I think my truck always runs and handles better after I wash it...I think once you purchase your products and are happy with the sound and performance, you should immediately stop watching reviews on new and upcoming products. All they do is leave you second guessing your decisions.
Yeah, I had to quit watching reviews of new speakers because I'm happy with my JBL Stage A180 floorstanding speakers. Plus, I'm glad I did some research regarding the impedance switching in my Denon AVR-X3400H receiver. I purchased a discontinued model because I do not want to pay $300 for eARC at the time and honestly, if I do want HDMI 2.1 for 4K at 120Hz, I can just get an audio extractor and pass audio to my AVR and video to my TV. Plus, I'm not too much of an audiophile probably due to my hearing impairment since the day I was born. So yeah, at the end of the day, I do have to control RUclips's algorithms so that it does not recommend speakers to buy. I have to do lots of research and spend responsibly.
"I need to hear how your speakers sound through my speakers" XD It is like the old TV commercials that show you how awesome another TV looks on your TV.
Agree 💯 % on room treatment. It is about 50% of the sound. I wish everyone could hear a great system in a properly treated room. I think most people would be astonished at what is possible. Aside from room treatment is speaker placement. Looking at photos across the internet, most people don't even have their speakers properly set up.
@@vinylrules4838 Mainly about speaker size vs room size and subwoofers. Dampening is not the only way to treat room modes, it can be achieved by using multiple subs in calculated positions. A well designed speaker will work in any room regardless of ithe speakers size. Aside these minor details I fully agree on everthing else and I have recommended Acoustic Fields to numerous poeple who fight with their rooms.....
I have 70 year old ears and eyes. I can't hear frequencies above 13 Khz and I wear glasses. I could throw all the money in the world at a system that costs me $150K but getting old has reminded me that I'm very happy with my current setup.
@@Audioholics 👍 But, there's an amazing feature hidden behind every Volume Control... Amazingly they can actually be used to turn things down! Who knew?
I built a decent home theater and didn’t use it for like 3 months because I was busy working all the time. When I finally sat down to watch a movie it sounded so much better than I remembered.
If you truly believe that cables (or other associated tweaks) will improve sound quality, then you will absolutely hear differences. I firmly believe that music sounds better between 6pm - 8pm in the evening, and even better when the weather is nice outside. Perception is everything.
Also your mood has a huge affect on sound perception. My best listening occurs late night when everyone is asleep and I'm in the solitude of my theater room.
to me believing or not does not matter - what matter is the consumer hears a difference or not. if he / she does or does not shouldnt matter to anyone else.
The most blinged audiophile systems remind me of religious altars. Everything is perfectly spaced and tiered. The holy speaker cables must not be allowed to touch the floor. The vinyl comes out like the most holy book, cleaned to laboratory perfection and zapped with an anti-static gun. But seriously, belief plays such a large role in the industry. 'Can you hear the divine soundstage, brothers and sisters?' 'You must have faith.' 'The double-blind listening test is Satan trying to test your faith.' "Believe, believe!"
My opinions: 1. Impedance - you’re correct, burning down your house isn’t important as quality sound. 2. Cables - after sinking tens of thousands of dollars in pure silver cables, that chocolately sound is worth every penny (p.s. I won’t move my head) 3. Listening Demos - agreed, I don’t want to pay for music licensing. 4. Validation- disagree, I sell validation so send those people to me. 5. New models - everything before May, 2024 sucks!
I have a botlle of snake oil to sell buddy. Just soak your silver cables in it for exactly 8.25 days and you'll hear a buttery smooth, if not downright oily, improvement.
I am in charge of decent size development and engineering department in a company that designs telecom equipment. I spend staggering $$$ for compliance and safety. When I see audiophile fuses that do not have a UL certification I truly freak out. I keep preaching this type of scrutiny to younger audiophiles continuously….the fundamentals of engineering will never change.
I didn't even realize that "audiophile fuses" were even a thing. To me, power cables are the worst offenders - I've seen dozens of Hospital Grade power cords dressed up in custom housings and techflex selling for hundreds, and even thousands of dollars.
@@gww730 the closest legitimate, “possibly” better fuses that have UL are produced by “littelfuse”, a legitimate surge protection manufacturer and are available from Mouser, Digikey, etc. If one sees how quickly an item goes up in flames with incorrect or bad fuse during a compliance test, these fly by night fuse supplier would go out of business. Unfortunately, we support these weak products.
The cable comments are the best. I only use the Blue Jeans cables because they aren' that much more expensive than plain zip cord when you figure in the connectors you'll need too. I like to spend that little bit more to also make sure the bananas are really REALLY well connected to the cabel. No way you are going to do that yourself the way that guy at Blue Jeans does with his equipment.
I recall many years ago the well-known engineer for National Semiconductor, Bob Pease, had a standing offer of (I believe) $10,000 to anyone who could tell the difference between some expensive speaker cables, and pieces of random hookup wire he soldered together in an A-B test. No one ever took the challenge!
I agree with everything you said. The only person who needs to love your system is you. Don't overspend on things. Most of the audio products depreciate. There are a few products that hold their value.
Simple, plain words of great erudition! Delivered almost as plea to a multitude of slack jawed, gullible consumers. I do hope someone is listening. Respect.
@1:58 🤔🧐 SO FUNNY YOU BRING THIS UP.. ..I FIRST SET UP MY RECEIVER AND SETTLED ON 4 OHMS AFTER GOING BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN 4 AND 8 OHMS BECAUSE IT SEEMINGLY SOUNDED LOUDER AT THE TIME.. ..ABOUT 6 MOS LATER, ON A BORED DAY, I REVISITED THAT SELECTION AND WAS ASTONISHED AT HOW I COULD HAVE MISSED THE ABSENCE OF DYNAMIC RANGE (AND FIDELITY)..
Most amps can handle reactive load, so VSWR isn't going to be an issue. Not that your amp would even notice unless the speaker cable was over 2km long.
Why settle for transparent!? Why not spend 10 times as much to get EXTRA transparent? Why not 100 times as much to get super duper plus ultra transparent? I really scratch my head when I see youtube demos, WTF? Call it rubetube, how could anyone think that's relevant or useful? I could understand watching subs' cone motion but ONLY the motion, not the sound!
very well said....and remember those who argue against blind level matched A/B/X testing are doing so, because they know that their equipment will make zero audible difference.
I feel everyone, whether beginner or a veteran, in our hobby and passion, needs to watch this video. No-nonense, logical advice from a man who also understands the science of audio. Well done, Gene!
It depends, if you wanna make a comparison between products. You can try to mimic the sound you hear in the speaker through RUclips the best you can and then adjust the other as well so you have a good idea of the difference. However, if it’s fine details being presented that can only be experienced by the speaker that’ll be hard to do.
5 THINGS TO NOT BELIEVE THIS KIND OF AMATEUR : 1. ......DONT WASTE YOUR TIME WITH AMATEUR 2. FOLLOW 1 RULE 3. FOLLOW 2 RULE 4.FOLLOW 3 RULE 5.FOLLOW 4 RULE
Excellent and very truthful common sense (as usual from you) video. Here's an old one for you harkening back to the arrival of the CD. Putting green magic marker on the edges to increase fidelity.
Agreed. I actually tried this on some of my CD's in the 90's. Yeah, yeah the power of persuasion is high. That said it cost next to nothing and did not damage the CD's. It did give the placebo effect though. So for the while I messed around doing such it felt good. It's like people who buy and use esoteric car polish/wax on their cars. They feel they get a better polish/wax job than using lower cost choices. I have tried the fancier polish/wax on my cars and honestly have found using the good ole orange bottle of Nu Finish gives me excellent results and is easy to use as well as less costly.🤔
THIS KIND OF PEOPLE THEY ARE NOT ABLE TO ASEMBLY FROM 0 IN HOUSE A MICROPHONE BECAUSE THEY DONT HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE AND THE SENSITIVE DEVICE TO MAKE IT BUT THEY ARE ABLE TO SPEAK IN NAME OF AUDIO SCIENCE . 😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅
Cable are the worst , snake oil all the way . I remember buying a high end monster cableHDMI from circuit city and then i brought a cheap HDMI from radio shack , hook both to my tv at the time and saw no difference. I learn then that cable wasn’t that much different.
I think the Crutchfield "online audition" is good at hearing the sound signature difference (warm/neutral/bright), and you can verify that with the frequency response measurement, but that's about it.
