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This is an interesting segue....power, power treatment, cable quality, power supplies, ICs, pre-amps, and lets not forget vibration, aside from the primary components. All of these define the signal quality by how well they carry it, and/or how they protect the signal from noise. The common denominator of each is to help hearing more of the pristine signal without distorting grunge, which in turn can make the sound more natural in tone and dynamics...and the cleaner signal clarifies the soundstage.
Then there are Palomino's room changes with the door open...a different matter atogether, though as Pal has said elsewhere, this improvement is supported by the rest.
As I imagine all this, depending on the quality of power to begin with, and then on all that uses the power and passes signal, the way each of us approach each area creates system-to-system, and room-to-room variables.
I think your saying, Lon, that "everything is everything" might be the concept that does not vary. Oddly, in my case, getting into PS Audio regeneration was a really difficult transition, helping in some ways and hurting just as much in others until I sorted it out. And it did not help my already excellent soundstage.
Well before this the soundstage was brilliant with balanced and natural feeling tone and dynamics...enough so to feel indescribable captivation by the music. I did have decent power though, with a Brickwall, some Alan Maher filters, and a Kemp Schumman Resonator, followed by some decent power cords (many homemade), the MKIII, tweaked Mac Mini/Tranquility, adjusted MG944s, Silver reference, decent MAC ICs and Styx. My sound was very much like real music, enough so to forget about thinking it was one way or another and to just get sucked in, in awe of the beauty.
In that system, explorations with cables and vibration were easily heard, making notable differences in realistic musical refinement, but the magic was there without further refinement. I believe this points to something. For whatever reasons I was getting a balanced and complete enough presentation to prevent exaggeration or masking of micro detail and micro dynamics across the very musical spectrum. So I could hear everything including sweet body and weight.
Then I hear of LRs difficulties over time, with really good power treatment and gear, great source, quite decent cables, and a lot of room treatment.....baffling really. But I agree that ICs could help. I have really enjoyed Decware cables, but finally I find the Silver ICs tend to a sense of thicker bottom with some muddle below, and crisp clarity above. Also, in this system, compared to a number of twisted style cables, Styx have a similar tendency as the Silver Reference ICs...less defined below, and quite clear above. So I can at least imagine that a more balanced yet revealing tonal representation could be brought on by cables, and might help the DS do its thing???
Anyway, here, as I improved power, cables, and vibration more, the music continues to refine, but it was quite good enough to be captivating before. I should say though that even though my cords did not cost a great deal for what they are, they are very good cables. I like my DIY ICs better than Grovers (considered by many to be among the best regardless of price), and many others. And I prefer a few of my power cords over the PSA AC-12. And finally, my power is funky, but I guess I am lucky that it sounded really good other than voltage shifts. So though I got there in different ways than Lon and Dave, I agree that a clean signal can really contribute. But Raven has done a lot of this.
So I wonder.....why has my system been so good at the sense of real instruments within a great soundstage for so long, and for a long time with Styx and Silver Reference cables?
My intense interest in tuning with tubes is definitely a factor. The MKIV is the first amp I have gotten where I liked the sound with stock tubes Steve used, getting the best he can based on reasonable costs and availability. But....after playing around, none of the tubes are stock, and I like the sound way better. What I like is defined by natural complexity and natural tone and timbre across the spectrum, with effortless speed, and without holes or excesses anywhere. I think complexity of micro detail within rich smoothness, and extended balance are where a synergistic set of NOS tubes can really contribute. And tuning to our very different systems and rooms just can't be done at Steve's listening room. I have much preferred OB3 here over any OA3 I have tried for example. Also, here and in my Toriis, many PCC88/7DJ8s rise to the top...And 50's RCA 5U4G-STs...they are varied, but just really nice...My room, system and tastes, but this is the point.
Also, not a small thing here, my speakers are adjusted to have what I find to be a notably more refined, dynamic and complex presentation bottom to top, for me, contributing to musicality.
But probably more, as I learn my setting, I guess that room might be as big or a bigger factor here.
My adobe walls, the ceiling, and floor, are all very irregular (very little plumb or level even in a one sq ft area). So except some aberrant bass frequency buildup in a few areas, the reflection patterns are not really patterns functionally...a whole bunch of the room being a diffusor. I also have several segues into other spaces (also irregular), solving many reflection issues. And it is mostly massive...plaster on adobe and brick on sand. With this foundation, it was not hard to get a very real/alive feeling sound with way less treatments than most rooms would need to reach this level. I was lucky without knowing it, and always wondered why more people did not describe their sound to be as complete and engulfing as mine has been to me.
Now that I can measure the room, I understand it better. I can even up the peaks and valleys with minor EQ adjustments, narrow Qs, with the least being 4-6 Db, and the majority being 1-3 Db with this tube set. But a Db or two in the right places make a big difference toward the refined nature of the whole. This can take the sound from truly amazing to exquisite here. That said, the MKIV adjustments alone, with no EQ, make for a very, very captivating and magical sound here.
But to the point, that this room was truly alive and natural feeling is telling, and without EQ, without the CSP3, and without the more refined power treatment, gear and cables I have now. Speaker adjustment and a lucky room with the right treatments are the best I can come up with?
That said, all of my parts are good enough to help the other components create a whole that is better than the parts. Without this, the "everything is everything" effect would be missing something that could seriously compromise the feel of real music and the all-important soundstage.
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