The Bigblog!

It could be, although Silver cables have not landed a blow on my XR-3000 PC-TRIPLE C interconnects. Far from it.

DOB?

Ah....well done. I couldn't think of an acronym lol

For the last few days i have been attempting to find the bite and crunch from the X50D that macca and i got from his TEAC CDT. As you may recall, the vibrancy, impact and dynamics of the TEAC was a step ahead of the X50D i had at the time, and opted to sell it and buy a TEAC.

Well that looks to be dead in the water, as after 3 days, 6 cables and umpteen tracks....i think i have it.

The glaring oversight of that comparison is that i didn't try the X50D with the RCA to RCA cable we had used on the TEAC, and whilst i still haven't done that, i have done something else which appears to have unlocked the door to the performance attributes I am after, even if not 100% the same. But first, lets talk about the Wireworld Eclipse Platinum 8 cable.

The cable arrived last week and I got straight to listening to it. Wow...simply unreal performance on so many aspects. For one, the soundstage was SOOOOO holographic. It is leaps and bounds ahead of any cable i have had here. It's almost like the system is full of those hologram projectors in Star Wars, and sound is appearing and floating in front of you. It's quite extraordinary and certainly unlike anything that has come before it. The detail too is beyond the realms of any cable I have tried. Listening to Radiohead's "Subterranean Homesick Alien" is otherworldly. I haven't heard digital behave this way since I listened to a Lampizator GoldenGate on the end of some extreme valve amplifiers, that was the most holographic system I have ever heard, and I reckon this got to about 70% of that in a MUCH smaller room. I would LOVE to know what it would do in a bigger one. However, it's not all good news. In the not so distant past, I sold a pair of pure silver AES cables as the LF was simply too much for my room. The Wireworld cable is also demonstrating this tendency, and I cannot crank the volume up without it becoming overbearing and insufferable.

Believe me when I say this, I am devastated that his is happening, and i have no idea why a silver AES cable would behave so different to a Copper one, but it does. I LOVE this cable...but the room does not.

So, This led me to experiment with what i already have, and i think i may have cracked it.

In the chain next were two Clearer Audio 75ohm cables. Yes, i have lost a chunk of hologram like presentation, and no, it's definitely not as floaty, but now the drums are incredibly impactful and dynamic, with a real sense of contact and tactility. Brass is rasping and throaty and the first contact of plectrum on guitar string is very accurately presented. If only i could have it all....well, maybe I can. As a last option of testing, i have now gone for one Sterling Silver 75ohm cable between X50D and Mutec, and one Clearer Audio cable between Mutec and Aqvox. I am now somewhere between the two sounds with excellent hologram imaging and retained 99% of the impact and dynamics. This has led me to conclude one thing....75ohm cable appears to be doing something that AES has not so far.

Over the next few days I intend to make another Sterling Silver 75ohm cable and try a full silver loom in the chain. This should tell me even more about which direction to go in, but i think i already know....SAEC STRATOSPHERE PC-CCC BNC cables. Why not chase the BEST COPPER IN THE WORLD and spend more on two cables than most people do on speakers in their lifetime, just for the privilege I am sure that would get some folks chins wagging

Anyway, all this cable swapping got me thinking about what else may be out there and who better to ask than our resident digital guidepost than MisterC. Funnily enough, Tony wouldn't recommend anything for me, as "you are VERY particular" which made me chortle, but he did mention that the problem with my system is the 686, which is "too dry"

I genuinely do not believe it to be the case, certainly not in my experience. I think in systems where there is a component mismatch, yeah, the sound could be too dry, but is that the sole fault of the amplifier? No, not in my book. I have always found the 686 to be as true to the phrase "straight wire with gain" as you could hope for. It simply amplifies the sound you feed it, and does so without stamping a sound signature on it.

However, it did get me to thinking that the only other amplifier i have had here since i built the 686 was a Croft 5, which was superb, but not 686 superb. Surely i should be having a look at trying some amplification and seeing if the 686 really is as good as i think. So, the first amplifiers i found that were of interest were Longdog Audio P6 monoblocks, which are currently on eBay for £2.5K. A brief conflab with phonomac ruled them out, but from that conversation came a great suggestion...

"How about a Purifi"

Well, 10 minutes later and one has been purchased and should be here on Wednesday, all being well.

The ASR crowd moisten at the talk of these measurement monsters, which i believe are second only to the Benchmark amplifiers on the chart over there.

Lets see what happens against the 686!

Haha, I am a wierdo T....no doubt there.

I wouldn't mind a loan of those Longdogs...if I like them, you know Id snap them up at the right price

Are you in the Midland's at any point soon? I am attending a private bakeoff soon, I'd be happy to take them with me.

Yeah, I'm up for that....but how do we get it back to you if it fails to woo me?

Maybe back via Brendan? He's a good fella, I'm sure he won't mind 😉

You tell ‘im

🤣

Yes, and they were considerably better 🤣


There is nothing wrong with the speakers, or amp.

Right. They're great - when I was down there last month all I was thinking was your room is the only limitation now. 

Maybe look at doing something more sophisticated with the treatment? Do something to damp the floor down a bit more?

I think you could still make real and significant gains there, forget the component and cable swapping for a bit?

I don't know mate. It's complex subject and I just don't know enough about it to offer you specifics that will work in your situation. You'd have to do some research.

I think making your floor more solid would be a big gain but again you need to ask someone with specific builder type skills as to what the best solution would be there.

I did some quick measurements when at yours, I'll dig them out. From memory, a big room mode at 42Hz and a large suckout around 70-120Hz.

Stiffening up the floor (probably pricey) would deffo help, but I doubt it'll do much to the room mode or suckout.