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Are There Improvements that Can Be Easily and Quickly Made Without Buying More Stuff?

I appreciate that there are many people on this forum who have put a great deal of thought and effort into how to improve their audio systems.  Most of the discussion relates to upgrading equipment.  This is natural as most people here want to improve their music experience, and better equipment is a way to do that.  I’ve taken advantage of this and made 5 or 6 upgrades over the last year!  The result has been great!  But are there some simple steps that can be taken that can be overlooked by someone who is newer to audio?

As examples I’ve read that facing a sub towards something like the back of a couch will improve its sound.  And for rooms with bad effects that can’t be fixed, move the listening position closer to the speakers.

‘What is your best tip for improving sound quality without buying anything?

128x128tcotruvo
lak's avatar
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lak
4,549 posts
 

I'd say that this is a huge open-ended question. Perhaps if you tell us what you don't like about the sound of your system that will facilitate better answers.

I'll suggest that you try positioning your speakers in many different positions, angles, distances from the rear wall, sidewalls, corners, etc. Perhaps you have already done this?

fuzztone's avatar
fuzztone
5,510 posts
 

Speaker placement ala Get Better Sound by Jim Smith.

jl35
3,944 posts
 

Speaker placement absolutely..the Room - moving things around, room treatments using stuff you have like bookcases, window treatments...lots of isolation devices are also often just stuff you already have around...

vonhelmholtz
911 posts
 

Your listening room is large, but populated with many reflecting surfaces.  Perhaps moving to a near field listening setup would be useful.

tcotruvo's avatar
tcotruvo OP
179 posts
 

Yeah…I like these kinds of ideas!  I’ve already made 5 - 6 upgrade purchases this year, so it’s time to step back to try some tweaks.  It’s easy to try things and if they don’t work I can go back.

I don’t have the opportunity to listen to better audio systems.  So I don’t know exactly what I’m “missing.”  I do hear live music occasionally, so I have that in mind as the highest level of achievement.  When I listen, I think “does it sound like it could be live…or is it flat like a recording?”  
Another area to explore is the adjustments available on my subs.  I’ve worked on those and have difficulty judging optimal “phase”, but bass is among the best sound of my system.  I turn it down so I don’t notice it per se, but when there’s strong bass it sounds great. I don’t hear any difference in different DAC settings.

I think my sound is excellent right now.  Of course listening to Radio Paradise different recordings sound better than others.  I get very close to “live” with percussion instruments like a wooden block.  Generally base and sub sounds are excellent.  I can’t say that many vocals sound like the singer is in the room.

I won’t repeat what my current system is, but I have updated my profile.

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