Author Topic: Gary’s DIY and Tweaks  (Read 27997 times)

Offline gander

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Re: Gary’s DIY and Tweaks - Schumann resonator
« Reply #75 on: April 08, 2018, 09:27:22 AM »
  No not worth $3500. Even Acoustic Revive is not inexpensive. However the improvement wrought is IMO worth every penny. Now if we can find a Shuman Resonater with same or similar coverage it is well worth the try. Besides the sonic benefits I feel much more relaxed in the listening room with device on. Using two oriented North and south. No going back for me ever.



charles

 Before anybody decides that they think they know what Schumann resonators, or the “Schumann wave“ is about, they should research “Schumann resonator“ and its effects on audio.  So take five minutes and please do that now before you read the rest of this. When I saw this demonstrated at an LA Audio club meeting a couple of months ago,  it definitely made a difference, and a big difference in what I heard, I think I liked the difference, even though they couldn’t do a very quick A/B difference with the unit. It took maybe 30 seconds for the thing to ramp up when you turn it on, to have the effect. The guy who designed and built that $3500 (!!!) unit, from Synergistic Research, tried to tell what the Schumann wave did and got all sorts of blowback from people who said, no no no, that’s not what happens. What he should have said is, “just listen and see if you hear a difference.“.   As an inventor I can tell you this, it doesn’t matter why thing works, all that matters is that it does work, how well it works, and how it can help you, and if it is worth the money they are asking for it.  I can tell you for a fact that their Schumann resonator, and the one I just got (see below), in fact do work and it does have an effect. As to why it works, I don’t think anybody really knows, nor does that really matter.

 After chunking maybe $50,000 into Audio gear over my lifetime that other people have recommended and I’ve read good reviews on, but really didn’t do anything for me at home, I decided not to invest too much at first to check this out.

 I ordered a small, cheap and surely not as good Schumann resonator from Amazon.com for a little over $70, And prime at that; Amazon prime because if I didn’t like and I could return it – this one is not going back.  And that surprised the hell out of me; I was skeptical, I saw this kind of thing as Audio voodoo, but it sure seems to work.

 Power supply: this unit did not come with a power supply so I already planned to use something I already had. A big part of what people report on what gives better results in a Schumann resonator is a better power supply, and I have pretty much the perfect power supply, a 12V DC BatCap. Google “BatCap” and you will see what I mean. It is like a car battery that discharges as fast as a capacitor and holds plenty of juice.  They are actually designed to assist car batteries in car audio competitions – this means they will deliver all the juice you need instantly on these systems that create 135 dB at a car audio competition. A regular Battery typically discharges relatively slowly; a BatCap discharges fast as lightning faster and will keep up with any transient you may have.  My smaller BatCap is essentially an 800 farad (yes, farad) capacitor. I currently am using a made in England tripath amplifier (A little bantam amplifier from Temple Audio in England) powered by the larger BatCap, and this Schumann resonator is powered by the smaller BatCap.  Charging after a few days use maybe takes half an hour.

 Results of cheap little Schumann resonator plus BatCap: first my girlfriend and I listened to music without the Schumann resonator on. She has a less analytical but more direct sense of how the music sounds, Which is very useful in showing me a different way of listening and how my cable and Audio really are.  When I turned it on (and she is a really tough sell in hearing a difference in things), she noticed right away that there was more good stuff to the sound; she couldn’t describe it analytically but it just felt like there was more.  And I totally agreed, but I also heard that it sounded a bit louder, more details, deeper, and it reached me more directly.  Pretty much what the point of this Audio stuff is all about.

 But what we heard when I turned it off was even more telling. The soundstage suddenly became flatter, and the general effect of the music was less in all ways.  Turning the power on to it, listening for a bit, and then turning the power off again gave the same results over and over.  I positioned it behind us and above in the listening area at first, but when I moved it between the speakers the effect was more pronounced.  Next step is to get a small shelf behind the speakers and get the big shelf out of there.

 So what does this really mean? There are more things in heaven and earth Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophies. We think we know what is going on in Audio, but I don’t think we really do until we just start playing with stuff.   And there is a lot of stuff that I haven’t talked about that I do that is completely different than you can buy in the Audio world.

So what is the next step? What is really important here? Obviously the sound is most important. But with the Schumann resonator and all things in Audio, I think the power supply is the most important thing.  It did not come with its own power supply, thus the cheaper price, but I bet it would not sound  nearly as good with a wall wart.  So do I try a better Schumann resonator?  Do I want even more audio bliss and Nirvana in my brain? Hmmmmmm...