Hard to say with cables. I think it's hard to take static measurements and make sense of any differences that we would or wouldn't hear when we actually listen to music. Our ears are not reliable scientific instruments by any stretch, but they are incredibly sensitive to any change of pitch, phase or volume, at least on a sub-conscious level. That is in fact, how we locate sounds in 3D in real life. I can't speak to the high dollar cables I haven't heard. I'm sure there's a great deal of snake oil and many legit products. In my own limited experience, I do notice differences. More so with transducer cables than interconnects. On my speaker system, I had built some basic, 4 strand braided cables with Parts Express 16ga wire and banana plugs. They look cool and sound perfectly fine. Still, I couldn't help but wonder if they might be a weak link between my Parasound JC5 and upgraded Tekton Moabs. After seeing some reviews, I decided to try the WBC Ultimate 7awg cables with spades. (All my interconnects are $30ish WBC, Canare based wires.) I absolutely noticed a difference. Surprisingly, more in the top end than the bass. Their top end was more present and detailed, giving my system better balance top to bottom. They were already practically worth the $200 for the jewelry factor alone, given their build quality and feel. On my headphone system, I'm running LCD-4 and I bought the Cardas Clear headphone able for them. I got a discount and wouldn't pay full price, but I feel the small upgrade was worth it, given how much I use them. I didn't buy it on a whim either, I encountered it in person at CanJam a couple years ago. I was heavily biased against expensive cables, so I wouldn't have bothered checking out their booth, if not for one of the two women being absolutely gorgeous. So I stopped and sat down and talked them for a few minutes. I had my own LCD-4 and stock cable with me. I plugged into their setup and listened to my own music for a minute to get acquainted with their equipment. Then I swapped in the Clear cable. Even over the noise on the show floor, with my open headphones blocking out nothing, I immediately heard a difference. Not night and day, but a very pleasing, slightly warmer tonality, with both improved detail and smoothness. A hard feat to pull off both at once. All that said, I probably wouldn't buy the Cardas headphone cable again, as my speaker system has evolved into my primary music listening system. As for the speakers, I'm ~$20k into my system and $200 speaker cables feel right. Not $3-6k! Out of this, I also have maybe $1200ish in room treatment. That made a MUCH bigger difference than the cables. Other tweaks that really worked for me were rebuilding my speakers' crossovers with high end parts. Cables only transmit the signal, while the crossovers are actually dividing it up. So they are much more invasive and a better place to invest some money. Also, I live in a creaky, old New England house. So isolation is a big deal. Started out with SVS subwoofer isolation feet and then upgraded to Townshend Podiums. Those made a difference I was told to expect, but had to hear to believe. Bass improved a little over the SVS feet, but the mid-range really opened up and became a lot clearer. Much better sense of imaging and depth.
LOL a 16 gauge speaker wire is a total joke. A high gauge wire quickly destroys the damping factor of the system. Anything from 2.5mm2 and up will be adequate.
@@Munakas-wq3gp So you're a fan of very heavy duty speaker wire? My 4 strand braid of 16ga is equivalent to 13ga per conductor. 2.5mm would be close to 10ga. Moving up to the crazy 7ga wire, I noticed most of the difference in the higher end though. Doesn't damping factor have more of an impact on low frequency response? Also this is the first time I've heard anyone mention a direct relationship between wire gauge and damping factor. I'm not arguing, but I'd like to know more. Do you have any sources for this information? EDIT: I did a bit of reading on the subject. Electrical damping factor is basically due to low resistance between the speaker poles. This near short causes the voice coil to resist outside force. However, even under the best circumstances, the electrical damping factor seems to pale compare to the impact of cabinet and woofer design. I guess this is why people in the know aren't too concerned about amplifier damping factor specs, as long as they are above 100 to 300, depending who you ask. But I do see now why the small bump in resistance of a smaller wire would have a measurable impact on the total system's electrical damping factor. It's just that this one aspect alone, doesn't seem to be a big deal in determining the over-all real world performance of a cable.
A friend of mine couldn't quite fit his new receiver into his cabinet. I went over there with a rasp and widened the slot. He said that, that was the best audio file he ever saw.
Why do speaker manufacturers continue with this game of rating their speakers at 8 ohms? And why don’t receivers, integrated amps and amps get on the 4 ohm bandwagon. If speaker manufacturers are going to continue making 4ohm (or less) let’s just adjust the whole industry standards and say 4 ohms?
Most multi-driver speaker systems have a nominal impedance of 4 ohms despite some manufacturers fudge and say 8-ohm compatible. Definitely worthy of a video. As long as the speaker has reasonable sensitivity (> 88dB @ 2.83V) and don't have crazy impedance swings or phase shift within the audio band, most modern AVRs can drive them fine.
The IEC standard for rating speaker impedance provides that impedance must not fall below 80% of the impedance rating. So a speaker with impedance that doesn't fall below 6.4Ω at any frequency is an 8Ω rated speaker. One which drops below 6.4Ω but only to as far as 4.8Ω should be rated 6Ω and likewise a minimum impedance below 4.8Ω but above 3.2Ω conforms to a 4Ω IEC rating.
What about burn in? That's a good myth. Most people don't realize that burn in has nothing to do with the equipment but everything to do with you. You burn in, not the gear.
This couldn't have come at a better time. I just purchased a pair of Polk R700 speakers. I am moving up from Klipsch RF82-2's and even though I read not to switch the impedance setting on the Marantz SR7009, it was cool to hear Gene verify that...
The "worst" point is when people try to use ANY online virtual video to "evaluate" the "sound quality" of ANY component or speaker, because that is literally physically impossible to actually do accurately or effectively, simply because there are SO MANY variables in the long "chain" between the actual sound being produced in the actual room that the speaker, (or whatever component), is playing in, all the way to the sound that actually reaches your own ears when/if you're NOT in that exact same room with whatever is being tested, and whether that end result is played through headphones OR any OTHER speaker, it is a TOTALLY different sound, each and every time! (AND it's also NEVER exactly the same in every way as the sound that's actually in the same room with the speakers or equipment being supposedly evaluated!) If you use ANY online video to "evaluate" the "sound quality" of ANYTHING, then you're basically just comparing "apples to oranges", and pretending that they're both exactly the same because they're both "fruits", LOL!
LOL... Spot on. I gave up worrying about these 5 sins long ago. Some people can blow a lot of money ..and good point - Mess with stuff in the digital realm, preferably. What I do like to focus thought on is; seeking high dynamic range output, headroom (starting with power supply rating) and driver efficiency. High quality measuring instruments is also a must, after all, how ya supposed to do good work with crappy tools? I always like to do a good job. Ummm.. with respect to the 'visual' queues - subjective perception beyond audio reproduction technology - I take it you are not shooting this video in your Proper listening room, given the family room clutter. 😂 ... and on that point... one of the most difficult things I've encountered is the Manager of Home Decor's resistance - veto - to making room arrangement and equipment mods. In the interests of domestic harmony perception it's better to do nothing sometimes. 😉
But Gene...Jay (Jay's Audio Lab) tells me that his new $100,000 speaker cables completely transformed his system, more explosive dynamics etc! How could you possibly cast doubt on this cable racket...ahem..."industry"? ;-)
You're still going to get people that say big expensive speaker cables matter! You can school them with actual measurements until they're blue in the face, and you'll still won't get through them. 😅
I sell BMWs • The personal experience in driving each vehicle is what should drive the decision • A live demo in store of hearing audio is the only way to finalize a decision • 😊
THANK YOU GENE! All 5 points are right on the money... The best audio advice I ever got was: *Do all the free stuff first* Move speakers, in small increments, until you find their sweet spots. Move your listening position, in small increments to find the best sound. Clean and maintain all the connectors in your system. Learn to do dust removal and control cleaning on your gear. Listen to the music ... not your system... You'll enjoy it more. For what Gene calls Audio Jewelry ... Treat it as such. Do not expect any improvements in sound quality from cables, weights, crystals or gadgets. Without hesitation I will tell you the whole "high end" accessories industry is borne of nothing better than ripping off gullible people. All those big displays and fancy show tricks exist for one reason an one reason only ... to part you from as much of your money as they can! Ask yourself why you put your system together, Was it for you and your family to enjoy... or was it to impress your friends? It is far more likely that you are the only person who is impressed by your system. All the regular folks in your life simply don't care and are entirely unimpressed by it. Also consider the sheer folly of building an amazing system then locking it away in a private listening room that only you go to. It is likely you would make a much better impression on others by cleverly integrating a mid-fi system into your living room so that everyone can enjoy it. There is considerable value in not dumping cash on the "next greatest thing". We are at a point in engineering and design where changes are incremental and often very small. Most often you can skip 3 or even 4 generations of a product before there's any good reason to upgrade. Again... the best audio advice I ever got ... Do all the free stuff first!
