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Are There Improvements that Can Be Easily and Quickly Made Without Buying More Stuff?

I appreciate that there are many people on this forum who have put a great deal of thought and effort into how to improve their audio systems.  Most of the discussion relates to upgrading equipment.  This is natural as most people here want to improve their music experience, and better equipment is a way to do that.  I’ve taken advantage of this and made 5 or 6 upgrades over the last year!  The result has been great!  But are there some simple steps that can be taken that can be overlooked by someone who is newer to audio?

As examples I’ve read that facing a sub towards something like the back of a couch will improve its sound.  And for rooms with bad effects that can’t be fixed, move the listening position closer to the speakers.

‘What is your best tip for improving sound quality without buying anything?

128x128tcotruvo
tcotruvo's avatar
tcotruvo OP
179 posts
 

I really appreciate all the suggestions. It gives me a lot to work with.  This forum has been a great resource for advice.

@joshua43214 

On isolation, my 2 subs are sitting on thick recycled rubber pads made to be used for outdoor patio blocks.  Each of my speakers are sitting on four rubber feet that were made for a big commercial espresso grinder.  All are on a concrete slab with no basement below.

@wturkey 

The speakers are powered and plugged into wall outlets.  Same for the 2 subwoofers.  I did a bit more cable management as you suggested.  But I could drill out another hole in the back of my cabinet for power cords to separate them from interconnects.  Good idea and free!  I’ll also open the speakers and make sure that all fasteners are tight.  All my cables are tight.

@immatthewj 

Everything is on 1 circuit, using 4 different wall and floor outlets - since all the speakers and subs are powered and in separate locations they each have their own outlet.

princeliebe
10 posts
 

#1 Independent electric only for Audio?

I believe it's not hard.

#2 And  outlets usage order: analog first, then digital. 

Try #2. 😁😁😁

 

defendert's avatar
defendert
20 posts
 

It also makes a difference on you sitting position from the rear wall.  Sitting close will boost bass. Another idea that i have done lately is replacing the plugs on my power cables to furutech silver coated. Which help with mids and highs. Rhodium coated helps to give more bass.

dinov's avatar
dinov
794 posts
 

As a lot have said positioning speakers  will help. Also, take the system apart clean all the contacts, components etc and reassemble. A general housecleaning can sometimes do wonders. Good luck. 

tcotruvo's avatar
tcotruvo OP
179 posts
 

A few things that I can add to the equation:

When the sub-bass is good on a recording, it sounds really, really good.  I think if every recording was as good as the best ones I’d always have tremendous sub-bass.

I’m listening to MQA on Radio Paradise. My SMSL M400 DAC shows that it’s playing at 44.1 kHz.

My speakers are powered so my amplifiers are plugged directly into the wall.

My listening position is 10ft from my speakers - is that considered near field?

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