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The Most Audiophool Thing You Own

Blumlein 88

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Now to talk of the deep mystery, one I could perhaps share with Ms. Johanson. Behold:

ASHAKHALLOGRAPH.jpg


Hallograph_web72_Pix.jpg


http://www.shakti-innovations.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Hallograph_web72_Pix.jpg

More info on these at the above link.

Back to the deep mystery. It is one fiendishly deep mystery how such a configuration could do what is claimed. Equally how someone could work on this for 10 years of R&D.

The mystery, the truly incredible pondering which might enlighten one is this: How could such a device constructed this way possibly be priced rationally at $1495 each. EACH. $3k per pair which you'll need a pair for stereo. Of course I think someone seriously offering the product has a big pair of another type.
 
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RayDunzl

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Somehow I am reminded of:

 

Nightlord

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Moderately expensive Van den Hul-cables. Back from when I had no technical understanding of audio, and believed what I read in magazines and heard in shops. I thought at the time that the bass in my room was too boomy. Went to a hifi shop and explained the problem. Got the advice that I should try some cables from Van den Hul, as they had more "control over the bass". I gave it some thought, and slowly became convinced. "Hm. Ok. Seems legit".

Still have them though, as they have a nice white finish which blends well with the furniture in my living room.

Have a pair of VdH silver cables somewhere too... possibly connected, perhaps in a box... Think they were yellow, though. Most certainly I bought them 2nd hand.
 

Dynamix

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"you will hear significant improvements in every performance area: speed, precision, dynamic range, depth and width of the sound stage, transient impact, tonal balance, harmonic distortion, and more. "

:rolleyes:

Ah yes, improved speed. Will make a 40 minute album a 37 minute album.
 

egellings

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My audiophool dandy was the MIT (Musical Interface Technology) Athena box. This had two runs of special speaker cable coiled up inside a fancy box with banana input & output jacks. The box with cable was filled with a potting material. You placed it near the amp and ran the amp outputs to it, and connected the speaker cables to the remaining jacks on the Athena. It was supposed to do all kinds of magic to the sound, which I thought I heard at first, but after a while, the magic became inaudible. I was able to sell the Athena and recoup some of the loss. Suggestibility!
 

MattHooper

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Depending on one's point of view I suppose I have a few audiophool objects:

Tube amps (Conrad Johnson), power and pre.
Turntable

I just sold an audiofool box I've had in my basement for decades (an "SCE Harmonic Recovery System"). Luckily there are enough audiofools around who will still pay for them :)
 

Wes

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2 Tube pre-amps
 

HammerSandwich

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It was supposed to do all kinds of magic to the sound, which I thought I heard at first, but after a while, the magic became inaudible.
You sure it wasn't supposed to go back to the factory for recharging?
 

Kal Rubinson

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Skakti stones!
Wow, I thought those disappeared a decade ago!
The one I have is very useful. I often remove the chassis top of devices for observation, service or modification and not firmly re-attach the many machine screws (1-2 dozen) until I am satisfied with the results. Putting the Shakti stone on top of the unsecured top panel quite adequately damps it for the nonce.
 

Count Arthur

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I have a pair of Townshend Isolda speaker cables:

1191400-townshend-isolda-dct-speaker-cable-4m-pair.jpg


I also have a set of the interconnects, which I no longer use, because my current set-up uses balanced cables. :facepalm:

IMG_0611.thumb.JPG.29f338107959baa09c59e2880ab83463.JPG


My balanced cables are a very down to earth set of Mogami 2534 starquad cables with Neutrik connectors.
 

mhardy6647

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Pretty free of what I'd consider audiophile frippery here -- I do have (and I may have already mentioned this elsewhere) a pair of the freebie demo version of New Zealand's Mad Scientist Audio "Black Discus" -- umm -- things.

I had them attached to loudspeaker cables (Canare DIYs) with a coupla blobs of BluTac (actually, a BluTac knockoff I got at the Home Despot).
I am not sure what they were supposed to do, but I am pretty sure they did it. The price was certainly right -- as I recall, even the shipping from NZ was free.

:cool:

DSC_8376 (2) by Mark Hardy, on Flickr
 

Sal1950

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I used to own a turn
I also have a set of the interconnects, which I no longer use, because my current set-up uses balanced cables.
OOOooo, they were DCT (deep cryogenic treated), got all those copper crystals aligned in the weave. ;)
Sell them on ebay, there's a new sucker born every day.
About 15 years or more ago I bought a set of Kimber PBJ interconnects for my system. All the magazines etc said they were better than sliced bread. The minute turned on my big VTL tube amps the speakers had one hell of a hum in them, the unsheilded design was picking up the hum field from my monoblock's transformers. They went immediately into a drawer for 15 some years. The good news was I sold them a while back on ebay for a profit. ;)
793kimberpbj.promo_.jpg
 

Count Arthur

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Sell them on ebay, there's a new sucker born every day.

I have actually been clearing out and selling a few bits and bobs I no longer use, I sold a couple of sets of earphones, my Audioquest Jitterbug and Dragonfly Black DAC. I will get rid of the Townshend interconnects and probably the speaker cables too, but thought I'd wait until the Covid thing dies down.
 

NoMoFoNo

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I bought a couple of ChiFi tube amps years ago because I HAD to check out the 'warmth' and 'musicality' of tube amplification. Still have them both and they have not burned the house down nor do they sound any better, or even as good as, SS amps I've used. The tube glow is pretty though! I also bought a little FX Audio tube buffer to add 'tubiness' to a SS chain. Had to add that little bit of 'euphonic' distortion, don't cha know!

I own two Thorens TD turntables, a TD-160 and TD-145. I learned to solder, to rewire tonearms, to adjust arm bearings, adjust suspension, how to polish turntable covers, etc. etc. I own several others as well, and not a one of them has been used since I realized how stupid the phono pursuit really is. I was that guy chasing constantly, buying phono cartridges and preamps over and over, wondering about microline versus shibata, whether I just heard a hint of sibilance, whether this record needed to be cleaned again, dust mitigation, MM vs MC, whether Grado's next woodie line would be 'the thing'. It was the sort of fun that wasn't really fun at all, and that made me one day realize how expensive and stupid and foolish the entire endeavor had become. Sorry phono fans, phono is garbage. It just is.

I wince now when I plug a tablet into my Topping D50s, choose an album and press play, because there sits my Thorens TD-160, reminding me of the idiocy of phono. With digital, there is no sibilance (unless it was recorded that way), there are no worries, just enjoyment of the music. In the next year I'll sell off all of this paraphanalia and be free of it once and for all. I spent thousands over the last four years on phono and it pisses me off how gullible I was and how much fellow hobbyists cheer each other on in wasting their hard-earned money on that junk. No more!
 

Juhazi

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I use this DAC/HP amp
160417


and this harmonizer in my #2 setup
PrimaLuna-DiaLogue-Three-preamplifier-apertura-con-logo.jpg


followed by this
_MG_4376.jpg
 

Frank Dernie

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The Devialet 120, evidently.

I used to own a JOB amp, which may have been even worse.
I am worse.
I have been contentedly using Devialet amps for almost 10 years and hear neither noise nor weird treble and haven't had any problem with it driving difficult speakers and use a Job INTegrated as DAC/pre/power into my 109dB/watt horns and also can't hear any noise (ear in horn just hear a rustling).
Not sure what I am doing wrong.
 
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