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Tweaks You Cannot Live Without

ryder

pfm Member
I would be interested to know the tweaks that people use in their hifi systems which they cannot live without. The tweaks shall be an addition to the system and not something that is already in use / required to be used in the system such as cables or speaker stands etc.

For me, they are ;
1. Isoacoustics Gaia (replacing standard spikes on speakers)
2. Furutech NCF Booster (installed at IEC connector of power cord entry to the inlet of component)

The recent inclusion of the Isoacoustics Gaias has elevated my system to a higher level of performance as the potential of the speakers is further unlocked. I understand the Gaias may not work for all systems or everyone (perhaps 1 in 10 or 1 in 100 will experience a degradation in sound quality instead of an improvement). Nevertheless, they are a revelation in my system at a cost that is not too exorbitant, relatively speaking.

The Furutech NCF booster was installed on the amp since last year and wasn't used anywhere else. Earlier last week it was removed from the amp and installed on the DAC. After some listening, I find this configuration to be better than the previous arrangement.

In summary, the combined effect of the Isoacoustics Gaia feet and Furutech NCF booster has added some positive things to the system, no doubt about it. I was made to understand that the Townshend Platform(or is it Podium?) is better than the Isoacoustics Gaia, perhaps with 100% success rate without any registered failures when installed to the speakers. However, I suppose the TP is more suited to higher end systems and not modest or budget setups like mine. The Gaias represent more value than the Townshend equivalent although the latter is sonically superior.
 
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Hi,
No tweaks. Never used any over the last 40 years, although I have tried a few with no success – and no money involved…
My speakers have never been spiked and I use all my hi-fi elements the way they came to the world.
There.
Room treatment I find much more important! Is it tweaking? I don’t think so.
 
I always fit a volume control that goes to 11
Spinal_Tap_05.jpg
 
I would be interested to know the tweaks that people use in their hifi systems which they cannot live without. The tweaks shall be an addition to the system and not something that is already in use / required to be used in the system such as cables or speaker stands etc.

I think mine is better understanding bolt tightness and that ‘tight’ is to my ears almost always ‘worse’. I’m thinking armboard bolts, VTA bolts, driver mounting bolts etc. Definitely something that impacts the sound, and cranking down almost always makes things sound smaller, leaner and more sterile IME. The sadly missed Tom Fletcher (Nottingham Analogue) planted this seed about 25 years ago, his view was his turntables should be assembled “tight enough that they don’t actually fall apart, but no more”. Initially I was hugely skeptical as I’d lived though all that 1980s ‘Linn tight’ marketing etc and cranked stuff down fairly tight myself (never enough to do any damage), but I started trying it myself and there are very few places where he isn’t right. Just very gently nipped-up but secure sounds far more relaxed, natural and fundamentally real to my ears. It is definitely something worth playing with yourself and not just accepting groupthink/marketing. I’m no physicist but I suspect it is a ‘broken bell’ thing in that stuff is held in place perfectly well but doesn’t resonate as much. I also suspect this is why so many of my favourite box speakers have screwed-on baffles and/or backs.

Beyond that I’d describe anything else as ‘accessories’, of which my VPI wet vacuum record cleaner is by far the most significant. That thing is a game-changer. I like my AT637 stylus cleaner, Hunt EDA brush, Zerostat etc too. I also have an old Music Works mains block in every system as I turn things on/off at the plug as some of my kit doesn’t have switches (303, Leaks) or has them in stupid inaccessible places (Pass, DPA). Saves wear on the equipment switch too, I’d far prefer to find a new 13 Amp socket for the mains block than replace a component switch. I leave nothing powered up.

PS A long while ago I came to the conclusion I tend not to like spikes, cones etc. They make things sound worse in most cases to my taste (bright, thin, small, tight, peaky). I still use bottom-spiked speaker stands for small speakers just for stability/levelling (I have carpets), but nowhere else. If I wanted to spend money on tweaks I think I’d now be far more tempted by isolation, e.g. Townsend.
 
Got a bunch of different feet from wood, acrylic, steel, aluminium, sorbothane etc all change stuff but all still in my box!
 
If I wanted to spend money on tweaks I think I’d now be far more tempted by isolation, e.g. Townsend.

I think people who tried the Townshend only have positive things to say about them, nothing negative. Based on my experience with the Isoacoustics stuff, I can now understand the enthusiasm on the benefits of proper speaker isolation.
 
I think people who tried the Townshend only have positive things to say about them, nothing negative. Based on my experience with the Isoacoustics stuff, I can now understand the enthusiasm on the benefits of proper speaker isolation.

I've used isoacoustics gaia feet under my speakers previously with good results.
Recently though, with the help of my biggest brother, I have managed to squeeze my fridge sized tannoys onto some of the larger Townshend podium platforms. Results are again positive and seem to be quite a step up from the gaia's.
 
Townshend for me too. I've used them under three different speakers, and the difference is obvious and wholly positive. Both floors are suspended, which is likely to be why the speakers benefit.

The ones I have are the original variant, and I would love a pair of the far neater, newer iteration. A bit too pricey for me though.

IMG_4960
 
Not really tweaks then. Acoustic devices!
Room acoustic treatment is in my view the most impressive and rewarding upgrade you will ever get.
It has nothing to do with tweaking: it is an absolute necessity.
 
Townshend for me too. I've used them under three different speakers, and the difference is obvious and wholly positive. Both floors are suspended, which is likely to be why the speakers benefit.

The ones I have are the original variant, and I would love a pair of the far neater, newer iteration. A bit too pricey for me though.

IMG_4960
The ‘like’ is for the photo.
 
I wouldn't be without a decent mains power filter, one which has both a DC blocker and individual outlet filters, so that kit is not only protected from incoming noise, but also protected from any inter-component noise - e.g. RFI generated by digital components, switchmode PSUs &c.

Minimising that allows equipment to work at its optimum, and in some systems can be transformative. Measurebators may jeer all they like, but there are sound engineering reasons why a great deal of electronic equipment (washing machines, tellies, heart-monitors, &c &c ad naus.) include at least a basic filter of one sort or another: emissions legislation notwithstanding, RFI & EMI are a two way road in terms of effects inside the box and effects outside the box, and with the universality of things like powerline data transmission, various crude voltage dividers, dimmers, 'smart' devices, &c., high and low frequency noise is on everyone's supply.

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One that I've been putting-off addressing for several years is decoupling the speakers from the floor - as per several posts above. The Heco Dreiklangs are so massive that reverting to the sandwich of stone slabs-plus-sorbothane on a platform of drum-kit isolation foam that I've used previously is too big and ugly. I need something more elegant, but cannot simply replace the feet due to the speakers' inclined baffles and their legs also being at various angles. Need to design some triangular platforms which can take decoupling feet - anyone know a good laser-cutting company that can handle one-offs?

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Love Tony's point about overtightening things - especially on turntables - I'm guessing that overtightening creates points where materials are under uneven stresses which is pretty much bound to upset sensitive devices like transducers. To that end it applies to speakers too - driver bolts should be tight enough to prevent farty air leaks, but no more, especially since you may risk ripping-up the underlying wood/MDF as well!

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And Obviously no true hifi aficionado would be without their Schumann Resonator, too. Too obvious to mention, really........
 
No tweaks here, nothing against them though. In the past I have tried various different cones and feet, all had an effect but really if a component needs a set of feet from a third party to sound its best I see that as a design fault. I think the money spent on tweaks is generally better put into a better source, amp or speakers.
 
Definitely nothing that I can’t live without. Although having said that I don’t think I’ve ever tweaked anything unless it needed to be repaired or serviced.
 


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