Tuning feed, equipment/amp racks, power- and room treatment. It does make a difference!


Things like tuning feeds, equipment racks, cables and power control have proven to be one of the best investments I have made, complementing my valuable and beloved audio equipment. It improves the overall sound, that is to say, more transparency, wider soundstage, deeper bas, precision, a darker background etc....
I have purchased recently some Harmonix TU-666m and RF-999MT MkII's and indeed, these substantially contributed to all of this including less resonance. I also purchased an Audio Research Niagara 5000, connected to a separate power feed, that equally impressed me in improving the overall performance of the "sound". I am speaking about audible improvements, and not psychological. Indeed, as advised to me before, changing a audio component might not necessarily be the best performance increase.  

I am reading a lot about these audio "tweaks". I actually prefer to speak about components that are completing your audio system. Recently, I have added Acustica Applicata and Vicoustics products, again I was amazed by what this can do. You probably get it, I am looking at improving/controlling the vibration/resonance of the audio equipment and room.

I am sharing this not only because I also read a lot about people being sceptic on this (certainly if it comes to the very old conversations about cables), but also because I have a lot of fun looking into this and how it eventually improves the overall performance of the sound. I am just hoping that this will trigger others to share their experience. I hope to get something out of your feedback. I am still looking to the best amp-stand for instance 

Thanks!
info2rdw
There is no doubt that once you reach a certain level of gear, the room, isolation and ac power are critical to getting the full potential out of your system. I started out using locally made "Wally feet" which are similar in concept to the Harmonic tuning feet before switching to Alto Extremo. Now I use a mix of Stillpoints Ultra 6’s + Ultra bases, Ultra Mini’s & Ultra LPI’s which i’m very happy with.

On racks, I upgraded from a metal Standesign rack & tv cabinet to Taoc ASR II racks with upgraded Finite Elemente Cerabase feet + upgraded Taoc SCB-RS-HC50G shelves for my amp & cdp. I’m content with that combo for now which offers exceptional value, though I plan to upgrade my racks in future.

On the ac power side, I use a Gigawatt PC-3 SE Evo conditioner and Furutech GTX-D(g) wpo. The Gigawatt cleans up the power nicely, levels the difference b/w input and output power, improves impulse response, offers robust over-voltage and surge protection, and has an accurate volt meter.

As my listening room is also my living/dining room, unfortunately there isn’t much scope to install room treatments. However my medium size room has essentially good acoustics as is. And my Magico speakers are a sealed box design, making them less critical with placement. So all in all it works well.

That said, if I buy a house one day, I will include a dedicated, treated listening room of ideal dimensions & run dedicated 20a lines to audiophile wpo’s. Right now, my favorite room acoustics firms are RW Acoustics and SMT, though Art Novion and GIK Acoustics are also good. One day!