How would you rank the general importance of the following gear (not room or electrical) tweaks. You can use your own setup and experience as your basis. If you tried something and it didn't matter, put it in a separate paragraph at the bottom with "didn't matter" next to it. If it doesn't apply to your setup, just don't include it on your list.
speaker wires speaker isolation interconnects cable risers component isolation tube dampers power cords for amps power cords for preamps power cords for other compnents better capacitors (where?) better fuses (where?)
Did I leave out an important tweak? Please add in as you see fit.
Think it's all snake oil and voodoo? Go watch some TV or take a walk and let folks on the thread have their fun. Because this is a hobby.
If you think that "everything matters" but are willing to go beyond that and suggest what would be the best first step toward doing something, please list the best first things to do. A "to do agenda" rather than a "priority list."
Assuming that there is decent tube equipment to start with, here's what I would do ...
1. Get the room under control. A good start would be a ten or fifteen pack of SR HFTs.
2. Start working on reducing micro-vibrations throughout the system. Herbie's tube dampeners, good footers, a decent rack ... items like that make a big difference.
3. Work on cleaning up the AC power coming into the system. A good place to start would be to check the used market for a PPT "Gate." Expensive, but it will transform your listening experience.
There's a lot more that can be done. I'm convinced at this point that tweaking is the way to go in this hobby. There is no reason to jump on the equipment merry-go-round. Work to get the best out of what you already have. Just sit back, and enjoy the music.
I’ll leave it at there is only two things on that list I have not bothered to dabble with (risers and caps) and one I dabbled with that turned out to not be worth it (fuses). Also dabbling with fuses can cause damage if not done properly.
I let my vendor choose the caps just like all the other stuff they choose to put in there.
if I had to pick the most important key ones it would be isolation of components in general though even there YMMV.
Also I would add if one is smart about it none of those things need cost a fortune.
@ebm If you can take a few minutes to write blather, you can take a bit more time to contribute something you know of substance. Then again there's the usual option: take zero time and just skip the thread. Oh, yes -- have a nice day.
Perhaps the most notable was "component isolation". I was a skeptic of most tweaks, etc, like most people start off. It’s just hard to believe that some of this stuff works. Many years back I read about pumice stone under a CD player @ TNT audio(?). I hate guessing about something. The tweak was $3 worth of Pumice stone from a dept. store. OK, That’s cheap enough. So lefts try it. I bought 2 pumice stones and cut each in half. My mind was telling me that I could put an end to this ridiculous idea by disproving it. So, under the cdp it goes and...........................................................WHAT? Huh? It didn’t take long and I was hearing a bigger soundstage, and more air. The music floats on air rather than being cast or shot out from the speakers. (Hey, I ain’t no reviewer. I don’t know the fancy words to describe it. Said another way, "It sounded noticeably different and better.. From there I found a recipe for DIY roller blocks. These are even better. From there I moved up the $$$$ scale to an Oyaide R1 power outlet @ $175. I felt really foolish spending my $$$ on this with NO $$$ back return offered. When I heard the difference IT made, I felt like someone was playing tricks on me. How could this be? I hate things which don’t make sense to me
oregonpapa has a nice summary. Townshend springs, HFT, ECT, PHT, cable elevators have all made a huge difference. Haven’t yet tried fuses, tube dampers, or PPT. Those tweaks are on the agenda.
Definitely it's getting the room and speaker placement correct, best using a laser tool. Then isolation of components especially a TT if you're into vinyl or your CDP/transport. From there power is next like receptacles. Then just too many others but get the foundation right and things will fall into a happy and enjoyable listening experience.
Component isolation makes a huge positive difference. Power cords and finding just the right digital cables seem to set the foundation for choosing ics and speaker cables.
no experience with fuses,risers,or changing out caps.
I don't have a room dedicated to audio. Also, I'm very constrained re: speaker placement.
RE: cables, I've upgraded to all my components but found that upgrading amp and digital cables has had greatest impact.
I've tried a variety of footers and while they all had some small effect (good, bad, or indifferent) the vibration approach that's had the most noticeable and positive impact in my system has been Symposium Svelte Plus Platforms coupled with Rollerblock Jr. +'s.
I generally agree with what @oregonpapa said. Room acoustics is definitely the first priority.
