ABNORMAL LISTENENING GIFTS

DISCOVERED IN AUSTRALIA

A CELEBRATION OF THE NON-NORMAL IMPERATIVE

DIY CABLOSITY

NATURE VERSUS NATURE

AND WHY AUDIO SHOWS ARE PAINFUL

ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF HOW PARADOXE RULES THE AUDIO ARTS

AND WHY WE MUST SUFFER

At the end of this article is a great article by a music alien living in AUSTRALIA …and it will be inspirational to all…because of what it teaches us….

For newbies to the Triode Guild let me explain how our struggles to create our art transforms our experience of music.

The reason…. that the picture of our baby, the reason that our hot rod, the reason that the way I play The Goldberg Variations, the reason why my sculpture…is the most beautiful is because :

1. On the quantum level all of the above are the most perfect reflection of my inner tune, because all that I am doing is manifesting in the outer world, my own inner harmonic…and that unity, that Whole-osity is what ecstasy is by definition.
2. Human are narcissistic…by nature…and fortunately there is a small group of men who are both narcissistic and gifted…and we call them artists.
3. There is only one way to get up the mountain…we have to climb…and it is a painful struggle, involving failure, wounded ego, frustrations, and fear…which explains why the victory is so thrilling…and the process is inseparable from the joy and triumph. This is the complete opposite of shopping, I have now explained why your own DIY cables make such a dramatic improvement in your sound/music experience: the process of creating them has transformed your listening gifts.

The next thing I am going to suggest will either make you humble or an arrogant pig…it is your choice:

Listening gifts…like all gifts of "higher power" are not distributed equally in any population. The fact that you are reading this article probably means you are cursed….you simply can't accept "normal" levels of music pleasure…you need more. Because of you reading this article are not now living in Japan, or Italy, or France…you are not living in cultures with a long tradition of NURTURING artistic refinement in their male citizens.

The experience of listening to music is culturally determined and anyone who cares about MUSIC QUALITY in a world that is dominated by JUNKY MEDIOCRITY is a rare soul.

Your gifts are a curse, burden and will ultimately be a liberation if you will take them seriously and devote yourself to purifying them….meaning WORKING at them…like Kenrick (below).

THERE IS NO NECESSARY RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN

ENGINEERING SKILLS AND LISTENING SKILLS

I have now explained why most audio shows taste like Texas road kill in August. My are the demonstration by most manufacturers so painful? The answer NO GIFT FOR LISTENING. Anyone with the simplest mechanical/engineering skills can build speakers or electronics…but it is a rare company that gets it right.

PARDON ME FOR BOASTING BUT HERE WAS MY SECRET AT NEW YORK AUDIO LABS: My team equally balanced between musicians and technicians…and the final decision was always mine on the side of GOOSE BUMPS.

My experience over three decades is that that most "classical" audio engineers aren't well endowed with listening gifts.

Is there a polarity between ART AND SCIENCE in the brain..between FEELING and CALCULATING?

YES, in the West, NO in Japan.

WHY ARE GIFTED AMATEURS LIKE YOU ABLE TO OUTSHINE MOST AUDIO ENGINEERS?

Why would anyone go through the trouble of making his own trout flies when they are so easy to buy ready made? For the same reason that making your our own cables makes the trout taste more sublime…

READ ONE..and get down so far that you are down under with bro' Kendrick

-----Original Message-----

From: Harvey Rosenberg [mailto:drgizmo3@earthlink.net]

Sent: Thursday, 1 March 2001 7:48 AM

To: Pavey, Kendrick (K.)

Subject: Re: Foil cables - experiments/interpretations and tube amp

advice

 

Kendrick...I am serious...I think you should make the Wright foils

because I think this an important tribal initiation ritual, and if you

are successful I will give you some kind of award, and you could write

about your adventure and post it on the TG web site.

 

Gizmo

Hey Gizmeister

I didn't end up making the Wright foils, 'cos like you said, they were too flimsy, and too expensive to boot. My Cu ones which were 0.08mm thick fatigued after dragging them around a bit and his were three times thinner than these!

Instead I sourced 0.15mm x3.0mm silver from Sydney, Australia in fine silver and hand wrapped in gas fitters tape.

The results are just awesome! I have coupled this with a new RCA plug from Eichmann (unfortunate name that)

- check out www.eichmanncables.com - these plugs are the real deal.

The sound results are just awesome. I have already written some articles for our Melbourne Audio Club.

Attached FYI.

Last night I also tried some of this small gauge silver as speaker cable and it also rocked my world. I can source the 20mm x 0.15mm for around $20US/m so this is the next project.

Cool jammin' with you and thanks for your encouragement and vision.

Cheers, Kendrick

SUGGESTED GUIDE TO MAKING THE SILVER/EICHMANN CABLE

Thanks for supporting this DIY venture. Your support has helped get better prices for all members, so thanks.

