2. misc-audio
  3. 170116-122613

The Most Cost Effective Tweak

What is the most cost effective upgrade or tweak? What yields the largest return on investment (ROI)? What if you could spend no money and no time and yield significant performance increases? Theoretically, that would result in an infinite ROI!

So how do you make that happen? Stop tweaking. What happens when you stop tweaking and messing with your audio system constantly is that you let everything burn in and settle down. Go read one of the many threads on this website that talks about how long it takes for components and cables to break in. The answers range from a few hours to several days. If you are suffering from constant upgrade-itis, you never let your audio system fully burn in. You’re robbing yourself of free, infinite ROI. And you never truly hear what your system is capable of. I’m not saying don’t upgrade your system. That’s a lot of the fun. Just give it some time and let your system burn in and open up. Reassess where you are at and where you want to go next.

Due to reasons I won’t go into depth on right now (mainly power issues), I am temporarily using a relatively cheap, high power, class D amp. I wasn’t thrilled with this setup and wasn’t sure if I could even call it’s sound signature high end. Due to a busy schedule, I have not had time to upgrade anything or even pursue simple tweaks. As a result of that, I have witnessed how the amp and my system have burned-in/settled down - whatever you want to call it. The sound was initially on the thin side and had harsh treble. Now the soundstage has become huge and the sound has become very smooth - smoother than I thought class D was capable of - especially from a class D amp that isn’t really something to write home about.

My point is that I realized significant performance increases by doing literally nothing. And now that I am hearing what I believe is the true sound of my system, my next tweak or upgrade will be more effective because I can clearly recognize where the weaknesses are at instead of making judgements while things are still burning in, which is often the case with upgrade-itis.
128x128mkgus
lemonhaze
417 posts
 
Room first. If the acoustics have not been sorted out then you’re just chasing your tail. Measurements to a thousandth of an inch can not smooth out the biggest issue: room nodes. The frequencies below the Schroeder threshold will be in the order of many feet. The wavelength (lambda) of 40Hz = 28ft and at 100Hz = 11ft. Lambda = velocity/freq so at the transition from the Schroeder frequency to a reverberant field which is about 250Hz average you are still looking at a wavelength of 4.4ft. so bring out the tapes and lasers after you have attended to the acoustics.

It takes effort and some money (not much if you can DIY) but is without doubt the best thing that can be done to improve sound. This needs to be heard to understand. Fix the room above all else.
Imitation ficus trees are incapable of doing much, they may scatter a narrow range of high frequencies but what they will do is collect dust. Lots of dust.
herman
2,273 posts
 

Speaker placement is important, very important, but getting it down to a fraction of an inch is a wasted effort.
Went through this same crap with this joker name of Ron at work. Miller you are so full of it, etc etc. Party one time he decides to play a practical joke on me, moves one speaker so sure no one will notice. By chance I happened to sit and listen to check volume before playing for this woman wanted something I hadn’t played in a while. Immediately I noticed the balance was off, the image shifted and out of focus. Checked the amp, no not that, must be.... within like 30 seconds I had it figured out and corrected. By ear.
so Ron moved the speaker how much? An inch, a foot, or maybe you can detect .0002 inches like the resolution of the Wilson micrometer? Your anecdote doesn't tell us much unless we know how much he moved it.

Since you know everything there is to know about everything to do with audio, what is the smallest amount of speaker movement a human can detect?


Ag insider logo xs@2x
phillippugh
12 posts
 
2 tweeks and both virtually free! 1-unplug and replug a few times all your power cords,interconnects, and tubes(if you have tube gear), no contact cleaners,enhancers ,etc needed. 2-(and this does cost some $) buy a gallon of distilled  water and a package of sponges at your local grocery store-don't need an audiophile version. pour some water in a bowl,dip the sponge in the water, wringe  out the sponge till it is just damp and wipe down everything in your system- all cables(spk,int,ac) ,electronics, turntable,speakers cabinets- but not drivers! may need to remoisten sponge if you have a lot or gear.
Post removed 
68pete
1,005 posts
 
NPS 1260

More to discover