Huh? "DC offset procedure"? I know how to check the DC offset with the built-in meters, of course. But there is a procedure? For what? For minimising the DC offset? If so, please let me know where I can learn more about this - I've searched and can't find anything.

Mani.

Well, I'm with Joachim on this one.

I first tried the BNC cable (a single 5m run with BNC-RCA adapters at both ends) in my office system - NOS1 (not 'a') connected directly to Stax headphones. There was simply no question that this was the most transparent of the cables I had to hand, including some pretty expensive stuff. I listened for hours to this setup and had virtually no complaints. My wife also agreed. Incredible detail, but totally smooth. The most tuneful bass I had heard through these headphones. My Stax are >10 years old and were the cheapest of the range back then. I love their tone, but have always thought the LF is a bit full and slow. But not with the BNC cable - the bottom end really tightened up.

I then tried two 5m runs in series to create a 10m run. There was virtually no change in the sound - maybe a tad brighter, but really nothing noticeable.

Having assured myself that these cables were 'the real deal', I routed a pair of 10m runs under my floorboards from the NOS1a in my basement to the Orelo speakers in my main room. The sound was transformed (for the absolute better).

I hear no 'flavour' whatsoever. Even on the same album, differences between the recording/mixing/mastering of different tracks are clearly audible.

How can my experience be so different from Peter's? I dunno... Maybe his BNC-RCA adapters are not truly 50 Ohms, and mine are???

In any event, my BNC cables are here to stay until I can be convinced that they're adding a flavour to the sound. At the moment, I don't hear them 'adding any flavour', but rather hear them 'taking away a mask'.

Mani.

First thoughts...

I really like the overall LF/MF/HF balance. A much smoother sound and easier to listen to. BUT...

... The transients seem lost - almost too smooth. Everything seems rounded. Reminds me a bit of the typical 'DSD sound' - very pleasant to listen to, but not 'real' sounding.

So overall, I'd like a mix of this and the original filter. If I had to choose between the two right now, it'd be a hard decision, but I'd probably go for the original filter because it draws me into the music more (even though it's harder on the ears).

Might moving the horn 40mm in or out help to 'sharpen' the sound? I'll give it a go later...

Mani.

No, not a blown DSP unit at all... just inconsistent DSP software by the look of things. Anyway, the filter changes in Peter's original post are now all applied. I'll write a more detailed post about my feelings on the SQ after I've had a prolonged listen, but early thoughts are very positive.

Mani.

PS. Massive thank you to Peter for taking up his Sunday morning to help me out via email.

Thanks George.

From the pic, the Emersons look like they should have a gold-plated centre pin. The ones that I received from Mouser definitely do not have this. But the packaging stated the exact same part number.

The Oelbachs look nice - I'll probably try to get these if I can at some point (again, for purely psychological reasons and being able to sleep well at night).

Incidentally, I have asked for my K_02252_D cable from eBay to be cancelled (I haven't received a reply from the seller yet but am assuming it will be OK to cancel). My thinking is that if I'm going to bother replacing the cheap cables I'm already using then I really want the 'best' I can find (again for purely psychological reasons). Otherwise I may as well just keep my current cables, which sound great anyway.

Mani.

Thanks for the reassurances guys. Actually when I went to bed it occurred to me that it couldn't be something too drastic - the DSP USB connection still works, so the DSD unit must still be powered up and working.

Peter, I noticed that my DSP software looked slightly different from your screenshots and was going to mention this. But then I thought it probably wouldn't make much difference.

Mani.

Total disaster!

As soon as I loaded the new filter I got some pretty weird noises coming out of the bass drivers for a few seconds after which there was a sort of 'white noise' sound coming out of them. Very stupidly I went right ahead and loaded the filter onto the other channel too, and again I got the weird noises from the bass drivers and then the 'white noise'. I switched both speakers off and on again and the 'white noise' went. But the bass sections of both speakers are now dead. The amps still work (I can test by switching to 'multi-channel' and they still make a thud on switch-on).

I think I've blown the DSP unit. Hopefully, it's only a fuse. Hopefully. I'll take a look tomorrow.

But maybe a warning to others to hold off making any changes to the DSP until we get to the bottom of what's happened. My suspicion is that it has something to do with applying the changes to 'Channel1/High' vs. 'Channel2/Low'. I followed Peter's screen shots and applied them to Channel2/Low.

Mani 

Yep, and hence ambiguous. Can they still call it 'silver copper' if it is 'silver-coated copper-clad steel'?

In any event, I can't imagine the 'steel' is a mistake.

Mani.

Hey Peter, no matter how many times I've read this, I still can't understand it. Sorry. Could you take some screen shots of exactly what you mean please?

My gain is currently set to -25.5dB. I simply haven't adjusted this since I got my panels back from Bert. I've felt that the bass is a bit reticent but just never got around to adjusting the gain. Are you saying that I should adjust the gain first to get a balance I like, and then apply your latest settings?

I'm just not sure what I should do about the gain, before or after the changes in filters 1, 7 and 13.

Mani.

From the datasheet you linked:

http://www.amphenol.ru/pdf/RG-142.pdf

Ambiguous... and disingenuous if it is indeed copper-clad steel, IMO.

Mani.

Thanks Peter. Will give it a go later and let you know what I think.

Mani.

Hey VJ, the performance looks similar to the 'expensive' K03252D H+S cable. But then again, the 'cheap' K02252D H+S cable seems to have similar performance too.

Not too sure about the description of the Amphenol either:

"Solid Silver-coated Copper Clad Steel Conductor". Sounds more like the K02252D than the K03252D.

Mani.

Hi George, thanks for the 'warning'. I suspect the jacket in the photo looks transparent because of the flash photography. I can't believe that anyone would sell counterfeit cable that retails for only $3/m - doesn't seem worth their while - and the eBay seller definitely looks like a genuine RF dealer.

But I totally agree that it'd be better to get the K03252D cable. 'Better' more from a psychological point of view than sound POV perhaps, because we have no idea if they actually sound different. If the real point is impedance matching, then there might not be a difference in sound.

The K02252D cable has cost me very little, so I'm inclined to go ahead with the purchase because the K03252D cable looks much harder to obtain. If anyone knows where I could get 20m of K03252D then please let me know asap, as in which case I would definitely cancel my order.

Cheers, Mani.

Hmmm...

Does the 'St' stand for steel or antimony?

Mani.

Hi Joachim, I was talking about the actual BNC connectors for the wire, and not the BNC-RCA adapters (although I'll certainly look into getting a couple of pairs of H+S adapters too).

Having done a search, I think I'll need a couple of pairs of these:

http://www.hubersuhner.com/ProdDet/2761105

Mani.