In your kit you should have two things, some silver and four (or more depending on how many pairs of interconnects you are making) Eichmann plugs (Bullets).

You will need to go and buy:

• Plastic disposable gloves (like your dentist use, available in Coles etc)
• Goddards silver cloth – do NOT use any liquid polishes on the silver they will tarnish more quickly than the silver itself!
• Several rolls of gas fitter's tape (PTFE) – the PINK tape, NOT the white one. The pink one is thicker and will be more robust and prevent shorts! Available at Bunnings in the Plumbers section

Recipe

Stick on your gloves so you don't ever touch the silver with your bare hands. Remove from the plastic bag.

Measure the lengths of silver you want the interconnect length to be. Do this x4 for a stereo pair. You might get someone to hold the end of them so you only measure one, but cut the rest to the same length when gently pulled straight. Trim them up to the same length if the last one is a bit shorter than the other three.

Use the Goddard cloth to clean any remaining residues off the silver. Do the sides and the wider sections. Gently pulling it through the cloth is just fine. Keep those gloves on!

Grab a roll of Teflon tape and begin wrapping it helically around each silver piece, overlapping around 50%, leaving only a few mm at the end for soldering. You might take one hand out of the glove to hold the Teflon tape roll, it seems easier that way, but don't touch the silver if you can help it. Repeat for each silver strip.

Now you should have four equal length silver strips Teflon wrapped from end to end except the last few mm. Take break and glug a beer. That's the worst of it.

You then take two of the strips and wrap these together directly on top of one another Geortz style. You should be getting the hang of this by now. Has RSI set in yet? Too bad, do the other pair.

Now you should have two separate Teflon wrapped pairs of silver. They may need minor trimming to equal length as a result of the 'wrapping in a slight bend' process. No drama, be cool yule.

Then choose your favourite solder (I used Wondersolder) to attach the strips to the Bullets. I recommend a cheap Jaycar alligator clip clamp to hold the Bullets to stop them running away. Get the iron nice and hot (450dgs if adjustable) to you can pre tin the Bullets quickly without melting the plastic BEFORE putting the silver up to it. I would also tin the silver too before mating the two.

You will need to put the silver in the center depression on the diagonal pointing away from the earth. The earth is usually best soldered to the side (narrow) section of the silver strip and possibly bend the opposite side up to ensure it won't touch the center conductor. Trim it if you like. Some will prefer to insulate each or maybe just the center plug. Given the minimalist design I chose not to, to avoid any unknown dielectric effects. You may want to do this for peace of mind – up to you.

Please ensure you buzz out the center and ground terminals on the opposing side and remember to fit the housing prior to soldering, or you'll be doing it twice. Worst case you'll damage your gear or get a big buzz from your system as the active is fed to earth. Hey, be careful out there dudes. See my disclaimer too, please!

Covering is not included, however you could choose from a wide array of outers. Shielding is not required as a result of the close coupling of the conductors. Be aware the covering may change the sound of the interconnect however and should be trailed before fixing permanently in place.

INSTALLATION

You should heat the plug with a hairdryer for a minute per plug before fitting to your gear. The plug will then form to its new home much more easily and the insertion force will be greatly reduced. After this do not remove the plug for 24hours so it can cool and set.

LISTENING NOTES

Most of this is in the MAN review, so I won't elaborate much. Give it some time to break in before snap judging. The Sheffield Lab Test Disc has appropriate burn in tones for this if you have it. Essentially you should have:

• a quieter cable than before
• less glare which results from the brass, and possibly your prior cable
• extended frequency extremes, yet without etch in the highs
• excellent bass control – it beat my Cambridge coax in this regard by a wide margin
• better special definition of instruments, and an ability to follow any instrument in the mix
• improved depth, particularly improved definition at the rear of the stage with instruments in the mix – these should have better micro detail and sound more like they are where they are in the stage

DISCLAIMERS!

Whilst I have tested this product in several systems, I cannot vouch it will suit your own personal system or your own personal tastes and biases. However I hope it does, and I would value your feedback. Why don't you write it up for next month's MAN?

The plugs being made of plastic are not as robust as those made from brass and care should be exercised in handling them. When removing the plugs, a slight clockwise twist will assist them coming off easily, assuming you heated them before installing. More robust housings will be made available at the next GM hopefully, if you need them. With normal careful use I doubt this will be a problem for most users.

Whilst I provide a suggested method of assembly I will not be held responsible for any damage to you or your property that results in making or using these plugs and/or following my recommendations, however closely. If you are not skilled in using a soldering iron or multimeter then please ask for help.

Although I do not believe the cables are high capacitance, users should be aware that this design may have high capacitance and as such may cause instability in some systems. In my experience I have never had this occur, but mention it to cover my arse! My measurements indicated around 50pf/m which in fact is quite low, but I've only a basic multimeter which may not be accurate.

All that said, I hope these bring more music and enjoyment to your ears and those of your friends and family.

Cheers, Kendrick