Cheap tweaks...What would YOU reccomend?

Oooops - I forgot one...

20 amp Hospital or Lab grade power outlet - $7-$10

These are sooooo much better than those generally installed in houses and way way cheaper than the audiophile grade for a great performance improvement.

Get the 20 amp version: grips like a vice

Go to an electrical supply company - NOT Home Despot

Makes the bass really deep.

Here's a couple

Marbles - if a component has rubber feet with a hole in them the marble sits in the hole (cannot roll off) and isolates it very well - not sure it it works with hard plastic feet - My Rega Planar II performs very well

Squash Balls - make great isolation devices
- I have them in black ABS drainage pipes to support shelves
- A relative has them under butcher blocks supporting his turtable and CD Player
- I cut them in half and use double sided tape to secure to components (my CD Player) I also push a thumb-tack in the bottom to stop them from gripping - sorta like a cone

Hockey Pucks - a couple of uses
- you've probably spent good money to buy the little disks that prevent the spikes from wrecking your hardwood floors. So take a some hockey pucks and instert a robertson screw and place under the spikes - the rubber is also good at absorbing vibrations. If the equipment is heavy place a large washer between the puck and the screw

- Spent good money on a record clamp? - drill a hole in the puck that allows for some gripping of the shaft and GENTLY twist it on so it clamps the record. Make sure you centre the hole - else it looks wierd when rotating

- Buy a quality puck - they look nicer - of course you could buy the pucks with your favourite teams logo!

Cork - makes a great sound insulator
- I have placed it on the underside of my turntable's glass platter to prevent music-induced vibrations

Also used it on top of my CD Player to prevent music-induced vibrations

And finally - for those components that DO NOT get hot (i.e. my CD, Tuner and phono stage) - I have found that by placing the shelf above a component within 10mm of the top of the component it will eliminate a lot of music induced vibration.

CAVEATS:
- my shelves are MDF so I do not know if this is the case for any other material
- DO-NOT use the component to support the shelf!

Not sure if this counts as a tweak...

one guideline I picked up off of the Web for speaker placement is the 1/nth rule

Place the speakers 1/nth the width of the room in from each side wall - where n=odd number i.e.1/3, 1/5, 1/7, 1/9 etc...

So in a 12ft wide room 1/5=29" 1/7=20.5" etc...

It is not imperrative that have the Right Speaker set to the same ratio as the Left Speaker e.g. right=1/5 left=1/7 also works. As long as the ratio is odd

I have tried this a few times and it seems to get good results, you then may have to fiddle a little to get it spot on.

For Placement from the back wall - I read:
For rear ported speakers - at least 3ft
For front ported speakers Minimum 1 ft

In two rooms I have the speakers evenly spaced and in another room I have tried them at different distances both worked very well

Also I have found that with my speakers, I have to angle the speakers in such that their "point at which the sound converges" is about 2 ft behind my head i.e. when I look at the speakers from the listening position I can just see the inner sides of the cabinets.

All of the above is a guideline, since the design of the speaker can have many different effects on room accoustics

e.g. according to the Linn Rep, their latest speakers must be between 1-2 feet from the back wall and at least 3 ft in from each side wall with nothing between the speakers

Regards...

Just tried this and it worked like a charm...

I've been wrestling with speaker placement of my rear ported speaker
- toe-in the speaker and the bass is detailed, but the image sucks
- the closer to no toe-in and the bass becomes boomy and muddy, but the image is great.

Room size and WAF is the limiting factor! (no big damping screens allowed)

Enter the PERKO boat cowl vent...

Just attached this over the rear facing vent to direct energy downwards and VOILA - can toe-in for the best image and the bass is consistent

http://www.nauticexpo.com/prod/perko/boat-cowl-vent-21871-50697.html

Cost $55 - and they look nice - other makes/sizes are available from your local marine store

Guess you could try firing it at any angle. but down seemed to work great

Have tried damping the speakers rear port with foam, but the sound was not great - this solution allows the speaker to perform as designed

Not really cheap - but less expensive than replacing the speaker

I just installed a Pass and Seymour 20 amp MRI grade (i.e. no magnetic materials used) 120v outlet.

To my surprise it made a noticeable difference to the details and sound stage image - mainly due to it clamping the pins of the plug like a vice.

At $25 from Take Five Audio (no affiliation) - a great upgrade and much cheaper than Furutech.

Move the counterbalance weight on your tone arm back. Yes, you have to use a headshell weight to do this, but I found the improvements were well worth it - more detailed bass, smoother highs, more spacious soundstage.

