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The next best Tweak ???

There have been several postings at AA about a new tweak from the mind of a gent named unclestu that I would like to share with Audiogon members.

I really don’t know why it works or how it works.
This tweak will cost you about $10 bucks but hold on to your hats...

unclestu discovered that the Ground Control (that was designed by Bud Purvine and sold by AudioPrism)design could be improved on.

You will need to make two sets for your speakers.

What unclestu came up with is to take a 6V Lantern Battery, add a 1000uf Electrolytic capacitor across the top springs (+ to + and - to -) connect a wire to the negative side of the battery and then attach the other wire end to the negative post on your speaker.

I have also made a couple that I plug in to my Preamp and Amp. Those were made with RCA’s ground on the wire end and I used 9V batteries utilizing 9V battery clips.

I've got to say, big improvement across the board, Soundstage, bass, mids, treble. But the most dramatic change is in the dynamics.
128x128ozzy
pixelphoto
70 posts
 
Hay Jedinite
I had the same problem with not knowing which lead was which but slbenze over at Tweakers' Asylum clued me in. I just bought two more caps at Fry's and these have even length leads but do have arrows. I just attached them to the 6V batteries at my speakers and the main result is more dynamics.
Happy listening!
ozzy's avatar
ozzy OP
7,460 posts
 
Pixelphoto. Glad the tweak works for you. The Capacitors real are something.
I've noticed that too many of them in the chain adds depth but loses the 3D effect.
So far, at the Speakers with a 6V Latern battery is a real plus!
At the Amp and Preamp with 9V battery and a RCA plug another plus!
Adding one to my Cd player seemed too be too much of a good thing.

Also, putting one on my LCD and Cable Box was positive in improved picture quality. But on my LED TV I could not tell if there was an improvement.

Really interesting the way some items improve.
ozzy's avatar
ozzy OP
7,460 posts
 
I have been advised that a 10K Cap works even better. So I bought a package of 10 including shipping for $15 on Ebay to try.
jedinite24's avatar
jedinite24
1,503 posts
 
Finally I'm able to give an update. Over the long weekend I spent time listening to a system that had the capacitor battery tweak in place on the speakers. I too found an improvement in dynamics. On 1 of my favorite concert Blu Rays I was able to turn up the volume a couple of notches and not get any listener fatigue. Everything was loud and clear. I got a small improvement in bass.

On another system where I installed this tweak on the speaker end I believe I got the same performance as an Enacom Harmonix speaker filter. I'm contemplating now if I should just part with the Enacoms. I'll do more comparisons before I sell the Enacoms.

I may now try this capacitor battery tweak on the amplifier side and put Elizabeth's pigtail wire tweak on the speaker end.
ozzy's avatar
ozzy OP
7,460 posts
 
So, I just soldered in the 10K Caps...
It seems these are better than the 1K caps. There is a tighter center image with a wide left to right soundstage.
Seems to work great with my CD Player/Dac, Squeezebox Touch and Preamp. On my Amp, it didnt sound like an improvement so I did not use one there.
Also, different voltages change the sound somewhat. A 9V battery brings the image up a liitle higher with a little more upper midrange. The 6V Lantern batteries have more of a neutral sound.
I have found most of the front end equipment sounds best using 9V batteries.
However, my speakers sound best with the 6V lantern batterty.
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