Letter from Shenzhen (22-18): Year-end Leftovers and Morsels
Talk Tweak: Isolation
With this hodgepodge (or chopsuey) of an article, we bid 2022 farewell, and Happy New Year! In terms of audio, it had been a good year for the fortunate among us, but we’re not forgetting the ever-increasing masses of people all over the world suffering from Covid and, even more unfortunately, preventable horrible man-made disasters: war, climate change, famine. We certainly hope 2023 shall be better.
Audio on Wheels
For reasoning's that I simultaneously understand and abhor, spikes have gained such a prominent place in audiophilia that I shake my head. I understand because many systems and gear can sound muffled and spikes can bring out a bit more clarity; I abhor because most who think they hear an improvement do not hear the trade-off - alteration of bassline, usually less natural in decay and loss of heft. Sure, nothing is absolute, but judicious use at most (but that’s not an audiophile trait, is it?). When you see someone putting all sorts of things under everything, you know the person doesn’t have a clue.
Suggestion for DIY Spikes Should you be interested in spikes, please avoid the ridiculous claims of the rip-offs. Go to your local Chinatown (or online) and buy a set of Chinese chess. Unlike international chess, they are flat wooden discs (of reasonable quality, at least the bigger ones). And then buy some spikes for sports shoes (could be running, soccer, or others) that vary greatly in sharpness. These have screws on the other end and since they have to bear full body weight are very well made (but cheap). Drill a small hole in the center of the chess piece and screw the spike in. Simple! Sounds as good as any expensive spike. I dare say the combination of wood and metal is even better than most.
BUT, spikes should only be used sparingly and removed if your basic faulty equipment gets replaced by better ones. Also, I want you to know that I do think of shock or vibration treatment as a possible issue, but it’s one that is far behind the basic quality of the gear.
Now, what about Spherical Interfaces in lieu of spikes? Yes, we’ve experienced expensive Symposium Rollerblocks. It consists of a small solid wooden slab with a half-hollowed-out center where a spherical bearing is placed between it and the gear. Theoretically, it dissipates horizontal vibrations. Does it have an effect? Yes. Is it all good, sometimes. You can also DIY a simple version. Go to your Chinatown store (or online) and shop for the chopstick holder, many of which also allow a spoon to rest (a hollow in the ceramic). Place a bearing in the hollow and you have an el-cheapo Symposium. I can tell you it delivers most of the effects of the overpriced “real” thing. So many years ago!
Now, wheels. Whatever allows a threaded spike will allow a threaded wheel. That goes for your rack, your speaker stands etc. For wheels, I’m talking about industrial wheels, double bearing. You need to know the thread diameter - a caliper will be the best. Nomenclature is, say, M8 for 8mm, size of my rack wheels.
My rack (here) came with cheap “home” plastic wheels, which barely can roll under the weight of my equipment (not that heavy). Replacement with proper double-bearing ones (top pic) made a substantial sonic difference - things just come to life, for just a few bucks.
In HK I still have my treasured B&W 801 Mk II. Mine came with Sound Anchor stands with spikes (which I removed, letting the frames rest on my tile floors). You should know there were many kinds of stands for the venerable classic in those days, and the relative merits were hotly debated. One version was on wheels. I didn’t get to install wheels on the stands - they sound magnificent as they are. But I had wheels on the DIY wooden stands of my previous Spendor SP100, and it sounded mighty fine.
My previous experience with thrust ball double bearings was on turntables (here).
Horizontal movement is supposedly a big issue with belt-drive turntables but I think judicious tampering can bring benefit in many areas as well - more than spikes, IMHO.
With this hodgepodge (or chopsuey) of an article, we bid 2022 farewell, and Happy New Year! In terms of audio, it had been a good year for the fortunate among us, but we’re not forgetting the ever-increasing masses of people all over the world suffering from Covid and, even more unfortunately, preventable horrible man-made disasters: war, climate change, famine. We certainly hope 2023 shall be better.
Audio on Wheels
For reasoning's that I simultaneously understand and abhor, spikes have gained such a prominent place in audiophilia that I shake my head. I understand because many systems and gear can sound muffled and spikes can bring out a bit more clarity; I abhor because most who think they hear an improvement do not hear the trade-off - alteration of bassline, usually less natural in decay and loss of heft. Sure, nothing is absolute, but judicious use at most (but that’s not an audiophile trait, is it?). When you see someone putting all sorts of things under everything, you know the person doesn’t have a clue.
Suggestion for DIY Spikes Should you be interested in spikes, please avoid the ridiculous claims of the rip-offs. Go to your local Chinatown (or online) and buy a set of Chinese chess. Unlike international chess, they are flat wooden discs (of reasonable quality, at least the bigger ones). And then buy some spikes for sports shoes (could be running, soccer, or others) that vary greatly in sharpness. These have screws on the other end and since they have to bear full body weight are very well made (but cheap). Drill a small hole in the center of the chess piece and screw the spike in. Simple! Sounds as good as any expensive spike. I dare say the combination of wood and metal is even better than most.
