I used rose quartz, but i find the sound softer or more feminine than when i used black granite. Polished marble has a much brighter tone though then unpolished but granite was much more engaging and detailed.. In fact, I found quartz or granite has a sweet spot when sanded to 600-800 grit.
Mike - In reference to your speech on speaker cables, I recently replaced my 16 gauge CCA wire with Southwire (USA Made) 14 gauge CL3 pure copper speaker cables, and the improvement in sound was significant, in fact, outstanding - connected to my Sansui 5050 and Klipsch Heresy III's. I would be shocked if any other cable out there, at any price, would provide any audible improvement in sound quality. The 50 feet of cable cost me less than $20.00.
Try PCOCC or PC Triple C and be blown away. Also, if you put something like Herbie's large gliders - you will also be blown away. The gliders are a fine product when it comes to price/effect ratio, for the ultimate experience I'd go with a Quartz filled board - one can DIY one of these...
One of the best «sum it all up» I have seen. I feel lucky to reached my personal endgame, and moved on to other hobbys. My rig is based on quality gear, and a dedicaded room… and I feel you on the «high blood preassure when reading hifi online/magazines». Yesterday, I saw pictures of someone unpack a pre/power set… owner was very happy… (200.000usd almost). Rig put up against to wall, in a small livingroom. Jezzzzz… Keep up the good work!
I appreciate the tripod stationary camera videos from this channel. I used to have to look away from the handheld videos because they'd make me dizzy. I like the content and now that the video is stable I really enjoy watching the videos without reservations.
Great video Mike. Reading about tweaks, cables, gear, etc. will drive a person crazy. There are endless options and glowing/exaggerated/fake reviews of most all of them. Lots of $$$ is wasted going down the tweak rabbit hole. It is best to buy something expensive/high quality to begin with and not end up spending more in the long run: buy once, cry once.
After having used a lot of commercially produced tweaks from Acoustic Revive etc. I now make my own tweaks and believe me my $600 2Qute with ~$200 worth of tweaks puts to shame my Hugo TT2. Besides, you need good cables (including power) to hear the real piece of equipment you purchased, expensive or not.
Good general point, but tweaking on older/used equipment can be surprisingly effective and fun. I think there’s a middle ground to tweaking that can make a considerable difference when applied judiciously. But (ultimately) it’s about the music.
@@riccitone 100% agree. The used market is a terrific place to pick up gear and if you find someone who knows what they’re doing, tweaks can really elevate the performance.
I think it was Needle Doctor that used to sell the Tice Clock. They also used to sell Zip ties that you put near the ends of your cables to improve sound.
one of your best videos mikey. since 30 years i‘m in this highend game and you are right! at least what you can sum up in one video. and its seems you are a really funny guy!
If people spent more money on their room treatments and less on tweeks would be money well spent in my opinion. I crinch we I see rooms with concreate walls tiled floors and large glass doors/windows and a $150K + sound system.
Hey Mike, great stuff as always! Saw an idiot supposedly telling people how to buy hi-fi last week who said buy your speakers first, “because they make the biggest difference.” Jeez! I politely pointed out the same as you said, source first is the only way to go. Loved every tweak and I totally agree on the isolation point. I went to a hi-fi show where they were peddling spring load isolation feet for speakers. Unconvinced, but willing to be proven wrong, I put squidgy stuff under my floor standers an lo, the bass turned to mush. Spikes back on and normal service is restored. If I lived on your side of the pond I’d make a trip for sure. Good luck and stay well.
I agree with Source being important. I have heard poor speakers sound really decent driven from a high quality source. I have heard great speakers sound horrible from poor quality source. Good information here, going to be getting in contact probably!
As a materials scientist by trade, hifi audio is both the most exciting and the most depressing industry. Some tweaks light my brain up and some make me lose faith in humanity 😂
My favorite video of yours that first got my attention was when you added your I think two? Very thick gauge copper ground rods from you house to the outside using the also heavy gauge electrical conduit. +1 on the Puritan conditioner, great value. Bass traps, anyone can make home made ones with just a little imagination. Hopefully I will get a chance to check you out this summer, in Smyrna. PS: What is your favorite bourbon or whiskey? Hint, the more expensive the better...I don't even know if you partake or not in spirits?
