Audiophile Musings

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Those Little Tiny Wires

In the mid 1980s, I purchased a brand new Yamaha YP-D8 turntable and fell in love with it. Stylish, dark hardwood base, and sexy, this S-arm direct drive turntable served me well for about 15 years never failing and providing endless hours of magical entertainment. Two things I really enjoyed about this analog input device was its ease of vertical tracking adjustment and its quiet motor.

In the rural high-altitude mountains of Colorado, 7 miles from the nearest highway and 9,800 feet in the air, my listening room was pretty gosh darned quiet. The only noises came from the upstairs refrigerator and the downstairs hot-water-heat circulation pump, both of which were also pretty quiet and intermittent. As a result, I was able to hear nuances in things that in most listening environments was just not possible.

Once you remove the grunge of everyday background noise and settle into the stillness, you begin to notice things like the blood pulsing in your ears, faint rustling of the trees in the slightest breeze from within closed doors and windows, and of course details deep within the noise floor of your stereo. It was a wishful-sinful push-pull listening room where any decent audiophile becomes restless once an anomaly in the playback chain is noticed.

There was nothing worse than listening to a crescendo in such a quiet place and having the sound stage collapse into the center of the room so the search was on for a reasonable replacement phono cartridge. Not having the funds to toss at the best of the best, I purchased a Monster Alpha One cartridge, my first moving coil.

It was a remarkable step up in inner detailing, especially at the low level down into the noise floor, but it too had its issues. Checking the alignment dozens of times and trying different weight headshells, tonearm modifications, and the like, the only ting left were the headshell wires. Not to overlook anything, I decided to take the plunge and invest in the newly touted linear crystal oxygen free high conductivity version thinking to myself that spending about half as much on four one-inch long pieces of tiny wire as I did on my phono cartridge was about as much of absurd lunacy as one could expect from any audio purist.

I remember the day i changed these wires quite clearly since I immediately noticed a massive improvement in the system's sound. It was as if a veil had been lifted, as if I had taken off my ear muffs after coming in from the cold, and the resolution of inner detailing once laid back and subtle stood out and beat your ears over your head subliminally saying "Pay Attention - This is Important!" I was impressed and it takes a lot for me to be impressed.

What impressed me is that once the level of a playback system is sufficiently refined, even changes in wires as short as one inch long can make an audible difference in the level of performance. Much like formula one race cars pay attention to aerodynamic drag, weight-to-horsepower ratios, centers of gravity, moments of mass, and the like taking excruciating pains to identify and correct issues to provide optimum performance characteristics, so does attention to this level of minute detail in audio playback systems provide similar positive results. When you rise to the level of a lunatic fringe audiophile, you graduate to that level of attention to detail searching for and eliminating whatever you can in the pursuit of realism.

This morning, I changed out the headshell wires in my Pioneer PL-L1000a to some hand-made versions cobbled together from some small wire-wrap wire I had lying around. The stock wires that came with the Audio Technica headshell, although very nice, were lacking in that same low-level detail I remembered the ones I used with the Yamaha. I installed the little buggers and flipped on the switch. Putting on a familiar piece, I sat back ready to evaluate if I had just trashed a nice set of wires or found a suitable substitute for the L-C OFHC wires of my distant memory.

The cartridge is a Sumiko LMS and I patiently waited about 20 minutes for the system to thermally stabilize by cobbling together this blog. After the warmup period, I spun one of my newer disks and - although not as "hit me over the head" difference - there were more subtle background and inner details that before had not been present. Relieved to find that I had not trashed my system (sometimes this happens when I tweak my system as I am certain with which many of you can relate), I continued to enjoy the Reiner performance of Shubert's Unfinished Symphony No. 5. I have grown to appreciate the Reiner sound for its execution and dynamics and enjoy listening to any of the performances in this fluid-sounding series.

