After I plugged in the Harvester I wasn't able to listen to my system anymore because of too much bass. Everything sounded too heavy from top to bottom. It gave me a headache within minutes.

I removed it from the wall, listened again after 30 seconds, it was still too heavy. Waited 26 seconds and tried again, it was less heavy. Waited 42 seconds, it sounded much thinner, it was close to "home". Waited 52 seconds, it was even thinner and there was sibilance too, bass was gone! Waited another 52 seconds and it didn't sound different.

It took 2 and half minutes for the noise to build up after removing the Harvester.


Then I plugged it into another circuit where my projector is connected, my audio system wasn't affected. I turned on my projector and the bright text gave me a headache. I couldn't read this forum anymore because of the yellow text.

Harvester makes a too big difference, I would like 10-20% performance instead, 100% is overkill in my system. It gives me headache.

At least now I know I don't need to buy more Harvesters, I had planned to cover all my walls with hundreds of them. I didn't expect one Harvester would do this much. I haven't plugged in the rest of my Harvesters yet, I have 4 of them (5th one I have dissected to death), I need to fix the heavy bass problem before trying them all.

Instead of running away from bass like sissy girl I'm trying the Harvester for my audio system again.

I found that I'm able to listen to a few albums without problems for an hour. But when I listened to one of my favorite albums I got a headache after 1 minute and felt sick in stomach after 2 mins 14 seconds. Bass was too heavy and tight. It felt like something was coming up from my throat so I had to change to another album. The problem went away when I chose an album that had little bass.

The improvement from Harvester is like a power cord 4+ times the size (more bass) but without the lack of detail. The improvement isn't as impressive as ERS Paper (link (http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?p=2434130#post2434130)) or Valhalla interconnect modifications (link (http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?p=2512295#post2512295), link (http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showpost.php?p=2535469&postcount=135)) which gave pure resolution without adding any weight. But the difference is more obvious since the Harvester makes everything too heavy. It boosts up the bass!



The difference from Harvester is bigger than:

Stock vs xStream Statement power cord for computer. Statement gave me fatigue from bass, but lack of detail was more annoying.
Solid-tech vibration isolation, 3 vs 4 steps. Adding the extra step of isolation gave enough blackness and heaviness to make me sick.
MWave1 vs MWave4. MWave4 gave loads of pure resolution but also made it warmer, it doesn't bother me though. It took months to get used to the tight bass transients.

I would compare Harvester with MWave4 (PS Audio MultiWave II) since it improves everything without adding any weaknesses. Harvester is like MWave4 except it also adds heaviness top to bottom, it also makes everything little tighter to keep the same detail.


I changed from MWave4 to MWave1 and low-level bass transients were missing, it made it sound thinner, colder, brighter and there was more midrange. That explains why MWave4 is so warm, because there is more low-level information.
When I changed back to MWave4 the transients were back and I also noticed more depth in the soundstage. I'm in love with MWave4.


Removed Harvester from the wall and waited 4 minutes, it sounded like the heaviness was toned down. The low-level detail was still there except it sounded thinner and more consistent. I like this more.


Changed from MWave4 to MWave1 and plugged the Harvester back in, waited 3 minutes. The increase in heaviness was huge but the lack of low-level detail was also more apparent.


The difference when adding Harvester is 5 times bigger than the difference between MWave1 and MWave4.
MWave4 without the Harvester sounds better to me than MWave1 with the Harvester. Having clean power isn't as important as I thought, it makes it sound heavier but it doesn't increase as much detail as power supply manipulation does.


_______________________


Only $100 for a Harvester to get a huge difference like this is crazy, especially since I'm already using Ultimate Outlet + P300 Power Plant.
I would like 20% the performance of the Harvester, a full 100% seems to be overkill for my system. I can't recommend anyone buying the 5 pack, 1 or 2 is enough if you already have a power conditioner.
I will keep it plugged in and see if I get used to it, based on previous upgrades I know it's possible, it's very hard work though. I need to do warm-ups and use different music and stuff.

You could be at or very near the infamous "brown note" and although this is something of myth* you may have found the sweet spot at which this alleged phenomenon occurs. Proceed with caution.

* http://www.meyersound.com.au/brownnote.shtm

Disclaimer: this message is not to be taken seriously and is intended as a potential light hearted relief though this is not guaranteed.

Anybody else notice that certain people on here are shills for companies? I will not get into the NH again we have already proven it is bunk with science.

You could be at or very near the infamous "brown note" and although this is something of myth* you may have found the sweet spot at which this alleged phenomenon occurs. Proceed with caution.

* http://www.meyersound.com.au/brownnote.shtm

Disclaimer: this message is not to be taken seriously and is intended as a potential light hearted relief though this is not guaranteed.


Thanks for dragging one of the most respected speaker companies into this mud. LOL

I have a Noise Harvester, and while I think it is very nice for the money, I haven't found it to be particularly better than similar products, like the Audioprism Quietlines or Blue Circle Noise Hounds.

The best thing, however, is that with the blinking blue light, you can tell when there's a lot of noise on your line and when there's not. During the day, from about 7:30am til about 8pm at night, mine blinks like mad...and then starts slowing down until about 11pm, where it hardly blinks at all. Worst time of day is between 11am-1pm....

Anybody else notice that certain people on here are shills for companies? I will not get into the NH again we have already proven it is bunk with science.
I want to see the video where you measure frequency response of speakers after adding the Harvester, do you still have it?

Well the addition of the NH isn't going to change the FR of the amp or player. Given that, why would the FR of the speaker then change?

I would do double blind test video but the difference is too big it's not worth the time. There are also skeptics who want to live in their dream world and if I take that away they won't like it.
The difference with Noise Harvester is far bigger than my power cords for computer blind test: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_bMgSYpZac

Have you tried re-wiring the Harvester with Valhalla yet?

I want to see the video where you measure frequency response of speakers after adding the Harvester, do you still have it?

I may still have the video. I can tell you there was ZERO change.

Are there any Psychiatrists in Sweden?
You need one, FAST.

I'm not saying that to be mean, this is a serious matter.

Are there any Psychiatrists in Sweden?
You need one, FAST.

I'm not saying that to be mean, this is a serious matter.
The ones who need psychiatrists are the ones who don't care about improvement.

I modified the Valhalla power cord for my computer (link (http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showpost.php?p=2625652&postcount=208)) and that took care of a little weight but loads of muddiness. I don't know what Nordost was thinking when they designed the cable. I guess they put intentional muddiness on the cable to hide brightness in crappy systems. If customer's ears start hurting from brightness he's going to return the cable...

Since the sound got thinner from the Valhalla mod I was able to plug a Harvester to my wall to boost up the bass. Then I plugged in a 2nd Harvester to my P300 and bass was doubled again. I'm only listening to my sissy bass albums and I'm surprised of the amount of low-level detail I'm hearing. A whole new world of detail has opened up. It's one of the biggest improvements I have ever heard.
I'm hearing huge bass but it's distinct from the rest of the music, it doesn't bother me as much as before. I'm still getting headache from some albums though.

I'm still getting headache from some albums though.

I don't think your headaches are from the music.

I don't think your headaches are from the music.
Why? I don't have headaches when I don't listen to music. I get the headache from heavy and tight bass, I have had this with previous upgrades. The last time it took 3 months to get used to it, it was when I changed from 90Hz sinewave to MWave4 for my amp.

This set of posts from the PSA site is truely funny. For a bunch of guys who claim to want they purest of sound they seem to hear great changes for the better after doing conversions of CDs. Amazing!That PPP does it all it seems.

Quote"barrows

Total Posts: 272

Member Since:
April 2005


View My System posted 1/15/2007 8:32:28 AM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi ELK, thanks for the comparsion. My only experience with FLAC is downloading from the web. I have compared FLAC downloads, converted to .wav, and burned to CDR (just on my computer at work at 4x using the windows media player) with commercially produced CDs, and found the downloaded and burned CDs to be more dynamic! I would conclude that FLAC itself must be a pretty close to lossless compression format for music files.

ELK

Total Posts: 462

Member Since:
May 2003


posted 1/15/2007 9:49:27 AM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FLAC is *supposed* to be lossless so we should not hear a difference. However, while I really like computers I am always suspicious of data manipulation so I have to convince myself.

Burned copies of CD's almost always sound better to me so it makes sense to me that a burned CD from a compressed lossless would sound better than a commercially pressed CD. This is sure counterintuitive however!

I am glad to learn that you also find FLAC compressed files to sound good. It's reassuring.

barrows

Total Posts: 272

Member Since:
April 2005


View My System posted 1/15/2007 9:56:37 AM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I agree regarding buned CDs vs. pressed. But we should consider that I did burn the CDs in this case via my work computer (powered from a Power Plant Premier) using the standard Windows software, without the benefit of an external burner, or better CD burning software, and still the results were very impressive. It makes we wish I had more time to investigate with a dedicated computer, better software, and good external CD burners. "

Speco, apparently we're doomed. Throw a couple of Valhalla power cords on your mixing desk and walk away. The automation that the power cords will do are far superior to any human hands touching the board...;)

ONce I get caught up with emails and repairs I'll post the interesting high end a/b comparison of the speaker cables/treatment I saw at the Venetian...;)

Speco, apparently we're doomed. Throw a couple of Valhalla power cords on your mixing desk and walk away. The automation that the power cords will do are far superior to any human hands touching the board...;)

ONce I get caught up with emails and repairs I'll post the interesting high end a/b comparison of the speaker cables/treatment I saw at the Venetian...;)

Our wireless RF tech went to the home theatre section and said he had to leave very quickly because it made him so angry to see all the BS.

I was only able to make it into the big screen area because of limited time.

I'll have 31 pages of coverage on my website shortly with over 100 pix.

The HD DVD booth had the worst set up plasmas. At least 1/2 of them had massive green push, esp. during the fade to blacks. Some techy guy in the line in front of me noticed it as well and commented to the HD DVD guy who said nothing. I wonder if that was your RF tech that commented?;)

This set of posts from the PSA site is truely funny. For a bunch of guys who claim to want they purest of sound they seem to hear great changes for the better after doing conversions of CDs. Amazing!That PPP does it all it seems.
Based on logic it's pretty obvious that a burned CD sounds better than a pressed CD in a normal CD player. Timing of data isn't digital, it is analog!
The pits are burned more accurately with a Power Plant and Valhalla power cords, the dye material of the CD-R is important too to get sharp edges of the pits.
I have done it but didn't hear a difference because my Cary 303/300 is like a computer with RAM, I didn't know that. When I bought a thousand dollars worth of CD tweaks I was expecting to hear a difference but didn't hear any at all. I thought I had serious problems with my ears, but later I found a Cary 303/300 review and the reviewer didn't hear a difference either.

