Your most indispensable "tweak"?

@scothurwitz 

With regard to the isolation feet, which three brands did you try? 

I tried CMS and did exactly as you did and left them in for 2 weeks as my dealer said they would change over time and, as exactly as you said that they would get worse then better.  I heard no change at all over the two weeks. Nothing. I also tried Stillpoints and Ansuz.  I thought I heard something slightly better with the Stillpoint 6 under the CDP but  with some blind testing there was nothing. 

Funnily enough the conditioner I tested was the same as yours, Shunyata Denali v2 but as I say it did nothing but a little smoothing, which created a far less enjoyable sound.   I do have two Shunyata Alpha EF mains cables in my system on my amp and CDP and they are fantastic, a real game changing mains cable for me.  That and Townshend cabling in my system make a massive difference but I don’t count cabling as tweaking. 

Interesting... nobody has mentioned anything from Stein Music...

The Stein Music room in the Munich high-end show always soundS amazing.  But the do have some fantastic speakers.  I’d love to try their room treatments and 'harmonisers' one day. I did contact them and they were happy to supply things to try out.  I must get back on to that. 

duckworp

I find it amazing that the exact same products could have such completely opposite results in two different systems, I must admit, I’m stumped.

Reagrding the CMS, they absolutely just blew me away. They made such an improvement I just couldn’t believe it. I had the same result (admittedly not as huge but pretty damn close) when I put the Denali v2 in the system. As you know, the Denali v2 doesn’t ship with a power cord. When I opened the box I found this out. My brilliant dealer forgot to mention that little fact to me. I called him up and asked him what the cheapest 20 power cord he had in stock just so I had something to use until I could figure out which really good cord I would get. He sold me a Shunyata Venom cord that retailed for $250.00. The blow away results I’m getting with the Denali v2 is surprisingly with that cord! Talk about bang for the buck. I am going to eventually put one of their Sigma XX cords on the Denali v2, should make a significant improvement over the Venom. Take care.

Scot

Hey All,

Over the counter...inexpensive...effective for wax "producers" ...better than having "dry ears" btw.  https://www.debrox.com/

For the more adventurous:  http://marigoaudio.com/the-audiophile-voice/
Controversial, but do some research...I have just completed a full dot application of my Music Reference RM-10 MKII.  Here is how I shared results with my audio buds:

"25 years ago, my local Tech (Rick), now retired to Florida, was doing deep dive experiments around resonances, macro and micro, including electrical resistances. He possessed the technical and listening skills...plus the extreme patience to become expert in applying the VTS Dots. Yes, you can harm the sound, easily reversible. He referred to it as "opening up the sound," probably the most apt description.  
So, what's my result? Bloom was the first thing that came to mind. A maturation of the system. Clarity and greater honesty of the timing of events, like live. Less congestion of massed instruments and chorus with an enhanced sense of space and time, enhancing the holographic ability associated with great tube playback.
It's not by chance that the esoteric high end is finally paying extreme attention to floating circuit boards, extreme isolation racks, layered and exotic materials for loudspeaker enclosures and feet. Turntable designs are off the charts identifying and addressing plinth, arm, headshell and stylus resonances
It is a shame that these lightweight, layered music makers have been largely ignored by our industry. Proof's in the pudding."

More Peace, Pin