After turning over the album and playing the second side, I began to hear more from the timbre of the instruments that previously perceived and I am now grateful for a nicely tweaked system. There is something in an analog system despite its pops, ticks, and clicks that draws you into the recording and makes you feel like you are there rather than recreating the notes of an orchestra. I still cling to this sound comparing it regularly to the digital world I have grown used to over the years and have hope that it too will one day provide the realism that antiquated but well groomed technology is still capable of trouncing. Without going "digitally deaf," the ambiance and reverberations of the concert hall are all well preserved.

So when you think for a moment that the subtle details to which you pay attention as an audiophile do not make a difference in your musical appreciation, when you feel criticized by intellects who listen to music with their eyes and not their ears, remember that there are those of us who do and truly enjoy the music for all of its essence, not just figures, charts, and numbers. Give everything a try but remember that not everything works. Keep an open mind and by all means trust your ears as the final test.

Yours for higher fidelity,

Philip Rastocny

I do not use ads in this blog to help support my efforts. If you like what you are reading, please remember to reciprocate, My newest title is called Where, oh Where did the Star of Bethlehem Go? It’s an astronomer’s look at what this celestial object may have been, who the "Wise Men" were, and where they came from. Written in an investigative journalism style, it targets one star that has never been considered before and builds a solid case for its candidacy.

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Sunday, September 9, 2012

Picking out a TV

A friend of mine is wanting to buy a new TV set but doesn't know what to really look for when judging picture clarity differences. Most people jump into a car and drive over to their favorite big box store or electronics salon and compare images from the myriad number of sets hanging prominently from the wall. Such sales displays are all driven from a video distribution system with little or no chance to evaluate anything since manufacturers push the color levels to unreasonable limits to create the best possible WOW-effect. So how can you tell? Here are a few tips that with even such limited test signals you can see visual differences.

Unless you have a trained eye, it is difficult to see more than color balance differences in sets. Hooking up a dedicated BluRay player, a good HDMI cable, and a good movie source is the best way to evaluate a set, but most showrooms cannot accommodate such a request. So you must look for differences in the signals simultaneously delivered through their video signal distribution system that CAN tell you something about the set.

Most people are familiar with what is called JPG noise in digital pictures, an artifact of a compression and decompression process that leaves speckles in a picture. In HDTV, this video noise appears along the outer perimeter of objects. More easily seen in slow moving things like people walking against high-contrasts backgrounds, a video noise appears highly visible on cheap sets and less to invisible on better sets. Look for this noise and you will quickly sift out the sheep from the goats. Lower speckles means a clearer picture.

Look at the hair clarity on the RH dancer or belly speckles on the LH dancer to see the effects of video noise

If you like action and motion, you must look for fast screen refresh rates of at least 240Hz in LCD TVs (the Sony Bravia KDL-46HX929 has a 900Hz refresh rate). While most taped broadcasts are 60Hz, live events will produce more life-like realism with less motion blurring. An NFL football pass or a golf ball soaring through the air is a good test for motion blurring. If you buy a 3-D TV, buy at least a 240Hz model since in 3-D mode the refresh rate is actually 1/2 that specified (one frame scan for your left eye and one for your right means half the specified rate).

Black (or contrast level) is another test you can see pretty easily in such an environment although it is best detected in a darker room. When the picture drops out such as a moment between commercials or in a really dark night scene, marginal black representations appear gray. Overly black situations will not show enough detail in darker images or even create weird colors in the shadow or black areas. The center image below shows good black levels while the L image shows too little and the R image is overly black.

Do not be too quick to judge color accuracy and black levels since all sets are calibrated from the manufacturer to give the most wow but not the best color and black level. Buy a test DVD, such as the Digital Video Essentials "HD Basics," and once you narrow down a set, ask the salesperson if you can reset the display settings from its instructions. It takes a few minutes but the results may surprise you as to what a well-respected brand name set can and cannot do.

All sets are compromises but as mentioned Plasma sets tend to find their ways into more demanding homes. The only issue with Plasma is that such sets run pretty hot compared to the others (LCD/LED) and will put an additional load on your home A/C. I have measured as much as s 20 degree F screen temperature difference between models using a hand-held infrared thermometer. This is a parasitic cost of operation that like a tube amp and preamp you just live with if you like what you see.