Being a vinyl diehard for the last 32 years, I’ve learned a lot about digital having built a digital source in the past year having been at home for days on end during COVID. Having a friend that was eager to loan me cables and other equipment to try out in return for my sharing my impressions was helpful as well. In terms of tweaks, I’m definitely all about value-for-money meaning ’Can I get my existing equipment to sound noticeably better without spending money that would be better spent on more expensive equipment’.
From a digital (instead of analog) perspective, I do think that the reduction of EMI and RFI is critical. My impressions are that there are some fairly inexpensive things in the digital realm that can be done that provide outsized benefits relative to their cost. I would probably do 1-5 below no matter what equipment I have in my system. This is my ranking of digital audio tweaks that have made the most improvement for me:
1. Creating an Ethernet access point with a TP-Link RE230 Wi-Fi Extender & turning off Wi-Fi & HDMI on my streamer (total cost $40 for the RE230 and an AmazonBasics Cat 6 Ethernet cable) 2. Switching to a Supra Cat 8 Ethernet cable (cost of $65) provided about 60-80% of the improvement that I heard from going from Wi-Fi to Ethernet. 3. Adding a pretty reasonable $135 Shunyata Venom power cord to my Denafrips Pontus II DAC from a $15 Tripp-Lite Heavy Duty power cord that I bought as a benchmark for comparison. I also tried a Synergistic Research UEF Blue power cord (loaned by a friend along with the Shunyata power cord). The Synergistic cord was best sounding on a Denafrips Ares II DAC, but the Synergistic cord tended to erase some of the dynamics and resolution from my current Pontus II DAC. The Shunyata provided a better balance of resolution and clarity on the Pontus. Perhaps the Ares II benefitted more from noise reduction than my current Pontus II DAC, 4. Going to a Stordiau Lush USB cable (~$200): Smoother but also more resolving sound. 5. Adding a Audioquest Jitterbug USB noise filter to my streamer’s USB output. ($60): Added clarity, resolution, solidity to voices and instruments.
Other things I’ve tried for digital: 6. Isolation devices under my DAC: Daedalus isolation devices (like Symposium Acoustics Rollerblocks) added a level of clarity but they probably aren’t the best value at $480 for a set of three. These were loaned to me by a friend so my net cost was $0. Perhaps when these go back to my friend, I’ll see if I notice their absence. I saw a homebrew design for a roller based isolation system that I might try with Shepherd’s 3697 Furniture cups & 1/2" ball bearings: https://www.stereophile.com/content/make-your-own-roller-bearing-isolation-system-1650-1
Other things I intend to try for digital: 7. Uptone Audio ISO Regen: I’m wondering how this might sound versus my fairly basic Audioquest Jitterbug. The Jitterbug does sound better to my ears than the Wyred4Sound Recovery which seemed to sand down the dynamics and sparkle of music. Uptone says they are creating a new and improved version of the ISO Regen as the chip on which it is based has been discontinued. 8. Power conditioner: I'm considering the Audioquest Niagara 1200
In terms of other tweaks, my first tweak was speaker cables. I went from 10 or 12 gauge zip cord to a set of Nordost Flatline Gold cables. Nordost was just starting out in the early 90s so the cost of $125 or so was still affordable on a student budget. WOW, hearing the added clarity after adding in the Flatline cables was a revelation as to how much my 12 gauge zip cord speaker cable were blocking the potential sound that could come from my system. A friend recently asked to borrow these cables thinking how different could speaker cables sound. Bad move on his part. Haha. He’s now figuring out how to justify spending $300 on speaker cables.
Take one thing: speaker isolation. What speaker isolation? Spikes? Which spikes? Cones? Tennis balls? Springs? Townshend Podiums? Now you're getting somewhere. Podiums under speakers is indeed a #1, or at least a strong candidate for #1. But you didn't say Podiums, you said speaker isolation. Same for everything else on the list.
You have the right idea, just not the right approach. Usually what people are after is what is the biggest bang for the buck? This question no one can answer for the simple reason everything hinges on the particular details of your system and preferences.