[QUOTE=ValhallaPC]
The pits are burned more accurately with a Power Plant and Valhalla power cords, QUOTE]

Really and what proof of that do you have? And why do not all the mastering houses use them?

The pits are burned more accurately with a Power Plant and Valhalla power cord.


Hahahahahahahahaha! Valhalla, you've outdone yourself just as I thought you couldn't get any more outrageous.

Really and what proof of that do you have? And why do not all the mastering houses use them?
You can choose how you want the music to sound like by using different CD-R, CD burners, power conditioners, power cords, vibration isolation feet etc. All of them change how the pits are burned into the CD. It's the timing of the data that decides the final waveform that comes out from the speakers.

I like to keep everything else neutral and change the timing of the sound with Valhalla interconnect instead, it makes the lows and highs sound distinct because of the silver plating. I have compared 78 vs 60 microns silver plating and 60 (Valkyrja) sounded flat, neutral and boring, 78 microns from Valhalla sounded messed up but gave the illusion of greater layering, dynamics and blacker background.

BTW, if you believe in analog interconnects then you must believe in digital interconnects as well. They are all analog signals, there aren't pictures of 0's and 1's floating inside the digital cable... And if you believe in digital cables, then CD tweaks must make a difference if you aren't using computer as transport. So in the end, if you believe amps or sources make a difference, then you must believe in all the CD tweaks, otherwise your logic is flawed.
The only thing skeptics believe in are speakers and nothing else, someone even uses a discman as his source because he doesn't believe in CD players.

If skeptics are using $1000+ audio gear and don't believe in tweaks, then there's a problem...

Here's a CD-R for professional use: http://www.tdk.com.sg/sg/products/audio/cdraudiopro2.php
Blind tests carried out with audio experts have proved Audio PRO delivers digital excellence with analogue-style refinement on all types of CD players from high-end high-value systems to car stereos and portable players. Testers reported Audio PRO produced a more natural, dynamic and rounded sound.

Originally conceived for professional studio use, Audio PRO is the perfect media for use by audiophiles with today's top-of-the-range high-end equipment.


http://www.genesisloudspeakers.com/whitepaper/White%20Paper%20on%20Black%20CDs%20ver%203.1.pdf
To ensure a stable power supply, I plugged all the computer equipment into a PSAudio Power Plant to ensure that power fluctuations will not affect the writing process. I can’t stress how important a proper power supply for the CD burner is. We’ve tried all sorts of power conditioners, and none of them have worked as well as the Power Plant for the Iomega and Yamaha burners. For the Plextor, I had an “audiophile” power supply built that made the results sound even better than on the Yamaha.



Hahahahahahahahaha! Valhalla, you've outdone yourself just as I thought you couldn't get any more outrageous.

I wish I could afford the Valhallas, I should pull a loan out.

Guys, there really is no excuse for poor sound.

Based on logic it's pretty obvious that a burned CD sounds better than a pressed CD in a normal CD player.

This is based on YOUR logic, which has no basis in reality...which is proven every time you post.

You should get together with greeniguana....if you're not the same person already.

This is based on YOUR logic, which has no basis in reality...which is proven every time you post.

You should get together with greeniguana....if you're not the same person already.

It's not him, it's the Valhalla cables. They can make a $1,000 projector look like a $5,000 projector.

I just wish they would make cables for other household objects.

I just wish they would make cables for other household objects.

I think monster make a clothes dryer cable.

I think monster make a clothes dryer cable.

Less wrinkles in the finished product?

Less wrinkles in the finished product?

If the cable was Valhalla it would iron out all the wrinkles for you. :p

With 1 Harvester and modified Valhalla the bass is still too heavy.
It was way too warm so I searched for a way to compensate. Then I saw my dusty Valkyrja headphone cable on the table, I could clearly see the dust from far away. I cleaned it with Optrix again and got more transparency and tightness, I'm hearing decay around bass transients again. It's little better now, there's still too much bass though.
See my 1st and 2nd impressions from Optrix: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showpost.php?p=2572501&postcount=188

I checked my system to see if there were any other problems, I saw that the rear left Feet of Silence under my amp had the rubber bands stretched more than the others. I added extra rubber bands to that one.
While I was putting the rubber on, my room got colder.
I was surprised when I listened to music again, of course I'm hearing the usual "whiteness + fake blackness + lack of low-level detail" sound signature from the colder room, but this time I'm also hearing something else. I'm hearing a sound signature I haven't heard before, bass sounds very strong and there is better synergy. It seems like all four Feet need to be suspended the same depth. Or maybe the ambient temperature makes a bigger difference after I added the Harvester. Either way, it sounds better now.

There is still too much bass though. Maybe building a freezer for Valhalla cables will help. It is crazy how big difference one Harvester makes, I wonder how long I will keep tweaking until I get perfect synergy again. After I added Valhalla digital cable to my system it took months of tweaking to compensate for the warmth: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=191136


I wonder if replacing the Feet with Stillpoints would be better. Maybe the bass from Feet is heavier than neutral.

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?ddgtl&1048552751&openflup&17&4
The Feet of Silence made the most positive difference. The contrast with Stillpoints was instructive - using the Stillpoints the music lost its bloom, and sounded overdamped and constrained. The Feet of Silence let the music breathe mone freely.

Is there any wonder after that last post that this guyy is a trroll and a hack? Why do we continue to feed him ?

If you plug it in upside down, can you improve the treble? I'd assume that since it's taking it's cues mainly from the hot over the neutral, and that adds to your bass efficiency, that if you were to flip it over, so that the little capacitor that's inside would now "harvest" more "noise" from the neutral than the hot, your treble would become much more efficient. I would also assume, that if you plugged it in upside down, your PJ would run darker.

Is there any wonder after that last post that this guyy is a trroll and a hack? Why do we continue to feed him ?
It's not hard to see who the real troll is.

Look at all the meaningless replies in this thread, it's a sign of desperation. They make jokes and stuff which makes them feel better about themselves. I could write a whole book about skeptics, but why bother. The only ones they punish is themselves, when they are 100 years old and half deaf they try Harvester and hear a difference, then they wonder how it would have sounded like when their ears were good.

Instead of trying to joke it away why not try Harvester for yourselves? And instead of buying it just to measure the speakers so you can reveal the truth and be a hero, try to listen to it with your ears instead.
I don't know what all those measurement tools do but I hope they don't measure the volume of each frequency, that would be retarded, only the speaker would matter then and nothing else.
With all tweaks the differences come from the switching of frequencies, the faster the switch the higher the resolution... The amp is controlling the diaphragm movement of the speakers, so it needs to be tweaked properly to get as high resolution as possible. With sources the goal is to remove jitter to make it sound warmer and less digital. I got the vinyl sound long ago and it's way too warm. So I like to color the sound with the silver plating of Nordost Valhalla cables, it gives fake detail and transparency, it separates the sounds which makes it sound more distinct.

Do your parents buy this stuff for you?

Leave him be. Otherwise he might take an interest in nuclear physics and the applications thereof.

It's not hard to see who the real troll is.

No, it's not...his nick. is Valhallapc, and he has absolutely no knowledge of basic electronics, yet posts as if he does....it's very entertaining...like watching judge judy.

It seems like all four Feet need to be suspended the same depth. Or maybe the ambient temperature makes a bigger difference after I added the Harvester. Either way, it sounds better now.
The room got little warmer and the bass signature got more apparent now, I can clearly hear it comes from the extra rubber bands for Feet of Silence. Bass sounds very strong unlike anything I have heard before. I'm hearing more bass transients in the background and they are heavier too, multiple sharp and heavy bass transients makes it sound strong. It reminds me of when I wrapped Valhalla power cords in ERS Paper, it changed the signature of the deep bass. But with the extra rubber bands it changed the mid-bass too.

Yesterday I didn't want to keep listening to my favorite albums because something felt wrong. After today's tweaks I want to keep listening, even to the tracks I normally never listen to! The improvement was that big.

The headache is finally gone! I believe it didn't come from the heavy bass, it just came from the muddiness, Harvester increased the size of everything which made the muddiness apparent. The bass needs to have proper resolution, otherwise it is fatiguing. I like strong bass as long as it doesn't interfere with the rest of the music, but if it does interfere, then I want to remove all of the bass.

After doing these 3 tweaks* to compensate for the heavy bass from Harvester, I'm hearing an improvement unlike anything I have heard before. Amps and sources are nothing compared to this, in my 1-10 scale they would receive 1 score because they don't improve anything, they just change the flavor. But when plugging the Harvester to the wall the improvements are real. Harvester doesn't add any weaknesses, it just shows problems in your system which forces you to find and fix them.

*(Thinner Valhalla for computer, Optrix for headphone cable, extra rubber bands for Feet of Silence under amp)

Harvester improvement score: 10 000 000

No, it's not...his nick. is Valhallapc

I'm using Nordost Valhalla power cord for my computer, it's that good.



, and he has absolutely no knowledge of basic electronics, yet posts as if he does....it's very entertaining...like watching judge judy.
Basics is always flawed knowledge because you start from the bottom. I start from the top.

Nobody knows the basics except the skeptics who think they already know everything. The more you believe in something the further you are from the real truth.

The room got little warmer and the bass signature got more apparent now, I can clearly hear it comes from the extra rubber bands for Feet of Silence. Bass sounds very strong unlike anything I have heard before. I'm hearing more bass transients in the background and they are heavier too, multiple sharp and heavy bass transients makes it sound strong. It reminds me of when I wrapped Valhalla power cords in ERS Paper, it changed the signature of the deep bass. But with the extra rubber bands it changed the mid-bass too.

Yesterday I didn't want to keep listening to my favorite albums because something felt wrong. After today's tweaks I want to keep listening, even to the tracks I normally never listen to! The improvement was that big.

