These are common on test equipment, which can be influenced by ambient radio noise because input signals can interact on some settings. For audio, not so much, although at the preamp, the tape out RCA's and amplifier RCA's can be connected. In that case, be damned sure that you don't use shorting caps on the tape out RCA's, which short the signal line to ground.
I suspect that the main advantage is cleanliness, which should not be under-rated.
Thank you to all who have responded. You have provided a wealth of good advice about audio tweaks. I often wondered how important speaker connectors are. Fortunately, the connectors of the several speaker cables I have owned, seemed more than adequate, but.....
The Harmonic Technology Pro11+ I purchased used on AG came with expandable banana plugs. Most work, but some seem difficult to use. easily However, with garden hose thick speaker cable and these types of banana plugs, there is always the risk of breaking the speaker connector, especially if the speaker connectors are made of plastic and because the torgue of the cable because of its thickness. It is worse if the cables are longer than you need, which is a problem I have with the HT cable. It is a 12 ft pair. But the sound they provide is excellent The speakers are the Golden Ear Technology 7's, a very good speaker, but the speaker connectors are cheaply made.
The speakers came with a ceramic oval base with standard spikes. Occasionally, there is a bit of overhang in the low bass which could be related to several factors. I have considered using a one inch "dense" wood platform of equal size to further decouple the speaker from the floor which is carpeted. A couple of months ago, I called up The Cable Company, and they advised against added elevation of the speaker to insure the correct ear to eye line from the tweeter to the listener's position. I am very familiar with this standard rule of thumb caveat, and saw nothing in the manual advising against a minimal elevation; unfortunately, I have never felt confident with The CC's recommendations or advice. At times, they can be unfriendly and dismissive
BTW, do "Audio Additives" RCA caps for unused sources reduced the noise floor as claimed. Music Direct sells them, and they are reasonably priced. Thanks, SJ
Assuming that you have a nice system which you like, you might want to consider the following. I save my money for the physics - that is, if and only if the physics is solid and uncontroversial. Then I have been known to spend real money.
Those areas are: capacitors (film and foil are the best), resistors (nude Vishays are best), solid connectors (not necessarily expensive, just solid), clean power, clean stylus, and clean records. And the most cost effective tweak of all: little rectangles of sticky jelly-like substance, which can be stuck on things to control resonance, Moongel, for $10. I use the stuff extensively on my air bearing tonearm.
You may notice some high-mark-up items missing from my list. So is everything controversial. That's how I approach the subject: physics first. YMMV
One thing that works for sure, but depending also to yhe refinement of uour system. Fuses such as the Synergistic Black fuses, look up the resistance Index gor ant skeptics the Bottleneck stock Steel fuse has 7 times the resistance More then premium Silver gold, fuses or even Copper fuse types. Try them Give 75-100 hours comes with a 30 day money back ,Noyhing to loose. This next is the biggest upgrade Boutique Capacitor upgrades ànd many other Possibilities, starting with your Loudspeaks. The vast majority under $15k Have Xovers that parts are average at best. Putting in Premium parts like VH capacitors,Mundorf,Audyn,or Duelund, resistors,the same applies to amplifiers, digital, and preamps.on average maybe 30% of the cost of the item actually goes into build.the rest overhead ,and 50% markup for dealers.I solid Audio for years That is why buying a solid piece of used gear, then dedicate money's to upgrade The results Dramatic. This is why I have equipment built with the best parts And it is still less then at a audio store.
Make sure your connections are rock solid. I have those awful plastic shrouded speaker connectors on my Marantz and it was always difficult to tighten them down. As the connectors tighten, the plastic shroud and the metal contact seem to move as one but I've always wondered if the plastic tightened first before the metal. I've even read where some people have broken off the plastic since the spades can only be inserted one way and one way only, adding to the problem.
Anyway, I went and had the amp end of the speaker cable swapped out from spade to banana and all I can say is what a difference it made. The connection is so much better that it's the old "I'm hearing things I haven't heard before" reaction to very familiar CDs. All of this from better connections. And yes, I cleaned the spade connectors a few months ago so it's not that they were dirty. :-)
This hobby bears a lot of resemblance to the early settlers in America who traveled across this land. A great many grew tired and settled in the Midwest and the Southwest. Those who were braver and more curious made it all the way to the West Coast.
after market power cords especially for amplifiers proper support racks and proper individual support for components for vinyl-- Furutech destat and a good record cleaning machine for vinyl-- proper set up tools like SMARTractor
You must have a verified phone number and physical address in order to post in the Audiogon Forums. Please return to Audiogon.com and complete this step. If you have any questions please contact Support.
