Proper set up: worth the chase

Hi Agoners.  A lot of folks talk about optimal set up, and until recently I thought it was a myth.  I’d often try changing a few things here and there, usually resulting in some slight change (maybe).  This weekend was different in a big way.  As such, I’m posting this to simply encourage others to continue chasing the little things.  I’m now firmly convinced optimal set up is proportionate, if not better than, adding costly new pieces of gear.

My set up is decent—not super hi end—but pleasing to me (e.g. Revel Salon2s, Pass Labs x250.8, Pass Labs xp-17, BC Pre3, Avid Diva SP II, Rega rb330, Dynavector 20x2l, etc).  I recently dove into vinyl and, frankly, am in the shallow’ish end.  Most weekends, I’ll tweak a couple things here and there.  But, things finally turned out different this weekend.  I made a couple very small changes to speaker placement—like fractions of an inch—messed around with some additional isolation and cord placement, etc.  All pretty common things that normally crescendo with adding or replacing some piece of gear.  I spent a lot of time trying getting my cartridge correctly set up, including a change of counterweights and playing with different cartridge loadings.  Here’s the thing that shocked me, though: I have a lower output MC and the math always suggested 66db gain on my pre was the right choice.  I suppose I was a little apprehensive to change given the math, but a couple of Old Fashions gave me some encouragement.  I first changed the output lower (to 56db).  The noise floor was higher.  Not good.  Then, I went the other way, pushing the gain up to 76db.  I seriously could not believe what I was hearing.  I listened to album after album and went to bed, nervous that the stars aligned and things would sound different the next day.  I only slept a few hours and woke up like a kid on Christmas Day.  I immediately went downstairs and threw in another album.  The sound was still there!  I listened for 3+ hours, took a break and listened more.  Then, I got online and purchased some more vinyl.  So happy!!  I finally realized the sound I’ve struggled to describe for so many years.  

I write this to offer encouragement to any of you who may have been down a similar road.  I started to become skeptical that I’d ever find that magical, yet elusive, permutation that defines proper set up.  It’s was a very narrow band (at least for what I was seeking).  Don’t give up, and you’ll be rewarded.  Now, I understand why people suggest others should eke out the best from what they have and invest more in music.  Can’t wait for my next delivery!