Free HIFICRITIC ISSUE Download Vol 1 No 6

[fas42]

For those interested in a quality English publication, with contributors like Martin Colloms, Ben Duncan, Alan Sircom ...

http://www.hificritic.com/downloads/HIFICRITIC_V1N6.pdf

Frank

 

[LL21]

For those interested in a quality English publication, with contributors like Martin Colloms, Ben Duncan, Alan Sircom ...

http://www.hificritic.com/downloads/HIFICRITIC_V1N6.pdf

Frank

Absolutely agree...HiFi Critic is great. No ads, and MC often calls it like he sees it, as far as i can tell. I have communicated with him directly on numerous occassions and his observations have been spot on.

 

[Vincent Kars]

From the article by Philip Newell

I have absolutely nothing against oxygen-free copper because nobody has been
able to prove to me that it sounds in any way inferior to normal copper.

 

[MylesBAstor]

From the article by Philip Newell

Actually years ago, a manufacturer gave me his cables made with different types of copper and from different sources eg. Australia, etc. At that time, with his design, there was a sonic difference and the best of them was an oxygen free copper from Australia. That said, there's a whole lot more to the metallurgy of these cables. A long talk with AJ van den Hul will confirm that

 

[Ki Choi]

Hi Myles,

We may have discussed in in the past but... in my day job, we keep the world's nuclear power plants safe (other than from the natural disasters...) by supplying them with the best inspection system with hardware/software - especially with the eddy current probes that can detect the smallest degradations in the steam generator tubes before they turn into leaks. Failure to detect is not an option... and the cost of the probe is almost no issue since it is the law that you inspect the plants every 18 months (unless you get permission from NRC to skip). The probes connect to our fancy ADC (1.2Mhz bandwidth 5Mhz sampling) that has much higher level of electrical demands than our normal audio requirements to say the least.

We have four people who have dedicated their professional careers in knowing as much about the wires and cables as possible. They electrically measure Capacitance, DC resistance, and Inductance (and shield for center conductor and shield) in specifying the cable for the $12K ea. probe that gets used once and thrown out (whether it still works or not... good business model for any companies).

On the other hand, unlike the nuclear world, our audiophile world can be mysterious beyond engineering and scientific laws so who's to argue an OFC from Australia instead of Africa is the best but then the next question would be - what part of Down Under we talking about....?

 

[cjfrbw]

I guess I am a "Newellite". Active crossovers with amps chosen for each band, decently constructed but not "great" cables and little in the way of cable obsession.

He seems to attribute much audiophile malaise and nitpicking to active crossover speakers.

 

[microstrip]

I guess I am a "Newellite". Active crossovers with amps chosen for each band, decently constructed but not "great" cables and little in the way of cable obsession.

He seems to attribute much audiophile malaise and nitpicking to active crossover speakers.

The article by Philip Newell is really interesting and should be read by every audiophile. But his perspective about sound reproduction is very clear and limits the scope of the article:

These systems were built as ultra high-fidelity monitors; that is, producing an acoustical output waveform as close as possible to the electronic input waveform. They were not designed to ‘sound nice’. On these systems, great recordings sound great and bad recordings sound bad. Professional audio is not about having fun, but about getting things right.

IMHO , this is what separates the industry from consumers. Most consumers want pleasure, emotion and fun with the existing recordings.

 

[flez007]

interesting content, thanks for sharing it!

 

[rbbert]

In the newest issue, there is a free on-line excerpt of a new article on cables, where it shows different measured resistance between copper wires of different purities and crystalline structure. I haven't read anything farther than what is available free

http://hificritic.com/ci/vol5_no4.aspx

 

[FrantzM]

Actually years ago, a manufacturer gave me his cables made with different types of copper and from different sources eg. Australia, etc. At that time, with his design, there was a sonic difference and the best of them was an oxygen free copper from Australia. That said, there's a whole lot more to the metallurgy of these cables. A long talk with AJ van den Hul will confirm that

Myles

I would think you are not inferring that the provenance of the copper has an impact on the sound ... This is the kind of assertion that is certain to require some additional explanations .. So out of the ordinary it would have been.
I would also say that Mister A.j. Va Den Hul knows likely more about cable than I ever will but I would also require proof from him if he were to assert such. Anecdotal references would not suffice in this instance.
The matter of copper provenance has been discussed before. Of course no substantiation beyond anecdotes was provided. .

 

[MylesBAstor]

Myles

I would think you are not inferring that the provenance of the copper has an impact on the sound ... This is the kind of assertion that is certain to require some additional explanations .. So out of the ordinary it would have been.
I would also say that Mister A.j. Va Den Hul knows likely more about cable than I ever will but I would also require proof from him if he were to assert such. Anecdotal references would not suffice in this instance.
The matter of copper provenance has been discussed before. Of course no substantiation beyond anecdotes was provided. .