Whatever TV set you end up getting, use good interconnect cables just as you would for your audio system. Plug the TV into the same power conditioner as your system to minimize noise and ground-loop effects.

Yours for higher fidelity,

Philip Rastocny

My other titles include:

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Evolution of the High End Part 6

Early on in audio, speaker connections used off-the-shelf terminal connection strips to make easily removable speaker wire-to-amplifier and speaker wire-to-speaker terminations. Simple screw strips offered a low cost way to permit interchangeable connections. Little was understood about wire or terminations at the time believing that DC resistance was the primary issue. While correct on that point, other issues were present before a fuller understanding of the function of an amplifier or speaker terminal involved.

Bakelite Terminal Strip

While fully functional, this technology is outdated being replaced by terminals that accept larger wires. Early attempts used the 5-way binding post to allow flexible termination styles and a more positive connection.

5-Way Binding Post

Improved versions of this terminal still appear in equipment today. Improved banana plugs and jacks assure good connections and high-current carrying ability.

But above this lower-resistance and higher-current connectivity came an understanding of the conductivity of different metals, oxidation and corrosive effects of aging, and parasitic losses. Ferrous materials "stole" some of this energy to create a magnetic field so non-ferrous materials like gold and silver became very popular. While silver is a better conductor than gold, the corrosive effects require regular maintenance and so gold fell into favoritism for construction of terminals. Other materials such as high purity solid copper, oxygen free processing, and linear crystal composition all help improve these large connections.

The truth to a connection lies not only in the materials but also in the cross-section area of the termination. When the area of the termination is smaller than the area of the speaker wire, there lies the bottleneck. If the area of the termination is significantly smaller than the speaker wire, there will be an appreciable insertion loss into the amplifier-speaker electrical circuit.

For example, if you use a 10AWG speaker wire, the cross sectional area translates to 5.26 square millimeters (0.0082 sq. in.). This means that the total surface area of the terminals must be at least this big.

Binding posts are 10mm in diameter for a maximum contact area of 5mm*5mm*3.1416=78.54mm. BUT the center post is 6mm in diameter and this must be subtracted from this contact area. 3mm*3mm*3.1416=28.27mm so the maximum cross sectional area of a spade lug on a binding post is 78.54-28.72*2=100mm. This is totally adequate. BUT spade lugs are not this large and do not use100% of this maximum contact area. Roughly 40% of the available area is not used so 40% of 100mm=60mm, still more than adequate.

Do the banana plugs have the same comfortable relationship? Not even close. Contact area of a banana plug and jack are minuscule (very low cross sectional area) unless advanced self compressing styles are used. Then cross sectional area approaches the 5.26 sq. mm. of the conductor.

This means that the best connections possible for 5-way binding posts is the tried and true spade lug.

What you hear when there is a significant difference in cross-sectional area is flabby bass (damping drops) and low transient response (terminals cannot handle high momentary current surges).

So do yourself a favor and convert your speaker wires to high quality spade lugs and sit back and enjoy the difference.

Yours for higher fidelity,
Philip Rastocny

My other titles include:

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Computers - ARGH! - Lessons for Life

It's been a while since I posted anything on my blog but it's not because I have run out of things to say. I have an older Gateway laptop (circa 2008, the P-7811FX) that has served me well and it developed a serious problem: the display would intermittently stop working.

Computers are an essential part of life for many of us, myself included, and with the passing of this old friend, I have retired its function to that of a streaming video device on my home entertainment system (I watch web videos from it via the HDMI port). It had a very nice 17" display and the Sony Vaio (a VPCSE2EFX) with which I replaced it only has a 15" wide screen.

But as I settle into the new machine, I have learned to adjust as we all do with new technology and devices we add to our habitual collection of stuff. I wanted to revive the gateway but it needed a $200 display and there were a few things I did not like about it: it ran hot and the keyboard was not very good. So...out with the old and in with the new.

I must say that typing speed is greatly improved with this model and my hands stay cooler for a lot longer time. The text is tinier but the full HD display does offer a few nice features that most laptops available today do not.

