Cheap tweaks...What would YOU reccomend?

Wear some earmuffs for about 1/2 hour before listening to your stereo. When you take them off, your ears will be super-sensitized, at least for a little while, as your brain has adjusted by "turning up the gain" of the input from your ears.

Here is one: If you and your special someone drink a bottle or two of wine, then save your used natural wine corks. You can make them into a framed 2D abstract art poster and hang it on your wall. The natural cork will absorb sound waves and deaden the room just a bit. You can position it on a bright wall for example.

Spatialking, you can glue the corks at different levels and hang them between the speakers and the first reflection point on your celling. Few of us bother with this reflection.

I recommend footers under components and high quality ones at that. I was once told that taking the lid off my krell amp would reveal a better sound and I think it did but not to my liking. Anyone else heard this and if so what's up with at?

Get two PS Audio Noise Harvesters. Smooths things out nicely.

Wow. Haoleb seems to really be interested in all these good suggestions. Well I will thank everyone for him.....

Thanks everyone. I learned a lot here.

Jim

Here in the Sedona area some twirl crystals around the object of attention, but you could just as well get some temporary audio catharsis by draining your bank account and imagining you hear a difference with expensive tweaks. There was a fellow on the 'gon who claims that under a dollar a piece Artgum erasers as footers under his components worked as well or better than the audio-specific footers he had. Seems many audiophiles ask questions that suggest they need positive reinforcement to spend more money, when in the final analysis it's all up to individual subjectivity anyway. Human nature, always fascinating.

Porter ports are under 50 bucks shipped and are the best tweak I have found yet

Next time you see your doc, have them clean the wax out of your antennae.

Makes a huge difference, particularly in the treble range.

Otherwise, you're not hearing what your system can actually do.

Jimjoyce25, I have an ear condition that causes me to have to remove the wax in my ears about every three months. The day after I do so, I am always aware of the rustling sounds and squeaks around me and I hear the tape hiss on many recordings.

I did have a friend send me ear candles once that apparently do also remove the wax, but I never used them.

Try wood damping on the face-to-face Tibetan bowls that you use between your speakers.

The SQ Isol-pads are a simple and affordable way to isolate components. have used them with speakers on hardwood floors(also on indoor/outdoor low pile carpet).
They have been recommended by both Stereophile and the Absolute Sond.

Inner Tubes are a joke. Here are ones that do work.
1)Speaker placement. For example with a 12 X 12 room place the listening chair/couch 3' for rear with speaker 3' from side walls and 2 1/2 from rear. Use this formula and toe in 3 imches. It will work. Spike and and all speakers and subs.
2) subs sound better up front on one side or the other cross firing edge of woofer parallel with edge of front speaker
3) Do not put sub or speakers in a corner
4)soft pucks helps cd players and transports
5)get a dedicated audio stand -fill with play sand
6)let equipment warm up stabilize before listening at least 30 minutes

Get rid of your wife...

By far, the best isolation devices I've ever experienced are simple fiber scratch pads. They come in varying thickness and stiffness. They are almost 100% immune to vibration. I say "almost" because nothing is perfect. But when you put your hand on the component they're under, there's no detectable vibration whatsoever. They seem to be acoustically dead. They are awesome under a turntable.

Here's a really cheap idea...Stop worrying about tweaks and listen to some music.

OK I just finished reading all the tweaks listed here and would like you to consider the cheapest and best tweak I can think of. It is often used in the boating circles that some
people find are real money savers. My brother in fact did this with his boat and although he is not known to be the brightest bulb in the room it does seem to make a lot of sense. He sold his boat and now goes out in his cousins boat. We can do something similar, short of selling all out gear.
You simply do some research and find a few audiophiles in your area that are known to have really great sounding systems. Shoot them an email or phone call and arrange for a hookup. You can even invite them to your place for a listen to your rig. you can make new friends and enjoy listening to their systems they they have invested thousands of dollars in and untold hours of tweaks. You can save enough money dong this to even afford a few nice bottles of wine to share with your new audiophile friends.

RCA jack cleaners (scroll down the page)

I've said it before but having your ears flushed by a physician once in a while can blow your mind. It really helps.

a demagnetizing cd works wonders

Audioprism Ground Control for speakers

Shot of your favorite liquor, smooths the system right out!!!

This is funny,I don't care who you are!!

http://audiotweaks.com/tweaks/tweak_117.htm

Tpreaves, I remember many years ago when this went around the last time. As you might expect, I tried it. Sorry, I heard no change at all, but hey it costs nothing. Everyone should try it.

Cheaper than cheap: Turn off the lights. I don't know why this works (probably by removing distractions?), but I frequently find I enjoy the sound more with the lights out.

I also find that cleaning my ears with one of the ear wax removing drops from CVS usually helps when my system doesn't sound as involving as usual. I recommend trying this if you've never done it before, especially if you wear earplugs occasionally.

A degaussing c d disc.This will dramatically improve stereo separation,and clarity.And not expensive. Atlas and Isotech.

