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Thread: The perils of modifying gear

  1. #51
    Join Date: Apr 2012

    Location: N E Kent

    Posts: 51,624
    I'm Geoff.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Joe View Post
    My 'thing' is books.
    I like books. But don't seem to have the attention span for anything 'scholarly' these days.

    I read for about an hour each night before going to sleep. Mostly cheap paperback 'novels' from local charity shops. Trouble is, I have to try several before a half decent read is found. I hate those with large print. Clearly done to fill more pages and give a more substantial outer appearance.
    It is impossible for anything digital to sound analogue, because it isn't analogue!

  2. #52
    Join Date: May 2009

    Location: gone away

    Posts: 4,870
    I'm joe.

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    Quote Originally Posted by jandl100 View Post
    I hear differences between mains cables. Always. Every single different one I have tried makes my system sound different to me, without exception.
    I don't care if some folks think I am deluded.
    I will spend my money how I wish.
    To be fair, I'm probably going deaf. (Though I do hear quite noticeable differences between interconnects).

  3. #53
    Join Date: Jan 2008

    Location: Wrexham, North Wales, UK

    Posts: 110,012
    I'm AudioAl'sArbiterForPISHANTO.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Joe View Post
    Fair enough. My 'thing' is books. As far as I'm concerned, the criteria for any book are that a) the print must be legible and b) if it's a scholarly text (as opposed to a throwaway novel) it should have useful introductory material and references, and a comprehensive index. I couldn't care less about the binding, whether the book is hardback or paperback, or whether it still has its dustjacket, or whether it's signed by the author. Indeed, I'd actually prefer a clean, legible paperback to a fancy special edition, if the former had a clearer typeface. A bibliophile/book collector would have different, almost exactly opposite criteria.

    Much advertising, especially of luxury goods, is predicated on the basis of 'You deserve the best, this is the best. Only discriminating individuals like you will appreciate just how good this thing is'. I won't pretend to be immune from such messages, but as I get older and (I hope) wiser, I become better at spotting the spin. In audio terms, this is how much 'fancy' equipment is sold; another angle is the 'bespoke' one: 'You are too good for the standard issue that everyone else buys. What you need is my 'modded' version, which elevates the basic product to a whole new level'. Not all of this is spin, no doubt there are genuine improvements to be had, but it can be hard to distinguish what constitutes a real improvement, as opposed to a difference, especially once you've 'invested' your hard-earned cash.

    As for fancy mains cables, I've tried them several times on both source and amplification and heard no difference. The only one I still own (a purple Nordost something-or-other) now connects the TV to the mains, as it's the only one long enough to reach the socket.
    Again, fair enough. Your criteria for how good something needs to be, in order for it to be 'fit for purpose' is equally as valid as mine. However, I've always been a perfectionist and someone who demands to get the *absolute best* out of anything I use, which I value.

    It doesn't matter if it's a TV, a computer, a car, the food I eat or a hi-fi system; I need to *know* that I've done the absolute most, within my capabilities, to release its FULL potential, which is why, for me, 'adequate' is never enough

    I've mentioned that we're very different people, and I suspect that's one area where it certainly applies

    Marco.
    Main System

    Turntable: Heavily-modified Technics SL-1210MK5G [Mike New bearing/ETP platter/Paul Hynes SR7 PSU & reg mods]. Funk Firm APM Achromat/Nagaoka GL-601 Crystal Record Weight/Isonoe feet & boots/Ortofon RS-212D/Denon DL-103GL in Denon PCL-300 headshell with Funk Firm Houdini/Kondo SL-115 pure-silver cartridge leads.

    Paul Hynes MC head amp/SR5 PSU. Also modded Lentek head amp/Denon AU-310 SUT.

    Other Cartridges: Nippon Columbia (NOS 1987) Denon DL-103. USA-made Shure SC35C with NOS stylus. Goldring G820 with NOS stylus. Shure M55E with NOS stylus.

    CD Player: Audiocom-modified Sony X-777ES/DAS-R1 DAC.