With all that said I will play along. What is recommended, from least to most expensive:
speaker wires- ribbons (any), Isolde, F1. speaker isolation- Nobsound (or any springs), Pods, Bars, Podiums. interconnects- Synergistic, until your budget reaches Townshend level cable risers- any ceramic insulator, with vibration control component isolation- Same as speakers: use springs, until you can afford Pods. tube dampers - No. power cords for amps power cords for preamps power cords for other compnents - this is all one thing. Same as interconnects. Except here use Synergistic until you can afford Moneoone Nova or Supernova. better capacitors (where?) - Everywhere. But why only caps? Diodes make just as much difference in electronics. Inductors and resistors make just as much difference in speakers. Vibration control makes just as much difference in all of them. better fuses (where?)- Wherever there are fuses.
You get the idea. Most of these have some very inexpensive options that will get you a tremendous improvement for hardly any cost. Nobsound, for example, or any generic ribbon type speaker cable. There's a reason so many people are so happy with their ribbon speaker cables. It is like Tekton, when you get the technology right it is awesome and allows you to reach a performance level attainable only for a lot more money without that technology. Springs are definitely like that. When the spring or ribbon technology is combined with superior engineering, ala Townshend, then you really have something.
So it turns out not to be impossible after all- once you look at it the right way.
Love the idea of this thread but I must take exception to listing cables as tweaks as I feel speaker cables can be of an order greater than ICs and PCs, putting them in the category of a component.
Having said that, component isolation was of greater importance than I would have imagined. Think focus and clarity. Power conditioning as well. Think lower noise floor and correspondingly better see thru with increased air, ambience and detail retrieval. Fuses can completely flavor the sound. PCs can expand the soundstage, add clarity and improve dynamics. ICs can do the same as well as increase but on a higher scale. Cable risers were a big surprise for me. Going from 2", to 6" to 8" all saw improvements that leave me still scratching my head. One would think just a couple of inches would suffice but the higher up, the better the improvement.
In terms of efficiency, I‘d rank anything contributing to eliminating EMI/RFI highest. So: passive filters (Acoustic Revive, Akiko et.al.) followed by contact enhancers (Acoustic Revive, Mad Scientist et.al.) followed by cables (Phono, USB, Server, Dac and Preamp power cables in that sequence).On USB specifically: Intona Isolator
If you feel like spending lots of money: Bybee Golden Goddess speaker and RCA between pre and power amp, they really make a big difference once you got the front end sorted.
In terms of isolation: speakers first (Symposium or Townshend), tube dampers (EAT, Duende Criatura) Black Ravioli under components.
Without question, a great tweak was an Ohio Class SRA platform under my TT. It was like this sophisticated complex piece of gear was finally able to perform as designed. And a recent innovation in my system is QSA light blue fuses in my mono blocks. They bring presence and structure to the music turning good to great sound into great gripping sound. I am so impressed that I have ordered the next up yellow. And certainly good power is central. Having Shunyata Triton/Typhon combination was a major lift. Hard to say which tweak is actually the best.
Go nuts over speaker placement. Fine tune positioning to a fault. Regularly unplug & re-plug all connections. Keep the stylus & cantilever clean. Give your stuff time to warm up.
@artemus Great tweaks — perhaps a sub-topic: best *cheap* tweaks!
@earlflynn "Search bar." Er, good one. I'm not asking to look something up, I'm asking people to report out their experiences. This is a *discussion* forum and I'm starting a *discussion.*
@stuartk and a couple others — some platforms etc. are on my list, too. @antigrunge -- looking into those items, especially on EMI/RFI.
@calvin Thanks! And what a great list and the detail is so helpful. Lots to try, there.
@mc
Yes, impossible. Impossible to rank these. For the simple reason it is impossible even to say what it is this list means.
Happy to hear people phrase things in any verbiage that tickles them, seem appropriate, and approach it in any way that makes it possible. Your list is most helpful. You listed things from least to most expensive. Is this also a list from least to most *impact*? Imagine you were giving someone advice, and they said, "Bro, I can spring for just two tweaks now and then I have to lay off for a while." Your first two items on the list would comprise your reply to them, I'm assuming.
@nonoise — gotcha. Speaker cables are part of the system, not a tweak. Perhaps part of an "upgrade" but not a tweak. Fair correction. Thanks for the rest of your list.
Seriously, resistors and capacitors. Nude Vishay resistors are my taste. MIT styrene and tin (RTX) caps are good if you can't design for air gap or vacuum.
No doubt clean ears are a must in all cases. Very fundamental. You have to tend to that that first before getting down and dirty anywhere else with tweaks.
