Hopkins' System

[hopkins]

I assembled some flat copper foil speaker cables this afternoon, using these: https://www.soundimports.eu/en/jantzen-audio-000-7360.html

It took me about an hour (with the help of my girlfriend).



I had switched to regular cables, for convenience purposes, as I was playing around with different speakers and placements (copper foil cables are fragile...)

I have to say I am glad to be using these again as I find they offer an additional level of refinement to the sound. It's hard to A/B cables, due to our short term auditive memory, and maybe I am fooling myself, but as long as I enjoy the sound...

I've been to listening sessions where people compare different cables and can immediately perceive changes that I can't, or find "insignificant". Some audiophiles have superpowers which I don't possess.

 

[morricab]

I assembled some flat copper foil speaker cables this afternoon, using these: https://www.soundimports.eu/en/jantzen-audio-000-7360.html

It took me about an hour (with the help of my girlfriend).

View attachment 131449

I had switched to regular cables, for convenience purposes, as I was playing around with different speakers and placements (copper foil cables are fragile...)

I have to say I am glad to be using these again as I find they offer an additional level of refinement to the sound. It's hard to A/B cables, due to our short term auditive memory, and maybe I am fooling myself, but as long as I enjoy the sound...

I've been to listening sessions where people compare different cables and can immediately perceive changes that I can't, or find "insignificant". Some audiophiles have superpowers which I don't possess.

I use Goertz copper foil speaker cables.

 

[DasguteOhr]

I assembled some flat copper foil speaker cables this afternoon, using these: https://www.soundimports.eu/en/jantzen-audio-000-7360.html

It took me about an hour (with the help of my girlfriend).

View attachment 131449

I had switched to regular cables, for convenience purposes, as I was playing around with different speakers and placements (copper foil cables are fragile...)

I have to say I am glad to be using these again as I find they offer an additional level of refinement to the sound. It's hard to A/B cables, due to our short term auditive memory, and maybe I am fooling myself, but as long as I enjoy the sound...

I've been to listening sessions where people compare different cables and can immediately perceive changes that I can't, or find "insignificant". Some audiophiles have superpowers which I don't possess.

I highly recommend you try this kit. I'm not saying it's the best in the world, but you get excellent sound at an affordable price. Of course, it's a lot of work to build it up, but I promise it's worth it. I've been using it for years and never thought about changing it, even though I've had a lot of expensive cables here for comparison.

DIY and Tuning High-End Audio Cables | SOLIDCOREAUDIO

✂ DIYer who like to do it yourself, will find the basic ingredients for selfmade high-end audio cables here.

www.solidcoreaudio.com

P.S i use now pure silver

 

[hopkins]

I did use Silversmith cables some time ago and they did sound good but with my speaker drivers all connected in parallel (2 ohm) they weirdly attenuated the sound (it was clearly audible when switching with basic copper wires). I no longer have them, and have my open baffle speakers wired in a series/parallel combination resulting in 8 ohm. Anyway, will take note of all these, thanks for the suggestions.

 

[tima]

I use Goertz copper foil speaker cables.

Would that be the MI2 cables?
Are they still around ?

I was still a very novice reviewer (3 yrs) when I covered them in 2007. "I especially commend the MI 2 speaker cables to your attention. Their non-intrusive mien and faithfulness to music’s fundamental character should yield consistent results across a wide variety of speakers and amps."

SoundStage! Equipment Review - Alpha-Core Goertz TQ 2 Interconnects and MI 2 Speaker Cables (4/2007)

 

[morricab]

Would that be the MI2 cables?
Are they still around ?

I was still a very novice reviewer (3 yrs) when I covered them in 2007. "I especially commend the MI 2 speaker cables to your attention. Their non-intrusive mien and faithfulness to music’s fundamental character should yield consistent results across a wide variety of speakers and amps."

SoundStage! Equipment Review - Alpha-Core Goertz TQ 2 Interconnects and MI 2 Speaker Cables (4/2007)

Yes, MI2 I think

 

[hopkins]

My personal criteria for evaluating a system is its ability to offer an "immersive" listening experience.