My comments after 50 years as a music lover. 1. If you can't hear the difference it does not matter! Exception to rule 1: some speakers sound good but will cause ear fatigue, but you cannot tell that from a short audition at a store. 2. If you have to CONVINCE yourself you can tell a difference you can't. 3. 40 years ago, a wise man told me to spend the bulk of your money on the source and the speakers once you have an amp that meets reasonable standards. 4. Once you have a reasonably good system, you can change the sound more by modifying your listening room than you can by spending more money on your system. 5. Enjoy the MUSIC; not the flashy specifications in your owner's guide.
Hi, It's refreshing to see someone speak the truth. I believe the only benefit of fancy, expensive cable and parts is that it allows the owner to say " I've got ,i spent." Its been said before " fashion magazines only make you feel ugly "
Gene - good video - I would love to hear more on addressing issues in the digital domain in regards to time, phase and channel matching - tools like REW, rephase, convolution etc. you have covered treatment extensively but would love to hear more about the finishing touch in making adjustments in the digital domain to get the most out of a system.
Don't worry about the digital domain .... We use digital signalling to send information to the furthest points on Earth and beyond... with bit perfect accuracy. Audio in that domain is just data, like any other, and is delivered just as flawlessly as any other.
The listening room is the single biggest cause of distortion when listening to a reasonable quality replay system. I use a miniDSP Flex with REW to EQ away [or in reality reduce] those pesky room nodes and reflections that are at the root of this problem. To be able to easily generate a 'house curve' response [without introducing phase anomolies] is only possible in the digital domain. Recommended.
@@philipkershaw7918 100% agree, room has a huge impact. I had a big improvement after adding some treatment. I have been playing with convolution using REW, rephase and a convolver in Audirvana to adjust FR and “flatten” phase - very much a novice and would like to learn more.
I've said it before, cables do make a difference... a negative difference to the pocketbooks of the people that buy them and a positive difference to the pocketbooks of the people that sell them. That's pretty much the only measurable difference. Great video, you are very much correct on all items mentioned.
If you have low impedance speakers and long cables, you will get treble attenuation with small diameter cables. But that can be very cheaply fixed by getting 4-6mm2 speaker cables, no need for exotic things. Of course some people have OCD and their brain would melt if they didn't have fancy gold connectors and wrist thick cables sitting on 'dampening blocks' lol. But that has nothing to do with actual sound.
The only thing I really disagree with is speaker demos. Of course you're not going to get an accurate representation, but what you do get is an idea, an inclination. I know the reference sound of the speakers I'm using to watch the demo and believe I'm familiar enough with them (whether it's my high ends, my soundbar or just my phone speakers) to compensate for that to get, not a precise, but still a useful ballpark sense of what this speaker will sound like. If nothing else, it scratches an itch for most people. Just demo the dam things, it doesn't hurt anyone.
I'm guilty of listening to youtube video demos before I bought my Klipsch RF-8000 II speakers. There's an influencer from South African who demoed those speakers by comparing them with Polks and other brands. In the end though, I'm very pleased with my Klipsch. They do sound awesome! But I do have to agree with Gene on those four other mistakes. Thanks Gene!
I have found out that the whole music experience sounds a lot better when you are with friends drinking wine! That alone enhances everything much more than you can imagine 😀😀😀
For me its all about getting a new receiver from yamaha or any other company that hasn't released a new version in a number of years.You know one is coming so FOMO is a horrifying crutch.
Hey, Gene! I'm just getting around to watching this, and I appreciate everything you discussed in the video. Though, I think the most beneficial was your last point. I'm always wanting to wait to get the next big thing, so I never pull the trigger on what I want today. You actually replied to my comment a while back, when I asked if I should buy the Onkyo RZ70 or wait for the next model, to which you advised getting the RZ70 now. I missed the sales, but I'll catch it when it comes back around. Thanks for the _sound_ advice!
Sadly, it is more a HOBBY than a way to enjoy music. And a big part of any hobby is tinkering with the parts of the hobby. Hard to accept that the science of sound reproduction is well understood. When an electrical / acoustical engineer tells you something, believe it.
What about installing a dedicated “mains” circuit for your lower to middle range quality system? Is it Worth it? Marantz 2250 Kenwood KD-5070 Sansui E-88 EQ KLH Kendall 96 dB tower speakers
I can't agree more. I did a few blind test long time ago. Putting a cheap speaker cable vs Siltech Classic legend (borrowed from a friend of mine). 5 out of 5 failed the test. None of them can tell the difference. If you have the money to show off , sure get the $100k speaker cable. That means you don't qualify to be an audiophiles purist. Cause you have hearing problem lol. Oh btw I found out by adding three rolls of toilet paper on my speakers. It increase the clarity. Very dark background. You guys should try it.
I spray liquid nitrogen on my $50000 a side Nordiophilequest ultra pure 99.9994 % oxygen free fero-liquid cooled 75v battery enhanced cryogenic cables to maintain them at exactly 196 degree’s Celsius whenever I listen to music. It lifts the veil from the upper lower middle midrange, enhances the airiness above 150khz and blackens the background to exactly 34% darker than a cosmic black hole whilst tightening and simultaneously relaxing the upper lower sideways mid bass. Without it my music sounds like total crap.
Analysis paralysis is my #1. Worrying about insignificant details has prevemted.me from making a purchase in the past. For example, choosing between the LS11000 and the 12000. Do I need to spend the extra $1000? Is it worth it? I now have the 11000 on my ceiling and it's awesome. My advice: look at the specs, see/hear it in person, make your decision and don't look back.
Hi Gene. I have a Marantz SR6015 5.1.4 setup and wanted to know if its worth watching bluray atmos movies in Pure Direct mode? Trying to understand the benefits of Pure Direct mode.
"Dress it up", I'm guilty. I like audio equipment that also has a great visual aesthetic. I display them prominently in the room and the aesthetic is a factor in my purchasing.
Every enthusiast hobby I've been active in leaves space for aesthetics. Enthusiasts should absolutely perosnalize their gear, be it through stands/racks, appearance of cabling, lighting, finish of the products, etc.
The only concern with cables should be it' s insulating properties that's the ONLY difference otherwise you can't hear ANY difference in sound quality. For playback, I prefer analog EQ over digital. Digital EQ can clip at even modest levels.
This is refreshing. Belden Cables via Blue Jean Cables is a very. good resource. American manufactured wire/cable professionally terminated at very reasonable prices. Belden has real engineering and is used in more studios along with Mogami than any other brand. The advice here is down to earth and accurate....thank you for your honest and accurate advice.
You got creds with me once you said psychoacoustics. A term I came across and used in the late 70s. I used it 30 years ago and some guy talking about speakers looked at me like as if I said something in sanskrit. Anyway, I too call bunk on the fancy useless power cables and speaker cables. I've see no scientific basis for charlatan speaker cables over simple 8 or 10 gauge cable I bought from Home Depot. Funny story. An audiophile buddy mentioned using 22 gauge magnet wire to improve the sound of his speaker. My silent reaction was he put a series inductor between his amp and speaker.
I agree 100%. I attended CES shows in the 90’s seeing items such as $3000.00 a foot Oxygen free cables, $50.000 turntables and not hearing very much difference in the lower cost systems.
