Tell Us What Tweaks You Use That You Swear By

LenWhite

Well-Known Member
Feb 11, 2011
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Florida
systems.audiogon.com
I also have started using Audiotop Digital for my CD's which I've found improves the micro dynamics. The products distributor said this product is different from other CD cleaner/polishes because rather than adding a film to the CD surface, it removes any existing film including that which is left behind by the manufacturing process.
 

LL21

Well-Known Member
Dec 26, 2010
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A very good and trusted Audiophile friend of mine insists on upgrading fuses...he said equivalent to upgrading power cable or thereabouts. Any experience here? Is there any danger in doing this? If so, where is the danger? thanks...i am super-cautious about tweaking equipment and prefer not to electrocute myself! but if it really is a big improvement in upper mid clarity, i am open minded to trying it...particularly since fuses are typically a replaceable item in most units. (few are fused in, but most are not.)
 

Steve Williams

Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
A very good and trusted Audiophile friend of mine insists on upgrading fuses...he said equivalent to upgrading power cable or thereabouts. Any experience here? Is there any danger in doing this? If so, where is the danger? thanks...i am super-cautious about tweaking equipment and prefer not to electrocute myself! but if it really is a big improvement in upper mid clarity, i am open minded to trying it...particularly since fuses are typically a replaceable item in most units. (few are fused in, but most are not.)

There is a good thread started here several months ago by Myles on fuses

http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showthread.php?453-Audiophile-Fuses&p=3565&viewfull=1#post3565
 

LL21

Well-Known Member
Dec 26, 2010
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Thanks, Steve. just read it...did you ever do your own investigation with your system on fuses?
 

LL21

Well-Known Member
Dec 26, 2010
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Healthy skepticism is a good thing in life. I am going to listen myself and see if these are just changes or improvements. I'll post either way.
 

mep

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
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I haven't Lloyd. I must admit that I am somewhat skeptical however I am still wanting to do the comparison testing

Steve-I always wondered how you were going to pull this off if you made the leap to do it. With tube gear, you would listen to your current set-up first. Now you power it down and replace fuses (and I hope they are all external and easily accessed or it opens a whole new bag of fun). After you replace the fuses you have to wait for the gear to come back up to temperature. Unless you took really good notes, you probably are not going to hear any differences that are going to be startling assuming there any differences at all. I think good note taking would be critical for this endeavor. The ability to pick out fly s**t from pepper might come in handy also for this exercise. It would be interesting as long as you were doing it and not me. I would rather read your results.
 

NorthStar

Member
Feb 8, 2011
24,305
1,323
435
Vancouver Island, B.C. Canada
1. Getting rid of all the interconnects that are not used.

* When using a source, only use one type of interconnect; analog or digital, but not both!

2. I use squash balls cut in half under all my sources.

* Cheap (a dollar each when on sale), and they are excellent at absorbing vibrations from the transports and isolating them from the rest of your gear.
 

RogerD

VIP/Donor
May 23, 2010
3,734
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BiggestLittleCity
1. Star ground circuit.

2. Swapping out coupling caps in my DAC: I replaced the stock Wima with Mundorf supreme
 

Lee

Well-Known Member
Feb 3, 2011
3,210
1,737
1,260
Alpharetta, Georgia
1. Better AC cords.
2. Contact cleaning.
3. Isolation devices like Cardas Ayre blocks and Vibrapods and cones.
4. RCA covers by Cardas.
5. Powerline conditioning.
6. Cardas IBE disc.
7. AC cords at 90 degree angles to sound cords.
8. Speaker placement - Maggie/planar formula from Cardas.
9. Room treatments and voicing as described by Jim Smith in Get Better Sound.
10. Developing critical listening skills.
 

Lee

Well-Known Member
Feb 3, 2011
3,210
1,737
1,260
Alpharetta, Georgia
Great info Len

I too have been to many of Lars Nordost demos.

Like you I have found profound differences with isolation devices most noticeable under all of my tube components. I went a slightly different direction and use Aurios Pro MIB

Lars' demos at RMAF are terrific. The Quantum stuff is pretty cool.
 

garylkoh

WBF Technical Expert (Speakers & Audio Equipment)
Sep 6, 2010
5,599
225
1,190
Seattle, WA
www.genesisloudspeakers.com
2. I use squash balls cut in half under all my sources.

* Cheap (a dollar each when on sale), and they are excellent at absorbing vibrations from the transports and isolating them from the rest of your gear.

I used to do this, but without cutting them in half. Then, use the different hardness - blue/white/yellow/double yellow - and keep them from rolling around with a 1.5" neoprene gasket ring.

However, while they help some equipment, they made others lose tightness in the lower frequencies, and can sometimes even muddy the midrange. Then, I went to the hard-type suspension - Aurios, various spikes, cones, etc. Unfortunately, everything I tried has a characteristic "sound". I discovered this when evaluating two CD players - changing the rack/cone made more of a difference than changing the CD player.

Now, I use 3/4" thick or 1" thick high-molecular weight cell-cast acrylic. The same material that Clearaudio and other manufacturers use to make their megabuck turntables. Easily available at a store that make display and exhibition shelves, acrylic fish tanks, etc. At a place like Tapp Plastics in Seattle and San Francisco, they will even cut to size for you.

Replace all glass/mdf/wood/granite shelves in the equipment rack with a sheet of this.

Then, instead of cones or ball bearings, replace with the acrylic cabochons.



Tap Plastics even sell acrylic rods and tubes, and you can easily assemble a very, very NEUTRAL sounding rack out of stuff you can get there. I emphasize neutral because you'd better like the sound of your equipment if you do this.......

ps. I have NO affiliation with Tap Plastics - except that all my experiments have been made from material I've purchased from their local store.
 

NorthStar

Member
Feb 8, 2011
24,305
1,323
435
Vancouver Island, B.C. Canada
I used to do this, but without cutting them in half. Then, use the different hardness - blue/white/yellow/double yellow - and keep them from rolling around with a 1.5" neoprene gasket ring.

However, while they help some equipment, they made others lose tightness in the lower frequencies, and can sometimes even muddy the midrange. Then, I went to the hard-type suspension - Aurios, various spikes, cones, etc. Unfortunately, everything I tried has a characteristic "sound". I discovered this when evaluating two CD players - changing the rack/cone made more of a difference than changing the CD player.

Now, I use 3/4" thick or 1" thick high-molecular weight cell-cast acrylic. The same material that Clearaudio and other manufacturers use to make their megabuck turntables. Easily available at a store that make display and exhibition shelves, acrylic fish tanks, etc. At a place like Tapp Plastics in Seattle and San Francisco, they will even cut to size for you.

Replace all glass/mdf/wood/granite shelves in the equipment rack with a sheet of this.

Then, instead of cones or ball bearings, replace with the acrylic cabochons.



Tap Plastics even sell acrylic rods and tubes, and you can easily assemble a very, very NEUTRAL sounding rack out of stuff you can get there. I emphasize neutral because you'd better like the sound of your equipment if you do this.......

ps. I have NO affiliation with Tap Plastics - except that all my experiments have been made from material I've purchased from their local store.

Interesting Gary! Acrylic is nice (I use some as shelves for some of my electronics).
I cut them myself from large slabs.

* Here's another tip:

Disconnect all your components; clean all the interconnects after unplugging them.
Same with speaker wires.
And clean all jacks with isopropyl alcohol.

-> It's like reinstalling your entire setup again after transporting the dust from A to B. :)
 

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