My speakers (Unity Audio Sig 1's from the early 90's) have a 10 inch woofer downfiring at the bottom. Felt like I was missing deep bass (realizing of course that I'm not going to get much below 32Hz in any event). They sat on spikes which went through my carpeting to a subfloor which has the basement down below it. Then I tried taking the spikes off and sittng the speakers on thick marble floor tiles with Vibrapods between the speakers and the tiles. Giant improvement in the depth and clarity of the bass!
Best tweaks I have had so far involve having the guys in my music group listen to my system. They make suggestions...ie toe in those speakers a little more, or move that sound panel back over there, or get rid of that crap TT etc.
I posted my findings on utilizing PFTE Plumbers Tape on threaded connections such as equipment feet, stillpoints, etc., on the Triplanar Tips thread. Not sure why I never thought of this previously but it has turned out to provide very rewarding results in my system.
Grungebuster 2 is great for CDs. It is cheap and it increases the focus and depth of the music. Here is a link. http://herbiesaudiolab.home.att.net/cdmat.htm Have fun!
ifyour system needs tweeking .sit in the sweet spot ,open your hands.put them behind your ears and cup.moves your sounstage right next to you.cleans bass up to
The best that I have ever come across is, Oyaide Cryo'd AC outlets from www.cryo-parts.com These are the BEST on the market! Very SMOOTH across the board performance! A must try TWEAK!!
I posted before, and I stand to correct myself. Experience begets experience.
Best tweak: dedicated AC. Optimize w/ a good outlet (how good? i'll let you know once i test).
The twisted pair 12*3 romex i put in (w/ audiophile approved outlets) has made a dramatic change in my system: low level details emerge that i never knew existed. bass is significantly tighter, deeper, and images. black backgrounds. and most of all: PRAT...which conditioners are oft to suppress---this is a revelation for my system, of which a 50wpc SET into WP6s is the heart: the percussives have impact that i never thought a SET could deliver (no doubt the transparent speaker cables also influence this parameter).
this was a wonderful improvement and i regret i never did it sooner.
Can't say yet if this is the best tweak ever, but I found a great way to trap the bass & reduce the high frequency echo of the room. I placed a 36" in length OPTP physical therapy roller in the most offensive corner, and it's amazing how much more of the music (and less of the room) I'm hearing. I can't say if it's the 'correct' thickness of a trap, but it works really well. I'm going to get some of the semi-circle types and cut them in half, so they will fit into the corners. They are less than $20 apiece, depending upon the size you buy.
I'll go with the CD-Rs on computer with Exact Audio software you will even get CD Text. Good quality disc are important. Fuji has changed suppiers but you can still find the ones that are made in Japan, they are High Definition Burn Certified and are made by a company called Taiyo Yuden which is a leader in this industry. If you can't find the older Fuji's no problem it seems Maxell has also changed suppiers and are now made in Japan by (Yea you guessed it) Taiyo Yuden and are HD Certified. Just make sure it says Made in Japan. NOT TAIWAN! You won't find anything with the disc that says it is HD Cert. but i have software that will read them. There are a few other good ones. I could post later if anyone interested.
Mapleshade SilClear is an amazing tweak! One small jar will last a lifetime and the difference in clarity, detail, and overall smoothness is nothing short of spectacular, and I was using Caig Pro Gold before but this stuff takes it to another level!
Another great tweak is to use Exact Copy to record CD-Rs with your computer system. The new copies sound much better as noted above and Exact Copy does a much better job than Roxio or the other duplicators.
However room treatments and setup detail make even a bigger gains in a high rez system. Try some Vibrapods and Vibracones. This is one great combo that doesn't cost a bunch either.
. Symposium Rollerblocks....simply amazing. Go for the grade 3 tungsten cardbide balls option. Try one set under your CDP and then try your pre-amp, power conditioner and amp...It will be quite a surprise. .
removing the split glass doors from the front of a wooden rack was among my most startling & unexpected system enhancements. Whether they were closed or open, those doors caused some significant degradations
Another vote for the Neuance shelves. They work wonders especially under power conditioners. Another tweak would be to separate all your cables and lift your speaker cables off the ground.
New power cables, stands, contact enhancers bla bla bla... Lets be fair these all make hardly noticable or no noticable effects. The biggest improvements You can get by tweaking are right SPEAKER PLACEMENT, ROOM TREATMENT and for mid-hifi and mid-highend speakers try damping speacker cabinets using special absorbing materials. This reduces boomy box sound and resonances, reduses brighntness and adds musicality. But don`t over try otherwise You loose in details and deepness of soundstage. For bright sounding systems is this the cheapest and more effective method to reduce harshness and add warmth. These twaks all make easily noticable effects while higly expensive cables, stands and other audiophile stuff are hardly noticable. This is only my opinion basing in my experiences and doesn`t claim for absolute verity. Happy tweaking
You can improve the sound of CDs you buy by turning them into a CDR - on a computer. The commercial CDs are pressed, and by burning a CDR, you improve the quality.
The link below shows you how.
Some also use the computer as the source - with a good soundcard - you can add a DAC to improve still at 24/96. The jitter is lower than many CD players, and it's convenient to have hundreds of CDs right at your finger tips. http://www.genesisloudspeakers.com/whitepaper/Black_CDsII.pdf
On the power lines adding more dedicated outlets so you do not have all you digital bunched up on one line. Digital can send noise backwards through the power cord to the dedicated digital outlet ie if you have multiple CD sources {CD recorders , DVD players , Dedicated redbook, throw in an AV pre amp , how about your HDTV, your digital cable tv box ,they are all on the same line and its a noise party.I dont care what PLC or PC you have , get multiple dedicated digital electrical lines , the difference can be amazing.
