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?
If only @mahgister was around...he could give you quite a few "tips" on what to do while spending little money. Your room may look like a mad scientist's den when you're done but you'd tick the not cost much box. I would try using the Sumiko Setup on your speakers. They often end up at different distances from the front wall and non-matching toe-in but it works when you don't have a perfect room. Here's the instructions I use: https://www.audioaficionado.org/showthread.php?p=979168 |
I’m out looking for “Get Better Sound” by Jim Smith. It sounds like a source of information to keep working on. My listening chair is quite low, so it will be a good starting point. I can try raising it in increments as one variable. Good idea! And thanks to all the forum responders which resulted in my past upgrades: Node, power supply, cables, DAC and router. |
There are some things that cost very little that might be worth doing. Try experimenting with speaker and component isolation - this can be tested for very little cash. I know the debate spikes vs isolators is ongoing, but it is cheap to test. Get some big cork furniture glides at the hardware store and put them under your speakers. If they help, then better ones will help more and you can plan for the expense. In my case, isolating my speakers was a huge improvement (suspended floor and very heavy speakers). A better alternative is a cork pad meant for it These are knockoffs of the original version
Vibrapods are inexpensive and surprisingly effective. Get a some and try them, they did nice things for my old DAC, but nothing for my new DAC.
Other than that, I agree with all the others about speaker and seating.
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