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The sound of chassis?

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Gabevee

Gabevee

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Joined 2002
gabevee.tripod.com
#1
Hello all,

I was wondering, has anyone done listening tests with different chassis types, sizes, materials?

How does steel compare with aluminum or brass? Wood? 2 inch high or 3 inch high? 10"X12", vs 14"X19"? Does painting or candy coating make a difference? Do the layers of paint used dampen microphonic vibrations?


Looking forward to your replies!



😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀

Gabe:clown: :crackup:
 
#6
Gabe, try running an amp with the top lid off, and then fit examples of wood, steel and aluminium lids and you will get differing sounds.
Different woods sound different too.
Ime steel is good, copper is good, brass not so good, and aluminium worst for sonics.
Dark hardwoods sound better to my ear than light coloured softwoods.
Mdf or particle board not good sonically for electronics, and some plywoods are ok.

Eric.


Eric.
 
#8
IF ONLY YOU KNEW...

Hi,

Steel is excellent against RFI shielding.

Just use the famous D'haen trick for separating audio ground and enclosure.
The fdgrove copper plates for cooking the audio ground...

Then use the Mr.Feedback carsprings for vibration insulation and you add your own legwork and sonic heaven is in sight.

Some recipe....

Cheers,😉
 
#9
You are serious about that, mrfeedback and that makes me wonder every time.

I tried some of this things and never got a conclusion.

Since i heard much things i associated to voodooland before i think
about the genetic requirements to compare such things - i can´t!

Is it training, the capacity for remembering sounds, the gear or all
of that?

Does this kind of rating sound arise with time or was it there just from the first
listening you did?

The same question goes to Peter!
 
#10
OBELIX

Hi,

It does take a bat's ears to discern the differences between materials.

OTH,Gabe was making a prank :xeye: although some truth has been said between the lines.

I always prefered copper cooking pans.😉

Cheers from Asterix,😉
 
#14
Well,

thats what i mean with serious - you really hear it all!

Bat-eared can be a PITA i imagine - never satisfied and
hard to believe to the average listener.

Time to construct the audiophile hearing aid!

Cheers again (bottle is nearly empty) 😉
 
#15
I have no direct experience with comparisons.

A fellow on the joe-list spent a couple of years breadboarding different circuits on a piece of plywood. When he finally settled on a circuit and built it into a nice metal chassis, he swore it sounded much worse despite being built from all the same parts. He dismantled it and rebuilt it on the plywood.
 
#16
Makes sense,
depending on the circuit, it contaminated the whole room with
radiation but good sound.
In the box it was reflected that it even disturbs the working of
the electronics - makes some sense!

But different wood types that some people hear is more difficult!

Cheers
 
#17
SHEFFIELD STEEL.

Hi,

Hmmm,we are taking this serious then....

Lovely...it's a very interesting topic.

If and when RFI/EMI is not a topic shy away from magnetic enclosures.

I wouldn't even use shielded wire if I wouldn't need it for smaller signals.

In the real world though we need to have some shielding and those interested in video will confirm that not all shielded cables are alike.

For chassis though I think it is good pratice to have some protection against RFI/EMI and separate ground from enclosure as much as possible.

Cheers,😉
 
#18
Wombat said:
You are serious about that, mrfeedback and that makes me wonder every time.

Is it training, the capacity for remembering sounds, the gear or all
of that?

Does this kind of rating sound arise with time or was it there just from the first
listening you did?

The same question goes to Peter!
Click to expand...

In my case it's not training, but rather a bit of practice. I don't try to remember sounds; when I change something in my system I can hear it right away (you know, stuff like changing polarity of AC plug, or adding different platform under my CD player).

Years ago, I wasn't even considering those things and whenever I was reading Stereophile I was envying the reviewers they were able to hear all those differences and nuances. With time I started improving my system, using better and better drivers, spending $600 on crossover parts, upgrading wires and so on.

My first big improvement was when I replaced my Adcom amp with A75. The A75 sounded so good (in 1993) that I built 2 more pairs.

I was changing DACs and players, but never wanted to spend too much, so I was using Audio Alchemy, Monarchy and Sony, Marantz transports. Those units were pretty good, but nothing comparing to really high end stuff. So I also didn't hear that much difference when tweaking and honestly I also didn't bother much.

My next big improvement came when I decided to go crazy and bought Technics X series player/converter combo, which in 1991 was selling for $16,000 CAD. Of course, I bought it used, but still had to shed $4,500. But the improvement over the Monarchy/Sony was amazing. I thought it was as high as hi-end goes and was happy for a while.

Then I moved, was renovating my house and my contact with audio wasn't that big for few years. Just starting with the end of last year, I'm back and more serious than ever. DiyAudio is all I do every day.😉

I started with DAC and CD Pro based player and the difference between my previous DAC is unbelievable. I was using records for some time, but now I don't even think it's worthwile. Aleph 5 was good, But Aleph X is totally new fronteer and this little Gainclone is a contender that can keep it's own ground (even with Alephs😉).

So for me it's obvious and natural progression that now I want to investigate some other variables that can further improve my system. When tweaking my CD transport I found out that the materials of the platforms, spikes, legs, suspention, no suspention, light, no light, sandboxes, even the small coins I placed under the spikes, everything had big influence on the final sound signature. But it was usually very easy to decide which sounded better (just listen to your heart😉).

I'll give you an example here. My DAC is very good sounding in my room. One day I took it to a friend to show him all it's glory. I set it up in his place and we started to listen... and I was quite dissapointed. It sounded like an average japanese player. So I started tweaking, adding different support platforms (2.5" acrylic came very handy) experimented with different feet (I found out that a single spike in front works best) and finally got the sound I wanted. The other guys in a room were happy as well.

So now I also conclude that if the equipment support makes difference in the sound, the chassis will probably make similar differences. My next projects will feature more acrylic and wood and less aluminum. Copper would be nice too, but it's expensive and hard to machine.😉
 
#19
Thanks for this illustration!

Only time can tell if i can go this far. But i find some similarities
in my passion.
I did some listening for mp3 a while ago and there was no doubt about
the problem samples i provided cause i heard it with ease!
Other people i know that are even better in listening than me had
problems with this samples and had to try hard.
So some things catch my ear with ease others have problems and vice versa.
But only this ability made me an audio-junky!

From time to time i test my findings with others and some things come
out as pure nonsense - others not. Luckily i can go to a lab with real
high-end gear (Avantgarde) and test my things against. Also i have a fellow
i call often and we seem to be able to describe some things exactly the way we
hear it - this trains me further.

I am in the position to qualify cables, OPs and CDRs meanwhile - before this
was Wonderland!

I hope i can go further...

btw: i ebayed a Philips 753 and it has the Short Loader MK3 build in. Another
step forward!!

regards
 
#20
NATURAL SOUND.

Hi,

Peter and all of you,

This doesn't surprise me one bit (no pun intended).
It really is a natural progression,it really is, trust me.

Peter,

If one day you receive a long vacation please feel free to wade through the TT diy project.

You may find interesting info there.

All of the art of discerning between different damping properties of different material can be easily learned from TT design.

My reasoning is simplified here:

the cartridge needing a higher amplification than CD,the differing properties get amplified along as well.
That makes observing various material properties easier,you definitely learn about "sonic signatures" that way.

Say what?😉
 
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