Audiophile Myths or Facts?

[Luvin Da Blues]

OK, my turn from someone that doesn't know dick, well I kinda know Rich but that's another thread

1) Upgrading Cables makes a sonic difference - IMO yes, but not a major one. Some very cheap and basic initial upgrades to thick, properly shielded cables will solve all my cable needs. Anything more expensive seems more about high profit margins than value for money to me.

Not sure if you need to spend lots for cables but decent cables do refine the sound somewhat.

2) Vibration control devices (feet, heavy rocks, platforms/whatever) improve sound quality - IMO, probably - just listen to how bad a skipped record or CD sounds and it should be clear that vibration can affect sound... however, I think most products are sufficiently heavy, that unless you live on a train vibration probably isn't that big a deal.

Turntables YES. I think if you take care of placement for other sources one doesn't need any more isolation than the stock feet. Then again higher end stuff has pretty good feet anyway.

3) Upgrading power cords/filtering power supplies improve sound - Theoretically yes... Based on how bad simple magnetic interference can make a tv image look, I can imagine a similar effect with sound quality... But I question how many of us live in areas with truly poor electrical signals/interference and also whether the standard shielded power cables of our components aren't sufficient...


Dunno, but my money would be spend elsewhere.

4) Source makes a great difference in sound - Yes... but I think the biggest difference is the quality of the recording and not the 'quality' of the CD player. I've heard definite differences between CD players/lossless computer audio and DVD players... but truth is that none of it was significant to me apart from in painstaking direct comparsons... But a poor quality recording tends to be obvious.

As long as you don't have a cheap player, I agree that the recording is more important than the source, Sh!t in Sh!t out

So why am I thinking about a good CD player then???

Oh ya I remember, for the balanced outputs.

5) Bi-wiring your speakers improves sound - I doubt it. So far I've been unable to tell the difference between single and bi-wired speakers even in direct comparison.

When I got my marsh amp I hooked up the speakers normal for a few days until I could build a set of bi-wire cables, bi-wiring improved the sound hugel. The destructions actually recommend this and they where right. Not sure if having a balanced system has any effect (none of the sources are yet).

[RGA]

All yes to some people in some systems. All No if you base your entire belief system in the DBT.

Biwiring - some speakers have the bi-wiring plugs but are not really designed to be bi-wired so you'll hear nothing doing it. Some are truly designed for bi-wiring and will sound worse not bi-wiring . Unfortunately my speakers fall into this camp.

Cables - depends on the cables and the system. Wire a system with all one wire (copper) and then wire the same system with a completely different wire (silver). That includes the voice coils cartridge interconnects speaker wires. If you hear a difference you have your answer.

CD players - some expensive ones sound no better than cheap ones - then again some sound staggeringly better. Depends what you've heard and in what system.

Vibration control is obvious yes.

Power cords conditioners - yes depending what it is. i heard a conditioner clean up the noise floor and really fixed up a marantz receiver - it did absolutely nothing for Bryston (which already has an incredibly low noise floor). YMMV

[JohnMichael]

1. In my experience cables make a difference. I am using all solid core IC's and bi-wired speaker cables. While I believe cables make a difference it takes me longer to determine if that change is an improvement. I have changed cables and thought wow listen to the detail in the highs and in a week I was jerking them out of the system because of all that detail. I have learned if a cable makes one part of the spectrum wow you it is probably not the right cable.

2. The only thing I am doing for vibrations is the cones under my turntable. The hard cones replaced the compliant feet. Much tighter bass and a reduction in any muddying vibrations from the motor and bearing.

3. I used a PS Audio power cord with the Cambridge Audio 640A because that amp picked up every bit of grunge from the ac. The Onkyo A-9555 has the lowest noise floor of any inexpensive int. amp in my experience. At first it's lack of noise and colorations made me think it was not as exciting. Once I broke my habit of listening to noise and colorations I found I enjoyed the music much more. I have no interest in an after market cord for the Onkyo.

4. Source does make an important difference. If the source is not good an excellent recording can not shine through. Of course it was always easier to have an improperly set up turntable that would diminish the sound quality. Once people hear a properly set up and tweaked table they are amazed at how good their records can sound. I agree there is less difference in modern digital players. The Marantz SA 8001 is superior to the CD5001 but not by a huge margin. Speaking of cables I had begun to notice a lack of air in the SA 8001 and removed the AlphaCore TQ2 (21 guage) and returned the AlphaCore Micropurl (25 guage) and the high frequencies were back and the imaging improved. The change was obvious but I can not explain what characteristic of the cable made the change in sound.

5. I bi-wire my Mo-Fi OML 1's. When I first received them I used single wire with the jumpers. They sounded good but I felt like the soundstage in the lower registers was broader and better defined. When I switched to the Audioquest Slates the highs opened up equal to the mids and lows. I felt the effect was more soundstage and definition than in frequency response. The tonal balance did not change except the highs were more open and extended.