Yes. After everything above, tweaks last. High Fidelity Cables Q45T Nano contact enhancer on every metal connector and power prong is amongst the best "tweaks" I've ever heard. .
❌ OCD HI-Fi Guy ❌ *just tell’um what you want is a rig that ((mimics)) a live performance too your Personal Ear👂* 👈😉❌ _don’t give a Shit 👋💩What others ears want ,((because this is the difference between Audiophile and People Pleaser_ ‼️ *if your Rig is liked by others then great 😎👍 but we do it for ourselves We’re Snobs on Audio for Our 👂 EARS 👂*
A refreshing overview of what matters and what does not! Also I smile more watching your perforrnances that anything Saturday Night Live can come up with. :) ps> Not sure about the higher level MSB Dacs, but the base model MSB Dacs sound too warm and rounded to my ears, it's the dCS and Esoteric which are over analytical.
Why no transformer it's the only way to totally decouple or isolate your plug from all the crap on the AC, which even with a dedicated circuit is still connected to every house in you neighborhood that on the same utility transformer. Guy two houses away turns on skill saw, that noise is still on your dedicated circuit, unless decoupled by a transformer. Which is what the transformer in you piece of equipment does.
I have a vintage hifi system from the 70s and early 80s that cost like peanuts parts of it from a charity store that sound better than my 2012 $20,000 system. It is all hit and miss and subjective.
The old systems were built with musical performance in mind. Then it became about profits. If you know what you are doing, its not hit and miss at all. And subjective to a very small degree... True good systems are not ambiguously good sounding they are clearly better than others ...
Nice call buddy !! Is Jello Singing ?? I have not had Weiss here yet, but Im back and forth with Daniel and Ill be checking it out shortly... stay tuned. Im checking out Meitner now...
If your amps and sources are built properly, or have properly built high end active studio monitors, you don't need mains filtering. My room doesn't need the bass traps, the only thing I use is the wall where I'm seated against is treated with with different densities of memory foam. My room is only 3.5 by 4 metres, and I don't suffer bass boom, although I am using an appropriate sized rig for the size of my room, and I don't suffer from any room bass nodes. I have a laser machine that will melt that piece of quartz you were holding, 🤣. I've been at this audio game for well over 30 years as well.
Spewage! Poop it out! Lube it up!..LOL Don''t know if the quartz will really influence anything, but some awesome points. Btw, for power filtering, you suggested something without a transformer, but the Puritan filter you mentioned actually has toroidal transformers. Did you mean something with a step-down circuit?
Upper limit for cables is $10,000?… what??? …. I used to make and sell RCA, XLR, and PC cables. You shouldn’t buy any cable that’s more than $ 150/ Meter. A bit higher for XLR. And mine were 18 AWG solid core silver, no shielding!
Hey man i really appreciate your work. I would really get your support to setup my rig and buy everything off you but i'm based in Italy. I strongly recommend anyone in US to use your services. Hope to talk to u some day
Damn, you dont have an heart attack every day?? Agree to most of your Statements, you would surprise a lot of so called HighEnd Hifi retailers here in Germany :-) hifi industry is mostly epic fail!! I go to our German Hifi forum, where they help from a real life listening aspect and not take-the-most-expensive-brand-and-shutup ! Also many audio engineers here in Germany complain about the development in HiFi (yeahhh, we love complaining, you know;-)
Almost like fighting political foreign wars, Devil Dog. But nobody gets killed... and a lot less expensive... THE WORLD is Snake Oil... 🐍 and keeps getting worse. If ur a vet, thx for your service.
24k on a a DAC is absolutely mental 😂 ..the way your preaching not to spend more than $24,000 on a DAC as if its useful advice that affects more than 0.00001% of people, like seriously, 99% of people don't even know what a DAC is! 😅
Funny Mike but everything you said are real especially the source part. Your buddy Jay all he talks about are here most expensive amp and there speakers in the world not much source. One question though: what's your thought on streamer part? When people talks about 30k plus dac why no mentioning on streamers? We know a simple apple mini is not going to cut it? Thanks man!
@@OCDHIFiGuy sure. I own Linn klimax DS player which is a integrated solution. I used to own their sort of entry level player like majik Ds. Massive difference possibly all due to the Dac not sure...
