What is your favorite low-tech tweek?


With all of this talk of expensive interconnects, the right plugs, etc., what have you done to your system that has been helpful but without shelling out tons of money?

In a differant thread I saw where I could use some foam insulation used for water pipes to wrap around my longer interconnects to keep them off the floor and seperated from other cables/wires. Also, I am using a pair of tall electrostatic speakers laying on their sides for audio. They are positioned at the base of my screen used in my home theatre. I didn't want the speakers flat on the hardwood floors, so I am using a couple month's supply of wine corks beneath the speakers for seperation. Finally, I got a bit tired looking at the cheap two-wire power cord that came with my Cd player and I re-wired a much better computer cord to a two-pronged plug and I do believe I have better results. That, or I should have made the best use of what the wine corks were designed to do stop with the crazy creative tinkering. So, what have you done along these lines?
unclejeff
Clean your connections, as per Albert Porter above, including the AC power. I got some extra detail and quieter background in my system by cleaning my electrical service ground. I momentarily disconnected the copper wire where it clamps to the ground rod, cleaned it with wire brush on Dremel tool, applied Pro-Gold cleaner/enhancer, and solidly reclamped it. Added some ductseal and a plastic bag to protect from future corrosion.

Has anyone played with their ground rods? Slipknot: Maybe after drinking that beer, you could enhance your ground connection. Let us know which beer works best!

Cheers
Charlie
Charlie,
good tip on the groundrod cleaning. I try to keep an eye on my mains grounds for oxidation as well as the separate grounds for my 20A audio lines. Never thought about the plastic bag though. Good idea.

as for the beer: currently Magic Hat beers hold pride of place in my 'fridge.
Ground Rod protection / cleaning: I spray the connection with Battery Protector and Sealer. It's sold for use with battery terminals, which are susceptible to corrosion. You can purchase this at an auto parts store. The plastic bag is a good idea. My rod is in a shrub bed and I cover the connection with an inverted plastic cup to protect it from moisture.
I used to clean my connections regularly with a product called Cramolin. Eventually it was discontinued. (at least I couldn't find it any more) I started to think that it was possibly just the act of disconnecting and reseating the connection that made the difference in the first place. It actually does make an improvement IMO. Possibly the results are better with Ultra Connect etc., but you can't possibly get cheaper than this tweak.