An interim step in order to get the best position is to first use a piece of outer sleeving from an old power cable ( in place of the headshell weight) about 3 inches long and cut a slot down the length to allow it to be placed over the arm near the headshell.

Then set the counterbalance weight and give it a listen. Reducing the length of the sleeve will reduce the weight and require the counterbalance weight to be .moved forward. Repeat steps until you have the best sound

Once you have the best sound you can then measure the weight of the sleeve and make the headshell weight about 0.5 grams lighter to maintain the position of the counterbalance weight.

Headshell weights can be found on the web - or make you own from an old key, the brass makes for a nicely finished weight.

Piece of bluetac will hold it in place, or place it between the cartridge and headshell for a more solid fix.

PLEASE NOTE this will alter the mass of the arm, which in turn may cause a shift in the "resonant frequency", but you should be able to hear any degradation in sound should this happen and back out the tweak easily

If you are feeling VERY adventurous, you could epoxy the weight to the cartridge for even better cartridge performance, much like Zu and Soundsmith modifications

I will be doing this in the next couple of weeks, so I'll update this thread with the outcome :-)

So my previous post may have been a bit misleading and I have learned the errors of my ways :-)

Turns out the improvements I achieved was due to the additional effective mass I had added by adding a headshell weight

However - the last item . Epoxy the Denon DL103 to the headshell weight did pay huge dividends. I can see why the Zu and Soundsmith mods are so popular

Improvements included improved dynamics, a much improved sound stage and space around individual instruments.

Best $12 I've ever spent

Romex Power Cord - 8 feet long

Since there are a few post in Agon that mention this I thought I'd give it a try.

Had some 12 gauge cable lying around - the 4 conductor stuff used for two-way light switching.

Stripped off the sheathing and removed the bare earth wire leaving me with three insulated conductors - I used the red for earth

Figured I'd better braid them to keep noise/hum to a minimum.

Soldered Spade terminals on the ends so the mains connectors had lots of surface area to bind to.

Attached some gold/copper mains conectors like these
Mains Connector

All parts cost about $35 and a couple of hours of my time

Results...
> Not quite as quiet as my Furutech, but required full volume to hear anything
> More dynamic and spacious than my Furutech 15 gauge
> Almost as good as my Furutech 10 gauge

Hard to believe? well it brings power to your outlet doesn't it?

RE: the trivial noise issue
- first I had to crank the volume to full and put my ear to the speaker in order to hear it
- I believe this is due to my less than stellar braiding
- get the conductors the same length and tighten the braid and the issue probably goes away

I didn't expect it to be quite this good - should be even better once burned-in

For the 8ft braided length I used approx. 9.5 ft of Romex

Only issue is it's bit springy - but it does support itself - no sagging at the outlet :-)

Wanna try a new power cord, but the cost is putting you off? Try this tweak - something to do on those cold winter nights :-)

Update - tried a 10 gauge romex power cord today.

Tough to braid - but sounds great and definitely worth the effort

Put the 12 gauge on my sources

I guess it's the same as plugging everything i to the wall outlet really.

Lacee - I had a very big surprise today - I received a pair of Sonar Quesr silver plated copper mains connectors that I ordered a couple of weeks ago.

Installing them on my Furutech 10 gauge power cord had an amazing impact, by opening up the image far beyond that obtained with the previous gold plated copper connectors. It also separated instruments much more than previously experienced. However - the power cord was installed on the power distribution centre than provides power to the source components. The Romex power cord is now on the amp

I have no doubt of the improvements you obtained from hard wiring the amps - have you thought of doing the same with the sources?

If that's not feasible, maybe try the silver plated mains connectors like these

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/SONAR-QUEST-CRYO-Ag-Audio-Grade-Silver-plated-IEC-plug-Schuko-plug-/130856829251?pt=US_Audio_Cables_Adapters&hash=item1e77acc143&_uhb=1

They work :-)

I used some heavy duty 20 amp toggle switches on my power supply to my phono stage.

Like this
http://www.delcity.net/store/Heavy!duty-Toggle-Switches-!-Flat-Terminal/p_788975

The rational being the 20 amp continuous rating was more than adequate for most hi-fi components - even amps i.e. under 2000 watts :-)

It seems to work very well and due to the heavier internal mechanism it makes and breaks contact quickly with no arcing (i.e. that I can hear :-)

Just Google "toggle switches with silver gold contacts" and you will find a large selection that may be suitable. I would go with 20/30 amp models for an amplifier, preferably made in the US :-)

Switches are perhaps the most hard working component in any electrical circuit due to arcing when turning off

Well made switches have a mechanism that release very quickly - in most cases eliminating the possibility of arcs forming - when I used to work in the switchgear industry silver contacts were preferred for their durability and if I recall correctly, it helps prevent arcing - that could have changed since then.