The headache is finally gone! I believe it didn't come from the heavy bass, it just came from the muddiness, Harvester increased the size of everything which made the muddiness apparent. The bass needs to have proper resolution, otherwise it is fatiguing. I like strong bass as long as it doesn't interfere with the rest of the music, but if it does interfere, then I want to remove all of the bass.

After doing these 3 tweaks* to compensate for the heavy bass from Harvester, I'm hearing an improvement unlike anything I have heard before. Amps and sources are nothing compared to this, in my 1-10 scale they would receive 1 score because they don't improve anything, they just change the flavor. But when plugging the Harvester to the wall the improvements are real. Harvester doesn't add any weaknesses, it just shows problems in your system which forces you to find and fix them.

*(Thinner Valhalla for computer, Optrix for headphone cable, extra rubber bands for Feet of Silence under amp)

Harvester improvement score: 10 000 000

And, as he preached from upon high those who looked on proclaimed that yes, he is the lone sword of truth who hath cometh to slay those who would be skeptics and doubt his word....for they are without Valhalla. Unclean!!!

etc...

My upgrades

1 = Noticeable improvement
10 = Night and day

July 2005

Valhalla power cord for Krell KAV-500i = 15
High Current Ultimate Outlet between wall and Power Plants = 5
QuickSilver on everything = 15?
QuickSilver on fuses = 2
MultiWave II+ for source = 5
xStream Statement between wall and Power Plants = 60
44.1 kHz to 768 kHz = 5
MultiWave II and II+ for amp = 20
Solid-Tech isolation = 100
QuickSilver GOLD upgrade = 5
Valhalla between wall and Power Plants + hardwired = 60
Hifi-Tuning Gold fuse = 1
Nordost Solar Wind 1 conductor + remove PCB = 220
Nordost Valkyrja 1 conductor = 140 (360 compared to Stefan AudioArt)
PS Audio GCC-100 = 200?
Cary 303/300 as transport for DAC-1 = 500
Modded Valhalla power cord (2+2+1) for DAC1, and computer as transport (Valhalla and Power Plant) = 5000
Computer to Cary transport. From 2 to 1 Power Plant. 2 conductor Valhalla power cord for amp. Extra isolation step. Cary from 3 to 0 isolation = -200 (less detail but more neutral?)
Valhalla digital XLR = 5?
Valhalla power cord 2 to 1 conductor for DAC1 = 100
Valhalla power cord 3 to 2 conductors for Cary = 5
Valkyrja internal wiring for CD player = 5
Valkyrja speaker cable hardwire into PCB = 380
Valkyrja input signal wire for amp, from 24 AWG to 22 AWG = -3
Modded Valhalla interconnect 1 conductor = 1 000 000
Brilliant Pebbles Mini = 0.05
Bypass fuses amp = 80
Bypass fuses Cary transport = 2?
Shortening Valhalla power cords = 1
Disconnecting ground of DAC1 = 0.5?
Valhalla power cord 2 to 1 conductors for Cary = 5
Valhalla power cord 3 to 2 conductors for wall = 1
4step to 5step isolation for DAC1 = 1200
Hardwired into Power Plant = 5?
ERS Paper full coverage = 2 000 000+
Valhalla interconnect XLR + hardwire = 1 300 000
Valhalla interconnect dedicated shield ground = 3 000 000
Noise Harvester + tweaks to compensate = 10 000 000

January 2007

Numbers are only accurate when based on the order the upgrades were made.

The more you believe in something the further you are from the real truth.


That explains your nonsensical posts, to a "T".

Do you know what hypocrite means?

That explains your nonsensical posts, to a "T".

Do you know what hypocrite means?
I don't see the point of your posts other than prevent others from reading my posts about the Harvester.
See the other forum: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?p=2626375#post2626375 5 posts in a row. That's how it should look like, it's easier to read instead of first scrolling through posts by skeptics who have nothing better to do than post useless attacks which do nothing to me anyway. Even when my mind is heavily clouded by skeptics I'm still able to hear a difference from my tweaks. I'm not good at ignoring the truth like skeptics are.

Dude, the only thing you are good at avoiding is reality

Dude, the only thing you are good at avoiding is reality
How can someone know which reality is true? If you believe you live in reality, then you are the furthest from reality because your belief is too strong.

I'm not good at ignoring the truth like skeptics are.

You're not very good at anything... your made up technical explanations, are just too painful to read.

I for one enjoy Valhallas threads.

I think most here are just jealous.

I think most here are just jealous.

of what?

of what?

That he can spend his money on ridiculously priced devices and cables and t just drives everyone on here bonkers.

I say if he can hear a difference, regardless of all the demand for any scientific data at all to back his claims, I say more power to him to do all the tweaks.

How can someone know which reality is true? If you believe you live in reality, then you are the furthest from reality because your belief is too strong.

Wow-your whole belief system is derived from bad fortune cookies....

I've been a long time admirer of your work ValhallaPC, but this thread has, without a doubt, taken the cake. Thank you so much for keeping me entertained while stuck in an office working late nights for a work-related trip to Vegas. Believe me, knowing that so much excitement and debauchery is only minutes away makes it rough having to work until 3:30 in the AM, but you make the time so much more bearable. Keep the humor rolling!!

How can someone know which reality is true? If you believe you live in reality, then you are the furthest from reality because your belief is too strong.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! Priceless!!!

Valhalla has surpassed QQQ as my favorite poster recently.

I think QQQ has been off the ball lately. Maybe he's too busy or something.

I think most here are just jealous.
of what?

Whenever the J word comes up they instantly become defensive and give an automatic response, most of the time it starts with them laughing. It has happened with all my previous hobbies, so I have learned not to tell them the truth, otherwise they fall deeper into their dream world.

It's no problem being jealous as long as you can admit it and do something about it. But if you hide it inside your subconscious mind, then there's a problem.

My upgrades

1 = Noticeable improvement
10 = Night and day

July 2005

Valhalla power cord for Krell KAV-500i = 15
High Current Ultimate Outlet between wall and Power Plants = 5
QuickSilver on everything = 15?
QuickSilver on fuses = 2
MultiWave II+ for source = 5
xStream Statement between wall and Power Plants = 60
44.1 kHz to 768 kHz = 5
MultiWave II and II+ for amp = 20
Solid-Tech isolation = 100
QuickSilver GOLD upgrade = 5
Valhalla between wall and Power Plants + hardwired = 60
Hifi-Tuning Gold fuse = 1
Nordost Solar Wind 1 conductor + remove PCB = 220
Nordost Valkyrja 1 conductor = 140 (360 compared to Stefan AudioArt)
PS Audio GCC-100 = 200?
Cary 303/300 as transport for DAC-1 = 500
Modded Valhalla power cord (2+2+1) for DAC1, and computer as transport (Valhalla and Power Plant) = 5000
Computer to Cary transport. From 2 to 1 Power Plant. 2 conductor Valhalla power cord for amp. Extra isolation step. Cary from 3 to 0 isolation = -200 (less detail but more neutral?)
Valhalla digital XLR = 5?
Valhalla power cord 2 to 1 conductor for DAC1 = 100
Valhalla power cord 3 to 2 conductors for Cary = 5
Valkyrja internal wiring for CD player = 5
Valkyrja speaker cable hardwire into PCB = 380
Valkyrja input signal wire for amp, from 24 AWG to 22 AWG = -3
Modded Valhalla interconnect 1 conductor = 1 000 000
Brilliant Pebbles Mini = 0.05
Bypass fuses amp = 80
Bypass fuses Cary transport = 2?
Shortening Valhalla power cords = 1
Disconnecting ground of DAC1 = 0.5?
Valhalla power cord 2 to 1 conductors for Cary = 5
Valhalla power cord 3 to 2 conductors for wall = 1
4step to 5step isolation for DAC1 = 1200
Hardwired into Power Plant = 5?
ERS Paper full coverage = 2 000 000+
Valhalla interconnect XLR + hardwire = 1 300 000
Valhalla interconnect dedicated shield ground = 3 000 000
Noise Harvester + tweaks to compensate = 10 000 000


Wow! What a post! :eek:

The ratings are not complete though.

1 = Noticeable improvement
10 = Night and day......

So, 10 000 000 = ? :confused:

:D

I just plugged in 2 noise harvesters and my 720p projector now outputs 1080p. Awesome product. :eek:

Wow! What a post! :eek:

The complete ratings are not complete though.

1 = Noticeable improvement
10 = Night and day......

So, 10 000 000 = ? :confused:

:D
Unreal improvements get 1 million score. They are the ones I never thought was possible to get from any upgrade at any price! When I modified the Valhalla interconnect the improvement was clearly 200 times bigger than any upgrade I had done before. Everything was so distinct I thought something was broken. It sounded like each sound was played back from a separate audio system. That's what I call unreal!

With the 1+ million tweaks after that one I got even more impressed! Especially ERS Paper, it gave an unbelievable black background, I could hear very quiet details all over the place, I had to pause the music many times to find out if they came from real life or the recording!

When I did the XLR + hardwire tweak for interconnect again the smoothness was unbelievable, I never thought it was possible to get an improvement that big even when spending $20 000+. Instead I got it for 10 dollars! I couldn't believe it!

Then I did another tweak for Valhalla interconnect, I copied the design from Tara Labs Zero with the external grounding, except I used Valkyrja speaker wiring to ground the shield. The improvement was unreal again, I had to control my breathing to hear all the subtle quiet details.

With the Harvester, bass is so crazy it is unreal! I never thought it was possible for bass to sound like this, it's both heavy and fast!

So, is 20 Hz more like 50 Hz now?

Unreal improvements get 1 million score. They are the ones I never thought was possible to get from any upgrade at any price! When I modified the Valhalla interconnect the improvement was clearly 200 times bigger than any upgrade I had done before. Everything was so distinct I thought something was broken. It sounded like each sound was played back from a separate audio system. That's what I call unreal!

With the 1+ million tweaks after that one I got even more impressed! Especially ERS Paper, it gave an unbelievable black background, I could hear very quiet details all over the place, I had to pause the music many times to find out if they came from real life or the recording!

When I did the XLR + hardwire tweak for interconnect again the smoothness was unbelievable, I never thought it was possible to get an improvement that big even when spending $20 000+. Instead I got it for 10 dollars! I couldn't believe it!