Shortly after moving into the laptop, my tried and true Network Storage server started giving me a few problems reporting disk errors but recovering from them nicely. While still operating, I have ordered a replacement for this old friend also, so out with the 0.5TB Buffalo Pro Duo (the LS-W1TGL-R1) and in with the 4.0TB Seagate Black Armor (NAS 220) that should arrive Wednesday and occupy yet more of my time in assuring backups.

The lessons here are that everything fails sooner or later and when they do your life gets complicated if nothing else. things that were easy and familiar now become a struggle and changes or special measures are needed during the period of adjustment. The keyboard on the Sony is different from the Gateway and typing although easier requires retraining my brain to where special purpose keys such as the END key are located. (Wonder why they switched the location of the CTRL and FUNC keys?)

I appreciate the newness of change but the transition of adjustment is a drag. It takes a lot of time to get things "the way they were" but what this really means is that I need to rebuild things so that I can use them as I wish. This is what I want to point out about audio: we get used to things the way they are and when we introduce change, we react.

Say for example you buy a new preamp. After listening to your old preamp for ump-de-ump years, you pretty well know its strengths and its weaknesses. When the new piece of gear is inserted to the system, you immediately react to how different it sounds. There is a moment when you realize that things are no longer "the way they were" and part of you wants to go back to the way it was. It is natural for people to do this but what happens from here is an interesting observation of human behavior.

There is a period of adjustment when you scrutinize everything about the new system component and compare it religiously to your acoustic memory of the old component. This process may go on for weeks and finally you begin to notice the big difference: it does this but it no longer does that. So when this realization materializes, you are faced with the really big decision: do you go back or live with the faults of the new component?

The choice is yours but whatever you choose will be another interesting study in your own behavior. Several factors usually tug at such a big decision, such as price, sex appeal (is it better looking than the old component), of course its assets, and other similar reasons. How yo weigh these factors is the interesting part. Watching my mind decide is fascinating to me and puts me in touch with the many different aspects of my humanity. For with this observation and reflection I become a better person who really knows who I am.

One of the things I enjoy - besides listening to new music - is knowing who I really am. I understand a lot and I realize that my mind is what makes most of my choices. But there is another part of my being - a part that hides behind my eyes and observes reality as one would while playing a video game. This is the part with which I am fascinated. This is who I really am and the one that never ceases to amaze me.

Easterners meditate to get in touch with this part of your being but I find that I fall asleep trying to calm my self-talk. So I look for other ways tot do this and such observations - internal reflections and taking pause to analyze my own behavior - is another way of doing so.

My suggestion is this: when you make a change to your system, plan to observe your own behavior and try to understand more about who you really are. There are "eyes" behind the eyes and there are other parts of you that you may not realize. Bringing everyone to the forefront and understanding what roles they play in your consciousness can bring even greater appreciation to this joyous hobby. Listening from all of these part sof your being can change the way you listen to music and allow you to appreciate nuances and details that you never knew were there.

So take a deep breath and slow yourself down. Appreciate the new piece of gear for what it is and then appreciate yourself for who you really are.

Yours for higher fidelity,

Philip Rastocny

My other titles include:

Saturday, August 25, 2012

The 546: Another Political Commentary

This week looks to be very promising as far and changes in the wind go. People have been arriving for the 2012 Republican National Convention, hurricane Isaac is narrowing its sights on Tampa, I've lost and after 3 days found my car keys in my bathrobe, and I have a new faucet on my bathtub (somehow, the last two must be related). All things are evolving as they should.

I have noticed in what little free time I've had that television commercials have shifted gears in tune with the political wind (maybe Isaac has something to do with that too, but I am no psychic). It appears that politicians are spending way too much money to get their candidate elected and as usual the truth behind the matter is clouded in misdirection and misinformation. I just wanted to re-sync everyone's sanity regardless of political beliefs and make sure that you remember the truth about our great country, the USA, as the founders envisioned it rather than what it has evolved into with lies, half truths, quotes out of context, and the major art of the spin. Before we begin, just remember that like those obnoxious drug ads, any ad you see on television is trying to sell you something so there is an agenda behind what they say, sometimes a multi-level agenda and rarely does it have anything to do with the truth.

