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I replaced my IC's recently by adding Acoustic Zen Silver Reference II's to my system between the CDP and Amp and i have been nagged by the sense that the Volume appears to be diminished from what i think i remember at same settings. Upon installing these cables i first noticed an increase in bass presence but as I've had them a few weeks now this thought that i'm getting less volume keeps coming up.Is this even possible or may it just be the particular recordings properties I'm failing to keep in mind?
Follow Ups:
often its as simple as lowering the noise floor .....for the same music you can turn up the volume without it sounding loud/harsh etc
If your new interconnects suffer less from RF noise pollution, then your system would sound more relaxed and less "in-your-face" at the same level setting. You would also hear a more natural treble, a smoother midrange, and a more accurate bass. The sound-stage would be deeper, and the quiet details more life-like. These are all good things.If that is what you hear, then you have more work to do to remove some of the RF noise from your environment, and reduce the remaining noise's influence on your audio system.
I do have the PS Audio Duet powering the Amp and CDP from separate,isolated outlets.I am using the stock Duet PC which I suspect is not insulated very well. No other electric devices are running from the Stereo's outlet when listening but a computer is usually on and while plugged in to a different outlet i think they're on the same circuit so i guess running a dedicated line for the Hi Fi and an upgraded in PC for the Duet could be part of the solution. Its true the other IC's i had were not well insulated. single strand alloy with just thin Teflon sheathing so if they were inducing the phenomenon i experienced as added levels I can let go of the idea the IC's which do deliver greater detail, are excessively impeding the signal. I have been unable to find a stated measurement for this cable's capacitance but the step above this model is stated to be at 6.1 Pico Farads/ft and the Silver Ref's are simply said in all literature i found to be "very low".Thanks so much for the thoughtful help.
A good outlet, even if your AC circuit is not dedicated, can make a difference in a quiet environment. In a noisy (in the electrical sense) environment, a good outlet might admit more of the noise that causes trouble.If your computer has to be on, try operating it from a UPS device that has passive EMI/RFI filtering, then add a parallel filter such as the Hammond 193L choke to that circuit.
Look for other possible noise sources within your house, even if they are on different AC circuits. Try the experiment of turning them off and unplugging them while listening to a good recording. Some candidate noise sources are digital video recorders (TiVO and the like), microwave ovens with sophisticated control menus, anything with a small and light-weight external power supply (these are likely to be switching supplies), and anything with a fluorescent display.
These noise sources put electrical noise onto the AC power wiring, including the safety-earth ("ground"). Cheap surge protector power strips that include EMI/RFI filters can reduce the normal-mode noise, but still pollute the AC safety-earth. Adding a pair of anti-parallel rectifier diodes in the safety-earth wiring will further isolate the noise sources from your audio system. This is not for the newbie to undertake, though, as it involves something that affects safety.
I want to echo what Kenster said.Are you sure that the volume decrease you are experiencing is really there. Have you used an spl meter?
Otherwise as kenster says, you may be hearing a lower noise floor.
Our ears normally associate distortion with loudness and if the distortion is diminished, then it can seem that things aren't as loud.
Thanks for the responses. Good insight gained.
resistance is usually associated with overall signal attenuation. I doubt that is the case. I would think your old cable probably was tipped up in response? More energy in the upper mids. That would make a better balanced cable sound like it was producing less volume. just a guess.
What U R experiencing is a lower noise floor of that particular IC.Let me explain. If a poorly constructed IC is implemented into a system, the electrical signal that is being transfered from the source to your amp, in this case, will be modulated by it's inferior construction/poor metals, and this "ghost signal" will tend to make the overall sound "louder" by clouding the original signal with parasitic electrical pollution.
I have a pair of Harmonic Technology Pro-Silway lll's and by them selves, they R very good IC's but when replaced with a pair of AQ Sky's with 72VDC DBS, they sound pretty mediocre.
This tells me that IC construction and that AQ's application of DBS is a step in the right direction and that the dielectric material, and biasing of said material, has a MAJOR effect on how an IC transfers the signal.
Cheers,
I'm not familiar with your cables so I can only make a general comment. Since you are not using a preamp, you are relying on (and hopefully enjoy) good impedance and voltage ratios between your CDP and amp. If you border on a poor impedance ratio betw your CDPs Zout and impedance of your amp, then your volume could suffer materially if you are not using very low capacitance cables. Same is true if your CDP's voltage (usually around 2v) is not higher than your amp's input sensitivity.Here's an extreme example. When I began using a passive TVC (the above issues hold true) I got no sound out of a cheap DVD player via cheap 3 meter ICs. No sound at all except if I placed my ear to the speaker. I built Belden ICs out of 89259 which are pretty low capacitance and...whala...sufficient volume. For my CDP, I use VHAudio Pulsar cables which are very low capacitance. Look for a cable with a total capacitance under 100 pF. If your amp's input impedance is greater than 10K ohm and your CDP source impedance is relatively low <600 ohms (ballpark), you have less to worry about.
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