Exotic/unusual/expensive interconnect wanted

[RobHolt]

If anyone has something that fits any of the above and has been well reviewed I'd like to borrow it for a couple of days to make a few recordings.

I will of course pay the postage costs.

Cheers,

 

[zanash]

This on the face of it sounds very laudable ...
but I can see a few hiccups

firstly if the recordings are going to be done in the same manner as the cd lathe recordings [one recording imo was slightly louder ]....then without getting all parameters equal any comparison is going to be meaningless......and any conclusions drawn would be missleading to the point of idiocy.

the second is that if someone has spent a great deal of money on said cable then they are going to feel pretty peeved if any resulting conclusion says its no different from another. To save and blushes and embarrassment from either loaner or maker I suggest the following ....

......I can provide two cable that will sound different ....neither will be exotic expensive or unusual.

they will be of different topologies .....most cables bought these days are very similar ....mostly being coaxial or bi coaxial ....the only difference being an 0.01% change in impurites in the copper used or a plastic used in the insulation that may have a few more or less chlorine atoms in it ....

its therefore not a great surprise that they all sound rather similar ....

I propose that one should be a coax type with a dubious metallurgical content .... the other being high purity copper in a damped sleeve ....both fitted with identical rca plugs

if this fits the bill pm me

 

[YNMOAN]

As long as the recordings are not clipping it is easy to equalise the levels using Audacity (which is free) - this is what I did to the CD lathe recordings.

 

[zanash]

agreed ....but the whole point is that you should not need to ..infact its imperative that you don't !

...otherwise as test or comparison its meaningless as your not comparing like with like ...imo

 

[RobHolt]

Just to clarify, I intend to play the same song via either CD player or phono stage through the test cable and into the soundcard. Nothing will change - same music, same levels, same recording settings. The only change will be the cable.

I'd like something fairly well known and costly to put against two other cable, one will be something fairly standard from the likes of Chord or QED costing £20 and the other something given away free with a CD player.

All very simple.

I can keep the identity of the cable owner hidden if that helps.

One final point, I don't want something so utterly daft in terms of LCR that it measurably and clearly alters frequency response. We know that will sound different.

 

[Tenson]

Zanash, the recording levels of the previous tests were all exactly identical. No level adjustment in Audacity is needed.

 

[YNMOAN]

Indeed, I didn't think it made any difference (in that particular case).

agreed ....but the whole point is that you should not need to ..infact its imperative that you don't !

...otherwise as test or comparison its meaningless as your not comparing like with like ...imo

Zanash, I don't understand what you mean by the above - post equalising the levels isn't the same in the digital domain as it is in the analogue one - all it means is that the output level is the same. The whole thing is re-scaled not just the top compressed to fit. I honestly don't know why you write that it is "imperative that you don't!".

Rob's proposed methodology seems fine to me.

 

[Tenson]

Imperative that you don't need to, I think he meant.

 

[RobHolt]

Something suitably exotic has been offered.

I feel the flu starting at the moment so it might be a few days before this test gets going.

 

[zanash]

tenson ...are you saying that any changes in peak level between the two tracks are due to the lathing .....?

if both tracks were recorded identically ....?

a simple visual test showed that the tracks I downloaded were not identical in peak level....

this raise other questions about any validity of this method ...if you can get consistant results .......

maybe you could put up two identical track as a constant so people can check any such issues ?

I still say you can't beat having the two disc side by side



can you tell us what the two suitably exotic cables are?...... lets hope there sufficiently different otherwise your efforts will be in vain ...and guess what they will sound the same/similar

or was that the intention ?

 

[sq225917]

Pete if you aren't interested in the thread other than to crap on it with your paranoid ramblings, why not just leave it alone and don't post on it.


Why shouldn't they have slightly different peak levels if the cd lathe does indeed help reduce the noise floor.

 

[YNMOAN]

Imperative that you don't need to, I think he meant.

Hmm..quite possibly; I still don't see why it is so imperative though.

 

[zanash]

Pete if you aren't interested in the thread other than to crap on it with your paranoid ramblings, why not just leave it alone and don't post on it.


Why shouldn't they have slightly different peak levels if the cd lathe does indeed help reduce the noise floor.

please reread my comments ....

I've offered two dissimilar ic ...

that as you so unpleasenly put it is not crapping on the thread ...

to point out faults and failing in the methodology is also not crapping on the thread .

I'm as interested as the next person infact probably more so otherwise I would not be wasting my time on it ...

I suggest you could also look up the meaning of paranoid ......before you miss use it again.

I only suggested that was a wanted possible outcome ...as the protagonists have consistently been anti cable /tweak / mod ....so not an unreasonable comment ..

As to the lathed discs ......


you heard a matched pair when I came over .....
as to if lathing could increase the peaks ...no idea ...but if its going to it will be on the better sounding one ! not the dull and compressed one ...imo

 

[RobHolt]

tenson ...are you saying that any changes in peak level between the two tracks are due to the lathing .....?

if both tracks were recorded identically ....?

a simple visual test showed that the tracks I downloaded were not identical in peak level....

this raise other questions about any validity of this method ...if you can get consistant results .......

maybe you could put up two identical track as a constant so people can check any such issues ?

I still say you can't beat having the two disc side by side



can you tell us what the two suitably exotic cables are?...... lets hope there sufficiently different otherwise your efforts will be in vain ...and guess what they will sound the same/similar

or was that the intention ?

The 'exotic cable will be Synergistic Research Apex cable. It has active shielding and it comes with a power supply.
Quite different to the norm in anyones's book.

This will be compared with:

Chord Silver Siren - silver plated copper, twisted pair and screened. Cost about £120pm.

Chord Opal - a simple coax interconnect that sat at the base of the Chord range and cost £25.

Giveaway bootlace cable with plastic moulded plugs that comes free with cheap kit.

Same music excerpt with absolutely no changes made to either the source, levels or recording.

A very diverse bunch in terms of construction and cost.

Give me a week or so to set things up (and get rid of this flu) and I'll put up the demo.

 

[RobHolt]

Can I just say wrt the lathed test, the discs were played as received, again with no changes made at all, so by implication any difference heard are due to either the information on the discs or how the player has read them.

FWIW, I think I hear a tiny difference but will not be voting for obvious reasons.

 

[YNMOAN]

I look forward to the results Rob (I've actually tried a Synergistic Research interconnect of the type you describe - the very same in fact).

Zanash, with regard to your criticism of the methodology, I'm afraid your criticism does not make sense to me. I had hoped that you would elaborate (quite possibly I misunderstand either your post or the methodology, or both) - but it seems you would rather not .