You can home in on the very best locations for almost any type of acoustic resonators like the tiny bowls or even tube traps using a SPL meter and a test time of say 315 Hz off one of those test CDS. This will allow very accurate placement of the resonantors where there are peak sound pressure levels that are say, 6 dB above the average sound pressure in the room. For example, in the upper room corners and first reflection points. You would be shocked at just how many of these exceedingly high SPL peaks there can be in a room. Oh, and don’t forget other rooms of the house.
Know of a "Dirt Cheap" tweak?
I am looking for tweaks to improve the overall sound quality of my audio system. I recently purchased some TPC contact cleaner and it made a believer out of me. I noticed a signicant improvement, as if a veil was lifted my system sounded more clear and transparent. Bass got tighter too. Do you know of any cheap tweaks that have made a SIGNIFICANT improvement to the sound quality of your Hifi system...let us know... :-) Comments welcomed!
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Everyone here has heard about using the Magic Eraser as a stylus cleaner ( use scissors to clip a 2mm triangular wand off of every corner of the block and then use it to flick the stylus back-to-front like a stylus brush). You can also use the Magic Eraser to polish/de-oxidize spade lugs, speaker terminals, tube pins, male xlr contacts and male AC plugs... without any harsh chemicals. You can see it is polished, i don't have the patience to do before/after listening tests. Happy Ears |
lexphin, I have been using copper beading cones inserted into copper end caps. The former are really hard to come by lately. You need to do a Google search. The latter can be had on Ebay. Since I have never used SR's HFTs I cannot comment on how they compare. All I can say is that if you find the right positioning the results can be very impressive with a DIY version of SR's HFTs. I have over 70 in my system -- total cost about $70 vs. $4,200 for 70 SR HFTs. How's that for getting a bang for your audio buck? |
Kasboot - here’s a few tweaks... PHONO CARTRIDGE TWEAK: I epoxied a brass plate to my Denon DL103 Cartridge. It increased the mass of the cartridge which improved the compliance match to the arm and resulted in superior performance - best $12.50 ever spent. http://image99.net/blog/files/category-denon-dl-103.html I probably wouldn’t try this on a real expensive cartridge - but the Denon is reasonably priced and i wouldn’t trade it for anything - so resale is not an issue. However - I did the same thing with a Denon 103 rebuilt by Soundsmith and the performance improvement is incredible - again, I will not be selling this cart either :-) ISOLATION FEET TWEAK: I make my own isolation feet by epoxying a ball bearing to a washer, then add a layer of Sorbothane between the washer and the component foot - works great on the granite isolation plinth - cost about $20 for a set of 4 http://image99.net/blog/files/0915f27ce41639dc6e4bf13bff2cbcbb-24.html ISOLATION PLINTH TWEAK I make my own isolation plinth using a piece of MDF and some rubber drawer liner - but I just upgraded to a piece of granite in place of the MDF to improve the dynamics and looks - cost around $30 each http://image99.net/blog/files/3b1e019ed6bce1eec35dad4636fd815c-25.html OUTLET REPLACEMENT: I use Pass and Seymour MRI grade outlets everywhere - they are affordable, clamp like a vice, non magnetic and extremely good at transferring power http://www.takefiveaudio.com/categories/214-pass-seymour-cryo-treated-15a20a-wall-outlets Just a few of the more "affordable tweaks" on my web site Regards - Steve |
Good tweak if you can still get them or you can make them. http://www.museumwaalsdorp.nl/images/goerz.gif Cheers George |
This is pretty much a free tweak. Put your audio equipment device or interconnects into the freezer for 2 hours. Then move to the fridge for 1 hour (slow cool down). Then take out and let it sit for at least 5 hours to allow any condensation to dry. What this does is additionally solidify the solder points and allows for a closer/tighter electrical transference. Since there is less resistance over the solder points, it can also allow some components of electronics to run slightly cooler. I have found additional resolution and soundstage from this treatment. Keep in mind that since you are changing the metallurgy of the components somewhat, you would want to burn in the electronics again for at least 20-30 hours before making any judgements on the sound quality. Non-solder components like speaker cable can have a subtle improvement by extended freezing (like 3-4 days). It's somewhat akin to a poor-man's cryo treatment. |
@rodman99999 I still remember starting this discussion many-many years ago at the meet of Chicago audio society (hope I am not the only one from that meet who is still drinking'n'smoking) and the general consent was Yellow Pages on top of each box. I bought a bunch of Shakti Stones, they look better on top of my Naim amps and power supplies (better than Yellow pages I mean) but in terms of sonics - shoot me! I cannot return them so they stay |
