Signal path refinement, or choosing the right cables & tubes  is like deciding if the apartment would be decorated Zen (neutral as-is performance) or with a heavy classical touch (some color and authority altogether).  Some audiophiles I know have simplistic tastes in their decoration with some truly inspiring antiques in their Zen-taste environments. Choosing the right cables is crucial for the system. One can easily kill a great synergy with a non-synergic cable. Certain brands almost always may sound ‘bright’, which might be a cure for dark sounding synergies. Some others are more authoritative and traditionally dark, which –in turn- would relax the aggressive nature of the performance. In most cases, the audiophile do witness ‘shifts’ in tonal character which is fatal on behalf of truthfulness. It is very important to  check the entire frequency range since trying to heal a system with a cable may bring some other problems  in  frequency band.  If your system components (source – pre – power and speakers) do not have fundamental problems, then a neutral cable would not show any flaws or errors  in the final performance. (Once again, a problematic cable would definitely ruin a very synergic system).

If you have tubes at any stage of your system, then the choice of New Old Stock (N.O.S) tubes are also undoubtedly critical.   A natural and emotional smooth plate Telefunken ECC82 would definitely sound warm and pleasing (as a result of a slight coloration)  in a well thought-of system. A rare Telefunken ECC802S would have an extremely flat performance where each and every corner of the system will be revealed with extreme micro-detail and presence. Tubes at the Top-End such as Mullard 10M Goldpin, Genalex Goldpin B749 or Telefunken Ecc802 in the pre-stage would reflect exceptional flavors.

With better and more egsotic N.O.S tubes, it is possible to  reach to ‘extreme’ levels of performance. With top-level cables and tubes, the system performance would definitely show dramatic improvements.

Electrical isolation.  The use of powercords and powerconditioners would have dramatic affects in reaching to the preferred sound harbor. There are very few power conditioners out there that would NOT dry the sound and add their own unrealistic  character. (the tonality shifts – let’s say)  Usually, the audiophile is tricked with better focus & holography and some sense in layering in depth with the power conditioners – at the expense of losing the liquidity and the essential ‘emotion’ of the performance. An experienced audiophile would detect it right away, therefore the audiophile should not be ‘fooled’ by the first 300 hour burn-in phase story for the conditioners (where the initial 20 hours of listening would give the general idea. 95% of the time, if the emotion goes away within the first 200 hours, it does not come back).  The extremist usually does not want to filter the mains electricity too much, and prefer some verified powercord topologies and isolation transformers in ‘cleaning’ the mains.

It is important to clean the mains but not filter it.  The mains current is the blood of the metabolism, it should be kept as pure as possible. My preference is using as naturally sounding ‘copper-based’ or ‘Alloy-Based’ (Silver & Gold together for instance) powercords as possible, with organic sounding plugs (berrylium or platinum plated) at each side of the powercord. Using silver-based powercords (at one single component) would also be a dynamics-adding choice for many systems and are used as a light-shedding approach to the performance.(although extreme care should be taken while trying silver on the electrical stage)

Mechanical Resonance. This is perhaps the most confusing part of Hi-End. We all see some apartments where all furniture is brand new and very orderly. Everything is neat and so much is done push the limits of a stylish decoration. But something is missing, and therefore it feels lifeless and meaningless.

The final touch that would enlighten each square meter should not be overlooked, and it sometimes requires years to develop it.

Mechanical resonance is the final touch that should not be underestimated.  Using professional racks is a way, where the audiophile is bounded by the ‘sound’ of the rack manufacturer. This may be a suitable approach.  Extremists would choose to manufacture their own racks by deriving results from past experience. I have chosen that path, and  manufactured racks from Pallisander and I use some secondary Pallisander isolation feet for all my gear (except the speakers). Resonance is everything at one point.  Some would prefer to solve the resonance within the chassis of each components.  I prefer a European-based custom-manufactured varnish that is specially produced for  applications in Hi-end components. The internal resonance correction inside each component  is the final touch for a thorough musical involvement.

The audiophile should approach to the issue of mechanical resonance almost  like a materials engineer.. For instance, the more ‘metallic’ the isolation material below a component, the more analytical and bright the sound would be. Synthetic Rubber materials would over-emphasize mid-range, bring artificial smoothness and would usually stupify the low and high extensions. This – as a result – would kill the essence of music. Too soft a wood type would also decrease the resolution and bring an unrealistic mellow performance. Some composites act analytical and almost always are ‘emotion-killers’. What a coincidence it is to see that natural wood  that is correctly resonated with natural (organic) varnishes transform the synergy to amazing heights.

In the journey to seek the ultimate truthfulness;  if the audiophile is fortunate enough, then he would experience extremes in his Top-End system.

For those rare audiophiles, their systems are  gateways  to a  life-like performance with the highest possible musical involvement.  I believe this is what most call the ‘Audiophile Nirvana’.