Cheap tweaks...What would YOU reccomend?

Tbg,

Did anyone ever tell you that you have a great sense of humor?

Funny, I haven't heard anyone here talk about food tweaks so let me enlighten you fellow twerkers if you haven't tried this yet:

Creamy Peanut Butter: Take 2 to 4 jars of JIF or Peter Pan put it in a large ziploc bag and place it underneath your cd player or turntable to deaden any vibration

Granola Bars: Take Nature Valley Oats n Honey granola bars, cut them up in 2" squares, stack them up with Nutella in between, wrap them in saran wrap and place under speakers or components instead of brass cones or other materials.

I also use 6 pieces of granola w/nutella in between as cable risers - 4 pcs of Granola stacked up and 2 pieces on either end so it is "U" shaped with Nutella in between to hold it all together and then I lay the speaker cable in the trough. I then use Nutella to keep the speaker wire from moving.

Saving the best food tweak for last:

M&M's and York Peppermint Patties: On the 1st and 3rd weeks of every month I put plain M&M's on top of my speakers to spell out the words "I need sex"...on the 2nd and 4th weeks I replace the M&M's with York Peppermint Patties because I have felt the sensation.

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 :-)

1. Cardas or AQ caps for unused XLR and RCA I/O connectors on all your components. Don't realize noise exist until it's GONE.

2. Synergistic Research RED Quantum Fuse. It replaced HiFi-Tuning Supreme fuses and the improvements are excellent.

3. Synergistic Research HFTs

4. Remove/replace all SPS with LPS from your system. SPS pollutes your system with noise.

Smoking pot is cheap tweak $20 per week!

As long as you can live with mental and immune system decline .

4. "Remove/replace all SPS with LPS from your system. SPS pollutes your system with noise."

Knghifi,
Pardon my ignorance, but what are LPS and SPS ?

Pardon my ignorance, but what are LPS and SPS ?

linear power supply and switching power supply.

This was my experience with Squeezebox Touch and many audiophile friends.

LPS pollutes your system with mechanical noise and magnetic fields as fate would have it.

Schubert, I put down the pipe over 20 years ago but, as Redd Foxx said when his doctor told him to quit eating pork, "Shit, I don't want to be lying up there in the hospital dying of NOTHING!"

Great, as a former HS teacher I have seen MANY kids go straight down the tube from pot.
The true evil is that it works on the portion of the brain that controls rationality, people in pitiful shape ALL think they are just fine !
Also recent Briish medical research concludes long term users show 30-50% decline in immune system functionality.

Schubert, I fully agree. I will add...
Drug legalization is not freedom, it is slavery.

Amen, Isochrnism.Not to mention their "innocent recreation" buys the bullets that kill real innocents, the children of Mexico.

Schubert,
My mental and immune system works exactly visa versa.

Every time someone takes a swig of Guinness Stout an angel gets his wings.

Every pot-head believes that.

10-12-14: Schubert
Every pot-head believes that.

...pot should be legal.

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.

I stayed on the grid.

I couldn't afford to sell my system at a loss and buy new gear.

Instead, I invested $40.00 dollars in some ERS cloths and did a bit of DIY to shield the wires inside my phono stage.

Not as dramatic a change as going to all battery power(I also considered that option a few years back),it has proven to be a beneficial improvement to my sound.

A not cheap tweak that improved my sound yet again, was the addition of a couple of QV2's.

We never had to do anything except plug it into the wall back when I started in audio in the late 70's.

I think cleaning up the power should be the first place to start when you are thinking about changing your gear because you've grown tired of the sound.

Just tried the Bybee Quantum Signal Enhancer they retail for $119 each. This is probably the lowest price ever for any Bybee product.
And you know what?.. It works great on Video and Audio!
I even put one in my breaker box over my dedicated room breakers.

Ozzy,

What effects are you noticing with these new Bybee products?

Sabai, With Audio, there is a much darker, deeper soundstage, additionally, there is much more information on the outside of the speakers.
instruments and vocals sound distinct and are very separate.

With Video, the colors really pop, and the sharpness is excellent on my 4K 85" Samsung.

Ozzy,

Thanks for letting me know. How many are you using and where are you placing them? Do they have to be touching wires and components?

Sabai, I liked them so much that I bought 11 of them.

One is placed over the breakers. One each under my 2 DIY power strips.
I have one each under each of my Audio components. I used some Cardas blocks to get the Bybees up as close as possible to the underside of the component.

On the Video, I have one each under my cable modem, cable box, Blu Ray, and attached one to my TV.

Surprisingly there is a break in time, which makes it a little hard to decide on final placement.
The Video improvement was instantaneous, but the Audio took a few days to open up.

Ozzy,

Thanks very much for this useful information. I will have to try them out.

Hi Ozzy,

How do these compare with say, WA Quantum chips and crystals?

They should be of a similar type of tweak i.e guessing its a similar quantum/crystal kind of device as opposed to vibrational.

