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Replacing driver screws with brass screws

There was some discussion about this on Millercarbon's thread about the Moab speakers, and I wanted to pursue the subject further without interfering with his thread.
As I stated there, I have heard about this practice for quite a few years, but never tried it because it seemed like one of those lunatic fringe ideas; and even though I actually really enjoy trying tweaks, and have found many of them effective, I just was not prepared for what this one did for the music coming out of my speakers. 
Specifically, it improved the detail in ambient trails, focus in general, complex harmonics in voices and stringed instruments, and instrumental separation. It is not subtle, and it is immediately noticeable.
So, I am curious to know how many of you out there have tried this, and what your experience has been.
Thanks, John  
128x128roxy54
rixthetrick's avatar
rixthetrick
1,060 posts
 
glupson, I personally have no experience with the specifics of that which you’re asking. Perhaps if your real intent is to discover these answers for yourself, which anyone trying to answer would most certainly be speculating. With perhaps the exception of Tom theaudiotweak - who has a business that does this kind of R&D.

Perhaps, seeing as you’re inquisitive and creative enough to come up with such questions, you could compare and report your findings to us?

I am happy to read your results after testing some of your theories and own questions :-) Do you think you could make wooden screws? What wood would you use? What method of turning the thread would you employ? What would you most likely use as your thread size? Metric or Imperial?
What made you think of using wood as a material for s screw?
glupson
7,842 posts
 

rixthetrick,


By now I figured out that you think I am just attempting to annoy here.

Discussion about brass vs. iron is meaningless without considering many other variables that are sticking out asking for consideration before one even buys the first brass screw. Without them, whole discussion seems like "my way or no way".


In my example above, the amount of brass delegated to each speaker would double. If brass actually makes a difference, in any semi-reasonable approach that might impact the result. Unless one decides that preliminary result is what one desires it to be.


I will not disassemble my speakers for something like this. Neither I have enough time or interest in proving or disproving slightly dubious claims from people who dismiss any deeper, and potentially more complicated and sophisticated way of approaching technical issues. I will leave disassembly to those more inclined to fine manual work and keep myself actually contributing to their research with ideas they somehow did not think of.


I do not know what wood I would use for screws. In fact, my first question was if different wood would make a difference.


What made me think of wood was very simple. Many, if not most, of the speakers are made of some iteration of wood. In other things, problem is frequently at the spot where two different media meet. Decreasing difference in physical properties of adjoining media might be beneficial, or even detrimental, to desired outcome.


From that, it came to "wouldn’t carefully choosing the screw material in reference to the enclosure material be more beneficial than just a blank statement....brass is better".



You see, it is not that imaginative. It is very simple reasoning.


When it comes to imperial vs. metric thread, that is the next level of designing the research. It might be a good consideration, but we are still in the beginning stages of it.

roxy54's avatar
roxy54 OP
8,004 posts
 
Before even considering the efficacy of wood in this application, I wonder if anyone thinks that it's possible to make screws of wood; any species of wood. 
nonoise's avatar
nonoise
10,876 posts
 
Have you measured the speakers before and after to make sure its not your imagination? Don't be so silly.
Irony abounds along with a great big dollop of lack of situational awareness.

Didn't go through this entire thread but hey folks, this notion has been around for ages, and as jollygreenaudiophile2 has pointed out, it's been tested and hypothesized about. 

All the best,
Nonoise


cd318
2,636 posts
 
roxy54,

’cd318,
Amusing post. What does it really matter who thinks what when it is relatively simple to just try it yourself and see what YOU think?’


I was kind of hoping that the answer would have been obvious by now.


’Before even considering the efficacy of wood in this application, I wonder if anyone thinks that it’s possible to make screws of wood; any species of wood.’

It is possible. I have seen some wood screws (and plastic) used in exceptional circumstances (not loudspeakers), but I imagine the manufacturing costs alone would be somewhat of a huge deterrent.

As for an explanation for any of the possible effects you claim to have heard, "detail in ambient trails, focus in general, complex harmonics in voices and stringed instruments, and instrumental separation" I would put more down to differences in torque and not the screw material difference between steel and brass.

I think most of us we would tend to still feel the same as you once did, ’because it seemed like one of those lunatic fringe ideas.’

Who in their right mind would consider trying this out on a pair of Harbeths, Revels, Tannoys, Wilson’s etc?
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