What's next on your audio wish list?

[JSngry]

[Scott Dolan]

How can I rejuvenate the green magic markers that have dried out? Do I really need to buy new ones?

How quaint.

You need to get with the program, Chuck. Markers are out. You need a demagnetizer!

And cable elevators!

[TedR]

I have no Idea why anyone would use green magic markers. I just do not like that color. :-)

[Scott Dolan]

Ah, but you'd be missing out on that magical snake oil that makes your CD's sound better!

I'm currently working on demagnetized acoustically suspended sand bags that will take the place of the common cable elevator. They'll actually speed the signal up through your cables, as well as remove any unwanted skin effect that effects those high frequencies that were previously undetectable to the human ear. They will now give even the most tin-eared human the ability to fully enjoy frequencies as high as 192kHz! Imagine that!

I'm thinking $699 for a set of ten. Does that strike you as a fair price? It only gives me about a $10 profit per set, but the most important part is getting the product out there.

[sonnymax]

[Sundog]

Here's some info Steve has posted about "riding the gain" which is a large part of the way the CSP3 can be perceived to "improve" the sound of components it is connected to:

RIDING THE GAIN

A term we came up with because of the active nature of the adjustment process that can take place when you use a ZSTAGE in conjunction with an preamp OR amplifier fitted with a gain control.

INPUT OUTPUT

Riding the gain happens when you have two controls. One at the source and one at the amp or preamp. Think of it like water pressure. You have a pipe with a valve at the input end and another valve at the output end. The valves represent the gain controls and the pipe represents the signal path between the two gain gain controls.

By turning up the input valve and turning the output valve down we create pressure inside the pipe. By turning down (closing) the input valve and turning up (opening) the output valve we reduce pressure inside the pipe. So if you took a garden hose and turned on the faucet you would have lots of water coming out the end, but it wouldn’t be able to spray anything until you put a nozzle on the end. The nozzle acts like a valve to restrict the output causing the pressure in the hose to increase. PRESSURE in this metaphor is the same thing as DYNAMICS in your stereo system.

FREQUENCY BALANCE

By having a gain control at the source and a second one at the amp (or preamp) it is possible to manipulate the dynamics of your music and it’s overall frequency balance. For example, if the music sounds thin you can increase the “pressure” by turning down the gain control on the amplifier (or preamp) and then raising the gain control at the source. This will add noticeable weight to the music and mellow out the top end. On the other side, if the music is sounding boomy or thick, you can do the opposite - turn up the gain on the amp and reduce the gain at the source. The boominess will go away.

from: http://www.decware.com/newsite/ZSTAGEMANUAL.pdf

That's a nice explanation. I've actually experienced his effect as well. Not with a home hifi set up but rather with my bass and electric guitar rigs when using multiple gain stages. Seems totally plausible that the effect translates to consumer electronic products as well.

[Scott Dolan]

If something sounds "thin" or "boomy" it can also easily be taken care of with an audio analizer and parametric EQ. And down to the single Hz if necessary. Far more precisely than any gain control will accomplish.

Tubes are a lot of fun, and sound awesome. But for accuracy, solid state has no peer.

And while I love the tube sound, and all the warmth they provide, I can't help but laugh when I hear them referred to "highly resolving". Yes, they sound incredible. Unique. But taken literally, there is nothing actually "highly resolving" about them. There is simply too much harmonic distortion involved. Good, or bad.

Edited March 1, 2014 by Scott Dolan

[tomatamot]

I ordered the new Clearaudio RCM, double sided ultrasonic cleaning.

Vinyl rules.

Edited March 1, 2014 by tomatamot

[Scott Dolan]

Good lord! That looks like a serious piece of equipment!

[Stefan Wood]

I use the enzymes from my spit and a little elbow grease to clean my vinyl.

[sidewinder]

One of these air plugs for my phono stage..

[jazzbo]

On my audio wish list is the new PS Audio DirectSteream. May take a while to get there unless I sell some guitars, guitar amps, etc. Which I might.

[Clunky]

No people what you need is black ravioli

soaks up subsonic vibrations ...and other vibrations that might concern the likes of RRK or Sun Ra

[A Lark Ascending]

Another...

Can then join the Hi-Fi system I use 50% of the time...

Now if they'd just invent a 5 TB ipod....

Edited March 1, 2014 by A Lark Ascending

[Scott Dolan]

One of these air plugs for my phono stage..

What does that do, exactly? I've never heard of an air plug.

[sidewinder]

One of these air plugs for my phono stage..

What does that do, exactly? I've never heard of an air plug.

Naim Audio impedance matching component for SuperLine (in this case resistive, no capacitance). Needs to match the moving coil cartridge impedance characteristics.

Edited March 1, 2014 by sidewinder

[Scott Dolan]

Ah...I don't entirely understand what that means, since I haven't done a turntable in over a decade (which I honestly miss), but thanks for explaining.

Looks like an interesting piece, though. Is it costly?

[sidewinder]

Looks like an interesting piece, though. Is it costly?

They are around £150. Precision built/tested with metallic foil element to do the resistive matching. So - in relative terms compared with some of the high precision valve amps out there etc - no.

Edited March 2, 2014 by sidewinder

[Scott Dolan]

That's cool. Hope it makes the changes you are looking for.

Though "high precision valve amp" is a rather amusing term. Tubes aren't precise by design. They add distortion. Now, it's a distortion that is pleasant to the human ear, but is still actually subtracts from the music being precisely presented. It's a subjective call as to whether that is good or bad.

[Scott Dolan]

Or, as I recently saw it put on another audiophile website:

" If the sound you desire is "musical" then go with the tubes but if you want the detail and slam then go SS."

[sidewinder]

Maybe 'precision' is the wrong word and I should have said '$$$'.

Edited March 2, 2014 by sidewinder

[Scott Dolan]

Maybe 'precision' is the wrong word and I should have said '$$$'.

Yeah, that's no shit.

But, with that said, I think you tend to get better value with tubes than with solid state in most cases. Sub-par solid state is far easier to market. The sub-$1,000 receiver market is loaded with garbage. But, the people in that market really aren't all that concerned with quality.

Conversely, most folks who use tubes tend to be far more serious hobbyists with a greater knowledge base. So, even with them being far more expensive "per watt", for example, the quality tends to be much higher. So at least all those $$$ have a higher "you get what you pay for" ratio.

[porcy62]

But, with that said, I think you tend to get better value with tubes than with solid state in most cases.

Naim audio a part.

[Scott Dolan]

And Emotiva, and Parasound, and Rotel, and Outlaw, the list could go on. All I was saying was that in my experience there is far more sub-par solid state products than tube products. Tube entusiasts tend to have higher standards.

And this really applies to the lower end stuff from both sides. Say, the $300-$2,000 range.

Edited March 2, 2014 by Scott Dolan

[AllenLowe]

I would like to find a pair of speakers in the $500-$600 range that are perfectly flat and can be used for mixing - not the usual studio monitors (I hate those); just a good accurate set; I already have an incredible set, but they will be going by summer as I have donated my mixing studio; so at this point I am looking for a decent replacement.

I have a feeling, however, that my price point may be impossible.