I often see postings here about which equipment to buy, how to improve, etc from those interested to listen to good music in a decent hifi system. The following article in the latest Hifi+ magazine looks fascinating from an end-user like many of us and I am giving a summary of the same below.
My system comprising of Cyrus CD8x, Sugden A21SE and Sonus Faber Signum on Ironwood stands has grown without any systematic process applied to mains or interconnects with Target stand had remained uninvestigated in service for 20 years. I recently deconstructed my system to experiment, the first step in the process of upgrading. All listening was done with the volume control at 9 oclock position. The room is about 4.5 X 5.5m with a pitched roof.
Stripped back to basics, Giveaway mains and interconnect cables, generic speaker cables, the amp on a MDF sheet on the floor, CD player stacked on amp, speakers bookshelfed without toe-in. What does it sound like? 2-dimensional sound without any sense of depth, pitched well forward to the room, abrasively sibiliant with strident vocals. The bass is significantly enhanced from near the wall position and very boomy.
Now I placed the amp and CDP side by side on glass shelf and joined with a VdH D102 Hybrid with all else unchanged. Immediately there is space and separation between instruments and greater integration of the musical whole. The soundstage has some depth but still with a very forward presentation. Bass and HF are better controlled but still with boom and brightness. Presentation is lively and dynamic but quickly becomes wearing.
Next comes some chunky mains cables but this time segregating from interconnects. All else remains unchanged. Now better control of dynamics and improved separation with depth. Subtle musical details are coming out of the background but the better bass depth becomes overpowering the music. Now a nOrdost Vishnu power cable on the amp provided significant changes to the overall quality that even my wife could clearly hear the improvement!
Now I use some draught pieces for isolation of components and the bass becomes taughter and drier with room resonance less apparent until the volume increases to the point where the isolation is overwhelmed. Now, with foam blocks under CDP, coherence and balanced are improved markedly. But there is still a lot of bass. Now a set of Nordost Pulsar Points under the CDP let the amp maintain control as before but released so much extra energy that I began to fear for the cones. Now I reduce the volume and the bass heavy balance tilts and more musical integration. There is still some thickening in mid-range but with judicious use of volume control, I now can listen comfortably for extended periods.
Now I return the speakers to their stands and toed them in place. Without back wall reinforcing, bass was tamed but now the HF brightness increases. The soundstage has opened up and sits clearly between speakers having lost the boominess.
Now I replace the MDF shelves with Perspex for the amp and CDP and the effectiveness is startling. Dynamics improves and space and air are further enhanced.
Now the interconnects change. The sense of space and air between each instrument, sensitivity of vocal emotions is released. Natural dynamics and harmonic envelope. More width and depth in soundstage but does not cross the speaker boundaries. Change speaker cables now. Cleaner, crisper and more air. A wider soundstage and boxiness gone.
While this exercise is entirely a subjective process, I recognise improvements, incremental and identifiable.
The moral of the story (or experience) is that with a decent collection of moderately priced well performing equipment, one can no doubt build a great sounding system as long as one goes systematically and spends money for incremental improvements rather than always succumbing to the urge of upgrading components.
And from my personal side, please note that enjoying good 2-channel music requires a "pure" souce like CD player, amp and speakers. If one believes that a multifunction machine like DVD player or home theater receiver can do the same job, sorry, you are mistaken. I may be conservative but that is my experience.
Good luck and spend your money carefully.
murali
My system comprising of Cyrus CD8x, Sugden A21SE and Sonus Faber Signum on Ironwood stands has grown without any systematic process applied to mains or interconnects with Target stand had remained uninvestigated in service for 20 years. I recently deconstructed my system to experiment, the first step in the process of upgrading. All listening was done with the volume control at 9 oclock position. The room is about 4.5 X 5.5m with a pitched roof.
Stripped back to basics, Giveaway mains and interconnect cables, generic speaker cables, the amp on a MDF sheet on the floor, CD player stacked on amp, speakers bookshelfed without toe-in. What does it sound like? 2-dimensional sound without any sense of depth, pitched well forward to the room, abrasively sibiliant with strident vocals. The bass is significantly enhanced from near the wall position and very boomy.
Now I placed the amp and CDP side by side on glass shelf and joined with a VdH D102 Hybrid with all else unchanged. Immediately there is space and separation between instruments and greater integration of the musical whole. The soundstage has some depth but still with a very forward presentation. Bass and HF are better controlled but still with boom and brightness. Presentation is lively and dynamic but quickly becomes wearing.
Next comes some chunky mains cables but this time segregating from interconnects. All else remains unchanged. Now better control of dynamics and improved separation with depth. Subtle musical details are coming out of the background but the better bass depth becomes overpowering the music. Now a nOrdost Vishnu power cable on the amp provided significant changes to the overall quality that even my wife could clearly hear the improvement!
Now I use some draught pieces for isolation of components and the bass becomes taughter and drier with room resonance less apparent until the volume increases to the point where the isolation is overwhelmed. Now, with foam blocks under CDP, coherence and balanced are improved markedly. But there is still a lot of bass. Now a set of Nordost Pulsar Points under the CDP let the amp maintain control as before but released so much extra energy that I began to fear for the cones. Now I reduce the volume and the bass heavy balance tilts and more musical integration. There is still some thickening in mid-range but with judicious use of volume control, I now can listen comfortably for extended periods.
Now I return the speakers to their stands and toed them in place. Without back wall reinforcing, bass was tamed but now the HF brightness increases. The soundstage has opened up and sits clearly between speakers having lost the boominess.
Now I replace the MDF shelves with Perspex for the amp and CDP and the effectiveness is startling. Dynamics improves and space and air are further enhanced.
Now the interconnects change. The sense of space and air between each instrument, sensitivity of vocal emotions is released. Natural dynamics and harmonic envelope. More width and depth in soundstage but does not cross the speaker boundaries. Change speaker cables now. Cleaner, crisper and more air. A wider soundstage and boxiness gone.
While this exercise is entirely a subjective process, I recognise improvements, incremental and identifiable.
The moral of the story (or experience) is that with a decent collection of moderately priced well performing equipment, one can no doubt build a great sounding system as long as one goes systematically and spends money for incremental improvements rather than always succumbing to the urge of upgrading components.
And from my personal side, please note that enjoying good 2-channel music requires a "pure" souce like CD player, amp and speakers. If one believes that a multifunction machine like DVD player or home theater receiver can do the same job, sorry, you are mistaken. I may be conservative but that is my experience.
Good luck and spend your money carefully.
murali