From pauly689 1. Component isolation, 2. speaker isolation, 3. power cords for power amps.
My thoughts exactly. These three tweeks have shocked me as to the improvements they made in making my system so much more engaging. Tried as hard as I could through cable swaps to rid my system of the sibilance/ringing. Isolation eliminated it. Even though many say tackle speaker Isolation first, the component isolation made a more significant improvement in my system. The right match of power cords to my amps added life into the sound. I echo another previous comment, in that our current components have a lot me to give though these tweeks.
speaker wires.. went from tempo electric solid core silver to SR atmosphere x level 3 on my Martin Logans and it chilled out the highs, reducing fatigue and opening up the stage..
speaker isolation… added isoacoustic Gaia feet to my logans.. it helped define the bass notes on strings as well as cleaning up and separating notes as well
interconnects.. went from full loom of tempo Electric silver rca to SR xlrs with ground cables on all. This lowered the noise floor as well as added more separation and depth, mostly on live recordings
cable risers n/a
component isolation.. Added SR tranquility bases and pods to preamp, dac, server, amp, and even under my turntable. The turntable is also on a symposium ultra platform. They all helped but ill say that while the symposium stand allows me to hear my table as it should be, the most shocking improvement was the tranquility pod under the table. I aslo have the SR record mat and weight and pht on the table and i feel like the pod supercharged those..
tube dampers did not care for them
power cords for amps i have em, cant really remember much except lower noise floor
power cords for preamps same as amps
power cords for other compnents I had a bluesound in my system and added a nice wireworld cable and it made a noticeable difference better capacitors (where?) n/a better fuses (where?) i put seven or eight in my magtech amp and it is a ridiculously amazing change
Ive tried a bunch and you truly want to hear a differance and possibly its a placebo effect but the two tweeks I done and without a doubt knew it was better was changing out the patch cable 5e from my Router/gateway to my streamer Node2I to a Linkup Cat8 22guage for $34. then I would say I did notice an improvment when I made a DIY Mogami speaker cable it definitely had a more refined sound and I want to say the IFI acPurifier does help outside of that I had high hopes for others like iso acoustics solation pads , interconnects and a few others and it didn't really blow my skirt up. Im a huge believer in putting some money in the source streamer- upstream , Garbage in Garbage out . Im thinking about getting liner power supplies for my router and my streamer now and possibly a galvanic isolator for the ethernet , maybe something was wrong with my old 5e patch all along who knows , Im moving on. 1 absolute must is acoustics , I wrapped my entire room with a track curtain that has sound deadening material and that without a doubt is the best thing you can do to remove echos and get more detail from your current setup.
While upgrading componets ( external and internal ) generally give you better or more pleasing sound . Two tweeks that suprised me were replacing the weight on my Rega RB300 tonearm to an Expressimo that lowered the center of weight and replacing a PS Audio power outlet to an AudioQuest NRG edison ( does this count as " electrical " ? ) . One I tried didn't like were tube dampers .
My list doesn't exactly follow the Op's list (my apologies, but then, I never have followed the rules) but the improvement I experienced when each was implemented was significant enough to warrant a mention.
Most important tweak in my opinion, though probably not an actual tweak is dealing with room acoustics. I dealt with mine electronically instead of acoustically because of cost, floor space and WAF. I do plan to explore acoustic options in the future.
The next biggest improvement was when I switched to fully balanced operation. The improvement in tone, dynamics and system noise was completely unexpected.
This doesn't fall into the tweak category either but the improvement was significant enough that I feel it needs to be mentioned, adding an active crossover between subs and mains. The difference in clarity and tightness in the low end was rather eye opening
Time aligning the subs and mains added even more clarity, space between instruments and improved imaging.
My last tweak is actually on the Op's list, component isolation. I haven't done extensive isolation and because of my penchant for loud, bass driven music the isolation platform under my TT is more of a necessity than a tweak. Other components I have used minimal isolation on so far are my subs and amps. I also have plans to explore isolation under my other components and improve the isolation under the subs and amps.
Well dealing with room acoustics is all about tweaking starting with choice of speakers and then where to put them exactly and whatever else follows from there to get a handle on things initially. I would agree to put that one on top of the list. Right up there with clean ears.