The United States of America consists of a form of government that elects representatives who hopefully doing the bidding of the people who elected them. Each state, of which there are 50, chooses these representatives in a staggered election so that every two years we have the privilege of and the opportunity to make positive change if some of these incumbent representatives do not do our bidding as agreed. Every six years, we as the governed can eliminate 100% of those incumbents if for some reason insanity grips all of these officials and the country heads off in a direction that is unwise. This opportunity is called an election.

These 50 states elect officials consists of to two governing bodies, what we call the House of Representatives and the Senate. Members of the House hold two-year terms and members of the Senate hold six-year terms. Decisions on issues are decided by simple majority where votes are supposedly reflective of the will of the people but that's another story and we will leave that one alone for now. There are two Senators per State, 50 States, or 100 Senators. House members are elected based on population however the 1929 Congress decided that the wisdom of our founding fathers was wrong and changed this to a fixed number: 435. So far, we have 535 people who as a group decide every issue our country encounters and how to deal with it. Remember this when it comes to those ads pointing fingers.

Two other people are elected (sort of, but we will not get into the process for this): The President and Vice President every four years, so that makes 537. Now the rest of the bureaucracy is appointed or Federal programs authorized by these elected officials and those with power are of primary concern. The Supreme Court, the last governing body who is supposed to settle legal arguments and interpret these arguments by what the US Constitution defines, has nine members who are appointed by the President and approved by the Senate so that brings the total to 546. There are no other elected people who have the authority to make policy, implement change, and spend tax dollars (those with the real power).

The Vice President's only power is to preside over the Senate and cast a vote in the event of a tie. This has occurred 244 times by 35 different Vice Presidents. So it appears that things can get pretty hot and opinionated and even the Senate cannot make up its mind.

Now the interesting question is this: who decides how raise and spend the tax money (your money)? The President proposes an annual budget but the Congress must approve that budget. So the President and VP immediately drop out from having any authority for spending our hard earned cash. Tax revenue is raised by a select members of the House of Representatives called the House Ways and Means Committee. This group of 37 people decide how Federal funds are raised (see this link). Currently, there are 22 Republicans and 15 Democrats on this committee. So who pays what is decided by these folks and nobody else. These are the people directly responsible for raising or lowering your taxes. If you do not like how you are paying out to the government, then do not vote for any of these incumbents regardless of how you believe they are doing their job.

Then comes the next interesting question: who decides how to spend our taxes? The answer to that is the 38 members of the Federal Budget Committee (see this link). Currently, there are 22 Republicans and 16 Democrats on this committee and their decisions effect how we spend our tax dollars (called the Federal Budget). Their proposed Budget must be approved each year by the rest of the Congress (all 535 members of both the Senate and the House of Representatives, not the President or the VP or the 9 Supreme Court Justices). These are the people directly responsible for spending your taxes. If you do not like how your money is being spent, then do not vote for these incumbents regardless of how you believe they are doing their job. (BTW, see www.truemajority.org for a down-to-earth explanation of where your money is going.)

So in your confusion about voting in this year's elections, ignore the nonsense of political banter and emotional advertisements and get back to reality. If you approve the way our money is being raised or spent, vote for the members responsible for this; if not, get these folks out of office and elect someone else who can do a better job. It has nothing to do with party affiliation but rather if those who are in office are doing our bidding. Let's clean house and start fresh.

Six years is all it would take to make complete change. Remember that when you are in your polling booth. We the governed still have the power to effect change if we choose to vote. Regardless of who you vote for, get into your higher consciousness and ask yourself the question: am I better off today as a result of these folks who decide how to spend taxes and raise funds? You still have the power of the vote and if you do not choose to use it, it is your own fault for how your country's policy decisions are made. Just VOTE and use the KISS principle!

Yours for higher fidelity,
Philip Rastocny

My other titles include:

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Better than the Original?