I agree with most of your comments here, yes, audio components are TOTALLY subjective, there is NO best, with the exception perhaps of tape recording equipment where the "best" is the one that makes the most faithful duplication of the original. But, I do disagree with your second point. Although there excesses with some of the goofy high end stuff ( I would never personally pay 5K for a pair of interconnects, But I would never pay 250K for a pair of speakers either as you get beyond the laws of diminishing returns ) Cables DO make material impact to an audio system. There are some dependencies, if you have a junk amp and junk speakers with a xbox as a cd player or are playing MP3 files, yup, you are right, they will not make a difference as the source is to low of resolution and audio component lack resolution to resolve the difference. But, if you have a reasonably good quality amp, speakers and associated components, playing an uncompressed audio source, there will be subtle to in some cases rather profound differences. So to outright discount the need for any type of upgrade of audio cables, either line level or high level is quite frankly a disservice to your viewers. They can and will make a difference if the circumstances are correct. My qualifications to state this, I have been in the industry since the late 60's, I have worked with 75% of the manufacturers that have existed since the 60's, I have both owned high end retail stores as well as worked for several very prominent manufactures and have done thousands of BLIND direct a/b comparisons of cabling. and you are correct, not every person would be able to hear a difference, but there are people that can't hear the differences between amp or CD players, does that mean that there is no difference for all? A reasonably good quality system with an individual with a reasonably good set of ears will hear the difference, and it's REPEATABLE, not a placebo affect, in a blind comparison environment. Thank you for allowing my input, have a good day.
Excellent summary of many of the points you’ve made over the years. The one I connected with is seeking validation after purchase. At some point I realized that I just needed to stop watching reviews and just spend the time enjoying content and getting know my gear. I took six months off RUclips and it made a big difference. Now I can watch reviews just for entertainment while I enjoy the gear I have, a lot based on Audioholics recommendations.
Ah yes.....the bullshit indicator. I know it well. I use good speaker cable, it looks like lamp cord except one side is marked with a colour code or physical code to tell you how to wire your speakers in phase to your amplifier. Unless I win lotto, I'll use my roll of oxygen free copper cable. If it can handle 240 volts at 15 amps (I live in Australia) it can handle anything. Next gullible person please?
I just bought an old (2013) Pioneer SC-LX57 from my friend. That’s good enough for me. I used to be into hi-fi and had some fine systems, but my ears are shot after too many ear infections, so I just want a system where I can hear the effects and nothing more. Got some crappy loudspeakers with it, which I am going to dampen inside just for fun, to see if there can be any improvements.
Whilst I don't think that a RUclips can give an accurate guide to how a speaker or other audio equipment can sound. They can be a loose guide. When I bought the ISO acousitc Gaia III, I listened to 'Pursuit Perfect System' youtube channel A/B comparison of the Gaia II, there was a very noticeable difference. After that I checked as many reviews as possible, and I was able to take that feed back and understand that the Gaia's would make a significant difference, particularly with soundstage and separation (which they have).
Great review, particularly the point regarding to cable. My experience, the best option to uplifting sound experience is to add super woofer. European brand Piega launched a very expense SPEAKER - it contains two tower-speakers - one is base, one is mid-hi.
The new model is sometimes a huge disappointment. Dynaudio speakers are a perfect example. Some equity firm in China bought controlling interest and… same old PE story. The new speakers pale compared to the old.
There are a few more points you could have made: 1) Stop fiddling with the gear and listen to some music. Chances are what you already have will be enjoyed if you just stop fretting over it. 2) An ABX test is the sort of test that matters. People can fool themselves too easily if they know what is under test. 3) If you can't explain what you mean by a term, stop using it. It is likely others have no clue what you mean. 4) Almost all "experts" are full of BS and there is almost no easy way to know which ones. 5) Modifications to gear almost never actually make them better. The guys who designed it weren't idiots.
The cable one and the RUclips one shock me the most. We've known about over priced cables since the late 90's. And who in their right mind thinks compressed video/audio on RUclips will translate to identical sound though your headphones!? All you're going to hear is how well your headphones reproduce sound.
Hi Gene, great video thanks. I am looking for a 100’ of 10 gauge CL2 or CL3speaker wire. Can you please make a recommendation or point me in the right direction? Thank you!
I worked for AMS in Burnley Lancashire, my main job was building the patch bay from the recording studio to the mixing desk, each unit would use typically 22 kilometres of wire around 245,000 connections. They used custom wire with higher purity levels than average copper (store bought) wires nothing special. I have worked on a good few projects for them including a Lucas studios desk modification, Sony music 88 desk, Tori Amos home studio, the "wire" problem is not a thing in reality it's horrible that ppl are being lied to about such a simple thing.
I've seen plenty of comments like this from people in the feild such as you. Most uf us have other priorities that should out weigh the " addiction " to spend our resources frivolously like this . Just as you needed to consider while doing your installs. I'd say for me personally shortening my way to long and tangled interconnects straightened out might be slightly audible thinking about making my own. Good enough is good enough. I believe your clients would have let you know if it wasn't good enough and you would have been fixing it one way or another.😅
Sure...all cables are identical!! Guess you choose carefully your toilet paper ! Because they are not the same... But all cables are identical! I have been 25 years one of the biggest High End dealer in Europe...and now you comes out and tell me that crap ! What about making a cooking chanel ??
I have some mystery vintage Infinity 2500 speakers that are 4ohm. I was using them in the bedroom at low volumes with a cheap Pioneer amp and I knew it could be a problem for the pioneer. Well after a month the pioneer started with a low internal hum. As it got worse I just tossed the thing out. I replaced with a Yamaha Aventage ra-a710 which Yamaha claims can handle 4ohm speakers but now after a few months the Yammy has now developed the low hum. These speakers are amp killers. Why would this be???
I think my truck always runs and handles better after I wash it...I think once you purchase your products and are happy with the sound and performance, you should immediately stop watching reviews on new and upcoming products. All they do is leave you second guessing your decisions.
Yeah, I had to quit watching reviews of new speakers because I'm happy with my JBL Stage A180 floorstanding speakers. Plus, I'm glad I did some research regarding the impedance switching in my Denon AVR-X3400H receiver. I purchased a discontinued model because I do not want to pay $300 for eARC at the time and honestly, if I do want HDMI 2.1 for 4K at 120Hz, I can just get an audio extractor and pass audio to my AVR and video to my TV. Plus, I'm not too much of an audiophile probably due to my hearing impairment since the day I was born. So yeah, at the end of the day, I do have to control RUclips's algorithms so that it does not recommend speakers to buy. I have to do lots of research and spend responsibly.
Washing my car instantly adds at least 25 bhp.
I bought a Arendal 1723 THX LCR as my first setup and boy when I tell you. I had my days of thinking about returning it
@@gww730 Adding pin stripes adds 10 to 15 HP as well.
Wisdom
I find the type of wine I'm drinking when listening to music makes more difference than almost anything else. A fine Bordeaux sounds best.
💯
Single malt scotch sounds best
@raygarza6231 Oh yes that's good too.
Cabernet Franc with a sunset sounds the best.
I appear to have started something.
"I need to hear how your speakers sound through my speakers" XD
It is like the old TV commercials that show you how awesome another TV looks on your TV.
The only thing every audiofile should concentrate on is working on room treatments not so much on equipment. 😊
Even though I disagree with Dennis Foley on some details, his youtube videos and shop is a great place to start: Acoustic Fields
@@Munakas-wq3gp Curious what details you disagree with. I have been watching his videos for a few years now.
Agree 💯 % on room treatment. It is about 50% of the sound. I wish everyone could hear a great system in a properly treated room. I think most people would be astonished at what is possible. Aside from room treatment is speaker placement. Looking at photos across the internet, most people don't even have their speakers properly set up.
@@vinylrules4838 Mainly about speaker size vs room size and subwoofers. Dampening is not the only way to treat room modes, it can be achieved by using multiple subs in calculated positions. A well designed speaker will work in any room regardless of ithe speakers size. Aside these minor details I fully agree on everthing else and I have recommended Acoustic Fields to numerous poeple who fight with their rooms.....
@@vinylrules4838 I know my speakers are not properly set up. Thats the space I have and it is good enough.
I have 70 year old ears and eyes. I can't hear frequencies above 13 Khz and I wear glasses. I could throw all the money in the world at a system that costs me $150K but getting old has reminded me that I'm very happy with my current setup.
13khz hearing is amazing at 70 years old. Be proud of that. My hearing doesn't extend much beyond that and I'm 50.
@@Audioholics
This is interesting.
73 and ~14k.
@@Douglas_Blake_579 occupational hazard
@@Audioholics
👍
But, there's an amazing feature hidden behind every Volume Control... Amazingly they can actually be used to turn things down! Who knew?
Ahh your still young
I built a decent home theater and didn’t use it for like 3 months because I was busy working all the time. When I finally sat down to watch a movie it sounded so much better than I remembered.