BUT, spikes should only be used sparingly and removed if your basic faulty equipment gets replaced by better ones. Also, I want you to know that I do think of shock or vibration treatment as a possible issue, but it’s one that is far behind the basic quality of the gear.
Now, what about Spherical Interfaces in lieu of spikes? Yes, we’ve experienced expensive Symposium Rollerblocks. It consists of a small solid wooden slab with a half-hollowed-out center where a spherical bearing is placed between it and the gear. Theoretically, it dissipates horizontal vibrations. Does it have an effect? Yes. Is it all good, sometimes. You can also DIY a simple version. Go to your Chinatown store (or online) and shop for the chopstick holder, many of which also allow a spoon to rest (a hollow in the ceramic). Place a bearing in the hollow and you have an el-cheapo Symposium. I can tell you it delivers most of the effects of the overpriced “real” thing. So many years ago!
Now, wheels. Whatever allows a threaded spike will allow a threaded wheel. That goes for your rack, your speaker stands etc. For wheels, I’m talking about industrial wheels, double bearing. You need to know the thread diameter - a caliper will be the best. Nomenclature is, say, M8 for 8mm, size of my rack wheels.
My rack (here) came with cheap “home” plastic wheels, which barely can roll under the weight of my equipment (not that heavy). Replacement with proper double-bearing ones (top pic) made a substantial sonic difference - things just come to life, for just a few bucks.
In HK I still have my treasured B&W 801 Mk II. Mine came with Sound Anchor stands with spikes (which I removed, letting the frames rest on my tile floors). You should know there were many kinds of stands for the venerable classic in those days, and the relative merits were hotly debated. One version was on wheels. I didn’t get to install wheels on the stands - they sound magnificent as they are. But I had wheels on the DIY wooden stands of my previous Spendor SP100, and it sounded mighty fine.
My previous experience with thrust ball double bearings was on turntables (here).
Horizontal movement is supposedly a big issue with belt-drive turntables but I think judicious tampering can bring benefit in many areas as well - more than spikes, IMHO.
As to discs underneath spikes that prevent scratching, avoid like hell! Garbage!What’s in a stereo 3.5mm to RCA Adaptor
At some point, all audiophiles have to use adaptors for the myriad connective options (or limitations). Today, with the advent of personal, headphone, computer and desktop audio, for integration, or extension, into a full audio system, a Stereo headphone jack to RCA adaptor is a MUST.
There are many ways to do this. For those who solder, one can DIY with a 3.5 male jack, a length of cable, and a pair of RCA males. For those who don’t, they either resort to an adaptor or an adaptor cable. The pic here shows an adaptor, together with a broken one’s innards. It’s quite a revelation.
For years, I have used a similar adaptor, Radio Shack or whatever, and the results have always been satisfying. They served my various cables reliably and well and I had no complaints.
Things changed recently here in China. With my Aiyima etc, I had need for the adaptor, but I soon found out that the several I acquired here (usually about 0.5 $) were subpar in construction and durability. They sounded sonically OK, no problem. BUT, with some of my leftover cables with visor grip, like the AV MIT ones, I can insert them but when I pull them out the outer ground jacket of the RCA Females would come off too. Flabbergasting!
I set about to repairing them, and it was interesting. The molded outer casing can be pried apart with difficulty. But the innards astonished me. For such a cheap adaptor, a lot of thoughts have gone into it!
Look carefully at the photo. A plastic chassis is the foundation. The hot pins of the right and left channels (bottom of the Y harness) are insulated from each other (one channel is broken). The harness is even more ingenious - it’s made of copper. Sleeves extend into the plastic mold for the hot connection. The problem is the ground. The Y prongs of the ground look like they are just crimped to the outer RCA ground sleeve. When the visor grip of the RCA male cable pull out the outer ground metal sleeve, the thing goes caput. I have managed once to re-insert/crimp the ground (the upper one), but that’s perhaps fortuitous.
What’s the point? Plenty! The thin copper harness you may think of as flimsy, but I regard it as perfect for transmission (long been disdainful of large metal block interfaces, like Cardas). THAT is the reason for the sonic success.
If you don’t believe me, in my NYC audio wechat group, one of our members just remarked on how very BAD his Audioquest 3.5mm/RCA adaptor cable (with cable between the connectors) is, and much inferior to his Radio Shack (Chinese) adaptor of yore.
With the humble adaptor, you can use your favorite RCA cables and not have doubts. THAT’s a good adaptor. This humble adaptor shows how much BS there is in expensive audio. Think about it in 2023!
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