Top Ten Tweaks

1. PS Audio PP-300
2. PolyCrystal cones
3. PolyCrystal stereo rack ***Manificent***
4. Sand filled stands
5. Dedicated mains
6. Sonic Horizon power cables w/WATTaGATE on both ends and
WATTaGATE outlets
7. Sonex 2" foam cut into 12" squares on the back wall and
at the first reflection points
8. Kontac *the best there is*
9. Bedini CD clarifier *I would never have believed it*
10. Mapleshade Tri-point cones under sub *These are massive
with 3 small cone tips on top to grip.
11. Small wedge pillow that keeps head elevated off the
recliner

Black Diamond Racing The SHELF *****
The carbon fiber shelves have 25 times the resistance to resonance of 8 inches of Granite and 4 times the damping of 2 inches of MDF. It made a major improvement on sound and snapped the soundstage into a tighter focus.
Shunyata Viper Power Cords ***
Speaker spikes on brass holders***
Watt A Gate Audio Grade Outlet***
One inch toe-in on Dynaudio Contour 3.3***
Brass RCA Caps**
Caig Labs ProGold G5 Conditioner for all electrical connections**
Honorable mention: Auric Illuminator used on CDR's for the car's CD player ***
Moving cables around, so that none are touching each other**
Not a tweak, but made my CD collection happy: Wooden and unstained 1,000 cd holder case for $100 from Ikea*****
Positioning my chair for the optimum "sweet spot."*****

Pipe cleaners for RCA connectors. Cleaning all contacts periodically (D-K beware of alcohol: it derodes the gold plating!) Black marker on the CD edges. Keeping cables away from each other (use cigarette or cigarillo boxes and thread cables through). Damping 1st reflections. Check for best placement of cones, etc, under equipment...

Q-tips ** Murine Ear Wax Remover *** Enjoy! ;-)

In a more serious vein. I do believe Ezmeraldah's suggestion of separating the wires and cords is right on. As Dekay correctly pointed out, some tweaks work so well they become necessary. I found this with the cords and wires after I had tweaked everything else. But as I may have mentioned before, lifting the power supplies and conditioners up off the floor was a major improvement. Also I tried to work with my L-shaped room using the help I received here on the forum. Many thanks to everyone who offered suggestions. Also, tweaks can work together or sometimes work against each other...but its worth the time and effort. My cheapest shelf tweak? I put 2" styrafoam on the target shelf with granite tiles on top....works pretty good....cheers, Bluenose

Blueswan: I think that you were right on target with the thread. There is a lot to be done after the cheap tweaks are out of the way. I have added Neuance shelving under the tube amp and CD transport with great results as well as a pair of the BMI Whale Elite PC's. Also the Kontak cleaner for tube pins and sockets and other connections is a very nice product (superior to the high grade alcohol that I was using before). It's kind of funny in that once a tweak works, it then becomes a necessity.

I agree with Ezmeralda and Dekay... a few hours spent on speaker placement will pay great dividends. Also, an inexpensive set of Room Tunes works wonders. Guess I missed the spirit of the thread.

I like Ezmerelda's list of low cost tweaks (mainly involving your time and energy), but recommend a wool felt surround for tweeters (again if the design benefits from it). My addition will be leveling the CD player/transport (and turntables of course) as mentioned in another thread and checking it/them from time to time to adjust the level as needed.

These are all good. My favourite at the moment is 1 bottle of Jost limited edition dornfelder **....two bottles ***....this is unfiltered non-oaked. A silver metal winner..****, any good merlot, syrah ot cabernet foch****...as I've said before, my system sounds sooo good with dry reds,...enjoy, Bluenose

10. Speaker Placement
9. Acoustic Treatment
8. Sturdy Rack (Ventilation and field seperation)
7. Foam ring around tweeter (if design permits or benefits)
6. Deaden spkr. cabinets (if design permits or benefits)
5. Keep interconnects, pwr, & spkr. cable away from one another.
4. Low diffraction spkr stands if minimonitor.
3. Good solid connections between interconnects and spkr cables.
2. Clean connections once in awhile
1. If you have a turntable-then vibration control is a real issue.

no order of importance.

Dedicated 20 Amp outlet **
Isolated CATV ground ****
Walker Valid Points under everthing *****
Lovan Stands on Walker Discs *****
Pro Gold contact enhancer *
PowerVar Chip Protector for computer **
Tara AD/10B for audio/HDTV ***
No a/v cables touching each other nor resting against a hard surface or shelf edge *
Maggie crossover mod ****
Walker High Defintion Links ***