One thing about Pandora Radio (www.pandora.com) is that they can introduce you to new and really great music. I listen to a lot of Norah Jones, especially her first album, and so I put together a station with her name. But this morning I heard what I thought was a new Norah Jones song called "Dream." I was pleasantly surprised to find a new name for my collection.

With a familiar smooth and unpretentious style, the laid-back and deliberately intricate sound of Priscilla Ahn is a refreshing voice on the folk-jazz scene, one whose work I am certain I will collect. Many female voices to me are just more of the same. especially when it comes to pop music and for jazz I have very few contemporary vocalists, male oar female, that I tolerate. But Priscilla has that silkiness and command of her voice that I find intriguing and desirable.

I prefer a voice first of all who does not sing flat or sharp and so hitting those intermediate notes in a complicated measure of music is where I sift out the sheep from the goats. Norah Jones does this in such a fluid manner I could not help but fall in love with her voice immediately upon first hearing. Pausing Priscilla's music, searching the Internet for her name, and then continuing with my audition of her "Dream" performance, I had a similar impression.

One of her trademark characteristics is that she breathes into the microphone as she sings and I find this appealing. Scott Hamilton, an amazing smooth saxophone player, does this with great control and his reed whispers nuances between breaths give something a little extra to a performance making it even more laid back. With many years ahead of her promising career, this technique of singing is sure to be mastered in a similar manner to Scott's.

There are differences between Jones and Ahn, both of which I find appealing and so I cannot say that I prefer one over the other. Norah has more experience and with it a command to her proven style that Priscilla seems to lack. Priscilla has a freshness and a different favor to musical style that holds the ear anticipating the next note and pleasantly surprised when she deviates her vocal style just a bit in the jazz tradition. It's like choosing between two really good wines: it depends on what your having for dinner that matters.

There is something about youth that appeals to jut about everyone where you encourage young hopefuls and Ahn is no exception. Her third album, "A Good Day" is on the Blue Note label, and not available in high resolution formats but well worth a listen. Two others "When You Grow Up" and "In A Tree" are certain to be promising works for you to look back into her evolving style. Although her vibrato is limited, as she grows I hope to hear more of it show up in her work.

You can hear "Dream" at her MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/priscillaahn. Give it a spin. I believe you will be as pleasantly surprised as I was.

Yours for higher fidelity,
Philip Rastocny

My other titles include:

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Impulse Toys

There seems to be a never-ending supply of toys for the audiophile. On of the most novel things I've seen lately is something that has nothing to do with making your system sound better, but rather a conversation piece. It's a watch shaped like an analog turntable.

Now I have to admit that once I saw this, I wanted one. Don't ask me why, but there was that silly part of me that said "This is pretty cool."

Then, I started thinking: sure looks big. But being a lover of analog, I still considered getting this thing. And then my wife added some common sense: "When are you going to wear this?" she said without a moment's hesitation. "To the audio club meetings and...and..."

Well, she was making a very good point. Would I wear it while listening? Maybe, but only for a week or so. Would I wear it to club meetings? Yes, definitely. So that's once a month.

Well, you get the point. We as audiophiles are always on the lookout for that next new little toy, especially one that no one else has. I thought to myself "In all honesty, do you REALLY want this?"

I thought of glancing down at my wrist and chuckling loudly. But common sense prevailed and I resisted. I can hear the difference when I put spikes on my speakers, I am blissed when I add polystyrene capacitors to my crossover network, I am thrilled at a new piece of vintage vinyl, and I am blissed with a new cartridge. But this watch is another story.

Funny how I still think about getting it, so what's that all about? I guess I'm just a hopeless romantic. Wonder if I can upgrade the tonearm...or the cartridge...or...or...

Yours for higher fidelity,

Philip Rastocny

My other titles include:

Monday, August 13, 2012

Jumping Half Way

If a frog jumps half way out of a bowl each time it jumps, when will the frog jump out of the bowl?

High-end audio is much like this frog. Just like the frog's first jump gets it half way out of the bowl, moving from an MP3 player and earbuds to a CD player in your car gets you half way into the high-end. But when you start listening to the music and comparing it to what other systems sound like, that's where things can get quickly out of control.