Then I did another tweak for Valhalla interconnect, I copied the design from Tara Labs Zero with the external grounding, except I used Valkyrja speaker wiring to ground the shield. The improvement was unreal again, I had to control my breathing to hear all the subtle quiet details.

With the Harvester, bass is so crazy it is unreal! I never thought it was possible for bass to sound like this, it's both heavy and fast!

I told you, Valhalla is joshing all of you. He is QQQ on steroids (kidding, I like QQQ known for everything digital video without tweaking. I haven't noticed Valhalla even posting at PS Audio forum, he is way to far out there for them, too.

You guys love giving sh_t at tweakers. Valhalla really knows how to BS and get your rods going, thats all it is.

Thanks for pointing that out steve, becuase no-one else thought he was a troll at all...you're the smartest!

I told you, Valhalla is joshing all of you. He is QQQ on steroids (kidding, I like QQQ known for everything digital video without tweaking. I haven't noticed Valhalla even posting at PS Audio forum, he is way to far out there for them, too.

You guys love giving sh_t at tweakers. Valhalla really knows how to BS and get your rods going, thats all it is.I don't BS, I can show videos... Everything I said is real and skeptics can't handle it because deep inside they know it is true.

Ok, you asked for it! I start with showing the Valhalla cables.

http://poollogics.is-a-geek.net/pictures/forum4/System/Valhalla.computer.closet.JPG

http://poollogics.is-a-geek.net/pictures/forum4/System/ValhallaPC.gaming.rig.JPG

http://poollogics.is-a-geek.net/pictures/forum4/System/ValhallaPC3.computer.to.wall.JPG

http://poollogics.is-a-geek.net/pictures/forum4/System/Valhalla.Acer.LCD.behind2.JPG

http://poollogics.is-a-geek.net/pictures/forum4/System/Valhalla.Acer.LCD.JPG

http://poollogics.is-a-geek.net/pictures/forum4/System/video/Valhalla.Projector.JPG

ftp://poollogics.is-a-geek.net:22163/nonpool/headfi/Valhalla.Projector.and.audio.system.(2006.09.06).DivX.avi

http://poollogics.is-a-geek.net/pictures/forum4/System/video/Valhalla.Projector2.JPG

http://poollogics.is-a-geek.net/pictures/forum4/System/Valhalla.Eichmann.wrapped.in.ERS.paper.JPG

http://poollogics.is-a-geek.net/pictures/forum4/System/Valhalla.DAC1.mod.JPG

http://poollogics.is-a-geek.net/pictures/forum4/System/Valhalla.GCC.mod.snake.JPG




When looking at this picture I can feel something getting bigger in pants.
http://poollogics.is-a-geek.net/pictures/forum4/System/Valhalla.GCC100.mod8.JPG

http://poollogics.is-a-geek.net/pictures/forum4/System/ERS.Paper/0.JPG

http://poollogics.is-a-geek.net/pictures/forum4/System/ERS.Paper/4.JPG

http://poollogics.is-a-geek.net/pictures/forum4/Valhalla.reference.audio.JPG

http://poollogics.is-a-geek.net/pictures/forum4/System/ERS.Paper/12.JPG

http://poollogics.is-a-geek.net/pictures/forum4/System/ERS.Paper/23.JPG

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgsR4TiBwug

When looking at this picture I can feel something getting bigger in pants.

Are you taking a dump? Is it warm too?

Are you taking a dump? Is it warm too?
No, you can't see Valhalla power cord with its legs spread open?

Do your parents buy this stuff for you?
I used my life savings. Nothing is acceptable to me so I don't buy anything. When I look at computer hardware in stores it feels like being in a junk yard. They are already obsolete after buying them...
I don't know what to buy with the money anyway. If I spend my money on hookers it only lasts 5 seconds, but if I spend it on Valhalla cable it lasts my whole life.

Valhalla.


PLEASE.


STOP.

If nothing else, you proved the only pussy you're getting are the ones stuck to your wall, and even then if I was a cat I'd be very afraid...

If I spend my money on hookers it only lasts 5 seconds

We could have guessed that. ;)

Valhalla has surpassed QQQ as my favorite poster recently.

I think QQQ has been off the ball lately. Maybe he's too busy or something.


HERESY!

QQQ: 1.0000000000000000000000000000000000000
ValhallaPC: 1.0000000000000000000000000000000001

But they're both number 1 in my book.

Grade of this Thread from 1 to 10:

1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,00 0 ±0.00001%!!!!

ValhallaPC,
I'm sold ! You have added much depth and richness to our home theater experience. Your incredible wisdom has been a god send to us here. I want to thank you for taking the time from your busy life to share your awe inspiring depth of knowldge with us here.

Thanks again !

Art

I used my life savings. Nothing is acceptable to me so I don't buy anything. When I look at computer hardware in stores it feels like being in a junk yard. They are already obsolete after buying them...
I don't know what to buy with the money anyway. If I spend my money on hookers it only lasts 5 seconds, but if I spend it on Valhalla cable it lasts my whole life.

Possibly the best quote in the history of AVS.

It just proves how zany some of us AV guys can be. Pure gold!

For all you know me, Michael Grant, even Art could be ValhallaPC, disguising ourself with a totally different persona to get folks goin' and have some fun.
For example, my posts the past few years have been quite little compared to the four years before. What do you think I've been doin? However, it ain't me, because I couldn't in my wildest days dream up some of the junk coming out of ValhallaPC. I think he's a genius who designed a computer program to simulate a human idiot!!!

For all you know me, Michael Grant, even Art could be ValhallaPC, disguising ourself with a totally different persona to get folks goin' and have some fun.


No Steve, it can't be you.

He's got 335 posts and not one HAAAA! in any post.





I checked.

:)

No Steve, it can't be you.

He's got 335 posts and not one HAAAA! in any post.





I checked.

:)

If you go back and check my posts chronologically you may find I added the HAAAs to my posts about the time that ValhallaPC joined the forum. And right after I quit moderating at AVS. Moderators then weren't allowed to use fictitious personas.
So who really knows.

Of course, Curt could easily be Valhalla. I mean, he's a smart guys. He can really tweak CRT projectors so they look better than digital. Give the man his due.
He is in Valhallaland of video projection.

The biggest difference in my system is burn-in and ambient temperature, a month ago they didn't make a difference this big.

When I unplugged my system for 35 minutes and turned it back on it sounded the opposite of what I had before, that's what I call a night and day difference!
Low-level bass was gone and all I heard was midrange. I was hearing more surface transient speed and thin vocal information, but low-level detail was gone. Lack of low-level detail makes it sound cold, bright, thin etc. But when the detail is filled in the extra attack and decay makes it sound full and heavy which gives the illusion of more warmth. This is what Harvester gives.

I haven't noticed Valhalla even posting at PS Audio forum, he is way to far out there for them, too.

http://www.psaudio.com/account/forum/view.asp?catID=2&forumID=10&topicID=3807

Patrick82

Total Posts: 22

Member Since:
April 2005


Patrick821

Total Posts: 23

Member Since:
August 2006

No, Patrick is from Sweden and likely schizophrenic. I wouldn't mind seeing the pics of the hookers though.

He can't post them. THe hookers came and went within 5 seconds, he couldn't get the camera out in time..

Who needs hookers when you can stay at home and get off with expensive cable (and I don't mean the adult channels!!) :D

It's not him, it's the Valhalla cables. They can make a $1,000 projector look like a $5,000 projector.

I just wish they would make cables for other household objects.
I'm a little sick of all the cynics and naysayers questioning the Valhalla cables. After I bought the Valhalla's I listened to my system and instantly heard a dramatic increase in my sound quality! Much more dynamic and open. I brought my wife in and she heard a huge difference as well. She asked me what I did and I told heard I just bought Valhalla cables. She looked at me funny and said, "Yes you did, but you didn't install them yet because they'll take 3-5 days for delivery." That's when it dawned on her (she's a bit slower than me) that if my sound system sounds this good BEFORE the Valhalla's are even installed, just imagine how good it will sound AFTER they're installed.

I told you, Valhalla is joshing all of you. He is QQQ on steroids (kidding, I like QQQ known for everything digital video without tweaking. I haven't noticed Valhalla even posting at PS Audio forum, he is way to far out there for them, too.

You guys love giving sh_t at tweakers. Valhalla really knows how to BS and get your rods going, thats all it is.
Of course he's joking us all. Did you watch his YouTube video? He is supposed to be from Sweden, but all his connections appear to be 115 volt.

EDIT: Actually, on further review, he is in Europe. I pray he's not serious about putting paper in his equipment and batteries as weight. I really hope he's playing this gag as straight as possible.

Skeptics like to make jokes and stuff because laughing is their way of ignoring the truth. But eventually their laughter wears out and the only thing left is truth staring straight at them. They don't know what to do so they get all quiet.

First comes the laughter and then comes the quietness. I have seen this so many times. Before it was fun to see their reaction when showing the proof but it has become boring now so why bother. I could show Harvester blind test video with 100% accuracy, but the difference is so huge that it's a waste of time making the video.

Skeptics want to live in their dream world and if I take their laughter away they don't know what to do when faced with the truth. Then they will start to behave irrationally and will find other ways to ignore the truth instead. Most of the time the only way for truth to go away is to eliminate the messenger, but it only works temporarily. Eventually they will be faced with truth once again and in the end they have destroyed the whole Universe. You see, if I show the truth I get bullet in head and the skeptic will begin his rampage. I don't want to be responsible for the end of the Universe if I post the Harvester blind test video.

THese quotes are the ones that get me...

I was hearing more surface transient speed

I love that stuff. It means nothing buy sounds cool.

Valhalla,

There is no way in hell you'll ever get me to believe your serious. If you're a serious audiophile then why:


is your room completely untreated. Worse yet, it's nothing but plywood and drywall
in your YouTube video ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgsR4TiBwug ) at 3:14 into it, your outlet is covered in black tape.
if paper makes such a huge difference, why doesn't PSAudio and every other manufacturer wrapping their power cords in paper. In fact, they'd be using "special colored paper" with magical properties that would make the sound difference so dramatic you'd wonder why you ever bought one of their previous $1,000+ cables.


