Lessloss audio

[centermez]

This is just ridiculous, power cables that cost a thousand dollars to remove electromagnetic distortion?? If you have this then you're a pretty serious listener... Here's their page on the concept of noise... Absolutely brilliant: http://www.lessloss.com/page.html?id=17

I'm a huge fan of figuring out all the noise stuff and have good quality equipment to hear all the nuances in music. So, MD- what do you guys think of this stuff? Do you guys care a lot about audio quality?

[Tiggi]

The hi-fi world is littered with this sort of stuff, and in my experience most of it is just smoke & mirrors.

Properly designed audio equipment really shouldn't need tweaks like this, but at the end of the day let your ears decide. Get a demo of equipment with & without stuff like this, and if it makes $1000 worth of difference for you, then maybe buy it...

There is a definite law of diminishing returns in audio playback, where tiny differences in sound quality cost increasingly ludicrous sums of cash. Where that point becomes unacceptable is a very personal matter.

My advice would be to not get too hung up on sound quality, it can become a very expensive passion.

Music first !!

[CRAZY-HORSE]

good answer Tiggi,
what i would do is go to a hi-fi shop with a few cds of music you enjoy...ask to play them in their systems and see if the sound quality is right for you.
not sure about your part of the world but here you can swap and change different amps brands with speakers,cd players,tape decks etc....

sometimes its not the cost of the equipment that makes a difference but different componants also sound different when hooked up together.

i have a NAD amp, B&W speakers, Yamaha cd player, Toshiba tape deck....cant remember what turntable o have???

also to note, the gauge of speaker wire and/or the make up of the wires themselves can change sound quality also.

[Music Head]

what them guys said

[Tiggi]

B&W speakers

The choice of Abbey Road studios...

[gryphon]

Mostly it has been said......................Tiggi and I have similar ideas about a system and the law of diminishing returns ........................The only areas where I believe there is something in it is, in a good quality vinyl spinner ( Turntable )..............Here, there is a reasonable amount you can invest and hear the difference! In addition, it is often very important as to, how you set good quality equipment with regards the room and it's acoustics...............Good thoughtful placement of the equipment ,especially speakers, can extract an improvement out of medium costing equipment, that many pay an awful lot of money for, believing money will make the difference; actually, it is correct use of the equipment that makes the difference. Things like cables make a difference, but there quickly comes a point,when, it is all in the wallet of the believer.

Also, remember this: rubbish in means rubbish out..................In the early to middle times of recorded music, the quality of some areas was not as, top priority.In the 60/70 Stereo was not the best form of the recording and was often done quickly and on a budget........................Some classic recordings have very poor technical delivery that even modern day restoration can't improve.................On the other hand some early material was very well captured and recorded.

[Jerome]

The most expensive bits of gear you can afford will make little difference if the room you are playing it in has bad acoustics. Fact!

[Tiggi]

^ But most audio equipment has to work in a compromised acoustic environment.

It has to be this way, and the alternative would be what happened in the '60s & '70s with lunatics trying to emulate anechoic chambers at home.

[centermez]

I'm not a gear junkie myself- so I don't think I could really bring myself to invest in something like a ridiculous Hifi system. I don't even particularly want to because I think the best part of your music listening equipment you can upgrade is your brain and ears. Nevertheless- I definitely don't mind reading about how in-depth people get- I think it's fascinating to learn about all the different processes that happen when listening to music and audiophiles are the acutely aware of all of them, y'know?

[Jerome]

I'm not suggesting you try and build a recording studio environment in the home. That's lunacy. But a couple of well-positioned wall hangings (I have African textile artworks on the walls) make a big difference. Most people think buying expensive gear will give them a good sound - it will improve the perception of some frequencies while actually diminishing others - because of the room not the gear. I do not have particulary expensive audio gear, but rearranging the room works wonders - and it's cheap!
For example, if your speakers are next to a wall (i.e. the back of the speaker is up against a wall), try placing absorbent (sp??) material behind them. Most speakers have a hole at the back these days which you can place a foam plug in to tame bass frequencies. Many people think this is to let the sound out the back, which it is, unless of course, it's against a wall. The best thing to have in a sound system is not neccessarily expensive speakers or a powerful amplifier but a decent graphic equalizer which allow you to customize the sound to suit the environment. It also compensates for deterioration in your hearing as the years pass.