Some decades back VPI was manufacturing what was called a Magic Brick by many(their DB-5). Nothing more than transformer laminates, inside a wooden box. I still have a pair atop the power transformers of my Cary monoblocks, which cause an obvious(not at all subtle) focus of my system's imaging and sound stage, which isn't too shabby to start with. If you can find them, they're popular and costly. Whether one ascribes the benefit to them attracting magnetic flux(away from circuits) or damping vibrations(by their weight), or both- they DO improve performance. Similar benefit can be achieved by obtaining simple steel BBs and filling plastic boxes with them. Placing these above and below components, especially digital devices, will make a wide variety of changes(both improvements and detriments), so- experimentation is KEY! The OP wanted, "Dirt Cheap" and this fits the bill: ( https://www.amazon.com/Silver-Zinc-Plated-Metal-4-5mm/dp/B01E9JUGU6/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=14811... ) & ( https://www.amazon.com/Maymom-Plastic-Hinged-Crafts-Jewelry/dp/B00ZNPWR4E/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid... ) There are bigger boxes available of course and in some instances, more weight/more steel is beneficial. |
The cheapest one I know of was mentioned (I think) by Stereophile: take your glasses off. Works only for the eyeglass wearers of course, but for the "lucky ones" it provides an extra benefit of Total Immersion into music. You wont be able to read/text/surf, only music! Goes well with "Immersion Box" sets by Pink Floyd ;-) |
Completely agree with Kavakat1. Reinforcing my subfloor from beneath the crawlspace has been on my to-do list for some time now. Finally got around to it a few weeks back. I'm very pleased with the results. I cemmented 3 pillar blocks with 4X4 attached to the joists. Additionally I reinforced the joists by screwing 2X4 on each side butted up to the subfloor. Maybe overkill, but now my system sits on a much more solid foundation, close to a solid slab of concrete. Total cost was approx $200 in materials and 8 hrs. of labor. |
If your home has a crawl space or basement, placing supplemental support by way of jacks under the floor where your equipment rack, your speakers and subwoofer(s), if you have, are, will clean up the sound, especially the bass in my case (Vandersteen 2wq). Tightening up the vibes thru the floor really cleans it all up. Did the laundry room at the same time to even greater reduction in noise and transferred vibrations. And to a pleased wife. I have a crawl space that runs from 3 ½ to 4 ft high. My jacks from Home Depot ran up to 3 ft adjustible placing 4jacks, two with 4x6 beams across the spans between joists, and the other two just straight onto the joists. Total 4 hours start to finish and about $150. Home Depot had everything. Jacks ordered online and delivered. |
MY wife re-arranged the furniture in her cathedral ceiling sun-room. What a tweak! Now it sounds exactly the way it should! There is now a rattan sofa between the OHM Walsh speakers along the wall and fairly close to corners that is 70% windows. Imaging and soundstage has improved dramatically. She did this of course for reasons other than sound quality but stumbled onto a good sound tweak in the process. The OHMs continue on Auralex subdude platforms which is key for taming the bass resulting from floor interactions in that room which is tile over suspended plywood floors, a sonic disaster to start with. What a woman! |
Good go Blake: Now you make me want to tweak my tweak as I just used peel off stick on tile that I found behind the fridge when having linoleum installed. I need to power eveything down to work on my cabinet in a couple of weeks and will try it on my CAL player this time instead of the cheap mini system and let you know what happens. The CAL is somewhat brick like already, but you never know til you try. I like the carpet tape, which should be pretty easy to remove and clean off with a solvent if I need to remove the tile. |
Had a brief "thread discussion" with Dekay on this about a week ago and decided to try it as my CD player went out of warranty about a month ago. Go to Home Depot and buy the industrial vinyl floor tiles (3 at about 80 cents apiece). The industrial tile is much heavier and "deader" than the thinner peel and stick but requires an adhesive. Being lazy, I bought 3M outdoor reinforced carpet tape (double-sided) which is black and VERY tacky. Cut pieces and attached them to the underside of the lid of the player and the sides (except where ventilation holes were). The results-a definite improvement in bass performance-bass became more powerful and easier to follow. There was also an increase in transparency with individual instruments becoming clearer and easier to hear-vocals, particularly ends of sentences or verses where the voice "trails off" were much more easily discernable. On the whole, fuller, but also cleaner sound. Definitely worthwhile. $2.50 for the tiles $7.00 for the carpet tape. (Canadian $) My equipment is not ultra-high end so YMMV. Blake |