Since yours are old I would recommend changing them. Will they sound better? It doesn't hurt to try :-)

Sorry - that link should have been

toggle swithes

If you build your own power cables, instead of just inserting the stripped wire into the connector - try crimping and soldering copper spade connectors on to the ends and then tighten down as hard as you can.

I didn't use anything special - just spades from my local parts supply - but they are copper and the correct gauge for the wire and the solder is good quality lead-free for electronics use

The improvements in dynamics and fine details was very noticeable.

The first cable I tried this on was a 10gauge furutech cable which was proving difficult to install a connector onto.

The other advantage - none of those little rogue strands of conductor that do not go into the hole that can cause serious problems :-)

Lacee - I shared your beliefs until I tried it on my 10 gauge cable and found it improved the sound

I think the trick is to minimize the effect of the solder by ensuring..
1. The spade is a tight fit on the wire
2. Crimp before soldering to make an initial "cold weld"

Maybe all that is needed is a crimp?

I've since tried it on my braided romex and my other furutech and DH Labs cables with the same positive results.

I have an Audiomods arm with a continuous loom through to the phono stage.

It came with Nakamichi RCA's and I had originally planned to replace them with Eichman Silver Bullets, then along came Keith Louis Eichmann with his latest set of products.

So finally, I got around to changing them to a set of Pure Harmony RCA's and the results were pretty remarkable…
- more tightly focused image
- extended high-end
- deeper and better controlled bass
- improved dynamics across the board
- significantly enhanced clarity

Pretty much, significant improvements all around and not something you really had to listen for – the were quite discernable.

Considering the miniscule voltages at play I would sat that is a considerable achievement

Unfortunately, they only come in sets of 4 for $120, but I will be sharing the other pair with a friend, so the cost to me was $60.

I also use them on my other interconnects to great effect, but it seems no matter where you put these RCA's – they bring put the very finest of details in any recording

Checkout the KLE Innovations web site for a dealer near you

They really do an amazing job

Back to the tunes :-)

Many of you know about the less than stellar quality music a USB port provides. But in many cases this is due to the fact that on a great many DAC's, the USB circuitry is actually powered by the computers USB port.

DAC's such as the Bifrost, Gungnir, and the Ayre DAC all use the USB supplied power for their USB interface.

There are options out there to clean the power up, such as the Schiit USB Decrappifier ($100). But you will need a second USB cable for that solution.

However, the Power supply and USB cable separate audio signal cable, splits the data and power conductors so you can bypass the USB power with something a little more stable.

It's nicely built and improves performance even if you plug both data and power USB plugs into the computer.

I tried a few power adapters that I have and compared them against a battery power supply and found the Enercell and ASUS USB power adapters to perform just as good as the Battery.

Some other no name adapters I have were not as focused.

Improvements included a very focused image and much more clarity.

At around $78 total I think it's a tweak that many DAC's could benefit from

Back to the tunes :-)

I don't know why this works - but it does...

I was pondering the construction of spdif cables, some of which can get quite complex, but it made me wonder why, especially when LAN cables contain just four twisted pairs and carry digital signals for much further than most spdif cables do.

So I decided to make a 1/2 meter spdif cable from a piece of CAT6 LAN cable.

I simply connected an RCA to each end of just one twisted pair

The RCA's were not the regular variety, but from the KLE Innovations Harmony line of RCA's that, due to their high impedance, do not suffer the same issues as conventional RCA's when used on digital cables.

What really surprised me was this cheapo cable's level of performance...
- it was considerably better than my Van den Hul spdif cable
- it even outperformed a very expensive spdif cable on loan

Dynamics were much faster, the image more spacious and focussed, the clarity makes the smallest details easily heard, and the venue acoustics were simply the most realistic I've ever experienced.

Granted, the rca's are not what I would call cheap - but CAT6 cable is.

The Copper Harmony will probably suffice for most applications

I used the Pure Harmony, but the Silver Harmony would probably guarantee excellent performance on the highest sample rates currently used.

Currently I'm streaming up to 24/192 and it's the best I ever heard my digital rig sound.

The cost - around $60 + cost of CAT6

Note: I do use WBT 4% silver solder

Give it a whirl :-)