Gary



Oppo 103, SSD drive
DIY ultra low capacitance power cords, ICs and speaker cables
Audio Note 2.1B DAC
Tortuga LDR passive pre
Primaluna Dialogue4 tube, Hegel H90 int amp
DIY speakers w/8” Rullit field coil FR drivers

Offline HAL

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Offline gander

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Re: Gary’s DIY and Tweaks
« Reply #77 on: April 08, 2018, 03:03:24 PM »
Oppo 103, SSD drive
DIY ultra low capacitance power cords, ICs and speaker cables
Audio Note 2.1B DAC
Tortuga LDR passive pre
Primaluna Dialogue4 tube, Hegel H90 int amp
DIY speakers w/8” Rullit field coil FR drivers

Offline Brap

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Re: Gary’s DIY and Tweaks
« Reply #78 on: April 09, 2018, 09:56:04 AM »
I was out in Sedona walking around and sitting on vortex's based on the local knowledge of better healing.  My knees still bother me................
Fritz Carrera 7 Be
VTA ST-70
Parasound Halo P5
Oppo 105
Rega P3
Ortofon Quintet Bronze
Cambridge CXN streamer
Teac 3340S
Anticables 3.1
Masterbuilt reference/Kimber Cable IC

Offline gander

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Re: Gary’s DIY and Tweaks
« Reply #79 on: April 09, 2018, 10:47:32 AM »
I was out in Sedona walking around and sitting on vortex's based on the local knowledge of better healing.  My knees still bother me................

 Sedona is such a great place, and I live about four hours from there, near Las Vegas.
 I bet you could find a vortex knee wrap that would help. :).
But seriously, if the source of the problem is strictly physical, that I don’t think a vortex will help you.

Gary
Oppo 103, SSD drive
DIY ultra low capacitance power cords, ICs and speaker cables
Audio Note 2.1B DAC
Tortuga LDR passive pre
Primaluna Dialogue4 tube, Hegel H90 int amp
DIY speakers w/8” Rullit field coil FR drivers

Offline Brap

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Re: Gary’s DIY and Tweaks
« Reply #80 on: April 09, 2018, 10:51:31 AM »
Yeah -- great place --- bring you checkbook for sure.  Saw you have an OPPO.  So sorry to see them out of business.  Love my 105 and would recommend it to anyone.
Fritz Carrera 7 Be
VTA ST-70
Parasound Halo P5
Oppo 105
Rega P3
Ortofon Quintet Bronze
Cambridge CXN streamer
Teac 3340S
Anticables 3.1
Masterbuilt reference/Kimber Cable IC

Offline gander

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Re: Gary’s DIY and Tweaks
« Reply #81 on: April 09, 2018, 11:06:47 AM »
Yeah -- great place --- bring you checkbook for sure.  Saw you have an OPPO.  So sorry to see them out of business.  Love my 105 and would recommend it to anyone.

 The Oppo 105 is good if you want a better internal dac, but I use my 103  for Audio as a transport  and to play digital audio for my audio note dac. I’m thinking of upgrading the power supply to a linear power supply from a third-party vendor, but wondering if it would be worth the extra $360.
Oppo 103, SSD drive
DIY ultra low capacitance power cords, ICs and speaker cables
Audio Note 2.1B DAC
Tortuga LDR passive pre
Primaluna Dialogue4 tube, Hegel H90 int amp
DIY speakers w/8” Rullit field coil FR drivers

Offline gander

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Re: Gary’s DIY and Tweaks
« Reply #82 on: April 09, 2018, 11:45:03 AM »
Yeah -- great place --- bring you checkbook for sure.  Saw you have an OPPO.  So sorry to see them out of business.  Love my 105 and would recommend it to anyone.

 The Oppo 105 is good if you want a better internal dac, but I use my 103  for Audio as a transport  and to play digital audio for my audio note dac. I’m thinking of upgrading the power supply to a linear power supply from a third-party vendor, but wondering if it would be worth the extra $360.

 A bit of a correction on that. I believe the 105 is overall a better machine than the 103, but for my needs the 103 suffices. I may get a 203 before they run out of stock. I called Oppo personally and the guy told me he was very surprised to hear they were shutting down and they were selling stock off and should be out of stock in the summer.  Weird when you take the best equipment in that price range and just throw it out with the bathwater.

Gary
Oppo 103, SSD drive
DIY ultra low capacitance power cords, ICs and speaker cables
Audio Note 2.1B DAC
Tortuga LDR passive pre
Primaluna Dialogue4 tube, Hegel H90 int amp
DIY speakers w/8” Rullit field coil FR drivers

Offline Brap

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Re: Gary’s DIY and Tweaks
« Reply #83 on: April 09, 2018, 11:48:09 AM »
Yeah -- really too bad.  I read that due to Netflix and streaming music, DVD's and CD's are really down in sales hence their potential decision to exit the market.
Fritz Carrera 7 Be
VTA ST-70
Parasound Halo P5
Oppo 105
Rega P3
Ortofon Quintet Bronze
Cambridge CXN streamer
Teac 3340S
Anticables 3.1
Masterbuilt reference/Kimber Cable IC

Offline gander

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Re: Gary’s DIY and Tweaks - Schumann resonators
« Reply #84 on: April 10, 2018, 12:54:53 PM »
 Anyway, back on what I was talking about before, you might check out the Schumann resonators  if you haven’t already. The one I got was very inexpensive and I’m sure that more expensive models would be much better. Right now I’m kind of watching my pennies so this one will do for now. But I definitely notice a difference and when I turne it off something is lost from the sound.

