Your single most profound tweak or upgrade

eclein · « **on:** 14 Mar 2010, 09:57 pm »

I'm interested to know what everyone's single most profound tweak or upgrade is?
The piece of equipment/tweak or combination thats made the biggest and hopefully best difference in your system.
Mine is definitively using my receivers bi-amping capabilities as posted earlier..whats yours??

mjosef · « **Reply #1 on:** 14 Mar 2010, 10:26 pm »

There is no single zazingle.
As one upgrade the major components, speakers, pre, amps, sources...different 'levels' of quality can be realized. Then on each level, there is always a tweak that will push the boundaries, it might be cables on one level, isolation on another, maybe an outlet change on another, and so on and so forth.
This is IMHO of course...YMWV.

eclein · « **Reply #2 on:** 14 Mar 2010, 10:40 pm »

I like zazingle a great word...I see what your saying... how about the tweak/upgrade that really hooked you into this hobby?

hifiman5 · « **Reply #3 on:** 14 Mar 2010, 10:50 pm »

I have been working at "tuning" my system for some time now. I have tried pucks, cones, heavy brass feet, sorbothane hemispheres, vibrapods and most recently Herbie's Tenderfeet.

It is amazing the degree of impact the various isolation/coupling "footers" have on the sound of the system. In my system as it is currently configured, the Tenderfeet have been isolating my components from vibration without adding a "forwardness" to the sound that I was getting from the "harder" materials. The Tenderfeet preserve the depth, impact and tunefulness of the bass while at the same time eliminating grain from the mids and highs. Again, the key here is without a forward upper midrange. It is not that the soundstage is receding, it just isn't jumping forward. I like music to invite me in not sit in my lap!

IMHO, once you've got your components and room configuration where you want them, "tuning" is that last essential step to get as much musical satisfaction as is there to be had.

Have at it.

Tyson · « **Reply #4 on:** 14 Mar 2010, 10:53 pm »

Getting a mic and some measurement software, so I could actually see what was happening in my room, and that let me use a bit of EQ to deal with major issues.

doorman · « **Reply #5 on:** 14 Mar 2010, 10:53 pm »

Hands down removing the attenuator, ANY attenuator, IMHO, from the (pre-amp) chain, and using optocouplers as a volume control device.
The effect simply must be heard for anyone using an active pre amp. (no experience w/passives)
Don

K Shep · « **Reply #6 on:** 14 Mar 2010, 10:56 pm »

Refining my room treatments, measuring, then more room refining.

drphoto · « **Reply #7 on:** 14 Mar 2010, 11:00 pm »

I'd say my GR/Rythmik OB servo subs. Boy there's nothing like full range, especially if it's tight and tuneful. I hated subs until I heard this. I always thought 'high end' on a modest budget meant good monitors and you just had to pretend that the bass, while lacking was at least accurate.. Not anymore.

These are silly good for a very reasonable amount of money. The beauty of it all is you don't need expensive enclosures. A hack DIY'er like me can make something work. Thanks to Danny and St. Louis Bob who convinced me to try them.

Other thing would be Gregg Straley's Reality speaker cables. Yeah, I know everyone has an opinion on cables, but these are world class at a real world price. The only other cable I ever tried that made an improvement was the Sonoran Plateau. The Reality is as good and a tenth the price. I was using Kimber 8TC and these simply do everything better.

I just saw Kspep's post. Yeah, room treatments via GIK made a huge improvement. Another AC vendor providing a great product for a reasonable price.

Can you feel the love yet?

hmen · « **Reply #8 on:** 14 Mar 2010, 11:10 pm »

Room treatments.

DARTH AUDIO · « **Reply #9 on:** 14 Mar 2010, 11:20 pm »

Rives PARC

Shakti Hallographs

Von Schweikert VR-33's

Niteshade · « **Reply #10 on:** 14 Mar 2010, 11:27 pm »

I had a couple of speaker stands custom made a few years ago. Solid pine, internally cross braced, screwed & glued together. BIG & Heavy, made for 100+lb speakers. So far, any large speaker placed on them sounds much,much better than simply sitting on the floor.

WGH · « **Reply #11 on:** 14 Mar 2010, 11:38 pm »

A couple of tweaks really tightened up the sound and increased focus, the first was adding internal speaker bracing and dampening, the second was adding a couple of Felix line filters - the results are not subtle at all.

Wayne

Nuance · « **Reply #12 on:** 14 Mar 2010, 11:41 pm »

By tweak I assume you mean we already had our systems, including speakers, preamp, amp, etc? If so, room treatments. If not, speakers.

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #13 on:** 14 Mar 2010, 11:47 pm »

"Your single most profound tweak or upgrade...."

Good music...

nature boy · « **Reply #14 on:** 15 Mar 2010, 12:11 am »

Quote from: lonewolfny42 on 14 Mar 2010, 11:47 pm

"Your single most profound tweak or upgrade...."

Good music...

I'll join Chris in this, works every time too

NB

Mr Ed · « **Reply #15 on:** 15 Mar 2010, 12:24 am »

I would have to the bass traps I made three years ago. Floor to ceiling from 4' mineral wool, placed in rear corners.
It was like I just spent 5k on new speakers. At the time I had lived with a pairs of Martin Logan Areus for almost 10 years.

SwedeSound · « **Reply #16 on:** 15 Mar 2010, 12:25 am »

Two jump to mind right away: simply moving my speakers back about 6 inches closer to the wall and closer to the corners gave the lower end more heft and overall better imaging (*Thanks Martin!); and custom power cables and power conditioning from Kaplan Cables (*Thanks Paul!).

I wouldn't even recognize my original rig without either of those two mods/tweaks. It's a quantum leap better, and I haven't bothered to do much since other than buy music. And that's been more than a year and a half ago.

Dan Driscoll · « **Reply #17 on:** 15 Mar 2010, 12:55 am »

Replacing my old Paradigms 90Ps with Vandersteen Model 2Cs. No other single change has made a big a difference in my system in the past 20 years.

jtwrace · « **Reply #18 on:** 15 Mar 2010, 12:57 am »

My GIK Room Treatments.

arthurs · « **Reply #19 on:** 15 Mar 2010, 01:28 am »

Room treatment for sure....