Your good at playing the part of "crazy audiophile" and it's amusing - but it might get you banned.

No chance you were in the military ValhallaPC?

THese quotes are the ones that get me...

I was hearing more surface transient speed

I love that stuff. It means nothing buy sounds cool.

I must say that while I do not agree with too much that he says and I do admit to poking fun at him, ValhallaPC articulates his "observations" very well. Despite the endless jeers I and others make of him he has never been course or offensive to anyone (as far as I can remember) and for this I must commend him.

As for his quotes, I think he would do well as a marketer for any number of accessory manufacturers in the Hi-Fi world.

Dizzman, you have also added a great quote that could be applied to a few products in the Hi-Fi/AV world, "It means nothing but sounds cool" thats pure PR gold! :)

THese quotes are the ones that get me...

I was hearing more surface transient speed

I love that stuff. It means nothing buy sounds cool.

I love the one's about speaker cable break-in periods. As if the electrons fail to pass high-end and detailed sound information until you've broken them in for a month or two.

How do they sound? Very bright, very dull, and just right. What, you say?! This is exactly what I heard during the break-in period. The cables went from being bright to sounding a bit dull to being just right, over the course of a couple weeks or so of break-in
http://www.positive-feedback.com/ambackissues/JPSSuperconductor+.htm

Once I had the Sunny cables broken in and running full bore in my system, the first thing I noticed was dynamics in the lower midrange and upper bass region.
http://www.stereotimes.com/cable040405.shtml

I get such a kick because they've never taken any before and after measurements showing such a big difference in sound. As some other AVS'r pointed out in another forum, if you could test the difference in frequency response every power cord and speaker cable company would be showing the difference between their cable and generic cable. And if people could ACTUALLY hear any difference between cables they'd be promoting that as well. But they don't - and the reason is obvious.

THese quotes are the ones that get me...

I was hearing more surface transient speed

I love that stuff. It means nothing buy sounds cool.
In trance albums there are transients at different depths. The blacker the background is the more apparent the low-level detail is. In a system with problems you only hear the detail on the top, you hear the surface. When low-level detail is gone the surface is both emphasized and edgy at the same time. The edginess makes it sound sharp. The attack and decay are gone which makes transients thinner, it gives the illusion of more speed. So what you get is more surface transient speed.

The more problems you fix the deeper you hear into the recording. New worlds of detail start opening up with every tweak.

if paper makes such a huge difference, why doesn't PSAudio and every other manufacturer wrapping their power cords in paper. In fact, they'd be using "special colored paper" with magical properties that would make the sound difference so dramatic you'd wonder why you ever bought one of their previous $1,000+ cables.
.


Well actually the folks at BS Audio do speak of the wonders of the paper, and green markers and ungrounded systems. So they are all in the same camp of crap.

I get such a kick because they've never taken any before and after measurements showing such a big difference in sound. As some other AVS'r pointed out in another forum, if you could test the difference in frequency response every power cord and speaker cable company would be showing the difference between their cable and generic cable. And if people could ACTUALLY hear any difference between cables they'd be promoting that as well. But they don't - and the reason is obvious.
Same data, different waveform... Computer doesn't have ears...

Burn-in is a combination of many things. New cable sounds edgy and bright the first 5 hours because of the connectors, but then it sounds muddy because the conductors need 3-4 days of burn-in. It made the biggest improvement in transparency I have ever heard!
Here's my burn-in experiment: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?p=2620914#post2620914

Valhalla,

There is no way in hell you'll ever get me to believe your serious. If you're a serious audiophile then why:


is your room completely untreated. Worse yet, it's nothing but plywood and drywall
I'm using AKG K1000 earspeakers. It's better than 1 million worth of room treatments.


in your YouTube video ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgsR4TiBwug ) at 3:14 into it, your outlet is covered in black tape.

Screws are bad for resonances, I have my outlet taped to the wall instead.


if paper makes such a huge difference, why doesn't PSAudio and every other manufacturer wrapping their power cords in paper. In fact, they'd be using "special colored paper" with magical properties that would make the sound difference so dramatic you'd wonder why you ever bought one of their previous $1,000+ cables.

My PS Audio GCC-100 amp had a sheet of ERS Paper already inside when I bought a modded unit from UnderwoodHiFi. I removed some of the ERS and wrapped it around Valhalla and noticed a difference. That's why I bought another 32 sheets of it. I was surprised how huge the improvements were after I had used up half of the paper. When putting ERS inside the chassis the high frequencies got crazy fast. When wrapping around Power Plant and Valhalla power cords the deep bass got crazy sharp. The improvement in resolution was crazy!


Your good at playing the part of "crazy audiophile" and it's amusing - but it might get you banned.
Crazy are those who don't want better sound.

I'm using AKG K1000 earspeakers.
...
Screws are bad for resonances, I have my outlet taped to the wall instead.
...
Crazy are those who don't want better sound.
Since you're NOT using a standalone sub or speakers, are you worried the AKG K1000 earspeakers are going to be shaking your room?

You are freakin' hilarious - and I mean that in a very positive way. :)

you talk of real life and listen to trance.

Trance music is all electronic, so it cannot sound like real life as those sounds do not exist in real life.

And you are talking about things that the recording engineer put in, but since he is working off a pair of genelec powered speakers being fed analog from his NEVE or SSL console or more likely the back of his Mac... how can he hear all the things that are only apparent once one spends a fortune on power cables (he used the one that came in the box) and papers to treat the cables (the only papers he likely is using say ZIG ZAG on them) then how are you hearing anything other than an accident?

Since you're NOT using a standalone sub or speakers, are you worried the AKG K1000 earspeakers are going to be shaking your room?

You are freakin' hilarious - and I mean that in a very positive way. :)
I can feel vibrations from the floor. With my old computer table the aluminum legs started resonating which amplified the noise and made it audible. It sounded like the vibration noise came from everywhere. When I replaced the table the noise went away.

you talk of real life and listen to trance.

Trance music is all electronic, so it cannot sound like real life as those sounds do not exist in real life.

And you are talking about things that the recording engineer put in, but since he is working off a pair of genelec powered speakers being fed analog from his NEVE or SSL console or more likely the back of his Mac... how can he hear all the things that are only apparent once one spends a fortune on power cables (he used the one that came in the box) and papers to treat the cables (the only papers he likely is using say ZIG ZAG on them) then how are you hearing anything other than an accident?
The engineer can hear each sound separately before he mixes them together... Playing back two sounds at once requires a much higher quality system, otherwise the sounds blend together.
The more complex the sound is the better the system needs to be to hear it properly. If you just have a single tone, then there is no difference at all between systems. But if the tone switches fast between different frequencies, then you need a good system.

The hardest thing is to show the lows and highs at the same time without them blending together, but Valhalla can show it because of the silver plating. It gives colored sound, but it's colored to the better, Valhalla separates the sounds so much that it's unreal!
In my trance albums there are 10+ sounds playing at once and Valhalla can show it.

I get such a kick because they've never taken any before and after measurements showing such a big difference in sound. As some other AVS'r pointed out in another forum, if you could test the difference in frequency response every power cord and speaker cable company would be showing the difference between their cable and generic cable. And if people could ACTUALLY hear any difference between cables they'd be promoting that as well. But they don't - and the reason is obvious.

Measurements are outside the relm if religion and totally unnecessary as a requisite for belief. Breath, on the other hand, is necessary for life, you might save yours here. :D

Art

Playing back two sounds at once requires a much higher quality system

Like a touch tone phone?

Like a touch tone phone?
If you add multiple single tones of different frequencies together the sound is changing too slow. It's sort of like the noise from multiple harddrives screwed into a computer case. It develops a new sound but it isn't complex.
In real life the sound of each material has a different combination of frequencies. All of them have their own resonant frequency... It is very complex but skeptics think it is easy. They think they can use test tones to measure the audio system! :eek:

You're running out of material, eh? ;)

Is this guy (Valhalla PC) for real? I have rarely read, found, see so much zeal into a descent to utter madness..

He is totally serious. Read all his post on head-fi, sad and hilarious at the same time!

Are you insane if you argue with the insane?

Are you insane if you argue with the insane?

What is it called when a bunch of somebodies "friends" all confront the person to make them admit they have a problem?' I am not sure of the term used to describe this, is it an intervention maybe?

I feel we may be too late with ValhallaPC but if we believe in ourselves we may be able to bring him back!! Perhaps an exorcism of some kind?

:)

Skeptics think the improvement from tweaks is very subtle, it is not. The more you keep tweaking the bigger the improvements become, because less weaknesses are left.

When I was a newbie I couldn't hear any difference from my first 2 purchases, the first one was Audigy2 to EMU0404 source upgrade, I had my Sennheiser HD590 headphones plugged into the sound card. Then I bought my first amp (Corda HA-1) and didn't hear a difference. I tried to focus very hard and heard no differences! But then I changed headphones to AKG K501 and heard a difference! I upgraded my amp to Graham Slee Solo and heard a difference in bass. I bought Valhalla interconnect and plugged into soundcard and heard a subtle difference, but it sounded too cold. I upgraded the source to Benchmark DAC1 and then the real improvements came!

Then I upgraded to AKG K1000 and a high-end Krell power amp. It sounded very bright and cold, I couldn't listen to any music that had vocals in it because of the sibilance, when I bought music I checked that they didn't have vocals in it, it was that bad. Power conditioning helped a lot but didn't fully remove it. It was a horrible time and I covered up the brightness with Mullard tubes for half a year. But then I fixed the final problems with vibration isolation, no more tubes were needed anymore, solid-state sounded warmer and smoother than tubes ever sounded.

Now if I plug my Cary transport into the wall I feel physical pain in my ears because of the brightness, the difference is that big. When I plug the Cary back into P300 Power Plant with MWave4, it's too warm. If that isn't night and day, I don't know what is. When I change from MWave4 to MWave1 I hear huge differences, when I plug Harvester into wall I hear even bigger differences. When I remove Harvester from wall I can hear the bass draining away within a few minutes and the sibilance appears, it's pretty cool.

I have tweaked my Valhalla cables for the greatest transparency, if I remove a tweak it's going to sound too bright. And if I add another tweak it sounds too warm. If there is synergy in the system then anything you do will ruin it, you need to do years of tweaking and write megabytes of logs to know how to compensate for a tweak.

