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Posts: 1936
Location: Michigan
Joined: September 6, 2003
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Standing my ground | what I currently see as items | cables | cords worthy of anyone's attention. First off I've read time | time again as many seem off-put by using rhodium plated copper RCA | Banana Plugs | Binding Post connectors within their system(s) stating the music seems off..., I too felt this exact same way for years now, yet upon merely replacing the AC Male on a Viborg MBU 1501 power cord | not knowing what to expect?. Let's just say I'm now a believer | once again owe thanks to TanteJuut ( Judith ) | Jon L ( even if both are absent in responding to this post..., I care not ) for capturing my imagination just enough to cause me to go out and buy several connectors with said plating | I'm glad I did. I've read there are times where rhodium as a plating takes upwards of 600 hours before it has settled in ( burned in it you'll ) before one can honestly gauge its overall sonic signature | of which I've to base things upon how well one knows the sound of their system?, as it relates to any changes made within whatsoever..., even items like isolation footers, are known to change the dynamic capabilities of any given component | one of which was introduced to the market around 2000, yet the company went under were the footers made by Boston Audio Designs, called TuneBlocks, which were essentially made from Graphite, yet many obviously at the time misunderstood how to use them, or worse yet how to understand what they were doing sonically to their components | yet as someone whom once was very very active in reading or posting on various audio forums around the globe, I've to give credit where it's due..., the music lovers of places like Hong Kong | Malaysia | Taiwan | Japan have always been more open-minded when it came to said tweaks, I'm talking footers | decoupling pads | the use of things like quarters placed onto their walls | half full glasses of water placed behind their speakers | the use of tone woods | brass dish trays | so on..., this was the sort of thinking which would eventually lead to companies like FIM ( First Impression Music ) | Acoustic Revive | Yamamoto Sound Craft | Shun Mook | Acoustic System International to name but a few. Yet to this very day, their use of Graphite remains true, I'd say seeming as there are plenty sixes and shapes one can sample for the sake of curiosity, are available as I type this on both Amazon | eBay, do try a few of them out, as they're cheaper then items like Vipbrapods, and once again worth hearing. Back on topic...,now where was I?, oh yeah..., rhodium as heard | felt as of yesterday evening's listening session. What I gathered was like some had said about it was as if someone had increased the volume by at least three notches | yet as Dave C from Zen Waves puts it, makes a great deal more sense " as it's due to the lack of detailing which gold plating brings, many simply aren't aware of just how the music is being rendered in a manner which is not true in nature " ( I'm putting my own spin on what he actually wrote, but the concept is the same ) Rhodium allows one to hear deeper into the recordings | I noticed the only time it bothers me with its sense of rawness | honesty was hearing older recordings of which in some it highlighted the miking of the acoustic or electric bass, as if to spotlight an emphasis on bloated low end notes, of which were unnatural | but truer to the source, and if it's in the recordings?, then I thought to myself I'd rather know said effects are there, then being glossed over | so it merely becomes a matter of my re-learning what to listen for | readjust my way of understanding the overall importance of accuracy. Call me converted | both hands up pleading the fifth. The listening session so far with the Monosaudio P902 PC | shows it as it was told to me as more dynamically capable | hits harder in the low end | even more nimble if that makes any sense as compared to both the Accuphase 40th Anniversary | either Viborg, and what I see as 4 standout options for any serious music loving audiophile which isn't over concerned with fitting into the overly expensive snob factor internship mindset?, as mentioned earlier " the Chinese are fast learners | have in my mind caught on ". Last one.., for those of you looking for extremely musical SCs under say $500?, my absolute favorites are not to be taken lightly or overlooked are both the Pearl Acoustics Sibelius " Neutral " | the other is the Kudos Audio KS-1 SCs, of which I've to say are amongst the very very very best investments I've made to my system | self. The very best sounding IC's I've come across to date are: Yannis Tome Cable Designs 222Connect-Litz ( pure silver | WBT NexGen silver rca connectors): https://gaia.cabledesigns.co.uk/html/interconnect.html Followed by the Ataudio Odin ( silver plated copper ) | Tara Labs Vector 2 ( pure copper ) | Audiocrast IC25 ( pure silver ) | Audiocrast ( OCC | Silver ) @AliExpress or eBay. For AC | IEC Connectors: IeGO Power 8095 ( pure silver | rhodium plated @ $145 each or $261 the set ) have become for me the absolute best sound I've experienced on any type of power cord, regardless of cost | yes, I'm using sets of power cords which cost much much less | yet the overall results are stunning. Followed by the Monosaudio M | F109R ( Rhodium Plated Copper @ $80-$105 the set found on AliExpress ) as my sole introduction to what rhodium plugs are capable of in the very best meaning of the word..., no $700-$800 connectors required, not in my lifetime | the world in which I reside.
As always..., I'm not one to question my hearing | I hear what I hear as reason to make a stance and attempt to share | put this into words whereas the reader of my post can actually get more of an emotional connection or feel for what I'm trying to explain..., if one if able to?, or wishes to spend thousands on cables?, I'd say go for it, yet the times are a changing where one has to ask themselves at some point, why?, | do I really have too?. As my wife Michelle and I tend to repeat lines we've heard in old movies we've owned..., there's a script in the movie " 13th Warrior " where the Norseman are talking | laughing amongst themselves, essentially making fun of the Spaniard " Antonio Banderas " whom sits there night after night studying their lips, until he speaks up, and it asked how did you learn our language?, of which he responded " I listened ", as must we all, talking the talk without having walked the walk is fruitless in my mind. Thank me later, should you try them?, if not?, consider it your loss.
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