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Vital hi Fi accessories that don't cost all that much?

russel said:
In a badly designed system they won't, amps that cannot drive a reactive load properly will ring and sound bright, a high impedance potentiometer used as a passive volume control seeing a long cable with a high capacitance will sound a bit duller. Basically I think people are using cables as not very good and very expensive tone controls, and how is it that recording studios are quite happy using standard 600 ohm balanced line cable, if you look at a studio catalogue it cost peanuts to buy in comparison to "hi-fi" cable, if it was no good, all recordings would sound awful. Has any one seen an album with the words "all balanced cables in this studio are made from six nines copper and are connected according to the arrows".
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About right.... in the few cases where cables do make a difference it's due to basic electrical properties of the cable interacting with source and load impedances.. This has nothing to do with the money spent on the cable or their "quality". If equipment is used correctly and designed correctly you won't hear any difference with cables from different makes (so long as, with speaker cable, it's thick and short enough to rule out FR changes due to cable resistance). That's all there is to it folks...
 
Mike42 said:
Begin at the beginning my internet friend...with the Mastering!

I'd rather drink fine single malt from a paper cup than Bells from cut glass crystal if you get my drift.

Anyhows, bedtime now, lets resume this enthralling thread in the morning...
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I would say the beginning begins a little earlier... What about the actual performance and the way it was recorded?
 
gassor said:
Yes, it is a theoretical condition that does not exist in the real world.
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So you are saying that in the real world you cannot have two files that just differ in their resolution/ format (one lossless and the other one 320k, same mastering) ?:confused:
 
Re paper cups and malt (I'm not allowed alcohol) I have a fave cup for coffee its perfect, and when its in the dishwasher ready to be washed I hand wash it because my morning first coffee isn't as good as the other thin walled coffee mugs.

Likewise I have favourite cups and tiny bowls for different types of leaf tea. Probably some sort of manifestation of a OCD i guess...

I completely do not believe in cables but I still paid up £270 on Chord Carnival biwire because I could have just gotten 14M of Maplin's copper stuff but It felt like I had a very fine racehorse and was feeding her poor quality feed. Irrational I know but when the dealer (being dealers they are very naughty like this) slipped some fully burned in Chord Sarum, just to have a try, yes, there was a difference and yes I liked it and yes I said I will think about it. And yes my Chord Carnival changed over a few weeks or I got familiar with the sound, or the amps finally getting used properly got burned in... I just don't know...

And yet I said "I do not believe in cables". That dichotomy exists despite experience saying otherwise.

i live in a complex world -- much of it I have no idea how it actually works and the only way to keep it simple is to look at it simply.
 
The purchase of some RFC interconnects to show me what i was missing in my system..the level of detail is astonishing!! Thumbs up to Paul
 
Blu tack for damping things that rattle in the room - a quid or so
a tape measure to check distances etc A quid or so
Tidal $9 a month here
A tone test disc to identify problem freq bands (free)
REW (free)
Umik1 mic ($70)
 
CliveGrace said:
i live in a complex world -- much of it I have no idea how it actually works and the only way to keep it simple is to look at it simply.
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Clive, despite your comments to the contrary, I get the distinct feeling you are mentally somewhat healthier than quite a few posters on here!
 
Vinyl : Pillar of blue tac for cleaning needle ( as recommended by soundsmith)

Digital : (1) Tesco chopping board under RPi
(2) RPi with volumio
(3) AEx though value has declined since BBC R 3 is no longer avaiLable @ 320 k on Tunein...
 
Not sure if this qualifies as a hi-fi accessory, but I bought a NowTV box, so my previously dumb TV is now smart(ish) and I can watch all those fabulous old music videos on YouTube and have the sound playing through my main system.

I've no idea what the bit rate, sampling rate or business rate is, though I'm sure its low, but I love watching and listening to old stuff. It's become quite addictive, and all for £9.99.
 
CliveGrace said:
Re paper cups and malt (I'm not allowed alcohol) I have a fave cup for coffee its perfect, and when its in the dishwasher ready to be washed I hand wash it because my morning first coffee isn't as good as the other thin walled coffee mugs.
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Spot on!
 
A can of Servisol contact cleaner.

What I'm having trouble following is the palpable fear on this thread that something cheap could actually be good.
 
CliveGrace said:
I this we are losing track of vital accessories that don't cost a lot

Being all streaming and all digital I have very few accessories but I do like the block of sycamore for my headphones. Cost me about £35 from etsy. It's not really vital or essential but it encourages me to put the headphones back tidily on the coffee table rather than just laying about or hanging from a rather utilitarian headphone hook... Its an unnecessary thing, but it's a nice thing it has a pleasing shape and grain. I listen to music more now late at night and early in the morning because it is at hand.

I can see why some people have headphone only systems.
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I have a bottle of whiskey in its box on the mantle piece that serves the same purpose. :)

I agree too that I now listen to more music - the combination of Tidal and headponies (and the headphone stands content!) means that I can sit up late after kids etc are in bed and listen to new music at whatever level suits my mood.

My poweramp has been unplugged for over a week now, and I've not thought once about plugging it back in yet. I took it out to see how the headphone amp sounded with its volume maxed, and then the Exotik doing the volume control.
 
All the little mods and fettling I have done over the years (which at the time seemed like a eureka moment) have either dropped off, got lost, broke or been eaten by the cat. None of them have endured. They only seem to have scratched an upgrade itch that couldn’t be scratched at the time. I spose they did their job in a roundabout kind of way.
 
radamel said:
Mike,

What is the point of singularity?

Please excuse my inquiring not too patient mind.
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Oh right, the start of everything! The Big Bang! We agree on everything up to (but not including) the SQ of Spotify.
 
Mick P said:
Chaps

I have always believed that amatuers should not meddle and leave things to the experts.

I have a Naim based system and I trust Naim for everything as regards to cables and stands etc. I always go with their recommendations and as such I do not worry about whether I should add on or replace this or that and hence I can concentrate on the music and not the system.

The only thing I have added is two rubber rings to fit on the platter of the Garrard 401. It seemed to make a slight difference difference but once again this was on the recommendation of Loricraft.

So my rule is simple - leave it to the experts.

Regards

Mick
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Mmmm I was watching "Back in time for Dinner" yesterday they showed the BSE scandal where the "experts" said it was o/k to eat beef.

Pete
 
Barry williams said:
And there was me thinking i would look on this 9 page thread and find some interesting cheap hints and tips.:rolleyes:
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I admire your optimism, but this IS an audio forum !:D

However, as I wasn't knocked out last year by the performance of my valved CDP after rearranging all my kit on new shelves, I knocked up two thinnish boards (one 3 ply, t'other a light composite wood) to fit underneath the transport and DAC.

I put these under the kit, supported by three Goodmans or Michell cones I had lying around. What a difference; night and day. From dark to light and expansive presentation.

My friend, who has always espoused supports, more or less said 'I told you so'. I'm now a convert, especially as it cost virtually bugger-all.
 
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