Gary
Oppo 103, SSD drive
DIY ultra low capacitance power cords, ICs and speaker cables
Audio Note 2.1B DAC
Tortuga LDR passive pre
Primaluna Dialogue4 tube, Hegel H90 int amp
DIY speakers w/8” Rullit field coil FR drivers

Offline gander

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Re: Gary’s DIY and Tweaks - solid core wire vs stranded
« Reply #85 on: April 10, 2018, 01:14:40 PM »
 Another thing I have discovered is that solid core wire always makes a system sound better than stranded wire. Power cords, interconnects, speaker wire, and this includes internal wiring in each speaker. If you think about it, solid core wire is always used in the really important parts of the circuitry; transformers, coils, voice coils, tubes, etc.  Thinking about it some more, if stranded wire made a system sound better then I think you would see stranded wire used in transformers and coils and all that.

 Which makes me wonder, why not use solid core wire instead of stranded wire in other places? such as internally from the IEC connector to wherever the power wires go, or from where the signal comes from internally to the RCA connectors, etc.  if I had the money I would love to take two identical amplifiers, have one of them modified replacing all of the stranded wires inside with solid core copper, and then listen to the difference. I bet that would make a huge difference in the sound.  I believe that inside of stranded wire you can get a lot of micro arcing between the individual strands of uninsulated copper, similar to a Jacobs ladder in the old Frankenstein movie, but on a smaller scale and at a higher frequency, which I believe can add a lot of noise to the signal that we may not even be aware of.  With insulated solid core wire you can’t have that problem.  I think the reason that stranded wire is used is just laziness. It is easier to work with more flexible than solid core and perhaps even cheaper.

 Does anybody have a soldering iron, some solid core copper and couple of identical amplifiers lying around?

Thanks, Gary

Oppo 103, SSD drive
DIY ultra low capacitance power cords, ICs and speaker cables
Audio Note 2.1B DAC
Tortuga LDR passive pre
Primaluna Dialogue4 tube, Hegel H90 int amp
DIY speakers w/8” Rullit field coil FR drivers

Offline HAL

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Re: Gary’s DIY and Tweaks
« Reply #86 on: April 10, 2018, 01:55:44 PM »
Stranded wire is used when anything is subject to vibration.  Solid core wire tends to break with vibration. 

The cores of transformers are pretty solidly packed, so solid core can be used. 

You also have to check about use of it for AC power cables as it might be something insurance will not cover incase of an electrical fire.  It probably is not UL approved for those types of applications.

You will not find solid core wire or solder joints in an aircraft for connectors for those reasons. 

Offline rollo

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Re: Gary’s DIY and Tweaks
« Reply #87 on: April 12, 2018, 07:31:33 AM »
  Good find Gary. A hint, more IS better. Try two facing North and South then four. You will be amazed even more. Yes the power supply makes a big difference. We use Linear power supply from Mean Well12V, 5A supplied by Jameco.
   Using three RR-888 now and the results are just staggering. Big , open harmonics.

charles
contact me  at rollo14@verizon.net or visit us on Facebook
Lamm Industries - Aqua Acoustic, Formula & La Scala DAC- INNUOS  - Rethm - Kuzma - QLN - Audio Hungary Qualiton - Fritz speakers -Gigawatt -Vinnie Rossi,TWL, Swiss Cables, Merason DAC.

Offline rollo

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Re: Gary’s DIY and Tweaks - Schumann resonator
« Reply #88 on: April 12, 2018, 07:37:08 AM »
  No not worth $3500. Even Acoustic Revive is not inexpensive. However the improvement wrought is IMO worth every penny. Now if we can find a Shuman Resonater with same or similar coverage it is well worth the try. Besides the sonic benefits I feel much more relaxed in the listening room with device on. Using two oriented North and south. No going back for me ever.



charles

 Before anybody decides that they think they know what Schumann resonators, or the “Schumann wave“ is about, they should research “Schumann resonator“ and its effects on audio.  So take five minutes and please do that now before you read the rest of this. When I saw this demonstrated at an LA Audio club meeting a couple of months ago,  it definitely made a difference, and a big difference in what I heard, I think I liked the difference, even though they couldn’t do a very quick A/B difference with the unit. It took maybe 30 seconds for the thing to ramp up when you turn it on, to have the effect. The guy who designed and built that $3500 (!!!) unit, from Synergistic Research, tried to tell what the Schumann wave did and got all sorts of blowback from people who said, no no no, that’s not what happens. What he should have said is, “just listen and see if you hear a difference.“.   As an inventor I can tell you this, it doesn’t matter why thing works, all that matters is that it does work, how well it works, and how it can help you, and if it is worth the money they are asking for it.  I can tell you for a fact that their Schumann resonator, and the one I just got (see below), in fact do work and it does have an effect. As to why it works, I don’t think anybody really knows, nor does that really matter.