I dunno Frantz. All I can say is what I and others heard. Same thing went with connectors too.

Vis a vis AJ, he has interesting insights into how the wire is made, drawn, effect of impurities, bending of the wire while drawing, etc. Let's just all is not how it appears

 

[microstrip]

I dunno Frantz. All I can say is what I and others heard. Same thing went with connectors too.

Vis a vis AJ, he has interesting insights into how the wire is made, drawn, effect of impurities, bending of the wire while drawing, etc. Let's just all is not how it appears

AJ van den Hul has recently developed a new type of cable using what he calls True Transmission Technology - 3T , using a a multi-metal combination in the wire conductors. A top cable will be presented at CES 2012, the CUMULUS Hybrid (3T). I am really wanting to listen to them when they reach the market.

For some time I have owned his top carbon speaker cable - The Third. This cable had high resistance and the performance in the bass frequencies was not on par with the competition at similar prices, but the purity and detail at high frequencies was exceptional.

 

[FrantzM]

Hi

I will eave it at that but I would have preferred a little bit more substance than " what I and others heard"...

 

[FrantzM]

Hi

I will leave it at that but I would have preferred a little bit more substance than " what I and others heard"...

 

[Vincent Kars]

Hi FrantzM
I think you will appreciate this one: http://www.vandenhul.com/userfiles/docs/Cable_FAQ.pdf

 

[microstrip]

Hi

I will eave it at that but I would have preferred a little bit more substance than " what I and others heard"...

Also would I . But I doubt that concerning cables you can get much more than that. To have something really new we need the fresh opinions of a type of aliens coming from the outer space, not susceptible to expectation bias ...

 

[FrantzM]

Also would I . But I doubt that concerning cables you can get much more than that. To have something really new we need the fresh opinions of a type of aliens coming from the outer space, not susceptible to expectation bias ...

No Micro.. We have the tools right here on planet Earth. We have ways to mitigate expectation biases ... We audiophiles, refuse these and find great comfort into our system of beliefs. It's not a life or death situation, no harm done ... I don't swallow the large pill however of opinions be posted with all the force of a factual, provable thing .. when someone comes with an extraordinary claim such as the provenance of the copper matters, such a simplistic reply as Myles' is not enough ..
We go after Fas42 when he claims that his HTiB sounds as good as or better than any WBF members systems ... He could simply reply the same i-e he and others heard it ... Would that be enough?

 

[microstrip]

No Micro.. We have the tools right here on planet Earth. We have ways to mitigate expectation biases ... We audiophiles, refuse these and find great comfort into our system of beliefs. It's not a life or death situation, no harm done ... I don't swallow the large pill however of opinions be posted with all the force of a factual, provable thing .. when someone comes with an extraordinary claim such as the provenance of the copper matters, such a simplistic reply as Myles' is not enough ..
We go after Fas42 when he claims that his HTiB sounds as good as or better than any WBF members systems ... He could simply reply the same i-e he and others heard it ... Would that be enough?

You are presenting two interesting examples that IMHO show that readers of this forum expect from it much more than it can give. When I read an opinion of Myles such as the one you describe, and find it interesting because I associate it with what I know from him, considering his previous opinions in WBF, articles in magazines and several sites, I do not expect him to prove anything. As perhaps we have sometimes shared the same sources of information and tastes and I may also find some congenial feeling in it.

Also, IMHO, when any member states that his system sounds better than any of our systems we all know it is hyperbolic comment, mainly due to his enthusiasm and biases. I can can choose between reading it or ignoring it after the first line. But as you say, the debate that usually follows does not prove anything ...

 

[microstrip]

(...) We have ways to mitigate expectation biases ... (...)

This sentence deserves a separate comment per se. Can you suggest a reliable, practical and expedite way of "mitigating expectation biases" in top audiophile systems?

 

[FrantzM]

Micro

It is you ... I do expect anyone who comes with an assertion that flies in the face of everything that I know (likely most other people ) to back it up with more substance than "I heard it and so did others" YMMV ...

You may accuse me of playing with semantics but when you state :

Also, IMHO, when any member states that his system sounds better than any of our systems we all know it is hyperbolic comment, mainly due to his enthusiasm and biases.

... You qualify the member statement of inaccuracy.
Ina discussion forum some observations must if not be proven but at the very least be substantiated. The more unusual or extreme the assertion the more substance is required ... Thus the example about Frank's HTiB ... Also in discussion forums a person may choose not to change it stance or NOT .. The same person should be careful about what he or she says , else we fall into nonsense .. a useless forum ...

Parting Shot .. Bose Lifestyle 5 is more accurate than any system one would assemble with Wilson speakers + Spectral gear..

Would you go for that one ?