"you don't need validation from others, even from us" is very honest and revealing, thanks for that! 👋
If you truly believe that cables (or other associated tweaks) will improve sound quality, then you will absolutely hear differences. I firmly believe that music sounds better between 6pm - 8pm in the evening, and even better when the weather is nice outside. Perception is everything.
Also your mood has a huge affect on sound perception. My best listening occurs late night when everyone is asleep and I'm in the solitude of my theater room.
And even better with your favorite adult beverage in your hand.
@@peterowings7233gene has an episode about using a little MJ to elevate your experience.
to me believing or not does not matter - what matter is the consumer hears a difference or not. if he / she does or does not shouldnt matter to anyone else.
Beer helps too!
The most blinged audiophile systems remind me of religious altars. Everything is perfectly spaced and tiered. The holy speaker cables must not be allowed to touch the floor. The vinyl comes out like the most holy book, cleaned to laboratory perfection and zapped with an anti-static gun. But seriously, belief plays such a large role in the industry. 'Can you hear the divine soundstage, brothers and sisters?' 'You must have faith.' 'The double-blind listening test is Satan trying to test your faith.' "Believe, believe!"
My opinions:
1. Impedance - you’re correct, burning down your house isn’t important as quality sound.
2. Cables - after sinking tens of thousands of dollars in pure silver cables, that chocolately sound is worth every penny (p.s. I won’t move my head)
3. Listening Demos - agreed, I don’t want to pay for music licensing.
4. Validation- disagree, I sell validation so send those people to me.
5. New models - everything before May, 2024 sucks!
LMAO
lol
Lmao 2!! Best response here by far! Thank you!
I have a botlle of snake oil to sell buddy. Just soak your silver cables in it for exactly 8.25 days and you'll hear a buttery smooth, if not downright oily, improvement.
I am in charge of decent size development and engineering department in a company that designs telecom equipment. I spend staggering $$$ for compliance and safety. When I see audiophile fuses that do not have a UL certification I truly freak out. I keep preaching this type of scrutiny to younger audiophiles continuously….the fundamentals of engineering will never change.
I didn't even realize that "audiophile fuses" were even a thing. To me, power cables are the worst offenders - I've seen dozens of Hospital Grade power cords dressed up in custom housings and techflex selling for hundreds, and even thousands of dollars.
@@gww730 the closest legitimate, “possibly” better fuses that have UL are produced by “littelfuse”, a legitimate surge protection manufacturer and are available from Mouser, Digikey, etc.
If one sees how quickly an item goes up in flames with incorrect or bad fuse during a compliance test, these fly by night fuse supplier would go out of business. Unfortunately, we support these weak products.
The cable comments are the best. I only use the Blue Jeans cables because they aren' that much more expensive than plain zip cord when you figure in the connectors you'll need too. I like to spend that little bit more to also make sure the bananas are really REALLY well connected to the cabel. No way you are going to do that yourself the way that guy at Blue Jeans does with his equipment.
It's pretty easy to solder and/or crimp the plugs by yourself, but you do you..
I recall many years ago the well-known engineer for National Semiconductor, Bob Pease, had a standing offer of (I believe) $10,000 to anyone who could tell the difference between some expensive speaker cables, and pieces of random hookup wire he soldered together in an A-B test. No one ever took the challenge!
You're right. The bet is still up, and it's $1million..
I took the test he paid me the 10k that autism paid off😂
I agree with everything you said. The only person who needs to love your system is you. Don't overspend on things. Most of the audio products depreciate. There are a few products that hold their value.
Almost no electronic device including speakers and AVR's retain anywhere near their value. Not even close.
Simple, plain words of great erudition!
Delivered almost as plea to a multitude of slack jawed, gullible consumers.
I do hope someone is listening.
Respect.
@1:58 🤔🧐 SO FUNNY YOU BRING THIS UP.. ..I FIRST SET UP MY RECEIVER AND SETTLED ON 4 OHMS AFTER GOING BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN 4 AND 8 OHMS BECAUSE IT SEEMINGLY SOUNDED LOUDER AT THE TIME.. ..ABOUT 6 MOS LATER, ON A BORED DAY, I REVISITED THAT SELECTION AND WAS ASTONISHED AT HOW I COULD HAVE MISSED THE ABSENCE OF DYNAMIC RANGE (AND FIDELITY)..
Most amps can handle reactive load, so VSWR isn't going to be an issue. Not that your amp would even notice unless the speaker cable was over 2km long.
Why settle for transparent!? Why not spend 10 times as much to get EXTRA transparent? Why not 100 times as much to get super duper plus ultra transparent?
I really scratch my head when I see youtube demos, WTF? Call it rubetube, how could anyone think that's relevant or useful? I could understand watching subs' cone motion but ONLY the motion, not the sound!
very well said....and remember those who argue against blind level matched A/B/X testing are doing so, because they know that their equipment will make zero audible difference.
OLUV GADGET'S youtube owner is another amateur from this world who pretend that is qualified to public false opinion about audio industry.
I feel everyone, whether beginner or a veteran, in our hobby and passion, needs to watch this video. No-nonense, logical advice from a man who also understands the science of audio.
Well done, Gene!
I was thinking exactly the same, too many reviewers promote their sponsors wares
Great video Gene! I cannot believe people who watch you would think they can listen to sound quality on speakers through the RUclips feed...LMAO
It depends, if you wanna make a comparison between products. You can try to mimic the sound you hear in the speaker through RUclips the best you can and then adjust the other as well so you have a good idea of the difference. However, if it’s fine details being presented that can only be experienced by the speaker that’ll be hard to do.
@user-zh5lj1ec4k no matter what I do, and I have tried tons of things, my system on RUclips never sounds like my system in the room. Not even close
5 THINGS TO NOT BELIEVE THIS KIND OF AMATEUR :
1. ......DONT WASTE YOUR TIME WITH AMATEUR
2. FOLLOW 1 RULE
3. FOLLOW 2 RULE
4.FOLLOW 3 RULE
5.FOLLOW 4 RULE
Excellent and very truthful common sense (as usual from you) video. Here's an old one for you harkening back to the arrival of the CD. Putting green magic marker on the edges to increase fidelity.
Agreed. I actually tried this on some of my CD's in the 90's. Yeah, yeah the power of persuasion is high. That said it cost next to nothing and did not damage the CD's. It did give the placebo effect though. So for the while I messed around doing such it felt good.
It's like people who buy and use esoteric car polish/wax on their cars. They feel they get a better polish/wax job than using lower cost choices.
I have tried the fancier polish/wax on my cars and honestly have found using the good ole orange bottle of Nu Finish gives me excellent results and is easy to use as well as less costly.🤔
My minimal review vids have gotten some criticisms I didn't offer a demo on the vid. Ugh...
THIS KIND OF PEOPLE THEY ARE NOT ABLE TO ASEMBLY FROM 0 IN HOUSE A MICROPHONE BECAUSE THEY DONT HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE AND THE SENSITIVE DEVICE TO MAKE IT BUT THEY ARE ABLE TO SPEAK IN NAME OF AUDIO SCIENCE . 😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅
BJC is the only place to get cables IMHO , great prices , great customer service, and quick delivery. Great work Gene
Yep. Good cable/terminals at a fair price.
Yeah, they are such an easy company to recommend. I've been buying from them for 17+ years.
I co-sign for BJC!
Cable are the worst , snake oil all the way . I remember buying a high end monster cableHDMI from circuit city and then i brought a cheap HDMI from radio shack , hook both to my tv at the time and saw no difference. I learn then that cable wasn’t that much different.
I think the Crutchfield "online audition" is good at hearing the sound signature difference (warm/neutral/bright), and you can verify that with the frequency response measurement, but that's about it.
Conclusion: PEOPLE avoid this kind of amateur fake science people.
Hard to say with cables. I think it's hard to take static measurements and make sense of any differences that we would or wouldn't hear when we actually listen to music. Our ears are not reliable scientific instruments by any stretch, but they are incredibly sensitive to any change of pitch, phase or volume, at least on a sub-conscious level. That is in fact, how we locate sounds in 3D in real life.
I can't speak to the high dollar cables I haven't heard. I'm sure there's a great deal of snake oil and many legit products. In my own limited experience, I do notice differences. More so with transducer cables than interconnects. On my speaker system, I had built some basic, 4 strand braided cables with Parts Express 16ga wire and banana plugs. They look cool and sound perfectly fine. Still, I couldn't help but wonder if they might be a weak link between my Parasound JC5 and upgraded Tekton Moabs. After seeing some reviews, I decided to try the WBC Ultimate 7awg cables with spades. (All my interconnects are $30ish WBC, Canare based wires.) I absolutely noticed a difference. Surprisingly, more in the top end than the bass. Their top end was more present and detailed, giving my system better balance top to bottom. They were already practically worth the $200 for the jewelry factor alone, given their build quality and feel.