I found an interesting definition of this "immersive" aspect in a "scientific" paper that attempts to determine whether spatial audio (as opposed to stereo and mono) contributes to an "immersive" experience (I removed the references):

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.951161/full

< the key term immersion is an important concept from virtual reality research, which can be “characterized by diminishing critical distance to what is shown and increasing emotional involvement in what is happening”. Other related terms to the conceptual field of immersion are absorption and presence, for which a variety of partially overlapping definitions exist. For example, absorption is defined as “an extreme involvement or preoccupation with one object, idea, or pursuit, with inattention to other aspects of the environment. […]”, and presence is understood as “the subjective experience of being in one place or environment, even when one is physically situated in another”. For the immersion-related term of presence, the most concise definition is the experience of “being there” ....We define immersion as a “psychological state characterized by perceiving oneself to be enveloped by, included in, and interacting with an environment that provides a continuous stream of stimuli and experiences”. >

In my experience, mono provides more "presence" especially when using a single driver and single speaker. My Altec 755A, for example, gives a sense of "presence" especially with vocals (due to its limited frequency range) that is unmatched. The sense of "being there" is explained, in my opinion, by the highly realistic nature of the presentation - very low distortion, high resolution and "focus". Looking at an impulse response from a single driver Altec speaker you can see that it is nearly perfect, something that you cannot really obtain with multi-way drivers and a stereo setup, and I believe that explains some of the sound characteristics (among other things).

My open baffle speakers (in stereo) offer a little less "presence" (sound is not quite as "focused" and "palpable") but offers more "envelopment". In both cases, they trigger a sense of "absorption" into the music (being "lost" in the sound, speakers "disappearing", etc...). However, this "immersive" aspect is more elusive with my open baffle speakers, meaning that I do not experience it systematically, and I don't know why. There could be a number of reasons, which I will explain later (once I give it more thought).

 

[morricab]

My personal criteria for evaluating a system is its ability to offer an "immersive" listening experience.

I found an interesting definition of this "immersive" aspect in a "scientific" paper that attempts to determine whether spatial audio (as opposed to stereo and mono) contributes to an "immersive" experience (I removed the references):

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.951161/full

< the key term immersion is an important concept from virtual reality research, which can be “characterized by diminishing critical distance to what is shown and increasing emotional involvement in what is happening”. Other related terms to the conceptual field of immersion are absorption and presence, for which a variety of partially overlapping definitions exist. For example, absorption is defined as “an extreme involvement or preoccupation with one object, idea, or pursuit, with inattention to other aspects of the environment. […]”, and presence is understood as “the subjective experience of being in one place or environment, even when one is physically situated in another”. For the immersion-related term of presence, the most concise definition is the experience of “being there” ....We define immersion as a “psychological state characterized by perceiving oneself to be enveloped by, included in, and interacting with an environment that provides a continuous stream of stimuli and experiences”. >

In my experience, mono provides more "presence" especially when using a single driver and single speaker. My Altec 755A, for example, gives a sense of "presence" especially with vocals (due to its limited frequency range) that is unmatched. The sense of "being there" is explained, in my opinion, by the highly realistic nature of the presentation - very low distortion, high resolution and "focus". Looking at an impulse response from a single driver Altec speaker you can see that it is nearly perfect, something that you cannot really obtain with multi-way drivers and a stereo setup, and I believe that explains some of the sound characteristics (among other things).

My open baffle speakers (in stereo) offer a little less "presence" (sound is not quite as "focused" and "palpable") but offers more "envelopment". In both cases, they trigger a sense of "absorption" into the music (being "lost" in the sound, speakers "disappearing", etc...). However, this "immersive" aspect is more elusive with my open baffle speakers, meaning that I do not experience it systematically, and I don't know why. There could be a number of reasons, which I will explain later (once I give it more thought).

maybe because your open baffle is multiple full-range drivers and there is interferrence between them.

 

[hopkins]

As a side note, I'll add that the immersive nature of the listening experience is not something that can be easily conveyed from a system video. I would argue that if a system video listened through headphones does convey a sense of immersion, it may not mean that listening in-room would trigger the same experience, and vice-versa.

 

[hopkins]

maybe because your open baffle is multiple full-range drivers and there is interferrence between them.

This certainly has a role, and it means that an optimum listening position/speaker placement is more difficult to achieve, with small changes resulting in higher variability. Room interaction is also very different.

 

[hopkins]

This scene from the movie "Begin Again" evokes to me this sense of immersion - the protagonist (Mark Ruffalo) is taken by a singer (Keira Knightley) performing in a bar and builds in his mind a more complete version of the song with added instruments that come to life on the stage (start watching around 2 min into the video):

I find that an "immersive" sound provides a sense of awe and amazement, it stimulates our imagination, and offers a "visual" experience that lets our mind drift and wander into the music. As a result, immersive sound can be described as "three dimensional" (because it has depth and it is open), and this can be achieved with a single speaker or a stereo system.

What are the necessary conditions for this to occur? That remains a bit of a mystery to me.

 

[hopkins]

More rambling...

