2. misc-audio
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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
waytoomuchstuff's avatar
waytoomuchstuff
1,106 posts
 

@mikelavigne Stunning room and system!!

By comparison, it makes me want to turn my room into my insurance company for vandalism.

Well played (literally), sir.  Thanks for sharing.

jonwolfpell
386 posts
 

Depending upon how long all of the speaker & interconnect cables have been in place, I’ve found that removing them & cleaning both the cable terminations & the jacks on the speaker or electronics & replacing them can make a positive difference.I just use rubbing alcohol & cotton swabs on wooden sticks designed for this. Let any residual alcohol evaporate ( which it will pretty quickly) before re- connecting. I know there are specialty products for this but this seems to work just fine. 

terry9
2,333 posts
 

Much good advice already. I suggest playing something with a strong bass line. Walk around the room and mark EXACTLY where the bass sounds strongest. Move your sub to that spot. Check for improvement. Repeat with other subs, if any.

Move a bookshelf onto the wall opposite your speakers. This will suppress high frequency reflections, and may make the sound more focused. Keep it that way if you like the effect.

Good luck and enjoy !

roadwhorerecords
277 posts
 

Something just ain't sounding right? Pour yourself a nice Single Barrel over rocks, wait 10 mins. 

pwayland
82 posts
 

I agree with all above, but one low hanging fruit is also component placement and wire management. Keep interconnects away from AC cables, keep amps away from sources, try to remove any switching power supplies from sharing the ac circuit. 

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