YET THERE IS NO CONNECTION WHATSOEVER BETWEEN THE PINK ROCK AND REAL BASEBALL (and that REDford move is just that an old movie)...WITH OR WITHOUT ITALIAN SIGNS, MIND YOU...Me ho capisco? Ciao.
I used rose quartz, but i find the sound softer or more feminine than when i used black granite. Polished marble has a much brighter tone though then unpolished but granite was much more engaging and detailed.. In fact, I found quartz or granite has a sweet spot when sanded to 600-800 grit.
Interesting...
Mike - In reference to your speech on speaker cables, I recently replaced my 16 gauge CCA wire with Southwire (USA Made) 14 gauge CL3 pure copper speaker cables, and the improvement in sound was significant, in fact, outstanding - connected to my Sansui 5050 and Klipsch Heresy III's. I would be shocked if any other cable out there, at any price, would provide any audible improvement in sound quality. The 50 feet of cable cost me less than $20.00.
Do you have a link to this discussion?
Try PCOCC or PC Triple C and be blown away. Also, if you put something like Herbie's large gliders - you will also be blown away. The gliders are a fine product when it comes to price/effect ratio, for the ultimate experience I'd go with a Quartz filled board - one can DIY one of these...
Man you're killin it Mike ! had a very good laugh thanks to your hilarious analogies and rants.
"Teleportation Tweak"!! Too muckin' futch. Thanks for the laugh. Still rollin' on the floor. GREAT VID!!
Glad you enjoyed it !
I'll second the rose quartz hack. Made my highs airier, mids warmer and bass fuller, deeper and tighter. Everything was cleaner and more well-defined.
One of the best «sum it all up» I have seen. I feel lucky to reached my personal endgame, and moved on to other hobbys. My rig is based on quality gear, and a dedicaded room… and I feel you on the «high blood preassure when reading hifi online/magazines». Yesterday, I saw pictures of someone unpack a pre/power set… owner was very happy… (200.000usd almost). Rig put up against to wall, in a small livingroom. Jezzzzz…
Keep up the good work!
Shiiiiii.
I appreciate the tripod stationary camera videos from this channel. I used to have to look away from the handheld videos because they'd make me dizzy. I like the content and now that the video is stable I really enjoy watching the videos without reservations.
Great video Mike. Reading about tweaks, cables, gear, etc. will drive a person crazy. There are endless options and glowing/exaggerated/fake reviews of most all of them. Lots of $$$ is wasted going down the tweak rabbit hole. It is best to buy something expensive/high quality to begin with and not end up spending more in the long run: buy once, cry once.
Totally agree man ..
After having used a lot of commercially produced tweaks from Acoustic Revive etc. I now make my own tweaks and believe me my $600 2Qute with ~$200 worth of tweaks puts to shame my Hugo TT2. Besides, you need good cables (including power) to hear the real piece of equipment you purchased, expensive or not.
@@amimartian That’s very good to know. Did you change any opamps? I’m considering opamp rolling (Sparkos discreet opamps) for my dac and amp.
Good general point, but tweaking on older/used equipment can be surprisingly effective and fun. I think there’s a middle ground to tweaking that can make a considerable difference when applied judiciously. But (ultimately) it’s about the music.
@@riccitone 100% agree. The used market is a terrific place to pick up gear and if you find someone who knows what they’re doing, tweaks can really elevate the performance.
I think it was Needle Doctor that used to sell the Tice Clock. They also used to sell Zip ties that you put near the ends of your cables to improve sound.
Also don’t forget if your put on your right shoe on first then the left it will change your sound system 😁.
one of your best videos mikey. since 30 years i‘m in this highend game and you are right! at least what you can sum up in one video. and its seems you are a really funny guy!
what's your $1K dac recommend? what do you think about border control dacs? what do you think about the transparent powerbank?
Weed ( drops preferably) are the single best upgrade you can ever do to your system. Period
LOL. Organic Tweak...
The Grateful Dead would suggest other tweaks as well.
❌ Agreed ❌
How True ! What it does to your hearing ???
I’m serious haha
Poor chap….it makes him feel aggravated….really…..happy new year !
You mistake passion for aggravation. HNY !!