    Tape Deck: Tandberg TCD 310, fully restored and recalibrated as new, by RDE, plus upgraded with heads from the TCD-420a. Also with matching TM4 Norway microphones.

    Preamps: Heavily-modified Croft Charisma-X. LDR Stereo Coffee. Power Amps: Tube Distinctions Copper Amp fitted with Tungsol KT-150s. Quad 306.

    Cables & Sundries: Mark Grant HDX1 interconnects and digital coaxial cable, plus Mark Grant 6mm UP-LCOFC Van Damme speaker cable. MCRU 'Ultimate' mains leads. Lehmann clone headphone amp with vintage Koss PRO-4AAA headphones.

    Tube Distinctions digital noise filter. VPI HW16.5 record cleaning machine.

    Speakers: Tannoy 15MGs in Lockwood cabinets with modified crossovers. 1967 Celestion Ditton 15.


    Protect your HUMAN RIGHTS and REFUSE ANY *MANDATORY* VACCINE FOR COVID-19!

    Also **SAY NO** to unjust 'vaccine passports' or certificates, which are totally incompatible with a FREE society!!!


  4. #54
    Join Date: May 2009

    Location: gone away

    Posts: 4,870
    I'm joe.

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    Quote Originally Posted by walpurgis View Post
    I like books. But don't seem to have the attention span for anything 'scholarly' these days.

    I read for about an hour each night before going to sleep. Mostly cheap paperback 'novels' from local charity shops. Trouble is, I have to try several before a half decent read is found. I hate those with large print. Clearly done to fill more pages and give a more substantial outer appearance.
    I can (and do) read both; the scholarly stuff in the daytime, the cheap novels at bedtime (mostly whodunnits). My memory has never been that good, so as long as I leave a long enough time between reads, I can re-read them a second or even a third time and still be surprised by the ending.

    I've just picked up two massive tomes 'The Victorian Country House' and 'Life in the Country House' by Mark Girouard, for 1p each plus postage. I coveted those books when they first came out in the late '70s at £20 and were out of my financial reach.

  5. #55
    Join Date: Jan 2008

    Location: Wrexham, North Wales, UK

    Posts: 110,012
    I'm AudioAl'sArbiterForPISHANTO.

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    Quote Originally Posted by jandl100 View Post
    I hear differences between mains cables. Always. Every single different one I have tried makes my system sound different to me, without exception.
    I don't care if some folks think I am deluded.
    I will spend my money how I wish.
    Precisely, and neither do I, but I (and other staunch subjectivists here, such as you) will not have their valid experiences demeaned or ridiculed by blinkered 'science first' objectivists.

    I don't give the slightest flying fuck what 'science says', if my ears tell me differently - and crucially after I've tested something to my satisfaction, over many years, and thus I'm confident my judgement is correct!

    And *that* way of thinking is fundamental to the AoS ethos, and the approach we will always champion here, with all aspects of audio. If you don't like that or disagree, then find somewhere else to nurture your objectivist belief system.

    Marco.
    Main System

    Turntable: Heavily-modified Technics SL-1210MK5G [Mike New bearing/ETP platter/Paul Hynes SR7 PSU & reg mods]. Funk Firm APM Achromat/Nagaoka GL-601 Crystal Record Weight/Isonoe feet & boots/Ortofon RS-212D/Denon DL-103GL in Denon PCL-300 headshell with Funk Firm Houdini/Kondo SL-115 pure-silver cartridge leads.

    Paul Hynes MC head amp/SR5 PSU. Also modded Lentek head amp/Denon AU-310 SUT.

    Other Cartridges: Nippon Columbia (NOS 1987) Denon DL-103. USA-made Shure SC35C with NOS stylus. Goldring G820 with NOS stylus. Shure M55E with NOS stylus.

    CD Player: Audiocom-modified Sony X-777ES/DAS-R1 DAC.

    Tape Deck: Tandberg TCD 310, fully restored and recalibrated as new, by RDE, plus upgraded with heads from the TCD-420a. Also with matching TM4 Norway microphones.