On my headphone system, I'm running LCD-4 and I bought the Cardas Clear headphone able for them. I got a discount and wouldn't pay full price, but I feel the small upgrade was worth it, given how much I use them. I didn't buy it on a whim either, I encountered it in person at CanJam a couple years ago. I was heavily biased against expensive cables, so I wouldn't have bothered checking out their booth, if not for one of the two women being absolutely gorgeous. So I stopped and sat down and talked them for a few minutes. I had my own LCD-4 and stock cable with me. I plugged into their setup and listened to my own music for a minute to get acquainted with their equipment. Then I swapped in the Clear cable. Even over the noise on the show floor, with my open headphones blocking out nothing, I immediately heard a difference. Not night and day, but a very pleasing, slightly warmer tonality, with both improved detail and smoothness. A hard feat to pull off both at once.
All that said, I probably wouldn't buy the Cardas headphone cable again, as my speaker system has evolved into my primary music listening system. As for the speakers, I'm ~$20k into my system and $200 speaker cables feel right. Not $3-6k! Out of this, I also have maybe $1200ish in room treatment. That made a MUCH bigger difference than the cables. Other tweaks that really worked for me were rebuilding my speakers' crossovers with high end parts. Cables only transmit the signal, while the crossovers are actually dividing it up. So they are much more invasive and a better place to invest some money. Also, I live in a creaky, old New England house. So isolation is a big deal. Started out with SVS subwoofer isolation feet and then upgraded to Townshend Podiums. Those made a difference I was told to expect, but had to hear to believe. Bass improved a little over the SVS feet, but the mid-range really opened up and became a lot clearer. Much better sense of imaging and depth.
LOL a 16 gauge speaker wire is a total joke. A high gauge wire quickly destroys the damping factor of the system. Anything from 2.5mm2 and up will be adequate.
@@Munakas-wq3gp So you're a fan of very heavy duty speaker wire? My 4 strand braid of 16ga is equivalent to 13ga per conductor. 2.5mm would be close to 10ga. Moving up to the crazy 7ga wire, I noticed most of the difference in the higher end though. Doesn't damping factor have more of an impact on low frequency response? Also this is the first time I've heard anyone mention a direct relationship between wire gauge and damping factor. I'm not arguing, but I'd like to know more. Do you have any sources for this information?
EDIT: I did a bit of reading on the subject. Electrical damping factor is basically due to low resistance between the speaker poles. This near short causes the voice coil to resist outside force. However, even under the best circumstances, the electrical damping factor seems to pale compare to the impact of cabinet and woofer design. I guess this is why people in the know aren't too concerned about amplifier damping factor specs, as long as they are above 100 to 300, depending who you ask. But I do see now why the small bump in resistance of a smaller wire would have a measurable impact on the total system's electrical damping factor. It's just that this one aspect alone, doesn't seem to be a big deal in determining the over-all real world performance of a cable.
@@zackw4941 A smaller gauge wire is just physically the better option for an AC signal, it has nothing to do with my preference. It's simple physics.
@@Munakas-wq3gp Can't argue. I'm really happy with my WBC 7ga cables!
A friend of mine couldn't quite fit his new receiver into his cabinet.
I went over there with a rasp and widened the slot. He said that, that was the best audio file he ever saw.
BJC... Approved, and great service to boot.
But but Jean, if I don’t EQ it with cables or a nice power cord, I’m not hearing what the artist intended
Ummmm.... You aren't hearing what the artist intended in any case. Far more likely you're getting what the mixing and mastering engineers intended.
@@Douglas_Blake_579 It's called sarcasm. Talk about a "whoosh" moment.
@@Orcinus24x5
Whatever .... a teachable moment to be sure.
@@Douglas_Blake_579 I know that my comment was making fun of ““ audio files because that’s one of their most favorite things to say
You need MQA! 🤣😂
Love it! Thank you for these tips. Even a seasoned audiophile sometimes forgets these basics. 🙏
SINCERLY YOU ARE NOT THE BEST AUDIO SPECIALIST FROM AUDIO INDUSTRY.
Why do speaker manufacturers continue with this game of rating their speakers at 8 ohms? And why don’t receivers, integrated amps and amps get on the 4 ohm bandwagon. If speaker manufacturers are going to continue making 4ohm (or less) let’s just adjust the whole industry standards and say 4 ohms?
Most multi-driver speaker systems have a nominal impedance of 4 ohms despite some manufacturers fudge and say 8-ohm compatible. Definitely worthy of a video. As long as the speaker has reasonable sensitivity (> 88dB @ 2.83V) and don't have crazy impedance swings or phase shift within the audio band, most modern AVRs can drive them fine.
The IEC standard for rating speaker impedance provides that impedance must not fall below 80% of the impedance rating. So a speaker with impedance that doesn't fall below 6.4Ω at any frequency is an 8Ω rated speaker. One which drops below 6.4Ω but only to as far as 4.8Ω should be rated 6Ω and likewise a minimum impedance below 4.8Ω but above 3.2Ω conforms to a 4Ω IEC rating.
Great breakdown Gene, always love your honest and transparent view. Greetings from Australia.
What about burn in? That's a good myth. Most people don't realize that burn in has nothing to do with the equipment but everything to do with you. You burn in, not the gear.
Yep ... plus, if you notice, most burn in periods are just a bit longer than the return window.
Came over from the 2 channel community, love the channel and approach. Building into a home theater now, your vids are really helpful.
IN ANY SCIENCE DOMAIN NOT ONLY IN AUDIO YOU WILL ENCOUNTER A LOT OF AMATEUR.😅😅😅😅😅😅😅
IN ANY SCIENCE DOMAIN NOT ONLY IN AUDIO YOU WILL ENCOUNTER A LOT OF AMATEUR.😅😅😅😅😅😅😅
This couldn't have come at a better time. I just purchased a pair of Polk R700 speakers. I am moving up from Klipsch RF82-2's and even though I read not to switch the impedance setting on the Marantz SR7009, it was cool to hear Gene verify that...
EAR IS A VERY IMPORTANT SCIENCE THING. IF SOME SOUND SPECIALIST HEAR NOISE BECAUSE VERY CHEAP ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS THATS IT
AUDIO INDUSTRY IS MORE QUALIFED THEN YOU AND A LOT OF OTHER AMATEUR.
The "worst" point is when people try to use ANY online virtual video to "evaluate" the "sound quality" of ANY component or speaker, because that is literally physically impossible to actually do accurately or effectively, simply because there are SO MANY variables in the long "chain" between the actual sound being produced in the actual room that the speaker, (or whatever component), is playing in, all the way to the sound that actually reaches your own ears when/if you're NOT in that exact same room with whatever is being tested, and whether that end result is played through headphones OR any OTHER speaker, it is a TOTALLY different sound, each and every time! (AND it's also NEVER exactly the same in every way as the sound that's actually in the same room with the speakers or equipment being supposedly evaluated!)
If you use ANY online video to "evaluate" the "sound quality" of ANYTHING, then you're basically just comparing "apples to oranges", and pretending that they're both exactly the same because they're both "fruits", LOL!
LOL... Spot on.
I gave up worrying about these 5 sins long ago. Some people can blow a lot of money
..and good point - Mess with stuff in the digital realm, preferably.
What I do like to focus thought on is; seeking high dynamic range output, headroom (starting with power supply rating) and driver efficiency.
High quality measuring instruments is also a must, after all, how ya supposed to do good work with crappy tools? I always like to do a good job.
Ummm.. with respect to the 'visual' queues - subjective perception beyond audio reproduction technology - I take it you are not shooting this video in your Proper listening room, given the family room clutter. 😂 ... and on that point... one of the most difficult things I've encountered is the Manager of Home Decor's resistance - veto - to making room arrangement and equipment mods. In the interests of domestic harmony perception it's better to do nothing sometimes. 😉
I'm going to bookmark the video and listen to it every time I want to buy something. Great advice man. Ons of your best.