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

Upgrade your fuses!
This may have been mentioned before in this copious thread. I cannot emphasize and recommend the difference this simple, relatively inexpensive tweak can make highly enough!
If your system is HARSH this will make it smooth, if you desire more definition this will improve it. If you desire greater clarity, cohesiveness and bass control these can help.
I have upgraded the fuses in every piece of equipment own an have yet to hear a definite improvement.

Upgrade you wall outlets to Maestro! I have Porter Ports before, and they were a terrific bang for the buck, but the Maestro were equivalent to a component upgrade, with just one installed on my wall outlet that the power conditioner is plugged into.

Yes Bullot, the Maestro ac outlets are an AMAZING BARGAIN....Price vs Performance !... You can read my review here... http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?raccs&1280581691

Make sure the CD is absolutely level while it is spinning.

DAKIOM feedback stabilizers which control vibration electronically is the BEST tweaks you can have and I have 30 plus years of tweaking experience and a former high end home theater installer and electronic tech. I have used dbx, omnisonic imagers, hughes, srslabs,bbe, behringer, carver sonic holography, peavey, aphex and many other sound processors, dakiom stablizers coupled with any of these sound processors including acoustic research tds 202 is the cheapest and most effective tweaks in cleaning and expanding the soundstage of a system. Tube rolling is also helpful in solid state. Cables makes very little improvement unless your gear is that high up in the food chain. For the most part, most cables are just for aesthetics

"For the most part, most cables are just for aesthetics."

That's good to know. Thanks for the info.

:-)

"Most cables are just for aesthetics"? I wonder if that includes Synergistic Research and Nordost and Tara and Gabriel Gold?

Cables do make a difference, a big difference in some situations! This is not even worth discussing!

Bullot, actually, I've never experienced a situation where cables did not make a difference, with the possible exception of years ago when lamp cables were used for speakers and cables that came with the equipment were used with it. I must say that I have heard absolutely awful cables and many that are not worth what they cost. I have also heard cables that I am sharply at odds with what some reviewers rave about. Like everything tastes and systems vary greatly. Thus for this reason, I have always said little is worth discussing.

Why do I post? Once in a while I learn something from others' experiences and guess that others may do similarly from mine.

With cables its all about "Synergy" and reducing most of the "Grunge" from a system.

Tbg........absolutely, agree! Everything on here is worth discussing.....perhaps I phrased it wrong!

Hifisoundguy, synergy is so important, again I absolutely agree. I have auditioned two cables and found cable #1 to trounce cable #2 in my system.........while in someone elses system it has been the other way around! What sounds good to you in your system is the right answer!

i have dedicated ac and ps audio ac plugs. vibrapods, brightstar pods and black diamond cones, all upgraded cables. seperate power supplys to replace walwarts, room treatments, modified magnepans, furman conditioner and other tweaks i,ve forgotten. i wish there was a quick easy way to hear my system for 30 minutes in a stock condition setup to subjectivly experience the cumulative effect of all these tweaks. any opinions? btw i really enjoy the present setup and it would take hours to undo my handiwork. haha

A can of Brasso and some Q-tips. Unplug all AC plugs and saturate the blades with the first set of Q-tips. Let them dry overnight.

Rub off the dried Brasso until they're slick and shiny. The second set of Q-tips will be black, reflecting oxidiation. Repeat every 6 months.

Well, wouldn't the cable which causes less grunge (damage) be the preferred cable?
If a cable which distorts the sounds is preferred, is it fair to say that it's covering another flaw somewhere else in the system?

Cdc.......I agree, the cable which causes less "grunge" would be prefered! My only point is, that not everyone has thousands to spend on ic's........and with cables like the Mogami Gold doing very well in comparison to some expensive ic's, people are able to put their hard earned audio money elsewhere in the system if finances determine. For me they are at least an acceptable option, until money is available to purchase cable that gets me the other 5% or so.

Properly setup speakers in your listening space. It's FREE and will probably have a more positive effect than adding any single component to your system- outside of room correction, or an EQ.

Speaking of speaker placement, nothing is more accurate and reliable than the XLO Test CD out-of-phase track for determining the absolute position on the floor for both speakers. Ye olde move a little/listen a little technique tends to find the local maximum as opposed to the real maximum.

Probably said somewhere above, but cleaning every connector and tube pin & socket with a good contact cleaner can work wonders.

Instead of noise harvesters just plug a low wattage incandescent lamp into the same circuits (wall outlet or power strip) as your gear. I have one outlet for digital on the left with a lamp behind that speaker and had a dedicated outlet run to the right side for the amp with a lamp behind that speaker. Incandescents draw noise out of the line.

I have my amplifiers and preamps on BRICKS or stone slabs which helps vibration. I also use the controversial dakiom feedback stabilizers for negative feedback vibrations. Room treatment is something I'm staying away from due to being too costly but worth it if you have the funds. You can use cheaper alternatives but to do proper room treatment, it's for those with the budget. My favorite tweaks however are called sound processors such as pro gear like behringer, bbe, dbx, peavey and some of the older srslabs, hughes, carver holography, from sonic maximizers to graphic equalizers on solid state gear. I keep tube PURE and CLEAN with no interference from equipment because sound processors add distortions or too much links in the chain.