They seems very effective for you to add more than 10, wow!

Justubes2, The Bybees are different than the others. Not sure what formula of crystals is being used but it goes beyond the other items you mentioned. My first impression on audio was not good. The sound was muted or just with no treble. Kind of like when I tried those RF clamps around my cables.
But, the sound did get better and better as the days went one.

11 of these is probably overkill, but that's the way I am. Besides, about half are used on my home theater equipment.

I'm getting ready to post another "next best tweak" item that costs about $9 each.

Thanks, Ozzy.

I have great results with the quantum chips, so i guess i must pick up a few of these quantum enhancers.

Use the felt side of the Bybees nearest the cables or equipment.

Justubes2, I also have great results with some of the WA Quantum Chips. The fuse ones, and the internal ones for transformers and capacitors, and some power cords work great, if you can keep them on. I have found no use for the speaker chips, and found those for pcs do nothing on HFC pcs.

I especially find that the power chip give the best overall improvement. Very powerful sounding and doest lean out certain frequencies.

Capacitor, fuse , transformer and ic chips add overall clarity but they towards a drier or leaner sound.

As for the cable chips i found least impact, but of a drfferent, smoother sounding.

Having tested the bybee, they are different. They do add clarity but found that it seems to impact the staging and dimensionality in the soundstage which i never experienced with the wa chips. Strangly, It seems to also have some impact to the sound of the room.

I need more testing as im not sure if it lose some dynamics or added some mellowness to some instruments and it gave the opposite effect on different type of music.

I have experienced similar things messing with power tweaks.

At first you really like what's going on.

Then you start to think that there is a bit of mellowing or smoothing out.
We wonder if something is missing in the music.

And that would be correct.

What's missing is the noise we sometimes think of as the way the music should sound.

Youre right, i used a non audiophile recording to tweak, massive improvement in there, just more detailed, dimensionl and impactful.

Listening with a audiophile recording fter left is a little too pure sounding or smooth.

I tried pot once. It made me want to rape and kill.

For a cheap tweak, get two unfinished Maple Shade 2" thick unfinished Maple platforms. Spike the platforms to the floor through the carpet. Then spike your speakers to the platforms. This was a terrific tweak in my system.

Replace the speaker's binding posts with Cardas copper binding posts.

Take the cover off of your amp, preamp and phono stage.

Keep in mind that the system is full of mico-vibrations. The more you do to damp them (within reason) the more clarity you'll get. Ultimately, the only thing we want vibrating is the stylus in the groove. So, if you use tube, get tube dampeners.

For CD's ... go to RAdioShack and buy a VCR tape eraser and use that to demag your CDs before playing them. Cheap and effective.

Buy a new turntable belt from Originlive. www.originlive.com. Amazing results from this ... and mine was $44.00 direct from the U.K.

Before a listening session, turn off all electrical devises in the home if possible. Don't forget to plug the refrigerator and freezer back in when you're done.

Clean all contacts with CAIG (red) contact cleaner, including the speaker spades. Finish up with CAIG's ProGold contact enhancer. Don't forget the tube pins. Oh, and the cartridge male leads as well.

Order the best tubes you can get. Here's the site I use: www.upscaleaudio.com

Great advice.
Always clean the contacts,twice a year works for me.
I like to finish with a thin coat of Esst from Walker Audio.

I have been using a Hammond bulk tape eraser to demag my CD,DVD an LP's for several years now.

My friends always think I've done something to the system, like turn up the volume when I give them a before and after demo.

They just can't believe that the better sound after the demag is due to using the Hammond bulk tape eraser.

I started with the small hand held unit from Radio Shack that I bought back in the late 70's when I used a reel to reel in my system.

It works.

A friend had a recording studio and he switched to digital,so I got lucky and he gave me the Hammond .

Soft rubber devices under components will likely muddy the sound. Instead I use Machina Dynamica Heavy Duty Springs: I also use his New Dark Matter on my CD trays (AMAZING!)


MD has a plethora of odd sounding tweaks that I have incorporated into my room as well as blocking bar codes on all discs: cheap and can’t hurt

speaker and system rack positioning are often big freebies, as is freezing CDs, and cables

hth

I met a guy named Rob (his partner Rich) owners of Eno Acoustics and via casual conversation Rob directed me to try adding an basic ethernet switch between my streamer and router to see if I see any differences. Though this is common knowledge amongst most people that taking away noise from router being common sense, I had no idea myself and always just put my ethernet cable direct to router.

I am thankful that Rob directed me towards such a simple upgrade as it improved my sound quality quite a bit. It seems as though their main product is the ethernet filter (used after any ethernet switch you choose) and the product was never mentioned to me until I looked into it myself.

Very appreciative of the nudge in the right direction and feel an overwhelm amount of feelings towards how this is not more common knowledge.

^ Sorry the company name is Network Acoustics, their main item is called the ENO or the MUON, an ethernet filter placed in the chain prior to the streamer and after the ethernet network switch.