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I'd love to see this guy try to answer James Randi's speaker cable challenge.

• ShabbyDoo 17y ago
  Yeah. Doesn't this guy want a million dollars? That's what annoyed me about the gizmodo article -- the audiophile's claims about better AC cables making a difference, etc. are all easily tested. I did notice one thing of interest in the photos: The guy had some sound dampening foam on a wall behind some components. Let's say I wanted to spend $10K on good sound in a room. Would I be better off buying $10K in components, or $5K in components and $5K in the services of an acoustician to fix up my room to have better acoustic qualities? Or, for that matter, are there any medical interventions that would improve my hearing? [Just kidding...sorta]
  • anigbrowl 17y ago
    Draw a floorplan/make photos. Go to Guitar Center and say you have a home recording studio and you need some acoustic foam and some bass traps (for the corners). Depends on your room, but $500 will buy you a lot of foam. Basically you want to break up the standing waves between parallel reflective surfaces. Hardwood floors are the worst culprit, along with windows. A sofa helps a lot. So do big heavy wall hangings if you're into that. Lastly, don't put your speakers in the corners or right back against the wall. It makes them sound boomy and results in muddy bass. The same is true if they're too near the floor. Also, try soundonsound.com for tips on acoustic improvement. Learn your room first: if you can make cheap speakers sound better then so will the pricey ones. Spend most of the money on speakers. If you absolutely must have control over the tone color via an equalizer, Manley is a good choice.