If people spent more money on their room treatments and less on tweeks would be money well spent in my opinion. I crinch we I see rooms with concreate walls tiled floors and large glass doors/windows and a $150K + sound system.
True you are Ari !
Mike, this has been one of your best videos, I have laughed a lot with your stupid tweeks anecdotes, the teleported phone and the epic fuse
Rock on Luis !
Hey Mike, great stuff as always! Saw an idiot supposedly telling people how to buy hi-fi last week who said buy your speakers first, “because they make the biggest difference.” Jeez! I politely pointed out the same as you said, source first is the only way to go.
Loved every tweak and I totally agree on the isolation point. I went to a hi-fi show where they were peddling spring load isolation feet for speakers. Unconvinced, but willing to be proven wrong, I put squidgy stuff under my floor standers an lo, the bass turned to mush. Spikes back on and normal service is restored.
If I lived on your side of the pond I’d make a trip for sure. Good luck and stay well.
Cheers Mark !
🤔
I agree with Source being important. I have heard poor speakers sound really decent driven from a high quality source. I have heard great speakers sound horrible from poor quality source. Good information here, going to be getting in contact probably!
Please do Mark...
I love your sense of humour bro, especially the dog part and your wife will divorce you 🤣🤣🤣
Here's another cheap tweek: surround toslink terminals with bluetack. Block outside light.
lol, teleportation tweak? That's hilarious!
He's coming on my channel soon.
@@OCDHIFiGuy I can't wait!
As a materials scientist by trade, hifi audio is both the most exciting and the most depressing industry. Some tweaks light my brain up
and some make me lose faith in humanity 😂
Lol. I can relate 100%... agreed 👍
"And if you take all those 500 dollarses..."
Let me know when you take your stand-up on tour.
Please.
I like you are definitely out of the box…., love it…. Keep up the audio rebel view
My favorite video of yours that first got my attention was when you added your I think two? Very thick gauge copper ground rods from you house to the outside using the also heavy gauge electrical conduit. +1 on the Puritan conditioner, great value. Bass traps, anyone can make home made ones with just a little imagination. Hopefully I will get a chance to check you out this summer, in Smyrna. PS: What is your favorite bourbon or whiskey? Hint, the more expensive the better...I don't even know if you partake or not in spirits?
If I get a Puritan PSM156, any benefit to install a dedicated line on top of it? tks for the great advices!
I only see 2 DACs up, are you going to update the other price brackets?
YES
Goes to wife side of the bathroom looks for space rocks to put on the rig : p
Rofl!! Preach on Mikey!! This is the Mikey I was waiting for!!!
Back in the saddle Homey !
Thanks Mikey, love your style and attitude for us to learn more and more!🙃🙃🙃
More to come!
I do belive that that tweak website was supposed to be satirical.
Really ? I dont think so at all
Yes. After everything above, tweaks last. High Fidelity Cables Q45T Nano contact enhancer on every metal connector and power prong is amongst the best "tweaks" I've ever heard. .
The company owner who disappeared because people were "after him" ?
My wife has a bloke to tweak my system when I am at work so I don't have to do it and just enjoy my music when I get home.
❌ OCD HI-Fi Guy ❌ *just tell’um what you want is a rig that ((mimics)) a live performance too your Personal Ear👂* 👈😉❌ _don’t give a Shit 👋💩What others ears want ,((because this is the difference between Audiophile and People Pleaser_ ‼️ *if your Rig is liked by others then great 😎👍 but we do it for ourselves We’re Snobs on Audio for Our 👂 EARS 👂*
OCD HI-Fi Guy *👈🤣 ((You B-bug’N))‼️*
*❌Arty F Harty❌ ((She Cheating Dogg ✅🤣*
tribal body painting! you're a very funny guy! ;-)
Very good analyze. I would have placed the treatment of the room in number one !
A refreshing overview of what matters and what does not! Also I smile more watching your perforrnances that anything Saturday Night Live can come up with. :) ps> Not sure about the higher level MSB Dacs, but the base model MSB Dacs sound too warm and rounded to my ears, it's the dCS and Esoteric which are over analytical.
High End MSB is like Data Analysis vs music listening .
