Buddha,

You will get an even better result if you solder your ears to the speakers.
1 caveat:
If you have Legacy's like DUP's you might have a headache and earlobe pain, but, it is worth it.

Maybe he could solder his equalizer settings in place.

Rane does have tamper proof covers for their stuff exactly for that reason, in commercial settings, so nobody mess's with the kid. Buddha, you probably didn't use "audio grade" solder either, you know different solders sound different.

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Clarity and a sense of an extended high end with some improvement in the lows...I say some because my speakers limit my lows.

Fun!

Thanks.

I have got to try one of these things - if only for the yucks.

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So, this will drive DUP mad, but I soldered the electrical wires to the back of the 400 dollar outlet I use, after I had a welder buddy weld a 3,000 dollar AC power cord into the socket.

Next, I soldered the other end of the AC cord directly to the AC input on the back of my amp.

Then, I bypassed the fuses altogether.

After that, I soldered my 4,500 dollar speaker wires directly to the outputs and also directly to the speakers.

Sounds much better, but it takes me, like, two days to switch out an amp.

As long as only turn it up to "11," I should be OK.

Guys, you haven't lived until you've gone with direct connect.

Three orders of magnitude and six veils improvement.

UL may not approve, but my ears sure do.

I've actually done all these things. I hard wired the power line directly INTO the power amp. No AC power cord at all. Power AC right to the amplifier transformer mains.

No fusing at all.

Interconnects hardwired.

Speakers-hardwired. No binding posts on either end.

This, on a balanced AC system. You have no idea how good that sounds.

But it's very dangerous.

So I took it apart, with regards to the AC connectivity, and fused it. Damn. What a loss.

I'm sure you can hear how fuses sound, on what kind of speakers? I guess mine just ain't "revealing" enough. But if fuses have sound, why not fuse holders, certainly you must change that also. Nothing better than "we wire for fire" in audio land.

Makes me think back to a camping trip in Oak Creek Canyon, Az when I was in High School. The fuse powering the stereo in the car we were riding in had been "modified" by wrapping it with aluminum foil. It did not improve the sound at all, but did do a pretty good job of filling the car with smoke, and not a good kind of smoke.

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I could go on,and on and on...

And you did...

I've heard a talk some time ago where the person did just what you and Buddha described. Soldering the wires directly to the inputs and outputs instead of using connectors apparently improves the signal fidelity. Unfortunately I can't remember who gave the talk, as it was easily over twenty years ago.

DUP,

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I'm sure you can hear how fuses sound, on what kind of speakers? I guess mine just ain't "revealing" enough. But if fuses have sound, why not fuse holders, certainly you must change that also. Nothing better than "we wire for fire" in audio land.

I think you're correct in that fuses sound different from each other, as do fuse holders. It must have something to do with the interface between each part that affects the signal, somehow. If one has a bunch of these connections, the effects must add up.

KBK's experience of soldering the signal path instead of connectors show this is the case. I've also heard Doug Sax (The Mastering Lab) describe an experiment with five switches in series before an audible difference was heard; only then he is satisfied with using one of those switches.

I would guess your speakers should be revealing enough, judging by the discussion in the thread where you had some forum members over at your house to listen to your system.

In my experience, some changes are audible while others are not at a given time. If some change was made to the gear, the previously not audible difference became audible now. In this case, I mean audible as not a subtle change in sound (where one might question whether any difference is real or imagined), but one that is clearly identifiable and repeatable.

There have been times when I made a change to the system and thought that the system sounded the same at first, then maybe it sounded different (I asked myself: was I hearing things?). Over time, the difference became more apparent, as things in the music that wasn't noticeable before now became audible, e.g. clearer-placed in the image.

Some may argue that these differences are imagined, because a DBT was not done. I can't dismiss that as possibly the explanation in some cases. When the difference is clearer and repeatable, I don't think a DBT would add anything to the conclusion.

WTL, you are right. You have put all the bullshit surrounding these arguments (as has Jim Tavaglia) into a succinct sentence or two. Sometimes changes make a difference, sometimes they don't. If you think you hear a difference, but you aren't sure, try again later. And later. And later.

If you are sure you hear a difference, DBT won't help. Exactly. You have to have a mental reference (live concerts, a system you once heard that you enjoyed hell out of, or whatever...). We can't truck the paraphernalia that populates our hobby around for "exact" comparisons, and certainly not to the concert hall. We fly by the seats of our pants. But, sometimes that isn't exactly the worst way to fly, if you are a music lover.

Overall, I base my buying decisions first and foremost on the overall gestalt of the listening experience. How does it feel? Do the speakers disappear? Is there anything here that seems irritating? Then I try to track down details. Of course, you must consider the software, the most variable of all your components. And, next, I try to figure out where to stop. There is a point, when you look at the tapestry TOO closely, where things get confusing. And you lose your initial compass points.

You don't visit Symphony Hall to listen to the rosin on the bass fiddles' bows. You go for the gestalt, the overall feel of the thing. You nit-pick in your living room, with your dollars at stake, and you try to make decisions that have big consequences and will last.

Great post.

Sensing the need for this, I created this web page years ago:
https://ttsetup.com/cliche/

Brian Walsh

My wife could even hear it from the kitchen.