But Gene...Jay (Jay's Audio Lab) tells me that his new $100,000 speaker cables completely transformed his system, more explosive dynamics etc! How could you possibly cast doubt on this cable racket...ahem..."industry"? ;-)
Nobody is immune to placebo effect, especially those with more money than sense.
THIS IS THE BEST JOKE FROM TODAY😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅.
You're still going to get people that say big expensive speaker cables matter! You can school them with actual measurements until they're blue in the face, and you'll still won't get through them. 😅
Religions are like that.
I sell BMWs • The personal experience in driving each vehicle is what should drive the decision • A live demo in store of hearing audio is the only way to finalize a decision • 😊
I wish BMW didn't butcher the 2 series like it did. I'm holding on to my 18 M240i in orange.
Especially the part about seeking validation from others. Well said. Everybody has their own biases and preferences.
😅😅😅😅 NOT MEASURE IS ALL ABOUT .THIS IS FIRST LIE.
ITS NOT NECESARY TO BELIEVE YOU ONLY BECAUSE YOU SAY SO
THANK YOU GENE!
All 5 points are right on the money...
The best audio advice I ever got was: *Do all the free stuff first*
Move speakers, in small increments, until you find their sweet spots.
Move your listening position, in small increments to find the best sound.
Clean and maintain all the connectors in your system.
Learn to do dust removal and control cleaning on your gear.
Listen to the music ... not your system... You'll enjoy it more.
For what Gene calls Audio Jewelry ...
Treat it as such. Do not expect any improvements in sound quality from cables, weights, crystals or gadgets. Without hesitation I will tell you the whole "high end" accessories industry is borne of nothing better than ripping off gullible people. All those big displays and fancy show tricks exist for one reason an one reason only ... to part you from as much of your money as they can!
Ask yourself why you put your system together, Was it for you and your family to enjoy... or was it to impress your friends? It is far more likely that you are the only person who is impressed by your system. All the regular folks in your life simply don't care and are entirely unimpressed by it. Also consider the sheer folly of building an amazing system then locking it away in a private listening room that only you go to. It is likely you would make a much better impression on others by cleverly integrating a mid-fi system into your living room so that everyone can enjoy it.
There is considerable value in not dumping cash on the "next greatest thing". We are at a point in engineering and design where changes are incremental and often very small. Most often you can skip 3 or even 4 generations of a product before there's any good reason to upgrade.
Again... the best audio advice I ever got ... Do all the free stuff first!
My comments after 50 years as a music lover. 1. If you can't hear the difference it does not matter! Exception to rule 1: some speakers sound good but will cause ear fatigue, but you cannot tell that from a short audition at a store. 2. If you have to CONVINCE yourself you can tell a difference you can't. 3. 40 years ago, a wise man told me to spend the bulk of your money on the source and the speakers once you have an amp that meets reasonable standards. 4. Once you have a reasonably good system, you can change the sound more by modifying your listening room than you can by spending more money on your system. 5. Enjoy the MUSIC; not the flashy specifications in your owner's guide.
I absolutely agree with you
In my eyes after 54 years in the hifi world the source is number one then speakers then amp just my opinion
Hi, It's refreshing to see someone speak the truth. I believe the only benefit of fancy, expensive cable and parts is that it allows the owner to say " I've got ,i spent."
Its been said before " fashion magazines only make you feel ugly "
“The technology is already mature “. Yeh, since 1970! Great video, you speak the truth!
Gene - good video - I would love to hear more on addressing issues in the digital domain in regards to time, phase and channel matching - tools like REW, rephase, convolution etc. you have covered treatment extensively but would love to hear more about the finishing touch in making adjustments in the digital domain to get the most out of a system.
Don't worry about the digital domain .... We use digital signalling to send information to the furthest points on Earth and beyond... with bit perfect accuracy. Audio in that domain is just data, like any other, and is delivered just as flawlessly as any other.
The listening room is the single biggest cause of distortion when listening to a reasonable quality replay system.
I use a miniDSP Flex with REW to EQ away [or in reality reduce] those pesky room nodes and reflections that are at the root of this problem.
To be able to easily generate a 'house curve' response [without introducing phase anomolies] is only possible in the digital domain.
Recommended.
@@philipkershaw7918 100% agree, room has a huge impact. I had a big improvement after adding some treatment. I have been playing with convolution using REW, rephase and a convolver in Audirvana to adjust FR and “flatten” phase - very much a novice and would like to learn more.
Let dig even more: Frequency master clock from a device if is very cheap it will sound for 5 USD
Appreciate your knowledge and recommendations, thanks!
I've said it before, cables do make a difference... a negative difference to the pocketbooks of the people that buy them and a positive difference to the pocketbooks of the people that sell them. That's pretty much the only measurable difference.
Great video, you are very much correct on all items mentioned.
If you have low impedance speakers and long cables, you will get treble attenuation with small diameter cables. But that can be very cheaply fixed by getting 4-6mm2 speaker cables, no need for exotic things. Of course some people have OCD and their brain would melt if they didn't have fancy gold connectors and wrist thick cables sitting on 'dampening blocks' lol. But that has nothing to do with actual sound.
Add in fuses, fuse directionality,cable burn in and cryogenic freezing 😊
Complete snake oil
The only thing I really disagree with is speaker demos. Of course you're not going to get an accurate representation, but what you do get is an idea, an inclination. I know the reference sound of the speakers I'm using to watch the demo and believe I'm familiar enough with them (whether it's my high ends, my soundbar or just my phone speakers) to compensate for that to get, not a precise, but still a useful ballpark sense of what this speaker will sound like. If nothing else, it scratches an itch for most people. Just demo the dam things, it doesn't hurt anyone.
7:08 Purchase Validation. This one needs to be repeated by everyone. I see this in other hobbies as well, especially reef aquarium hobby.
I'm guilty of listening to youtube video demos before I bought my Klipsch RF-8000 II speakers. There's an influencer from South African who demoed those speakers by comparing them with Polks and other brands. In the end though, I'm very pleased with my Klipsch. They do sound awesome! But I do have to agree with Gene on those four other mistakes. Thanks Gene!
I have found out that the whole music experience sounds a lot better when you are with friends drinking wine! That alone enhances everything much more than you can imagine 😀😀😀
For me its all about getting a new receiver from yamaha or any other company that hasn't released a new version in a number of years.You know one is coming so FOMO is a horrifying crutch.
Hey, Gene! I'm just getting around to watching this, and I appreciate everything you discussed in the video. Though, I think the most beneficial was your last point. I'm always wanting to wait to get the next big thing, so I never pull the trigger on what I want today. You actually replied to my comment a while back, when I asked if I should buy the Onkyo RZ70 or wait for the next model, to which you advised getting the RZ70 now. I missed the sales, but I'll catch it when it comes back around. Thanks for the _sound_ advice!
I do listening test on youtube through my amazon firehd tablet speakers. They have atmos and i am an idiot so im good.
Sadly, it is more a HOBBY than a way to enjoy music. And a big part of any hobby is tinkering with the parts of the hobby. Hard to accept that the science of sound reproduction is well understood. When an electrical / acoustical engineer tells you something, believe it.
What about installing a dedicated “mains” circuit for your lower to middle range quality system? Is it Worth it?
Marantz 2250
Kenwood KD-5070
Sansui E-88 EQ
KLH Kendall 96 dB tower speakers
If your happy with how your system looks and sounds then be happy with what you have! Your system only needs to make you happy and no one else!
Yes, and listen to some music. That is what it is for.
Yes trust in your INFORMATION that you search not from amateur.
I can't agree more. I did a few blind test long time ago. Putting a cheap speaker cable vs Siltech Classic legend (borrowed from a friend of mine). 5 out of 5 failed the test. None of them can tell the difference. If you have the money to show off , sure get the $100k speaker cable. That means you don't qualify to be an audiophiles purist. Cause you have hearing problem lol. Oh btw I found out by adding three rolls of toilet paper on my speakers. It increase the clarity. Very dark background. You guys should try it.
I spray liquid nitrogen on my $50000 a side Nordiophilequest ultra pure 99.9994 % oxygen free fero-liquid cooled 75v battery enhanced cryogenic cables to maintain them at exactly 196 degree’s Celsius whenever I listen to music. It lifts the veil from the upper lower middle midrange, enhances the airiness above 150khz and blackens the background to exactly 34% darker than a cosmic black hole whilst tightening and simultaneously relaxing the upper lower sideways mid bass. Without it my music sounds like total crap.
