Started a new Marktplaats store specifically to thin the herd of decks I have ammassed over recent years. Consisting mainly of Nakamichi and Yamaha fullsize cassette decks as well as some NOS cassettes. Will be adding more nice and shiny things including some portables in the coming weeks or as soon as I've had time to service/calibrate things or make arty-farty photos etc. I may also start a whole new Etsy storefront for a bit more coverage and to cater for English language speakers or via my existing 'Chris Cables' store. Either way take a peek and keep an eye on.... https://www.marktplaats.nl/u/chris-cassettes/51167767/ https://www.etsy.com/shop/ChrisCablesStore
I don't know if your on AudioKarma but there's always people asking for nicer decks. To sell over there you have to join the site for $25 USD/yr.
I am actually a member over on AK and was actually discussing becoming a sponsor there as it's probably one of the least hostile forums I've come accross. It all went flat when I asked what I could and couldn't do as sponsor and got vague, unclear responses. I received quite a salty response when I suggested that for $800/year it should be crystal clear what the operational boundaries for a forum sponsor are, so I called it a day there. I'm also a member at SBAF, TH, HT-Forum (NL), DIY Audio, ASR and some others. All quite hostile environments unfortunately, especially towards cable-makers. It seems that if you even suggest that cables can improve SQ that you're instantly classed as a pariah. So, for an easy life I don't frequent those places anymore. ASR, including the moderators were very enthusiastic to gang-up on me as soon as I mentioned the sonic benefits (measurable EMI/RFI noise mitigation) of common mode rejection ratio (CMRR) as implemented in braided cables. I received a ban for asserting that 'synergy' within a signal-path was a 'real thing'. That was obviously the last straw for them *chuckle* Quite ludicrous really. But then totally expected for people solely focused on looking for inaudible noise/distortion by listening to the equipment and not the music and who are in general rather closed-off to anything that falls outside their tiny scope of acceptability as decreed by pied piper Amir. There's more to life. You're doing a great job with this forum MrX. Even though it's not as active as it should be, it's certainly populated by easygoing enthusiasts! I've seen differences of opinion shared here from time to time but at least it doesn't get to the point of violent threats, bullying and mud-slinging like it does on other forums.
A bit cheeky and self-promoting but maybe very interesting for some here; Alpha Audio in The Netherlands has just published their findings from a mammoth test of audio cables which they conducted over the past couple of months. I submitted 3 of the most popular models from my own range of cables as I was really intrigued and enthused by Jaap Veenstra's description of the test objectives and methodology, especially when measuring fast pulse signals in the time domain via the totally isolated cable lengths. Has anyone ever seen that type of test before? Not me. Wow. Well, the results are in and they make for fascinating if not entirely inconclusive reading. The test did not set out to establish a 'winner' or to place one cable above another in terms of SQ, but more to distinguish how different cables measure in a deep-dive scenario, also taking in temporal-reactivity, or in layman terms, how our noodle subjectively translates and processes audible complex signals. Subjective music listening tests were also conducted and observations made. One nice takeaway for me personally is that there was very favourable conclusions made against my 'Core Function [Signal] cable, which is my budget-oriented cable which uses some of the cheapest but still good-quality components available. I set out to develop and compile a cable that could compete against cables costing much much more. It's been a good seller for over a year now and boy has this test managed to verify my objectives! Have a read, see what you think: Interlinks don’t do anything! Or do they? 32 rca cables analyzed
Thanks for the compliment! AK and S2G both have been huge in the revival of vinyl, tapes and vintage equipment but there's also been a lot of growing pains over the years, outside of a few "How to get girls, click this link" threads, this forum pretty much runs on autopilot. What you may not know is the massive amount of threads that were lost over a few different hosting changes going back to 2002. I know there were some spirited discussions back then and lot's of very good information was unrecoverable. You don't have to tell me about good interconnects and speaker wire, an old A/V company I worked for had a decent line that was sold as an upgrade to Monster Cables. I used lamp cord for years but could definately hear a sonic upgrade with our cables when I made the switch. I've also sold equipment to local companies that used very-high end wires for medical equipment or manufacturers of the wire itself, why would these companies care about the wire specs if it doesn't matter? They could save a boatload if they went cheap wire. I looked at the testing procedure, I've always wanted all the test equipment to be the same, except the cables, and then record the wave-form of a song and compare the different cables, maybe with a overlays? You'd want a song that doesn't go to far out of bounds so Metallica is out of the question.
Looking at FR waveforms of entire songs would be a bit tedious and unproductive I would suggest and Jaap also alludes to this, stating that an FR sweep would look more or less the same (flat 20Hz-20kHz) for all cables. Analyzing and comparing a second or two of music obvioulsy complicates things abit but still, comparing waveforms in the frequency/time domain wouldn't be that interesting. This is also what leads many to assume that all cables are the same. Jaap has focused on measurements made principally in the time domain, down to 2nS (!) using short/fast signal pulses and this has yielded some really interesting differentiators, especially with regards to how some cables can feel 'lazy/slow' and others feel 'snappy/alive'. These microscopic differentiators hypothetically trigger a form of temporal reactivity/processing which (maybe) hasn't been previously explored and this is the most interesting part of their measurements I think.
Bookmarked for later reference. Many years ago I made myself a simple adapter / extender from some old heavy microphone cable with 1/4 inch connects that were NOS. I was startled and shocked at how different it sounded Vs. some generic old Radio Shack cables I was using for years with the same headphones. Plus several other experiences, including with optical cables too, leave me with no doubt that cable are very important. Off topic rant/ Very similar differences of opinion exist in the world of high end telescopes and optics. Which is my #1 passion / hobby where I feel at home. Those who insist there is no worthwhile or discernible difference between high spec optical polish and figure have shown, in my opinion, to have poor vision or mental signal processing, either stemming from diet, sleep patterns, underlying health conditions and associated medications, recreational drug use etc., I suspect the same set of burdens also degrade audio sensitivity and signal processing in the end user. We just smile and enjoy planetary views they cannot imagine to be real Same in the audio world I suppose. No need to proselytize to anyone. Those who can see / hear will move towards what is best for them and learn for themselves. /End rant
One of the biggest issues with sound is we all have different hearing. I can hear a siren a long way aways but other people might not have that ability. Coming from an engineering and testing background, it's only a fair test if the "reviewer" has standardised hearing. Lots of people will tell you they don't hear anything different with all the voodoo upgrades but, as part of the test, we need to know how good their hearing is to begin with.
Yes. There is also a lot to be said for having an innate patience. Being able to sit quietly for hours and read or build stuff. Being tuned into the subtle. Noticing things. I think that behaviour from childhood can turbocharge ones senses a bit. Audio / video seem to be mutually exclusive for me. When I am into pushing visual acuity to the limit I lose interest in music and audio. When into audio I loose interest in visual pursuits. The last 3 years I have hardly had the scope' out, maybe about 5 times, little interest. Weird... but it's always been like that. I also have this thing where I feel everything sounds better in the dark, so always do "serious" listening in the dark at night before bed! Sat on the bed staring intently into the very dark room while (headphone) listening is essential for the full experience etc., (but one has to be alert and not tired.)
I rarely have free time to sit and listen but the other day I was working on a truck, had the Onkyo Stack Cranking through ADS Braun Speakers and everything was good.