    Preamps: Heavily-modified Croft Charisma-X. LDR Stereo Coffee. Power Amps: Tube Distinctions Copper Amp fitted with Tungsol KT-150s. Quad 306.

    Cables & Sundries: Mark Grant HDX1 interconnects and digital coaxial cable, plus Mark Grant 6mm UP-LCOFC Van Damme speaker cable. MCRU 'Ultimate' mains leads. Lehmann clone headphone amp with vintage Koss PRO-4AAA headphones.

    Tube Distinctions digital noise filter. VPI HW16.5 record cleaning machine.

    Speakers: Tannoy 15MGs in Lockwood cabinets with modified crossovers. 1967 Celestion Ditton 15.


    Protect your HUMAN RIGHTS and REFUSE ANY *MANDATORY* VACCINE FOR COVID-19!

    Also **SAY NO** to unjust 'vaccine passports' or certificates, which are totally incompatible with a FREE society!!!


  6. #56
    Join Date: May 2009

    Location: gone away

    Posts: 4,870
    I'm joe.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Marco View Post
    I've mentioned that we're very different people, and I suspect that's one area where it certainly applies

    Marco.
    Yeah. I'm easily pleased, and lazy as fuck. Plus I did all that monkeying about with special cables, supports, you name it, back in the late '80s, and eventually came to the conclusion that life was too short.

  7. #57
    Join Date: Aug 2009

    Location: Staffordshire, England

    Posts: 37,771
    I'm Martin.

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    If mains cables really make no difference at all and any old kettle lead will do then why did my Krell amp come with its own mains cable and why do Krell advise in the manual that if you use any other lead the world will come to an end? (They don't actually say the world will end but it is implied).
    Current Lash Up:

    TEAC VRDS 701T > Sony TAE1000ESD > Krell KSA50S > JM Labs Focal Electra 926.

  8. #58
    Join Date: Jan 2008

    Location: Wrexham, North Wales, UK

    Posts: 110,012
    I'm AudioAl'sArbiterForPISHANTO.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Joe View Post
    Yeah. I'm easily pleased, and lazy as fuck. Plus I did all that monkeying about with special cables, supports, you name it, back in the late '80s, and eventually came to the conclusion that life was too short.
    I agree (there comes a point when you have to stop and say 'job done'), which is why I've taken somewhat of a 'back seat' now with hi-fi, as I've largely achieved what I set out to do, and now simply sit back and enjoy the fruits of my labours - and most importantly my increased enjoyment of listening to music as a result, which is where my money is now spent.

    My head is in a very happy and satisfied place with the whole hi-fi scene, so the days of tinkering are largely over

    Marco.
    Main System

    Turntable: Heavily-modified Technics SL-1210MK5G [Mike New bearing/ETP platter/Paul Hynes SR7 PSU & reg mods]. Funk Firm APM Achromat/Nagaoka GL-601 Crystal Record Weight/Isonoe feet & boots/Ortofon RS-212D/Denon DL-103GL in Denon PCL-300 headshell with Funk Firm Houdini/Kondo SL-115 pure-silver cartridge leads.

    Paul Hynes MC head amp/SR5 PSU. Also modded Lentek head amp/Denon AU-310 SUT.

    Other Cartridges: Nippon Columbia (NOS 1987) Denon DL-103. USA-made Shure SC35C with NOS stylus. Goldring G820 with NOS stylus. Shure M55E with NOS stylus.

    CD Player: Audiocom-modified Sony X-777ES/DAS-R1 DAC.

    Tape Deck: Tandberg TCD 310, fully restored and recalibrated as new, by RDE, plus upgraded with heads from the TCD-420a. Also with matching TM4 Norway microphones.

    Preamps: Heavily-modified Croft Charisma-X. LDR Stereo Coffee. Power Amps: Tube Distinctions Copper Amp fitted with Tungsol KT-150s. Quad 306.