Cables : read this -
Audio/Video Cable Installer's Pocket Guide (McGraw-Hill
Pocket Reference)
Lampen, Stephen H.
Sorted.
Analysis paralysis is my #1. Worrying about insignificant details has prevemted.me from making a purchase in the past. For example, choosing between the LS11000 and the 12000. Do I need to spend the extra $1000? Is it worth it? I now have the 11000 on my ceiling and it's awesome. My advice: look at the specs, see/hear it in person, make your decision and don't look back.
Hi Gene. I have a Marantz SR6015 5.1.4 setup and wanted to know if its worth watching bluray atmos movies in Pure Direct mode? Trying to understand the benefits of Pure Direct mode.
"Dress it up", I'm guilty. I like audio equipment that also has a great visual aesthetic. I display them prominently in the room and the aesthetic is a factor in my purchasing.
Every enthusiast hobby I've been active in leaves space for aesthetics. Enthusiasts should absolutely perosnalize their gear, be it through stands/racks, appearance of cabling, lighting, finish of the products, etc.
The only concern with cables should be it' s insulating properties that's the ONLY difference otherwise you can't hear ANY difference in sound quality. For playback, I prefer analog EQ over digital. Digital EQ can clip at even modest levels.
This is refreshing. Belden Cables via Blue Jean Cables is a very. good resource. American manufactured wire/cable professionally terminated at very reasonable prices. Belden has real engineering and is used in more studios along with Mogami than any other brand. The advice here is down to earth and accurate....thank you for your honest and accurate advice.
You got creds with me once you said psychoacoustics. A term I came across and used in the late 70s. I used it 30 years ago and some guy talking about speakers looked at me like as if I said something in sanskrit.
Anyway, I too call bunk on the fancy useless power cables and speaker cables.
I've see no scientific basis for charlatan speaker cables over simple 8 or 10 gauge cable I bought from Home Depot.
Funny story. An audiophile buddy mentioned using 22 gauge magnet wire to improve the sound of his speaker. My silent reaction was he put a series inductor between his amp and speaker.
I agree 100%. I attended CES shows in the 90’s seeing items such as $3000.00 a foot Oxygen free cables, $50.000 turntables and not hearing very much difference in the lower cost systems.
I agree with most of your comments here, yes, audio components are TOTALLY subjective, there is NO best, with the exception perhaps of tape recording equipment where the "best" is the one that makes the most faithful duplication of the original. But, I do disagree with your second point. Although there excesses with some of the goofy high end stuff ( I would never personally pay 5K for a pair of interconnects, But I would never pay 250K for a pair of speakers either as you get beyond the laws of diminishing returns ) Cables DO make material impact to an audio system. There are some dependencies, if you have a junk amp and junk speakers with a xbox as a cd player or are playing MP3 files, yup, you are right, they will not make a difference as the source is to low of resolution and audio component lack resolution to resolve the difference. But, if you have a reasonably good quality amp, speakers and associated components, playing an uncompressed audio source, there will be subtle to in some cases rather profound differences. So to outright discount the need for any type of upgrade of audio cables, either line level or high level is quite frankly a disservice to your viewers. They can and will make a difference if the circumstances are correct. My qualifications to state this, I have been in the industry since the late 60's, I have worked with 75% of the manufacturers that have existed since the 60's, I have both owned high end retail stores as well as worked for several very prominent manufactures and have done thousands of BLIND direct a/b comparisons of cabling. and you are correct, not every person would be able to hear a difference, but there are people that can't hear the differences between amp or CD players, does that mean that there is no difference for all? A reasonably good quality system with an individual with a reasonably good set of ears will hear the difference, and it's REPEATABLE, not a placebo affect, in a blind comparison environment. Thank you for allowing my input, have a good day.
Excellent summary of many of the points you’ve made over the years. The one I connected with is seeking validation after purchase. At some point I realized that I just needed to stop watching reviews and just spend the time enjoying content and getting know my gear. I took six months off RUclips and it made a big difference. Now I can watch reviews just for entertainment while I enjoy the gear I have, a lot based on Audioholics recommendations.
Ah yes.....the bullshit indicator. I know it well. I use good speaker cable, it looks like lamp cord except one side is marked with a colour code or physical code to tell you how to wire your speakers in phase to your amplifier. Unless I win lotto, I'll use my roll of oxygen free copper cable. If it can handle 240 volts at 15 amps (I live in Australia) it can handle anything. Next gullible person please?
I just bought an old (2013) Pioneer SC-LX57 from my friend. That’s good enough for me. I used to be into hi-fi and had some fine systems, but my ears are shot after too many ear infections, so I just want a system where I can hear the effects and nothing more.
Got some crappy loudspeakers with it, which I am going to dampen inside just for fun, to see if there can be any improvements.
Especially speakers!!i have speakers 32 years old and still sound fantastic!! Def tech BP20s !!
Whilst I don't think that a RUclips can give an accurate guide to how a speaker or other audio equipment can sound. They can be a loose guide. When I bought the ISO acousitc Gaia III, I listened to 'Pursuit Perfect System' youtube channel A/B comparison of the Gaia II, there was a very noticeable difference. After that I checked as many reviews as possible, and I was able to take that feed back and understand that the Gaia's would make a significant difference, particularly with soundstage and separation (which they have).
Great review, particularly the point regarding to cable. My experience, the best option to uplifting sound experience is to add super woofer. European brand Piega launched a very expense SPEAKER - it contains two tower-speakers - one is base, one is mid-hi.
The new model is sometimes a huge disappointment. Dynaudio speakers are a perfect example. Some equity firm in China bought controlling interest and… same old PE story. The new speakers pale compared to the old.
There are a few more points you could have made:
1) Stop fiddling with the gear and listen to some music. Chances are what you already have will be enjoyed if you just stop fretting over it.
2) An ABX test is the sort of test that matters. People can fool themselves too easily if they know what is under test.
3) If you can't explain what you mean by a term, stop using it. It is likely others have no clue what you mean.
4) Almost all "experts" are full of BS and there is almost no easy way to know which ones.
5) Modifications to gear almost never actually make them better. The guys who designed it weren't idiots.
The cable one and the RUclips one shock me the most. We've known about over priced cables since the late 90's. And who in their right mind thinks compressed video/audio on RUclips will translate to identical sound though your headphones!? All you're going to hear is how well your headphones reproduce sound.
Hi Gene, great video thanks. I am looking for a 100’ of 10 gauge CL2 or CL3speaker wire. Can you please make a recommendation or point me in the right direction? Thank you!
I worked for AMS in Burnley Lancashire, my main job was building the patch bay from the recording studio to the mixing desk, each unit would use typically 22 kilometres of wire around 245,000 connections. They used custom wire with higher purity levels than average copper (store bought) wires nothing special. I have worked on a good few projects for them including a Lucas studios desk modification, Sony music 88 desk, Tori Amos home studio, the "wire" problem is not a thing in reality it's horrible that ppl are being lied to about such a simple thing.
I've seen plenty of comments like this from people in the feild such as you. Most uf us have other priorities that should out weigh the " addiction " to spend our resources frivolously like this . Just as you needed to consider while doing your installs. I'd say for me personally shortening my way to long and tangled interconnects straightened out might be slightly audible thinking about making my own. Good enough is good enough. I believe your clients would have let you know if it wasn't good enough and you would have been fixing it one way or another.😅
Indeed! Any copper wire of suitable thickness will work fine. At worst, you might have to cut off tarnished ends.
Sure...all cables are identical!!
Guess you choose carefully your toilet paper ! Because they are not the same...
But all cables are identical!
I have been 25 years one of the biggest High End dealer in Europe...and now you comes out and tell me that crap !
What about making a cooking chanel ??
I have some mystery vintage Infinity 2500 speakers that are 4ohm. I was using them in the bedroom at low volumes with a cheap Pioneer amp and I knew it could be a problem for the pioneer. Well after a month the pioneer started with a low internal hum. As it got worse I just tossed the thing out. I replaced with a Yamaha Aventage ra-a710 which Yamaha claims can handle 4ohm speakers but now after a few months the Yammy has now developed the low hum. These speakers are amp killers. Why would this be???
Late to the party, I have a Marantz Sr6011 AVR with 4 ohm M&K speakers, you are saying I should set AVR to 8 ohms?
QUALITY OF COMPONENTS MATTER A LOT.