Hi all, I tried something that is one of the best tweaks I have tried, its called The Freezer Tweak. Here's how you do it, take two trash bags and put your cables or components in them and put it in the Freezer for 24 or 48 hours and then put them in the Refrigerator for a day or so and then put them back in your system and see if you hear a big improvement. On the Cable forum here, someone has already tried it and said he got a big improvement!......Give it a try and see what you think........Richard
Jax2 has the best price performance tweak of them all. But the most difficult to pull off I think.
With so many distractions around it's hard to get mentally prepared, but that is where you experience the bliss.
Listening to it as background music while doing something else just doens't make sense to me considering the time and money people have put into their systems.
Also, doing all these shootouts and tweaking this and that while listening, huh? Are you a techy or a music lover? I guess everyone has to decide that for themselves.
Cd Romulus..Redirection of sound pressure away from room boundaries towards the listener using specific shapes and dimensions. Sistrum, not a tweak a requirement. Removal of all dampening material from system and walls.Me the carpet and furniture are all that remains. I am a dealer of many products and one is Sistrum. Tom
Trying new music. When I am at the library I will usually check out the selection of music they have on hand, and usually something I would never consider buying or something I have no knowledge about. Since our library serves a large population the selection is wide ranging enough that I can explore a few different avenues. I do always find myself embracing this music- Renaisssance Madrigals, as an example, did not sweep me off my feet, but I did find the insert interesting. Regardless, the experiment is always sucessful in that I am made aware of the world of music out there, in that it keeps from falling into a rut. If I do not always like or appreciate what I hear in music I am not familar with, I always do return to what I know and love with a sharpened sense of makes it special to me.
Marco makes some great points. The less you worry about how your system performs, the more that you'll enjoy the music. Reading about other's systems, comparing notes of various products, lusting after gear, etc... all ends up detracting from the enjoyment that one could already be experiencing with what they have.
As such, i'm going to combine Marco's response with KP's. That is, if you doubt the effectiveness of Marco's comments, spend the time that you would reading about audio on the net or with a glossy rag tweaking your speakers into place and / or listening to a recording or two that you haven't heard in a while. Once you've got the speakers dialed in, you'll be amazed at how good your system sounds, regardless of what it costs or consists of. These "tweaks" would come at a mental and / or physical expense, meaning that they are by FAR the best bang for the buck since you have no money invested in them at all. Sean >
PS... Try the above and then come back here to find out what to do next : )
Change the wall outlet with $10 hospital grade one, like Arrow Hart 8200. It's a cheap way to experiment with power. I was sold, and after that experience went ahead and ran 4 dedicated lines.
Most effective/noticeable tweak was to my spkrs, which included replacing the stock spikes with one piece SS Soler Points and also putting 7 Herbie's Footers between ea. module of my VR4 GenIII's.
Radiob & Tireguy: I found if you want to go for the maximum auto tweak, you need to install titanium piston return springs. Not only do they reduce piston slap but you'll gain 5% HP.
Shut down your computer. Toss those back issues of Stereofool, TAS, and that stack of "Jugs'N'Tail" with the stained and tattered pages. Pick a few of your favorite CD's, turn down the lights, slide that comfy chair into the sweet spot, pop in one of your selections, set the volume where you like it, sit back, and enjoy the music.
You'll probably wake up the next morning wondering what you could have done to make it sound that much better, and that may eventually manifest itself in cold sweats and convulsions if you go long enough without spending some money on hardware. Go to the bathroom mirror and take a good look at what you see there. If you don't like it, just close your eyes. Then chant over and over, "I do not want what I have not got....I do not want what I have not got..." Do that for about a half hour until the shaking and sweating stops. Then grab a cup of coffee, brush your teeth, relieve yourself if necessary, go to work, come home and repeat. If the shaking starts up during the day just find a quiet spot to do your chanting where you coworkers can't see or hear you. A linen closet is good. Don't use the bathroom unless it is a solo room with a lock on it. Do all this and your music will start sounding like music again within a few weeks time. If it doesn't you may need professional help or perhaps a support group.
Marco
PS Don't know about a toke of reefer, but I do know that Alchohol in any quantity impeeds your senses, including hearing. That doesn't stop me from listening with a glass of zin in hand, but I doubt that all that expensive hardware makes much of a difference after a few glasses of wine. I may enjoy the sensation, but I doubt I could discern a good system from a great system at that point. I just keep doing my chant every morning without fail.
Halo tube dampners, Walker SST, any record cleaning machine, good ac wall recepticles. For my system the best tweek was a Rat Shack remote extender, it allows me to keep all my tube equipment behind closed doors while still using my remotes controls.
I second Docsavage ZERO recommendation, but it is system dependent. My previous speakers (N.E.A.R. 50Me II) benefited greatly from the ZERO's. I inserted one pair and was very happy with the improvement to the bass. I then tried a different configuration and was happy with the refinement, but lost the bass benefit. I then bi-wired with two pairs of ZERO's and the improvement exceeded my expectations by a mile and a half. My current speakers (Köchel K-300) don't benefit from ZERO's at all.
A dry red really helps the listening experience. Seriously though, I think there are 3 must tweaks. Room treatment[room dependent of course], vibration and isolation treatments and power line treatments. To pick just one is hard as they all three combine but a huge trick was taking the spikes off the target stand and sitting it on large halved superballs. Friends visiting from the city laughted when they saw it because they also had done the very same thing. We both have "bouncy or live" wood floors. This has to be my cheapest tweak and may or may not work well for you. Remember, very heavy weights could split the superballs[I'm guessing], so do be careful. Cheers.
By far the Zeros I tried which were purchased by an Audiogon contact. Amazing!! I have tried iso platforms etc. but these autoformers between a set of EAR 519 amps and a pair of Innersound Eros speakers did more than some of my previous attempts at component upgrades.
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