Skeptics think the improvement from tweaks is very subtle, it is not. The more you keep tweaking the bigger the improvements become, because less weaknesses are left.

When I was a newbie I couldn't hear any difference from my first 2 purchases, the first one was Audigy2 to EMU0404 source upgrade, I had my Sennheiser HD590 headphones plugged into the sound card. Then I bought my first amp (Corda HA-1) and didn't hear a difference. I tried to focus very hard and heard no differences! But then I changed headphones to AKG K501 and heard a difference! I upgraded my amp to Graham Slee Solo and heard a difference in bass. I bought Valhalla interconnect and plugged into soundcard and heard a subtle difference, but it sounded too cold. I upgraded the source to Benchmark DAC1 and then the real improvements came!

Then I upgraded to AKG K1000 and a high-end Krell power amp. It sounded very bright and cold, I couldn't listen to any music that had vocals in it because of the sibilance, when I bought music I checked that they didn't have vocals in it, it was that bad. Power conditioning helped a lot but didn't fully remove it. It was a horrible time and I covered up the brightness with Mullard tubes for half a year. But then I fixed the final problems with vibration isolation, no more tubes were needed anymore, solid-state sounded warmer and smoother than tubes ever sounded.

Now if I plug my Cary transport into the wall I feel physical pain in my ears because of the brightness, the difference is that big. When I plug the Cary back into P300 Power Plant with MWave4, it's too warm. If that isn't night and day, I don't know what is. When I change from MWave4 to MWave1 I hear huge differences, when I plug Harvester into wall I hear even bigger differences. When I remove Harvester from wall I can hear the bass draining away within a few minutes and the sibilance appears, it's pretty cool.

I have tweaked my Valhalla cables for the greatest transparency, if I remove a tweak it's going to sound too bright. And if I add another tweak it sounds too warm. If there is synergy in the system then anything you do will ruin it, you need to do years of tweaking and write megabytes of logs to know how to compensate for a tweak.

:rolleyes:

Audiophilia is a very safe hobby for me, it keeps me from getting into trouble...

When I was 3 years old I was already hanging out in bars, when I was 4 years old I was breaking into houses and stuff, when I was 5 years old I was stalking girls. When I was 6 years old I was speeding with car, I was in passenger seat and told the driver (in prison now) to speed up, I liked it, after 200+ km/h he slowed down because he saw police car, I just wanted to keep on going faster, but he didn't listen. Later I wanted to get a motorcycle but for some reason I never got one.

I remember I was fighting against kids in kindergarten (I took a couple Karate lessons), I don't remember if they started bleeding or not. I was showing them my penis too. I was urinating in gym class and in my bed. I was urinating on the stones in sauna too, the house smelled for weeks.

I was skiing too extreme so the skis broke in half. I was walking uphill in the middle of the road over the white lines and dodging cars. I was climbing houses and trees to see how far up I could go.

I was already cheating in sports when 5 years old, I was doing orienteering and mother would hide in the bushes after the start and run the track with me until the end, then I ran the last hundred meters by myself, I was winning gold medals.

I couldn't even wipe my own butt before I was gambling on video poker machines. I had to stand on top of the chair to insert the coins though.

When I was 7 years old I wasn't extreme anymore, the extremeness had worn out and I transformed into sissy girl and I was hiding stuff inside my closet instead. In the next 7 years when in school I didn't do anything, then I quit school and found the Internet and got banned from every forum for using extreme language.

I have locked myself up in my room now because I'm scared to go outside because men in suits will see me do extreme things, I don't like to get holes in my skin from bullets. When I was 4 years old I was already breaking the "law" but now I'm forced to do things I don't want to do. I have chosen audiophilia as my hobby because it doesn't have any laws set (rules are for sissy girls), especially with tweaks and stuff. I can try them all without worrying about the suits coming to get me. If I had chosen another hobby then there would have been a problem. If I would have been in the army I would already be dead from setting off all the bombs. If I would have been a race car driver I would have crashed into buildings. If I had been a skydiver I would have fallen out to space.

Audiophilia is a very safe hobby for me, it's just sitting in chair and listening. Even if something blows up it isn't that dangerous, I only had some minor injuries from tweaking my audio system. But when I was tweaking my mountainbike I got a big scar from slipping with the wrench when changing pedals, I could see the bone so I had to tape the skin together, I had to use lots of tape to stop the bleeding. With audiophilia I only got a few burns from soldering and something growing inside throat from the toxic fumes (I tweaked all day), I still have problems with my voice, I can't make stronger voice so I sound like sissy girl. You can hear in my Youtube (http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=Patrick821) videos. I have developed my own accent because it is less fatiguing like that. I have also made my own walking technique (http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showpost.php?p=2601799&postcount=271) because after locking up myself in my room my body has got so weak that I develop lactic acid after 2 seconds. I don't comb my hair anymore because it is too fatiguing, I just shave it off twice a year.

When I was 7 years old I wasn't extreme anymore, the extremeness had worn out and I transformed into sissy girl and I was hiding stuff inside my closet instead.


PLEASE don't ever open that closet.

Audiophilia- well at least you have a name for it now.. :rolleyes:


(note to Bruzonsky- give it up, we've outed you now, please revert back to your nomal posting self) :eek: :D

:rolleyes:

See how smart this dude is. He doesn't bother arguing, just rolls his eyes. :)

PLEASE don't ever open that closet.

Audiophilia- well at least you have a name for it now.. :rolleyes:


(note to Bruzonsky- give it up, we've outed you now, please revert back to your nomal posting self) :eek: :D


HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

And here I thought Curt is my friend? (He is)!!!!

What would you folks do if you didn't have ValhallaPC to roll your eyes at
(heck, even I do that).

The real question is, which forum personality is actually ValhallaPC? Has to be someone using their real name. Like Curt, me, Art, Mark, etc.

I wonder if ValhallaPC posts on any web political forums.

I wonder if ValhallaPC is Borat into home theater?

Have you tried Bybee filters? Where will you rank it in your ranking structure?

I have tried ERS cloth. I think it is great. However, I think you have put too much ERS cloth on your gear. It is best for power and digital circuits. You may not want it to be close to the analog signal.

My upgrades

1 = Noticeable improvement
10 = Night and day

July 2005

Valhalla power cord for Krell KAV-500i = 15
High Current Ultimate Outlet between wall and Power Plants = 5
QuickSilver on everything = 15?
QuickSilver on fuses = 2
MultiWave II+ for source = 5
xStream Statement between wall and Power Plants = 60
44.1 kHz to 768 kHz = 5
MultiWave II and II+ for amp = 20
Solid-Tech isolation = 100
QuickSilver GOLD upgrade = 5
Valhalla between wall and Power Plants + hardwired = 60
Hifi-Tuning Gold fuse = 1
Nordost Solar Wind 1 conductor + remove PCB = 220
Nordost Valkyrja 1 conductor = 140 (360 compared to Stefan AudioArt)
PS Audio GCC-100 = 200?
Cary 303/300 as transport for DAC-1 = 500
Modded Valhalla power cord (2+2+1) for DAC1, and computer as transport (Valhalla and Power Plant) = 5000
Computer to Cary transport. From 2 to 1 Power Plant. 2 conductor Valhalla power cord for amp. Extra isolation step. Cary from 3 to 0 isolation = -200 (less detail but more neutral?)
Valhalla digital XLR = 5?
Valhalla power cord 2 to 1 conductor for DAC1 = 100
Valhalla power cord 3 to 2 conductors for Cary = 5
Valkyrja internal wiring for CD player = 5
Valkyrja speaker cable hardwire into PCB = 380
Valkyrja input signal wire for amp, from 24 AWG to 22 AWG = -3
Modded Valhalla interconnect 1 conductor = 1 000 000
Brilliant Pebbles Mini = 0.05
Bypass fuses amp = 80
Bypass fuses Cary transport = 2?
Shortening Valhalla power cords = 1
Disconnecting ground of DAC1 = 0.5?
Valhalla power cord 2 to 1 conductors for Cary = 5
Valhalla power cord 3 to 2 conductors for wall = 1
4step to 5step isolation for DAC1 = 1200
Hardwired into Power Plant = 5?
ERS Paper full coverage = 2 000 000+
Valhalla interconnect XLR + hardwire = 1 300 000
Valhalla interconnect dedicated shield ground = 3 000 000
Noise Harvester + tweaks to compensate = 10 000 000

January 2007

Numbers are only accurate when based on the order the upgrades were made.

Have you tried Bybee filters? Where will you rank it in your ranking structure?
I don't want to put anything in front of the signal path other than Valhalla cable.




I have tried ERS cloth. I think it is great. However, I think you have put too much ERS cloth on your gear. It is best for power and digital circuits. You may not want it to be close to the analog signal.
It was the opposite with me. I got the best improvements from analog signals, I heard more transparency and crazy highs. ERS Paper is revealing more of the cables that's why. Others complain it makes it sound dull and lifeless because they use muddy cables in the first place. But with Valhalla I heard more of the silver plating, I heard cleaner sound.
The ERS Paper needs to be separated a couple cm from the cables, otherwise it sounds muddy. But if nothing is touching the cable, there are no weaknesses. I never heard any weaknesses no matter how much ERS Paper I used!

[QUOTE=ValhallaPC

....more transparency and crazy highs. ![/QUOTE]

Funny, a meth head that I met on skid row told me the same thing..

I took some pictures with my old camera, my newer camera is dead from tweaking.

I can't get better focus than this. This camera has only 3 settings for focus, I used the one that had a flower icon.

http://poollogics.is-a-geek.net/pictures/forum4/System/Harvester/all.JPG

http://poollogics.is-a-geek.net/pictures/forum4/System/Harvester/yellow.box.JPG

http://poollogics.is-a-geek.net/pictures/forum4/System/Harvester/top.JPG

Valhalla, did you cryo the circuit board in your digital camera? Have you noticed how clear your photos are? Like HD resolution!

Valhalla, did you cryo the circuit board in your digital camera? Have you noticed how clear your photos are? Like HD resolution!No, I'm a skeptic because then I don't need to spend money on it. I don't care about picture quality anyway because it doesn't look like real life no matter how much I spend, I'm using a $200 display for my computer, as long as I'm able to read text properly it's good enough.
But with audio it is possible to make it sound like real life so I spend all my money on it.