    Cables & Sundries: Mark Grant HDX1 interconnects and digital coaxial cable, plus Mark Grant 6mm UP-LCOFC Van Damme speaker cable. MCRU 'Ultimate' mains leads. Lehmann clone headphone amp with vintage Koss PRO-4AAA headphones.

    Tube Distinctions digital noise filter. VPI HW16.5 record cleaning machine.

    Speakers: Tannoy 15MGs in Lockwood cabinets with modified crossovers. 1967 Celestion Ditton 15.


    Protect your HUMAN RIGHTS and REFUSE ANY *MANDATORY* VACCINE FOR COVID-19!

    Also **SAY NO** to unjust 'vaccine passports' or certificates, which are totally incompatible with a FREE society!!!


  9. #59
    Join Date: Jan 2008

    Location: Wrexham, North Wales, UK

    Posts: 110,012
    I'm AudioAl'sArbiterForPISHANTO.

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Macca View Post
    If mains cables really make no difference at all and any old kettle lead will do then why did my Krell amp come with its own mains cable and why do Krell advise in the manual that if you use any other lead the world will come to an end? (They don't actually say the world will end but it is implied).
    They're trying to 'brainwash' you with marketing spiel, of course, so don't let yourself become a victim of expectation bias!

    Marco.
    Main System

    Turntable: Heavily-modified Technics SL-1210MK5G [Mike New bearing/ETP platter/Paul Hynes SR7 PSU & reg mods]. Funk Firm APM Achromat/Nagaoka GL-601 Crystal Record Weight/Isonoe feet & boots/Ortofon RS-212D/Denon DL-103GL in Denon PCL-300 headshell with Funk Firm Houdini/Kondo SL-115 pure-silver cartridge leads.

    Paul Hynes MC head amp/SR5 PSU. Also modded Lentek head amp/Denon AU-310 SUT.

    Other Cartridges: Nippon Columbia (NOS 1987) Denon DL-103. USA-made Shure SC35C with NOS stylus. Goldring G820 with NOS stylus. Shure M55E with NOS stylus.

    CD Player: Audiocom-modified Sony X-777ES/DAS-R1 DAC.

    Tape Deck: Tandberg TCD 310, fully restored and recalibrated as new, by RDE, plus upgraded with heads from the TCD-420a. Also with matching TM4 Norway microphones.

    Preamps: Heavily-modified Croft Charisma-X. LDR Stereo Coffee. Power Amps: Tube Distinctions Copper Amp fitted with Tungsol KT-150s. Quad 306.

    Cables & Sundries: Mark Grant HDX1 interconnects and digital coaxial cable, plus Mark Grant 6mm UP-LCOFC Van Damme speaker cable. MCRU 'Ultimate' mains leads. Lehmann clone headphone amp with vintage Koss PRO-4AAA headphones.

    Tube Distinctions digital noise filter. VPI HW16.5 record cleaning machine.

    Speakers: Tannoy 15MGs in Lockwood cabinets with modified crossovers. 1967 Celestion Ditton 15.


    Protect your HUMAN RIGHTS and REFUSE ANY *MANDATORY* VACCINE FOR COVID-19!

    Also **SAY NO** to unjust 'vaccine passports' or certificates, which are totally incompatible with a FREE society!!!


  10. #60
    Join Date: May 2009

    Location: gone away

    Posts: 4,870
    I'm joe.

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Macca View Post
    If mains cables really make no difference at all and any old kettle lead will do then why did my Krell amp come with its own mains cable and why do Krell advise in the manual that if you use any other lead the world will come to an end? (They don't actually say the world will end but it is implied).
    Dunno. My Devialet came with what looked like a bog-standard kettle lead, and the advice that if you wanted to try a fancier one, you were free to do so, but with the implication were unlikely to hear much difference if you did. The Exposures in the upstairs system have captive mains leads, so there's no possibility of experimentation there (though Russ Andrews suggests you can make an improvement by cutting off the captive lead and adding a male IEC socket, thus enabling use of their £££s mains cables).

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