The next few hops toward the edge are much the same where there is a lot of bang for the buck. Now that your car stereo is pretty good, you most likely want to have a similar if not superior sound in your home so you invest in your first home system. Normally, this consists of a package that starts as a surround sound system for your television. Here, your XBOX or PlayStation finds new excitement and movies, well it's like discovering a new meaning to what watching a film is all about.

So far the investment is still modest and here is where many folks stop: right at the edge after two or three hops. They're 3/4 to 7/8 of the way out of the bowl but they are happy where they are and choose other avenues for adventure. But for audiophiles, this is just the beginning and more and more hops are necessary - essential in some cases. Typically, you go to a friend's house and listen to their rig. They've been hopping toward the edge now for three more years than you and have accumulated quite a bit of nice gear. As soon as you hear it, you're hooked.

More jumps are now in store but as the bowl edge approaches, so does the steepness of the sides and it costs more to cling to the edge. With fortitude, you plan your next leap and screen possibilities. Usually, this takes the form of the question "Where will I get the most audible improvement?" and the answer is is the speakers. The next series of hops begin.

Speakers, stands, spikes, wires, all find their way into your home and soon your budget changes. What was once allocated to Big Macs and wild weekend adventures is now reapportioned to the new amplifier fund. You begin to look at things you can sell and the old toys begin to move out of the closet and garage. Used equipment becomes a good option and so the next hop comes.

With cleaner power comes more detail and the fact that it goes louder doesn't hurt anything either. Your friend just bought that new fangled preamp and sure enough, you now need one too. After many trips to your favorite audio salon, something that unknowingly has become an occasional stop like going to the movies once was, you decide on a tube risking what you hear against the better judgment of your friend's solid state. When you flip the switch and watch those tubes glow, it's like magic and despite the warmth in the room that taxes your air conditioner, more funds are dedicated to interconnect cables and new software. More jumps toward the edge makes the end in sight and now you are almost there - or are you?

A new Blu-Ray player finds its way to your system and you integrate the television into the stereo. But when comparing the sound to the old CD player, you realize that there is more to those little ones and zeros than meets the eye -oops, the ear. If you buy a high mileage car, you will have more money for your stereo and so a Hybrid appears in your driveway where your old gas guzzler once stood. More jumps to the edge are now affordable.

But the frog is getting older now and with age comes other interests. A companion appears one who hopefully appreciates sound as much as you do. If not, toss that one back and find another; there are a lot more fish in the sea compared to the few truly fine pieces of high-end gear. Another hop.

With a promotion or a new higher paying job comes a bigger budget for the rig. The frog now finds that the edge of the bowl is becoming financially feasible and new speakers appear, monsters compared to the old ones. At least you feel some comfort knowing that the price per pound of your investment is seeing its fruits. Electrostatics may appear or some other exotic blend. More space is needed for the rig and a room is now completely dedicated to the frog. Furniture disappears and strange wall coverings hang in corners and along walls looking nothing like the art work it replaced. But such is the price of getting closer and closer to the edge and the rewards for the compromise, well that's what brings the frog back to thinking about the next jump.

Another friend has an analog turntable, something you've heard about but never paid any attention to - until now. Cancel the trip to Cancun, we're getting a Goldmund! Another jump and you realize that the digital sound is not all that it is cracked up to be, at least at the price point you have invested. CAUTION: ANOTHER JUMP AHEAD.

The new 24-bit player makes its way into the dedicated listening room and the frog is dazzled. Even the sound of the old CDs now improves, but compared to the turntable it still has a way to go. Buying high-end software appeases the frog and is much easier to deal with so the system grows into two pieces: the everyday listening through the digital system and the occasional serious listening to the analog system. The frog justifies this by knowing that each time one of its precious discs is spun, it wears it out so playing digital most of the time preserves the investment. And then the Shibata tip cartridge finds its way into the room. Another hop.