I took some pictures with my old camera, my newer camera is dead from tweaking.

I can't get better focus than this. This camera has only 3 settings for focus, I used the one that had a flower icon.

http://poollogics.is-a-geek.net/pictures/forum4/System/Harvester/all.JPG

http://poollogics.is-a-geek.net/pictures/forum4/System/Harvester/yellow.box.JPG

http://poollogics.is-a-geek.net/pictures/forum4/System/Harvester/top.JPG

Did you crack that sucker open by throwing it against a wall? :rolleyes:

No, I'm a skeptic because then I don't need to spend money on it. I don't care about picture quality anyway because it doesn't look like real life no matter how much I spend, I'm using a $200 display for my computer, as long as I'm able to read text properly it's good enough.
But with audio it is possible to make it sound like real life so I spend all my money on it.


Look, he's talking to himself now.

Audiophilia is a very safe hobby for me, it keeps me from getting into trouble...

When I was 3 years old I was already hanging out in bars, when I was 4 years old I was breaking into houses and stuff, when I was 5 years old I was stalking girls. When I was 6 years old I was speeding with car, I was in passenger seat and told the driver (in prison now) to speed up, I liked it, after 200+ km/h he slowed down because he saw police car, I just wanted to keep on going faster, but he didn't listen. Later I wanted to get a motorcycle but for some reason I never got one.

I remember I was fighting against kids in kindergarten (I took a couple Karate lessons), I don't remember if they started bleeding or not. I was showing them my penis too. I was urinating in gym class and in my bed. I was urinating on the stones in sauna too, the house smelled for weeks.

I was skiing too extreme so the skis broke in half. I was walking uphill in the middle of the road over the white lines and dodging cars. I was climbing houses and trees to see how far up I could go.

I was already cheating in sports when 5 years old, I was doing orienteering and mother would hide in the bushes after the start and run the track with me until the end, then I ran the last hundred meters by myself, I was winning gold medals.

I couldn't even wipe my own butt before I was gambling on video poker machines. I had to stand on top of the chair to insert the coins though.

When I was 7 years old I wasn't extreme anymore, the extremeness had worn out and I transformed into sissy girl and I was hiding stuff inside my closet instead. In the next 7 years when in school I didn't do anything, then I quit school and found the Internet and got banned from every forum for using extreme language.

I have locked myself up in my room now because I'm scared to go outside because men in suits will see me do extreme things, I don't like to get holes in my skin from bullets. When I was 4 years old I was already breaking the "law" but now I'm forced to do things I don't want to do. I have chosen audiophilia as my hobby because it doesn't have any laws set (rules are for sissy girls), especially with tweaks and stuff. I can try them all without worrying about the suits coming to get me. If I had chosen another hobby then there would have been a problem. If I would have been in the army I would already be dead from setting off all the bombs. If I would have been a race car driver I would have crashed into buildings. If I had been a skydiver I would have fallen out to space.

Audiophilia is a very safe hobby for me, it's just sitting in chair and listening. Even if something blows up it isn't that dangerous, I only had some minor injuries from tweaking my audio system. But when I was tweaking my mountainbike I got a big scar from slipping with the wrench when changing pedals, I could see the bone so I had to tape the skin together, I had to use lots of tape to stop the bleeding. With audiophilia I only got a few burns from soldering and something growing inside throat from the toxic fumes (I tweaked all day), I still have problems with my voice, I can't make stronger voice so I sound like sissy girl. You can hear in my Youtube (http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=Patrick821) videos. I have developed my own accent because it is less fatiguing like that. I have also made my own walking technique (http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showpost.php?p=2601799&postcount=271) because after locking up myself in my room my body has got so weak that I develop lactic acid after 2 seconds. I don't comb my hair anymore because it is too fatiguing, I just shave it off twice a year.

^ Is this movie material or what!? :p

I'm hearing unbelievable detail and transparency now, no problem with bass! Yesterday I did a few things to my computer and have no idea which one was the reason for the improved sound, so I list them all. I wasn't expecting any improvement in the first place, it just appeared.






Extra rubber bands for isolation feet needed a couple days to break in.


I moved all music to a dedicated harddrive. I changed my RAID0 setup from 2 drives to 4 drives (my 2 drive array was 50+% fragmented, my 4 drive array is 5% fragmented). Before I was using 3 drives in my computer, now I'm using 5 drives. It increased the wattage with about 25watts which gave more internal power supply switching noise. The current draw of Valhalla cables to the wall has increased as well so the whole audio system is affected.


Turned off computer without turning off audio system (different combination of burn-in).


Didn't listen to my system for over a day (normally I listen many times a day).


Used a different album to keep my system burned in.


Didn't train my muscles for over a day (normally I train 2-4 times a day).


Ate a loaf of bread and butter within 18 hours (there was nothing else to eat).


It started snowing and temperature went from 0 to -5.5 degrees Celsius, it hasn't been this cold for a year. Inside temperature dropped from 20.5 to 19.5 degrees. Window was open when I was sleeping and when I woke up the room was very cold. I closed the window and went to bed with K1000 and watched a couple episodes of Prison Break season 2, the sound was clearer than season 1 which I finished a week earlier. Afterwards I turned on music and was shocked of the low-level detail.





The biggest improvement came from computer. But I'm also surprised that my Cary transport sounds a little better too, I'm hearing the "snowy weather" sound signature but with little more detail from the removal of bass because of more current draw through the Valhalla cable from the wall. It's like making the power cord a little thinner again.

I'm hearing combinations of many things now. The colder temperature should have given less low-level detail but it didn't, something else is the reason for that. The extra current draw from two more harddrives could be the reason, there is not too much bass anymore. I'm hearing more potential from the computer now (plugged into Ultimate Oulet), the transients sound a little broken but it seems that Premier Power Plant would fix that.
When I turned on my Cary transport (connected to P300 Power Plant) it sounded perfect for a couple minutes until I started hearing bass problems, that's a good sign, normally I have something to complain about from the start.

I'm still hearing the "Harvester bassy wall" signature so I know it's still working. I'm also hearing the "extra rubber bands for isolation feet" signature as well, but it sounds like the rubber bands are more stretched now so it causes me to hear more low-level detail. The stiffer the rubber bands are the more the midrange is emphasized.

Computer has unbelievable speed, background is blacker than ever. I can't believe the quiet sounds I'm hearing! Bass is in background like the way I want it, but with Cary it is in front. My transports sound the opposite now!

Computer sounds very different now, I'm hearing more midrange low-level detail, but the bass detail is reduced which makes bass sound cleaner and tighter. I'm hearing more broken surface transient speed but with more midrange low-level detail.
It seems that the internal switching noise of the power supply gives better sound than the noise from the wall, because there is less noise for the amp and DAC. This increases the low-level detail which is more apparent in the midrange.

I like to keep the transport a little jittery to get the illusion of more blackness and transparency. I like the "hairy" sound of the computer as well, the transients are that thin and the rest of the system needs to be good enough to hear it. But I haven't heard the hairiness anymore since I stopped using P300 Power Plant for computer. Today I'm hearing more potential from computer than ever before. It seems like I would like computer more than my 10 times more expensive transport because computer is hairier with less bass. I need to fix bass of Cary somehow, it is using the output transformer of P300 Power Plant, that must be it. Before I got the Harvester my Cary sounded almost perfect with too little bass and too much blackness, computer sounded heavier, smoother, warmer and more dull, I couldn't believe it! It was from the unmodded Valhalla power cord.

Now the Cary sounds a little too heavy with the Harvester plugged into the wall, and the computer sounds too thin after adding a couple more harddrives. The difference between my gear has always been a tweak or two apart.

I know why we are all here, they got rid of most of the carnival side shows a long time ago it was considered cruel.

Art

I know why we are all here, they got rid of most of the carnival side shows a long time ago it was considered cruel.

Art
There's just no way I can believe this guy is serious with such classic statements like:
Extra rubber bands for isolation feet needed a couple days to break in.

Wow, the guy is listening to 128kpbs mp3s from a computer through headphones...but he's got uber expensive power cables wrapped with paper that make it all magically sound better. You just can't argue with that kind of thinking.

I know why we are all here, they got rid of most of the carnival side shows a long time ago it was considered cruel.

Art

Sadly, there still exists a modern day "freak show" and it is sadly quite popular here in the UK, I will not mention it's name since that would take this thread to new, as yet unimaginable new lows but it is on TV every evening at the moment. :(

ValhallaPC could do a weekly "tweakcast" with step by step guides, theories of audio and best of all his very own "truth vs. well established science round up". I can think of two companies who could sponsor him. :p

I think it is a two way thing, we need ValhallaPC and he needs us! :)

There's just no way I can believe this guy is serious with such classic statements like:
Extra rubber bands for isolation feet needed a couple days to break in.
I didn't say it was the reason for the better sound.

The rubber bands stretch over time, all my gear were suspended deeper after a month. When installing fresh rubber bands it takes a few days for it to stretch into position, afterwards they don't stretch as much.

http://www.solid-tech.net/images/300/iso6.jpg

Sadly, there still exists a modern day "freak show" and it is sadly quite popular here in the UK, I will not mention it's name since that would take this thread to new, as yet unimaginable new lows but it is on TV every evening at the moment. :(
You guys can't think he's serious. He's just playing everyone. Do you really think he bought a second PS Audio Harvester just to break it open? I doubt Valhalla is independently wealthy, lives in an apartment with black tape on the outlets, and has money to blow on hi-end exotic equipment so he can listen through his headphones, with no speakers.

If he's not joking, he will be very upset when a friend comes over with a $1900 Marantz SACD player with a headphone jack on the front and he is given a blind test and can't hear the difference between his setup and the standalone player.
http://us.marantz.com/SA-15S1prodlarge.gif

Temperature outside has dropped from -5.5 to -7.5, it feels a little colder inside too but measurement device in corner hasn't updated itself (it isn't in the path of airflow).

I'm hearing whiter and blacker sound now, very analytical and cold now. The sibilance has started to bother me a bit, I had no problems an hour ago. Bass from Cary has reduced again and it sounds tighter, colder temperature does this.
It is unbelievable I'm still getting more detail than yesterday. Harvester plugged into wall is compensating for colder ambient temperature!