 After chunking maybe $50,000 into Audio gear over my lifetime that other people have recommended and I’ve read good reviews on, but really didn’t do anything for me at home, I decided not to invest too much at first to check this out.

 I ordered a small, cheap and surely not as good Schumann resonator from Amazon.com for a little over $70, And prime at that; Amazon prime because if I didn’t like and I could return it – this one is not going back.  And that surprised the hell out of me; I was skeptical, I saw this kind of thing as Audio voodoo, but it sure seems to work.

 Power supply: this unit did not come with a power supply so I already planned to use something I already had. A big part of what people report on what gives better results in a Schumann resonator is a better power supply, and I have pretty much the perfect power supply, a 12V DC BatCap. Google “BatCap” and you will see what I mean. It is like a car battery that discharges as fast as a capacitor and holds plenty of juice.  They are actually designed to assist car batteries in car audio competitions – this means they will deliver all the juice you need instantly on these systems that create 135 dB at a car audio competition. A regular Battery typically discharges relatively slowly; a BatCap discharges fast as lightning faster and will keep up with any transient you may have.  My smaller BatCap is essentially an 800 farad (yes, farad) capacitor. I currently am using a made in England tripath amplifier (A little bantam amplifier from Temple Audio in England) powered by the larger BatCap, and this Schumann resonator is powered by the smaller BatCap.  Charging after a few days use maybe takes half an hour.

 Results of cheap little Schumann resonator plus BatCap: first my girlfriend and I listened to music without the Schumann resonator on. She has a less analytical but more direct sense of how the music sounds, Which is very useful in showing me a different way of listening and how my cable and Audio really are.  When I turned it on (and she is a really tough sell in hearing a difference in things), she noticed right away that there was more good stuff to the sound; she couldn’t describe it analytically but it just felt like there was more.  And I totally agreed, but I also heard that it sounded a bit louder, more details, deeper, and it reached me more directly.  Pretty much what the point of this Audio stuff is all about.

 But what we heard when I turned it off was even more telling. The soundstage suddenly became flatter, and the general effect of the music was less in all ways.  Turning the power on to it, listening for a bit, and then turning the power off again gave the same results over and over.  I positioned it behind us and above in the listening area at first, but when I moved it between the speakers the effect was more pronounced.  Next step is to get a small shelf behind the speakers and get the big shelf out of there.

 So what does this really mean? There are more things in heaven and earth Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophies. We think we know what is going on in Audio, but I don’t think we really do until we just start playing with stuff.   And there is a lot of stuff that I haven’t talked about that I do that is completely different than you can buy in the Audio world.

So what is the next step? What is really important here? Obviously the sound is most important. But with the Schumann resonator and all things in Audio, I think the power supply is the most important thing.  It did not come with its own power supply, thus the cheaper price, but I bet it would not sound  nearly as good with a wall wart.  So do I try a better Schumann resonator?  Do I want even more audio bliss and Nirvana in my brain? Hmmmmmm...

Gary

   Yes ALL about the power supply which I have been preaching for years. Gary try a RR-888 and compare to yours for $42. Everyone would be curious to know. The distributor Lotus Group is in Calif. He may send you a demo if you like.
   I was told that all are not equal as to output of field. Maybe so maybe BS. We need to find out. They work !!!

charles
contact me  at rollo14@verizon.net or visit us on Facebook
Lamm Industries - Aqua Acoustic, Formula & La Scala DAC- INNUOS  - Rethm - Kuzma - QLN - Audio Hungary Qualiton - Fritz speakers -Gigawatt -Vinnie Rossi,TWL, Swiss Cables, Merason DAC.

Offline rollo

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Re: Gary’s DIY and Tweaks
« Reply #89 on: April 12, 2018, 07:42:51 AM »
  Need to learn more about those Batcaps. What charger do you use ? I think this would be great for the Gary Dodd gear.


charles
contact me  at rollo14@verizon.net or visit us on Facebook
Lamm Industries - Aqua Acoustic, Formula & La Scala DAC- INNUOS  - Rethm - Kuzma - QLN - Audio Hungary Qualiton - Fritz speakers -Gigawatt -Vinnie Rossi,TWL, Swiss Cables, Merason DAC.