Cheap tweaks...What would YOU reccomend?

Every pot head thinks that it should be legal, every drunk thinks it should be free.

Geoff, I knew I was being watched over...

The last thing I change in my system made a huge diference but is not what we can call cheap. Oyaide P-004 and C-079 connectors in a furutech alpha 3 cable. This is not cheap but this connectors is much better than my furutech fi-11 cu. More extended highs, more resolution, more musical. Ok. It´s not cheap but make a lot of difference.

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 :-)

I git rid of almost all cables. I got rid of all power cords and went to battery power. I also got rid of all fuses and capacitors. It's gets even better. I also got rid of all transformers. I also got rid of many feet of internal wiring in electronics. And you just KNOW half of it was installed backwards.