The Most Audiophool Thing You Own

[DonR]

Back in my tube phase I bought a Grant Fidelity tube buffer and had it connected between my AVR LR and my Samson Servo 600 amp. (the picture is not mine)

 

[Axo1989]

I have one of these (not my photo but you get the idea, this one has shorter tubes). I don't think I could tell the difference between tube output vs regular vs oversampling. That was a while back. Also don't think I ever had any HDCDs to try either.

It lives in a closet these days. I pulled it out to have a listen recently (maybe I could tell the difference now) but it wasn't working. Pretty sure I bought it because it looked cool, and was somewhat cheaper than the Krell CD player that matched my amp (which made it seem like a bargain).

 

[Spocko]

Fancy curvaceous room treatment from Artnovion - I don't know if it actually works but it looks good (although the seams do detract from the effect) and I got it as a background for my studio when livestreaming

 

[Axo1989]

Nice. I'd like some of those. My videoconference background is sub-par.

 

[pseudoid]

Fancy curvaceous room treatment from Artnovion - I don't know if it actually works but it looks good (although the seams do detract from the effect) and I got it as a background for my studio when livestreaming

You have that room treatment positioned on the wall wrong (but it is curvaceous and fancy).
You should hear everything bass-ackwards and out-of-phase.
They probably make a 'phasor-correction' module for it.

 

[jsrtheta]

A long time ago, on a planet far away...

Mpingo discs

Added depth, wider sound stage and extended Fx response to 40 kHz - easy to hear!!

The improvement was not subtle!

 

[Axo1989]

You have that room treatment positioned on the wall wrong (but it is curvaceous and fancy).
You should hear everything bass-ackwards and out-of-phase.
They probably make a 'phasor-correction' module for it.

Non-curvy diffusors usually orient vertically, why do you think this one is different?

 

[killdozzer]

I had bought this 3.5mm (TRS) to 2 RCAs (L/R) cable about 6 months ago because it looked "robust" for a 1 meter run (~$25).
This one was a replacement for a Monoprice cable which was void of L/R markings on either RCA end.
I had promptly returned the cable with a promise to myself that I will not do business w/MonoPrice ever again.
Being 'once burned, twice shy', I was forced me to measure (Ohm-out) the new cable's RCA ends (which were also NOT identified...)
View attachment 191657
It turns out both RCAs are connected to the Left channel of the RCA and the RIGHT channel has become MIA, somehow!
Hmmmmm...
I think I've been pawned...

It's a mono adapter!

 

[jp4573]

Man toys chart.

Audiophoolery has bad ROI, except for cats.

 

[Astoneroad]

P.S. Audio Power Plant Premier... before I stopped drinking Paul's Cool Aid... but before Amir's review of the current voodoo version.

 

[MattHooper]

Since people are posting photos of their audiophool stuff:

This thing is probably a tad over-built.

 

[Sal1950]

Since people are posting photos of their audiophool stuff:

Do you have to keep polishing all the gorgeous aluminum?

 

[PatentLawyer]

My whole primary system probably qualifies.

 

[pseudoid]

It's a mono adapter!

CORRECTION: It appears to be a "Left" leaning adapter...

 

[MattHooper]

Do you have to keep polishing all the gorgeous aluminum?

Yes I occasionally polish it with a handy lens cloth. Not very often, but when I do it sure shines up nice! It's over 5 years old now but the finish seems to maintain a "brand new" quality. It certainly looks swell when spinning a record.

Also, the silver column to the Left of the turntable platter is the motor control (start/speed settings). I know the whole "German engineering" thing is a cliche, but it really does have a very satisfying weight and feel when using it. The top, thick dial rotates so smoothly and silently stopping with a just satisfying subtle, heavy "clunk" at each point. I find the aesthetics and tactile/engineering aspect of working the turntable to be part of my satisfaction of spinning records.

I'd previously been using an old micro seiki turntable given to me by my father in law and decided to upgrade to a new turntable. Since I was really just getting in to it, being an audiophile nut, I figured if I did just a minor upgrade I'd likely get the itch to upgrade again at some point. And the whole buying/setting up a turntable is a hassle that I'm not fond of. In this case after some research I just rolled the dice, "went for it" and bought a turntable I love aesthetically and that was expensive enough to kill any upgrade itch or possibility (no way I'm spending more on a turntable - I couldn't even if I wanted to). That's one way to kill the itch. It's worked so far. Part this hobby ca be handling one's own psychology

 

[Kevbaz]

The two pair of Grado headphones I own, I was a die hard Grado fan for nearly 20 years until i tried other headphones and learnt there is way better out there. The company’s focus on the sound of wood, thick cables should have raised alarm bells.

 

[Capitol C]

Lots and lots of magical subjective audiphool language used in your post, sorry to say. I also noted earlier that my grandfather was a symphony lover and so yes I heard plenty of symphonic music on his R2R equipment. It all had quite a bit of the characteristic hiss as a noise floor, something that R2R lovers sometimes don't like to acknowledge. The hiss is there, especially in quiet symphonic passages, so I'm surprised to hear someone argue about the fidelity of R2R, compared to quality digital, in 2020. It's not even close, not in the same ballpark.

The R2R lover who loves the gadgetry aspect, I get that 100%. But to argue that R2R can compare to quality digital? Nope.

Open-reel tapes were the best high-fidelity available, as the only way to get rid of the hiss was to roll off the signal at high frequencies. (In the days before dolby, the only reason that there was no hiss on most records was because they rolled off the frequency response in the mastering. ) I had two machines an a lot of 7 1/2 ips commercial tapes, but I got rid of them after the digital revolution and have never regretted it.

 

[H-713]

A while back I got a reel of Monster Cable RG59 at a hamfest for $10. Nothing special about it, but I did need some lower capacitance coax for a project a while back, and I don't keep much in way of 75 ohm cable around. Still, it says Monster Cable on it.

 

[jp4573]

 

[mhardy6647]

^^^ those are actually quite cool, and pretty effective. They generate a decaying pulse to degauss the heads (and, maybe, the other metal bits in the playback path -- although I am doubtful of that). Emprically, they seem(ed) to work, too.
I still have one - someplace.
Mine's transparent, though. I mean, literally transparent, in that one may see its little solid state guts through a clear plastic cassette shell.

Hmm... now I'm wonderin' where it is...