Most useful tweaks that are sensible and really make a noticeable improvement


So after reading the thread of useless tweaks I'd  be interested the communities opinions of useful tweaks. I may be rehashing a previous thread but times change as do useful tweaks.

I have found that in my case the following were useful, immediate and audible,
In order of priority in my opinion
1 Room treatment
2 Speaker location, ie proper setup
3 Subwoofer location (if used)
4 Subwoofer integration
5 Component isolation
6 Cables, all SC/IC etc, normally I would not mention cables but did have an ear opening epiphany that makes me believe cables are system dependant and I do not mean directionality.

So if anybody has anything to add, please do so as none of us are ever too old to learn.



128x128gillatgh
Top priorities for me would be speaker alignment, subwoofer placement/integration, and seating position (the later depends on where you get the most even/natural bass response).  Essentially you have to play the room.  Nothing else really matters until you first get the basics done right.  I would highly recommend Jim Smith’s book/DVDs - “Get Better Sound”.  He explains a lot of these concepts in detail.
Keep speaker cables as short as possible.

Use shielded twisted pair (one pair for each channel) from your tonearm to phono stage. 

Remove speaker grilles. 
Another vote for speaker placement.

Some sound better closer to boundaries some don't - it just depends upon the room and what the designer wanted.

For me, it's tweeter aimed at ear level before anything else. Then it's proximity to rear wall, as very few speakers sound best placed flat against it.

@mauriceminor, the ultimate DIY tweak?