Music triggers emotional responses in mysterious ways as well. I sometimes try to find patterns or common aspects to the very diverse range of music that I really like. We are all different. From the day we are born we experience and store in our brains more "data" that could be stored in the most powerful data centers.

How music is heard, processed, stored, and restored by our brain is not something we really understand well. This book, that I saw recommended on another forum, is an interesting read:

Diana Deutsch - Musical Illusions and Phantom Words>

From that same movie - Begin Again - I love this guitar solo starting around 3:00. Why, I have no idea!

The whole movie is fun to watch.

 

[wil]

I’ve been experimenting with listening more near field. It can have a profound effect on immersion. I have large speakers (Evolution Acoustics MM7) set 10’ apart. I sir anywhere from 12’ back to as close as 7’. They both have immersion but further back is more room immersion where 7’ is more immersion into the recording space.

 

[hopkins]

Here's a video about a highly directional speaker set up in a street in NYC:

I assume they used a motion detector to trigger the sound when someone stepped into the marked area in front the speaker.

It seems fun!

This is the manufacturer's site; https://www.holosonics.com/

"Audio Spotlight X-Series speakers create a tight, narrow beam of sound that can be controlled with the same precision as light, now with 2X more output, a wider range of lower frequencies and clearer sound! Flexible and self-powered, Audio Spotlight X-Series speakers are a powerful tool, ensuring isolated audio that captivates listeners with an immersive, personal experience, while keeping the surrounding area quiet."

 

[hopkins]

I’ve been experimenting with listening more near field. It can have a profound effect on immersion. I have large speakers (Evolution Acoustics MM7) set 10’ apart. I sir anywhere from 12’ back to as close as 7’. They both have immersion but further back is more room immersion where 7’ is more immersion into the recording space.

Concerning nearfield listening, I have gone back and forth with it many times on my open baffle speakers, and concluded that some distance is preferable - with those speakers. A single Altec 755 sounds fantastic nearfield. But there are pros and cons to each "listening experience".

Nearfield is really tempting due to less room interaction, so I always wonder what my speakers would sound like in a perfectly treated room. It's a source of periodic anxiety attacks. All you need to do is listen to a track with a good pair of headphones to understand what a mess speakers can create in a room. At the same time, if we relax about it, and let our ears/brain adapt, I think we can enjoy things.

I have an RT60 that hovers below 0.4 in my room, which is really not that bad, given the size of the room. Are open baffle speakers easier to listen to in smallish rooms (30-40 sqm)? I'm not convinced, but they certainly interact with the room differently.

 

[Alrainbow]

Here's a cool video of Charles Brown performing live that song I recorded above:

Here's an artist who remained at the top of his game until he passed away.

The original album is really enjoyable and is well recorded:

The top video where is this from as a source ?
it’s very good for a video

 

[Alrainbow]

I assembled some flat copper foil speaker cables this afternoon, using these: https://www.soundimports.eu/en/jantzen-audio-000-7360.html

It took me about an hour (with the help of my girlfriend).

View attachment 131449

I had switched to regular cables, for convenience purposes, as I was playing around with different speakers and placements (copper foil cables are fragile...)

I have to say I am glad to be using these again as I find they offer an additional level of refinement to the sound. It's hard to A/B cables, due to our short term auditive memory, and maybe I am fooling myself, but as long as I enjoy the sound...

I've been to listening sessions where people compare different cables and can immediately perceive changes that I can't, or find "insignificant". Some audiophiles have superpowers which I don't possess.

Be careful on speaker wires like this even individual wires not twisted
Some amps need the interaction between wires
without getting into why what may happen is the amp goes into oscillation
it will nuke some speakers.
mid and tweets go fast unless fuse or Circuit protection.
just saying

 

[hopkins]

The top video where is this from as a source ?
it’s very good for a video

The top video is a YouTube video and I have no idea where it comes from.

 

[Alrainbow]

Really enjoyed listening (again) to this tonight, so I recorded it to share it

Ellington with a South American touch.

He was quite the world traveller. This blog post about his State Department sponsored "Far Easy" tour is interesting:

Far of the Middle: Ellington's 1963 State Department Tour

The third State Department tour of the Middle East which sent Duke Ellington and His Orchestra on the bumpy roads of the troubled regi...

ehsankhoshbakht.blogspot.com

Different times... Obviously the political landscape has completely changed since 1963. Today, in Iran, they jail and kill musicians!

What speakers ?

 

[Alrainbow]

I’ve tried my own speaker cables just to hear what happens
12 gauge zip cord was used copper
stock
Then apart with a twist various turns per foot
even just one twisted around the other one straight
every change made effected the sound obviously