The old turntable was fine but now the cartridge needs to be upgraded to coax out all of its potential. A new tonearm, Litz wiring, and an insanely expensive stepup transformer complete the transition and now music appears where once was noise. Spinning digital now compares somewhat to fingernails on a chalk board and the frog looks for even more. WARNING: MIND THE GAP.

The edge is right there. The frog can see it but it is just out of reach. Another dozen hops or so and surely it will appear. Or will it?

How many hops along the way to the edge of the bowl is your frog? Where do you see the edge of the bowl in your system? How steep are the sides of the bowl and how much has it cost you to cling to its edge?

Just keeping things in perspective folks. Hope you enjoy your next hop as much as I have enjoyed mine. Honey, there's a new...

Yours for higher fidelity,
Philip Rastocny

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Thursday, August 9, 2012

Can you say poly-sty-rene?

As many of you know, I am a hard core tinkerer constantly performing surgery on my gear - all of it. In a pair of speakers I built decades ago, I used polystyrene capacitors on the crossover network for the tweeters with very good results. However, the source of these capacitors dried up and I settled for Clarity SA on the tweeters of my current system. While sounding superb in the midrange and bass, the SAs - how shall I say this - lacked the speed and inner detailing that a really high quality capacitor reveals.

Searching eBay, I found a few large value polystyrenes, 150 volt, so I bought enough of them to add up to the required 1.7uF. It was a moment to remember.

In a bit of background, I recently changed out the failed potentiometer of my preamp (aka volume knob) and its top octave came alive. I was thrilled to hear all of the nuances I recalled from the finest ribbon tweeters now delivered through my present home system. But using the Clarity SA capacitors in the crossover network made that part of the chain a weak link. What I heard before the swap was a mild sibilance at the crossover point, not annoying but definitely present.

After the swap, the problem all but disappeared and other interesting things happened. There was a more coherent sound stage and the far left and right corners were amazingly detailed. Top to bottom balance improved and instrument continuity tightened up, especially the stringed instruments. Drums had an improved attack where you can now hear the reverberations of the skins trail off into the echos.

Overall, this is one of the cheapest and best improvements to the sound of my system I have done to date ($20 US including shipping). If you are a tweaker, you may want to look into this.

Now, back to some really great listening...

Yours for higher fidelity,

Philip Rastocny

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Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Sandhill Cranes

I live in central Florida where birds are abundant and the weather usually pleasant. Yesterday on my pre-dawn bike ride, I passed a lot adjoining the gold course and there were four sand cranes feeding in the early morning dew. Bright red heads like huge majestic woodpeckers loomed gracefully over an unsuspecting bug or frog and in an instant its long beak snatched up the morsel and swallowed it down. I slowed my pace to watch the others doing much the same, a family unit no doubt. As I drove off, I heard the familiar cackling call coming from behind in an imaginary farewell.

Pedaling a bit further, another small band of these majestic creatures strolled across the road no doubt en-route to a more favorable grazing area. The golf course is a favorite hangout for these huge birds and I have seen as many as 10 gather at once at times in the past. I suspected that these six were now heading off to join the four I had just passed.

Zooming around another turn and up a slight hill, I passed seven more of these long-legged lanky creatures, heads bobbing up and down and eyes fixed firmly on mine. Their burnt-yellow beaks are almost as long as their spindly legs and their feathers mostly gray have an occasional streak of white and black. The wingspan is something to behold as they glide almost silently through the air. They are some amazing birds almost too big to think of them as such.

Morning rides help me slow down my mind and let me appreciate the creatures with which I share this planet. All of us co-mingle here and all of us are important each offering something unique for another. Animals teach us lessons about life; all you have to do is pay attention. These huge birds, for example, demonstrate the importance of community and getting along. Despite their differences, they understand that together they are more than they are alone and the smallest of them is looked after by those bigger. Each is teaching and learning from the other and all thrive as a result. There is peace and harmony in watching such perfection unfold and lessons for the rest of us to learn from their examples.

Have you slowed down enough today to watch and listen? Click here to listen.

Yours for higher fidelity,
Philip Rastocny

My other titles include: