency - veiled sounds mostly don't impress me, same goes with a too much colored sound. The background should be pitch dark devoid of noise. Most systems get "attack" correctly to a decent level, but really high end systems get perfect "decay". How each note disappears matters a lot for me when evaluating a system.

3. Balance - Sound should be balanced to the overall spectrum without overt undue emphasis to certain frequencies which the musician hasn't intended. I personally like a tiny bit on bass heavy side. The Soundstage, dynamics should be appropriately matched. I look for a Cohesion, set up playing as a whole synergistically is very important.

4. Holographic Sound - I hate the sound which is strictly 2 dimensional, it should create 3d holographic effect with just 2 speakers, sounds moving all around appeals me a lot.

5. Live - Finally, Sound should appear like a live performance. The bass should slam hard and have attack, also the cymbals should be just a bit bright enough to hit you hard. Surprisingly, I have heard systems costing twenty lakhs + but ending up making everything soft and boring. Live drums and vocals performance should be like, when you are listening to the drums/cymbals standing nearby without amplification. The singer should appear to be sitting in front with vocals moving through the listeners.

 

[firearm12]

Maybe you moved the speakers while replacing the cables just enough to get that clarity. If i move my speakers a bit left or right, i get that same effect.

I can bet i did not touch anything except plugging out power cable from socket. I am quite puzzled what happened here.

 

[firearm12]

Very Good Question here, my requirements are quite simple actually.

1.Tonality - (The First thing I look for) I used to play Tabla and Harmonium for a brief period during teens, I recognize when some instruments don't sound normal. Especially the Piano Notes in western music should sound as authentic as possible. I should be able to differentiate types of Guitar, whether Its a digital or Grand piano being used and so on.
Same applies to regular singers, Arijit and Shaan or KK and Sonu or Lata and Asha or Shreya and Alka differentiation should be no brainer.

2. Transparency - veiled sounds mostly don't impress me, same goes with a too much colored sound. The background should be pitch dark devoid of noise. Most systems get "attack" correctly to a decent level, but really high end systems get perfect "decay". How each note disappears matters a lot for me when evaluating a system.

3. Balance - Sound should be balanced to the overall spectrum without overt undue emphasis to certain frequencies which the musician hasn't intended. I personally like a tiny bit on bass heavy side. The Soundstage, dynamics should be appropriately matched. I look for a Cohesion, set up playing as a whole synergistically is very important.

4. Holographic Sound - I hate the sound which is strictly 2 dimensional, it should create 3d holographic effect with just 2 speakers, sounds moving all around appeals me a lot.

5. Live - Finally, Sound should appear like a live performance. The bass should slam hard and have attack, also the cymbals should be just a bit bright enough to hit you hard. Surprisingly, I have heard systems costing twenty lakhs + but ending up making everything soft and boring. Live drums and vocals performance should be like, when you are listening to the drums/cymbals standing nearby without amplification. The singer should appear to be sitting in front with vocals moving through the listeners.

Nice list. Btw which brand speakers you use or prefer.

 

[firearm12]

Off late i have been realising that satisfaction is related to expectations and expectations can go wild easily. If i expect my system to be laid back and easy and silky smooth and sugary on my favroite songs, whereas in reality it sounds like a big bold in your face with damn aggressive sound with frequencies going wild in the room, it wont be able to satisfy me even if i spend lakhs on it and no matter how good it is actually. Same is true the other way round. Also no system in the world can sound like real thing ever and no system can sound good on all types of music so expectations need to be tamed and not let very loose.

 

[AVM]

I doubt a vast majority if us even know what real thing is. You are right, have no to lower expectations, sit back and enjoy the music. Digital vs analog chase will never end. Just play..

 

[firearm12]

For me, if I am tempted to listen to music for a loooong time without fatigue, don't feel like stopping, then I am listening to a very good system. Most important thing for me is the vocal clarity and definition. For me, the bass should lie in the base.

Ooh... Bass in the base most people want bass on top of their heads bassheads

 

[firearm12]

When inused to listen to my earphones 10 yrs back i used to crave for more bass and more bass, making a big V in eq was my fav and pumping the sound hard. Now after 10 yrs same earphones same player flat eq and im like why this bass is so overpowering lets make a upside down V in eq. Times have changed really...

 

[vivek_r]

In this imperfect world of audio where there is no perfect system and sound, how can one identify that he is satisfied by the quality of his music system. Are there any parameters which brain can use to determine that the system is good and there is now no serious need for further improvement. So my questions are

- What parameters you guys look for in a system to judge it, analogishness? Long listenability? natural tones? Bass etc?
- name two songs that you love and feel sound best on your system
- name two songs that you love but feel sound not so good on your system

These days i feel i am chasing some sound which i dont even know is possible or not so looking for some way out to end the fight.

The first thing to realise is that this is a hobby. And that it has nothing to do beyond a point with achieving perfect sound. As you mentioned, the chase can be endless and the reviews bountiful.

So to ask oneself , are you a recreational user of drugs or a drug addict? That will answer your question.

As for me, the system works when my head is bobbing and feet tapping and enjoying Music. In fact, I first need to completely relax and not go into it like a doctor diagnosing a patient. I use that also in live concerts where sometimes you are concentrating hard and not enjoying yourself

That said. Look at me now, I have a beautiful cd of Mal Waldron playing with the greats and my feet are tapping and instead of grooving out (I think that’s where liquor helps?), I am typing on Hifivision. WTF!!!

what sounds good in my system - lots of jazz, classical, piano music, voices.

what sounds not as good - quite a few new pop records (like Taylor Swift’s 1989).

Every system is a compromise. Mine is on bass extension and ultimate big dynamics And the sound quality is cut to the price I paid for things.

what I think will anchor my system - Harbeth, Spendor, Graham, Stirling and their ilk. Till I discover a new set of speakers some day.

Ok plan to stay off hifivision now and post only when I go to my next jazz album in that awesome thread started by Nikhil.

 

[firearm12]

relax and not go into it like a doctor diagnosing a patient.

Exactly the point

 

[vivek_r]

Exactly the point

So I like this Sean from zerofidelity. The one thing about his reviews is that there is context. He compares products and says who may like them and who may not. The guys whose reviews I read seriously do that (and I love audio reviews. It’s a hobby. You think I haven’t googled Harbeth P3 vs Graham LS3/5a?)

The next thing is that he likes Harbeth. So it is likely he and I have something in common about sound signatures.

He seems to listen to a wide variety of music as do I


Lastly, he seems real. Like a guy who has been all over the place with the hobby. And I think in part it answers your questions.

 

[mpw]

Yeah, but bass heads don't listen to music, for them it is that bang bang beat they fancy (bassheads please bear ) And as I mentioned in my previous post, long listening is not possible when the bass is overwhelming.

Long listening isn't possible when anything is overwhelming...why bass alone ?

 

[AmK]

Well today was an unusual day. The politeness that i mentioned earlier is now gone away and i did not even touch anything in my system altogether. Starting from inside of my wall socket (to which system is connected) i had a single 3 mtr 3 core patch cable which was connected to another set of cables (through another socket) that goes straight down to mcb. Now this patch cable of 3m was not in one peice but two pieces of short cables which were joined together by twisting and rolling (almost 3 inches of wire each side was uncovered and twisted). All i did today was lay down a fresh cable of around 3 mts bypassing the joint. I dont know what more to say more but this just transformed the whole system. Clarity and treble has increased, system has become so more bold and dynamic not polite in any sense, its just not missing any beat now, i feel like its now on steroids and more 'balanced'. The new cable is same havells make and model as that was present previously. And its certainly not placebo that i am experiencing. I am still digesting what happened but moral of story is dont twist and join power cables together anywhere between wall socket and mcb. I am still wondering whats in store if i could lay down a single run of cable from socket to mcb. Looks like i am one step closer to the thread title now. It has reiterated how much power is important for any system.

It's crazy how much power matters. I went through a somewhat similar experience a couple of years ago. I Installed 2 dedicated lines and 2 furutech receptacles (and removed all power strips/distributors in the path). This had as much as an impact, as moving speakers into the room. I learnt that power and speaker positioning should be the first two variables that we should try to optimize (and probably room acoustics, if possible). And then other changes can be experimented with (cables, tweaks, components etc.).

 

[firearm12]

It's crazy how much power matters. I went through a somewhat similar experience a couple of years ago. I Installed 2 dedicated lines and 2 furutech receptacles (and removed all power strips/distributors in the path). This had as much as an impact, as moving speakers into the room. I learnt that power and speaker positioning should be the first two variables that we should try to optimize (and probably room acoustics, if possible). And then other changes can be experimented with (cables, tweaks, components etc.).

You are right. Power strips are useless. Different lines to each of the equipment works the best as per my latest experience. What you feed is what you get.

 

[firearm12]

You are right. Power strips are useless. Different lines to each of the equipment works the best as per my latest experience. What you feed is what you get.

Actually the problem with power distributors is that the main cord from wall socket to distributor will have effect on all the equipment. Now as all equipment say pre power dac etc are choosy regarding power cords, so some of the equimment may not like that cord sound so best is to find what suits your equipment and draw separate cords for each equipment. Longer the line better. And also thinking that thickest power cords would be best is a myth.

 

[AmK]

Actually the problem with power distributors is that the main cord from wall socket to distributor will have effect on all the equipment. Now as all equipment say pre power dac etc are choosy regarding power cords, so some of the equimment may not like that cord sound so best is to find what suits your equipment and draw separate cords for each equipment. Longer the line better. And also thinking that thickest power cords would be best is a myth.

I also think the quality of the contacts/receptacles on the distributors matter. Furthermore, the number of contact/connection points are increased with a power distributor. It all adds up to a degradation in the sound.

 

[firearm12]

I also think the quality of the contacts/receptacles on the distributors matter. Furthermore, the number of contact/connection points are increased with a power distributor. It all adds up to a degradation in the sound.

I also have noticed it clearly. Its weird how no. of contact points change the sound. I mean there must be lots of contact points on the way to grid. mcb and switches are also contact points. Or does it affect only as we move close to the equipment. This thing is weird to me.

 

[Deleted member 15865]

I also have noticed it clearly. Its weird how no. of contact points change the sound. I mean there must be lots of contact points on the way to grid. mcb and switches are also contact points. Or does it affect only as we move close to the equipment. This thing is weird to me.

I am only surmising on the reason. The mcb’s or switches upstream have higher amperage rating and therefore the current drawn after the split can still be high enough. The wall socket we use has 5A/15A rating and so any splitting thereafter will reduce the current drawn to significantly low levels. Could this be a possible explanation?

 

[firearm12]

I am only surmising on the reason. The mcb’s or switches upstream have higher amperage rating and therefore the current coming after the split is still large enough. The wall socket we use has 5A/15A rating and so any splitting thereafter will reduce the current to significantly low levels. Could this be a possible explanation?

Maybe but in my case I had one joint betweeen wires before the wall socket. When I replaced it with same wire without joint it improved sound.

 

[Shinto]

I am only surmising on the reason. The mcb’s or switches upstream have higher amperage rating and therefore the current drawn after the split can still be high enough. The wall socket we use has 5A/15A rating and so any splitting thereafter will reduce the current drawn to significantly low levels. Could this be a possible explanation?

The current will be drawn by your equipment as required.The rating of wall socket just means it is the safe limit beyond which it will deteriorate or even burn.So a 5 A rated outlet is good for 5 A even if you connect multiple equipment's as long as it is less than 5 A.By the way 5 A is around 1200 W @ 240 Volts.Current and voltage works together to provide the power/load demanded by your equipment(P=V x I).If your voltage drops for some reason, then there will be more current drawn to meet the power/load.