Why no transformer it's the only way to totally decouple or isolate your plug from all the crap on the AC, which even with a dedicated circuit is still connected to every house in you neighborhood that on the same utility transformer. Guy two houses away turns on skill saw, that noise is still on your dedicated circuit, unless decoupled by a transformer. Which is what the transformer in you piece of equipment does.
One the best videos you've done? Pocket protector wearing nerds 😂! Love it and I agree,
Vid starts at 12:45 😅👍
I have a vintage hifi system from the 70s and early 80s that cost like peanuts parts of it from a charity store that sound better than my 2012 $20,000 system. It is all hit and miss and subjective.
The old systems were built with musical performance in mind. Then it became about profits. If you know what you are doing, its not hit and miss at all. And subjective to a very small degree... True good systems are not ambiguously good sounding they are clearly better than others ...
You were rollin’ today brother!
BAM !
i enjoy this; very funny to see how people get manipulated
Or Sad in my eyes...
I love your speaker cables Mikey. Thank you
Thanks Pinto !
I always suspected you were a cyborg! LOL can’t wait to see the tribal body painting.
LOL, Glow in the dark...
*❌ Nope 👎 not unless they some hottie Females ‼️*
You hit the nail on the head Mikey 👍
THX !
Coke and dagger so what are the names of the dacs you like?
Playback Designs, (High Level) Dangerous Music (Entry Level) .... both made in USA
Mike, what's your knowledge & thoughts on Stromtank & EQUITECH Balanced power panels?
No opinion currently. Not familiar.
I seen one channel who loves to talk about tweaks saying that it is important which way you put the fuse in lol wow.
Dude.... 12 step program.... right ? No way Im even trying that shit ...
But don’t you have some weird looking big round brass looking thing in your system?
Yeah brother that's why I need some direction I'm trying to figure out what amp to get from watching your videos it seems to be a Jeff Roelands
Just call me and I'll help u decide..
Henry Rollins Yo! Going to see The Dead Kennedys soon! Any opinion on the Weiss Dac? Just curious.
Nice call buddy !! Is Jello Singing ?? I have not had Weiss here yet, but Im back and forth with Daniel and Ill be checking it out shortly... stay tuned. Im checking out Meitner now...
If your amps and sources are built properly, or have properly built high end active studio monitors, you don't need mains filtering. My room doesn't need the bass traps, the only thing I use is the wall where I'm seated against is treated with with different densities of memory foam. My room is only 3.5 by 4 metres, and I don't suffer bass boom, although I am using an appropriate sized rig for the size of my room, and I don't suffer from any room bass nodes. I have a laser machine that will melt that piece of quartz you were holding, 🤣. I've been at this audio game for well over 30 years as well.
Well, youve got a treated room then ! If you use monitors, I can imagine all is well in the bass department ! Kudos ! way to properly build your rig !
👍👍👍 say it Mike you are so right I will definitely buy them from you Mikey
Spewage! Poop it out! Lube it up!..LOL Don''t know if the quartz will really influence anything, but some awesome points. Btw, for power filtering, you suggested something without a transformer, but the Puritan filter you mentioned actually has toroidal transformers. Did you mean something with a step-down circuit?
Jon, those are not transformers at all. They are inductors ! ;-)
So appreciate your truth!
Thanks Sharon !
Will the Puritan not kill the dynamics with amplifaction?
No it doesn’t……., besides Chang Lightspeed, it’s the best of its kind I’ve owned.
Upper limit for cables is $10,000?… what??? …. I used to make and sell RCA, XLR, and PC cables. You shouldn’t buy any cable that’s more than $ 150/ Meter. A bit higher for XLR. And mine were 18 AWG solid core silver, no shielding!
Hey man i really appreciate your work. I would really get your support to setup my rig and buy everything off you but i'm based in Italy. I strongly recommend anyone in US to use your services. Hope to talk to u some day
I always heard JESUS was the answer for Tweeker's! Mikey you just confirmed it! Lol 🤣 Too Real!
Yessir !! Holy Water too...
love you man
Damn, you dont have an heart attack every day?? Agree to most of your Statements, you would surprise a lot of so called HighEnd Hifi retailers here in Germany :-) hifi industry is mostly epic fail!! I go to our German Hifi forum, where they help from a real life listening aspect and not take-the-most-expensive-brand-and-shutup ! Also many audio engineers here in Germany complain about the development in HiFi (yeahhh, we love complaining, you know;-)
BUT..... You have KRAFTWERK !!! It makes up for everything !!