Great thread. In ranked order: 1. Speaker Cable. Townshend F1 Fractal and to a lesser extent HFC CT1-E cable were so far above anything else. 2. Power cord to DAC. Not any power cord. Only the Shunyata Alpha EF did the business. Others had minimal effects. 3. Speaker Isolation. On my B&W 804D Gaia feet were transformational. With my Boenicke speakers they have a bespoke ’swingbase’ which isolates the speaker in a similar fashion. 4. Adding a CAD GC1 and 3 - a grounding device, one for signal ground, the other for electrical. 5. Rack isolation using Townshend Seismic corners. These isolate the whole rack, making it ’float’, and mean individual component isolation is not necessary. 6. Power cord for my integrated amp. Again the Shunyata made the difference, others much less so. 7. Interconnects. Actually only one - all sounded identical except Townshend F1 Fractal, same as my speaker wire. There is something magical about the F1 loom. 8. Adding a Cisco switch between the router and bridge. 9. USB cable connecting the Roon endpoint to the DAC. 10. Changing from ethernet cable to an optical network (definitely not WiFi) 11. The type of Ethernet cable between optical switch and roon endpoint cable 12. Power cable to the active bass subs in my speakers.
Things that made no difference for me: - cable risers - the type of cable between my amp (pre-out) and the active bass units in the speakers - the Ethernet cables from the router to the first switch
interconnects, speaker wires, power cords for all components, top three in that order. When you use isolation it is only desirable for a springy turntable. I only change the caps when they need it. I only would go for vintage fuses because the high priced fuses do not sound any better. As far as risers and dampers i can say that risers are just a problem if you have unshielded wire and as for dampers it depends on the tube gear in question.
Which of the tweaks on your list were most important to deal with first?
I'm probably an atypical audiophile. After 5 years of research I'm nearly finished completing my bucket list high-end analog/digital audio chain hoping to land somewhere mid-fi (couldn't think of another term). Awaiting funds to purchase speakers and cables. So I'm addressing all the non-tube tweaks simultaneously.
A few members have recommended cleaning ears. Well a proper ear cleaning can only be conducted in a hospital or similar. Ear syringing is ineffective. I had a proper ear cleaning done a couple of years ago, by a .specialised. I watched the whole procedure via a video display . The equipment used is a probe with various miniature tools and a camera- It is inserted into the ear cavity and extracts -In my case at least 60 years of wax , dirt and hair build up! The specialist cut , jetted ,vacuumed and snipped inside my ear canal , removing large chunks of hard wax -Ugh . I could smell the stuff as it was flushed out! Finally he broke through endless muck -just like a tunneling machine , to reveal a pristine ear drum. The process cost 3000 Baht for both ears - about $US 100. At the time , I considered the best money spent on anything ever .It was that good. As a comparison in audio perception improvement -Lets just say , from a $500 DAC to a $5000 DAC .
@duckworp Thanks for your detailed and descriptive list. I recently upgraded my speaker cable. My DAC cord is decent but not great. I need to install dedicated electrical lines before doing much more with power cord trials. My AP Crystal interconnects really advanced the sound for me.
Don't fully understand the stuff about Cisco switch; have been using wifi rather than ethernet cable because I've read that ethernet cables are susceptible in real ways. I don't really understand #10. I have a comcast/xfinity router within a few feet of my streamer. Are you suggesting different kind of cord here or some larger scale change.
Thanks again for your answers. Good to know that writing up a ranked list is a rational think to ask.
The greatest tweak is determining what you can hear. (can we train our ears to hear better? at any age? not so sure) Don't let peer experience and/or purchase bias enter into the equation. My best tweak is a grain of salt. Also avoid audio compulsive disease....never stopping to enjoy the music. I am open to learning but I am content with my destination whether in the car or in front of my "best" system.
Hear hear jpwarren. Oh, and by the way -- just learned that adding a little salt to coffee before brewing helps neutralize the bitterness (it blocks certain taste buds).
i have hardly any experience with most of the tweaks mentioned, but can say that putting herbies mats on my technics tightened up the bottom on a lot of my bass-heavy records. the trade off was having to spin the platter back from the side to cue - with a felt mat i could just put my hand in the center of the record and adjust it that way. i'm not really much of a dj anymore so it was a worthwhile tweak to me for everyday listening
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