I think the ambient temperature made most of the difference, if this is true then the summer will be a problem. :( How to compensate for the summer? :confused: My PSU isn't strong enough to handle more harddrives to boost up the wattage draw from Valhalla cable.

You guys can't think he's serious. He's just playing everyone. Do you really think he bought a second PS Audio Harvester just to break it open? I doubt Valhalla is independently wealthy, lives in an apartment with black tape on the outlets, and has money to blow on hi-end exotic equipment so he can listen through his headphones, with no speakers.

If he's not joking, he will be very upset when a friend comes over with a $900 Denon universal player with a headphone jack on the front and he is given a blind test and can't hear the difference between his setup and the standalone player.

You could be right but if he is some guy who is putting all this on, to go to the lengths he has (setting up that "room" that he apparently lives in that can be seen in his photos for example) well that would be far more disturbing to me than if he is for real!

Who can say for sure but it would be hard to argue against the contention that there are some serious abnormalities with ValhallaPC's lifestyle. :)

Then again, who's perfect. :rolleyes:

Temperature outside has dropped from -5.5 to -7.5, it feels a little colder inside too but measurement device in corner hasn't updated itself (it isn't in the path of airflow).

I'm hearing whiter and blacker sound now, very analytical and cold now.

...

How to compensate for the summer? :confused:
I LOVE THIS GUY! LOL! :D

Skeptic! :D

You guys can't think he's serious. He's just playing everyone. Do you really think he bought a second PS Audio Harvester just to break it open? I doubt Valhalla is independently wealthy, lives in an apartment with black tape on the outlets, and has money to blow on hi-end exotic equipment so he can listen through his headphones, with no speakers.
I'm very poor and spend all my money on audio. I saved for half a year to buy a 5 pack of Harvesters. Mailman broke the Harvester, I took a gamble and tried to fix it myself because I didn't have enough money to send it back until after a month. I did some soldering and the circuit board traces came loose, if it wasn't broken, it is now. I don't need more than 4 Harvesters anyway. I only need 1.



Year 2005

http://poollogics.is-a-geek.net/pictures/forum2/568_fridge.(2005.09.06).jpg

http://poollogics.is-a-geek.net/pictures/forum2/568_freezer.(2005.09.06).jpg




Year 2006

http://poollogics.is-a-geek.net/pictures/forum2/fridge.and.freezer.(2006.06.18).JPG




Year 2007

http://poollogics.is-a-geek.net/pictures/forum2/fridge.and.freezer.(2007.01.21).JPG
I was eating that blue box of butter.



If he's not joking, he will be very upset when a friend comes over with a $1900 Marantz SACD player with a headphone jack on the front and he is given a blind test and can't hear the difference between his setup and the standalone player.
Many believe Redbook is better than SACD.

Edit: They should integrate SACD into ICEpower amp and synchronize the 300+ kHz signal. You know, like computer display and games.

And here I thought the people in Darfur had it bad :(

You're KILLING ME! :D

My co-workers are wondering why I'm laughing in my office. Valhalla has a great sense of humor. Like anyone takes an annual picture of their fridge. Classic - truely classic! I recommend keeping the fridge open for that "whiter and blacker and, very analytical sound".

I was eating that blue box of butter.
Probably the funniest thing I've read this year. :D

You ask yourself how much more out there can he get... and he does. Every single freakin time!

This time I went to bed with the window closed, there is still some cold air coming through the gap though.

It is -3.5 degrees Celcius outside and 20.0 degrees inside. Half degree higher inside temperature than yesterday, my thermometer is very slow though. My body is still little cold but I'm hearing WARM sound! I can't believe the night and day difference temperature makes for the audio system!
I'm hearing the same detail but in a different flavor, the detail doesn't draw attention to itself anymore, everything is very smooth. Sibilance is gone, whiteness and fake blackness is gone. It sounds kind of dull compared to yesterday. I'm hearing too much bass again! I liked the sound of 19.5 C inside temperature instead. :(
I need to build a temperature controlled box for my audio system.



I'm still hearing the extra detail. I have excluded most of my list and these are left:



Extra rubber bands for isolation feet needed a couple days to break in.


I moved all music to a dedicated harddrive. I changed my RAID0 setup from 2 drives to 4 drives (my 2 drive array was 50+% fragmented, my 4 drive array is 5% fragmented). Before I was using 3 drives in my computer, now I'm using 5 drives. It increased the wattage with about 25watts which gave more internal power supply switching noise. The current draw of Valhalla cables to the wall has increased as well so the whole audio system is affected.


Turned off computer without turning off audio system (different combination of burn-in).

Just this morning I woke up and found my oil heater had broken. The house was a frigid 22° F. I called the my oil company and while waiting I turned on my audio system. The detail BLEW me away. Highs hung in the air like angles singing, bass was so defined and articulate I thought the drummer was in the room with me.

When the oil man came I sent him away. I have heard audio nirvana and their is no going back. I've ordered the Feet of Silence. I'm happily wrapped up in my blankets listening to music right now.

Thank you Valhalla for showing me the light! The truth wins again!

Just this morning I woke up and found my oil heater had broken. The house was a frigid 22° F. I called the my oil company and while waiting I turned on my audio system. The detail BLEW me away. Highs hung in the air like angles singing, bass was so defined and articulate I thought the drummer was in the room with me.

When the oil man came I sent him away. I have heard audio nirvana and their is no going back. I've ordered the Feet of Silence. I'm happily wrapped up in my blankets listening to music right now.

Thank you Valhalla for showing me the light! The truth wins again!

Heating the house with oil has too many weaknesses.

As you reach the bottom of the tank you encounter sediment which effects temperature. Oil burnt with sediment levels creates fluctuating heat and pressure in your home. This prevents audio equipment from settling down and slows the transient surface detail, the sediment corruption creates false attack in the mid-range and slows the delivery of the upper lower mid-bass response.

You also cannot be sure of the source of the crude oil your oil company uses. Oil from different regions can make changes to the sound. Crude from Eastern Europe results in cold sound and damp highs but oil from the Middle East is too warm during the day but can become very cold and harsh at night. Venezwalen oil is more consistent but harder to obtain. Oil has too many weaknesses.

I get heat from my computer processors since the CPU can be overclocked to increase ambient temperature. I can check and adjust room temperature by checking the temps in the BIOS of my computer. CPU companies are making CPU's which run too cool but they do not know the truth.

Standard thermometers are too slow and have many weaknesses! I re-filled my mercury thermometer with molten Valhalla cable but the mercury spilled and poisioned my pet spiders. My hair is falling out and my skin is red & peeling but I cannot afford to go to the hospital because I spent all my money on my audio. Hospitals think they know everything but really know nothing.

I could go on all day but I am sure you have had enough by now!!! :)

I opened up the window and spread the drapes and cold air came flowing inside really fast, I left the room for 15 minutes and the inside temperature had dropped from 20.0° to 19.5° C. After 5 minutes my bed cover was cold and my arms were freezing. My bed is beside the window and my body and K1000 earspeakers are affected first.

My body is shaking and I'm still hearing warm sound, it sounds like the audio system hasn't been affected yet. I'm hearing edginess + muddiness from the K1000 drivers which is hard to hear if it wasn't for the slight lack of detail. Warm system + cold speaker drivers is the worst combination. The drivers need to be warm and the audio system needs to be cold, but everything needs to be burned in 24/7.

The best sound comes from leaving the window open while sleeping and then close it when you wake up. The temperature affects the audio system slower than the body. It sounds like it has a delayed effect. I have heard this for over half a year.

Edit: 30 mins after opening window it's 17° C inside now! Still warm sound. It affects the system very slowly.
I'm hearing edgy + warm sound, it comes from K1000 drivers which was affected fast by the cold air, there is lack of detail as well. Drivers need to be kept warm!! Sauna for headphones and freezer for audio system is the way to go!

My neighbors just came over for an intervention - they keep mumbling they're worried about me freezing to death. Not one of them is an audiophile, so how could they possibly understand. When I explained how the deep cold had increased the sonic performance of my system, someone did say - why not just keep the basement unheated with all my equipment down there, but heat the rest of the house. Since heat rises, the basement will always stay cool.

I told them I need confirmation from Valhalla first, so they unchained me and are letting me write this post. Valhalla - do you think this will work?

I'm still hearing the extra detail. I have excluded most of my list and these are left:
I forgot something in my list!



The Valhalla power cord for computer was touching water cooling tubes and I could feel the vibrations of the Valhalla cable. When I changed the harddrives I adjusted the Valhalla a few cm so it wasn't touching.


A year ago I heard a subtle improvement when I did the same thing, but the difference was so small that I ignored it like I do with all subtle differences, I only care about night and day improvements.

I remember something else I did. A few days earlier I changed the AC connector for Cary transport from Marinco to Wattgate, I didn't hear a difference when I listened. Then I didn't listen to Cary anymore for a few days, I listen mostly to my computer. That could be another reason why Cary and computer sound so different now, but I think it's mostly because of modding the Valhalla thinner for my computer.

Cary still had too much bass when its Valhalla power cord was using Marinco connector, I don't know what the Wattgate improved. It is weird that people spend so much money on connectors that give subtle differences. The only time I heard a difference was when I hardwired the AC cables, but even then it was a very small improvement. When I think about it, 2 years ago when I replaced the old AC outlet in the wall I didn't hear a difference, I thought I would, I cut a hole in the wall for nothing. Another time I was experimenting with power cord sizes (for my old Krell power amp) I tried Marinco and Wattgate and didn't hear a difference, if there was a difference there might have been a little bit more bass, but I wasn't sure.

The conductor makes a huge difference, 78 vs 60 microns silver plating is a night and day difference. Conductor burn-in over 3-4 days made the biggest difference I ever heard.
But connector burn-in just lasted 5 hours. Why do people waste their money on connectors? They should spend it on Harvester instead! Harvester is one of the best values at its price point. The difference it makes is HUGE!

Edit: I have heard huge differences when pasting the connectors with QuickSilver Contact Enhancer, it made it sound too warm and smooth so I stopped using it. I like the edgy sound better.

time to close this one:

it will be sent to the AVS Hall of Fame Archives so it can be preserved forever