You shouldn’t hide your awesome hair with a cap. It is a nice cap though
Uhh, everything vibrates.
The Tice Clock
Skip the old guy rant. Start the video at 12:45
OK Boss
GET OUT OF HIFI SO WE CAN HANGOUT AND LISTEN TO MUSSSSSIIIC!🤘🤘🤘🤘
Yes and RIDE Motorcycles... ;-)
Dyna fm3 nice my first tuner and a 70 and pas 3 cost 50 bucks.
There you go !
The best tweak for any system starts with an "E" and you dont know what "music" is until you have experienced it! lol
Can I just put my hand on you ?
@@OCDHIFiGuy HaHaHa
No Mikey your covid hair get me aggravated!! 🤠😆👍 Is a beer considered a tweek? Well maybe a few??
Absolutely... brain tweak...
Which transformer do you put the quartz on?
Try it on any of them... Try Magnets as well..
GIGO, it's a real thing? Lol. Plus, the lowest level signal is the easiest to screw up.
Can you get me the Demon app for my phone, I don't need it, but I REALLY WANT IT!
I love this vid more than I love love.
LOL. Rock on Slobotnik !
Great RUclips channel and please update your website
Please expand on that .... Ive got 4 of them
The new snake oil.
Almost like fighting political foreign wars, Devil Dog. But nobody gets killed... and a lot less expensive... THE WORLD is Snake Oil... 🐍 and keeps getting worse. If ur a vet, thx for your service.
That was like speed reading only listening on speed !!!
LOL.
@@OCDHIFiGuy Hey Mikey , if you have time have a look at Cube Audio Speakers , they are Polish ???
Hey man, any ETA on when the Maggie fuse replacement kits will be back in stock?
They are made now I just need to package up the kits . Back for sale online in 5 days .
@@OCDHIFiGuy Thanks, bruv. Been on the look out for those since the original Maggie optomise vid
nice!
Thank you! Cheers!
24k on a a DAC is absolutely mental 😂
..the way your preaching not to spend more than $24,000 on a DAC as if its useful advice that affects more than 0.00001% of people, like seriously, 99% of people don't even know what a DAC is! 😅
Source first is the Linn moto for decades. Yet you never listen to their products.
Nope. Not a Linn guy... so far anyways..
Oh my God I want the demon in my room🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻👹👹👹👹👺👺👺👺👿👿👿
How much was that again?
TY! Mikey!
How about the Shun Mook Mpingo wood?
Panzerholz
@@OCDHIFiGuy Taikoaudio ?
Funny Mike but everything you said are real especially the source part. Your buddy Jay all he talks about are here most expensive amp and there speakers in the world not much source. One question though: what's your thought on streamer part? When people talks about 30k plus dac why no mentioning on streamers? We know a simple apple mini is not going to cut it? Thanks man!
Im getting to the bottom of the streamer thing. I currently dont trust that its of crucial importance.
@@OCDHIFiGuy sure. I own Linn klimax DS player which is a integrated solution. I used to own their sort of entry level player like majik Ds. Massive difference possibly all due to the Dac not sure...
YET THERE IS NO CONNECTION WHATSOEVER BETWEEN THE PINK ROCK AND REAL BASEBALL (and that REDford move is just that an old movie)...WITH OR WITHOUT ITALIAN SIGNS, MIND YOU...Me ho capisco? Ciao.
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤mikey for kind............
Agree
before upgrade anything. spend some time upgrade your ears.
Sup with dat hat homie 🤣
I Likezdid it
I see the Wadia X32! 👍
YES YOU DO !! Not selling it for anything ... Its a relic and still sounds killer !
@@OCDHIFiGuy Damn right, it does!!!
Whenever I step into snake oil level audio, your my guy for sure 😆..
Thats science
👍🏾👌🏾👈🏾AND☕️
Thank you very much...
@@OCDHIFiGuy
Thank you Mike for all your videos and especially for your honesty. We love honesty and High-end and we love you.
Sounds like you're screaming......lol
Turn your volume down..
Malle Pietje.
LOL
😆
The amount of BS in this video is unbelievable
WINNING !!!