Major improvement SQ of your system with zero investments. Tips, tricks, advices.

[Mike Reed]

I've also come to the conclusion that valve amps, too, sound "better" sitting on wood.

My monoblocs are nestling in slightly scooped out 25mm (?) ply with big rubber grommets underneath. I previously knocked these up as the amps were on 50 cm spkr stands (now on a shelf). Never thought of sonic benefits but seems logical.

 

[retrospective]

Go through your gear tightening things down like transformers,pcb board screws etc.
Clean any selector switches.
Tighten your speaker drivers.
Reflow solder joints on earth points, inputs and pots (reinforcing them at the same time if you add a little extra solder)
Experiment with Tape vs Aux inputs for sources.
Use (Tinned bare wires) less is more.
Clean fuses and fuse holders.
Add in some attenuation to use a wider vol pot range.
Experiment with 300ohm vs 75 ohm inputs on tuners.
Get rid of expensive boutique cables (they change not improve) and put your money into source material instead.

 

[darrenyeats]

Shrooms..

Shroom treatments ...?

 

[Cesare]

Play more John Coltrane

So long as it's not at the expense of Mingus

 

[paulbysea]

So long as it's not at the expense of Mingus

I protect my system from both

 

[hifi-dog]

Nice one! That's simply because your 5m cable was picking up noise between the switch in its original position and your streamer; in new position, you only have one tenth of the noise aerial.

Huge thanks for sharing.

As an addendum - it felt a bit edgy after long listen so I swapped the 1/2m for a 1.5m and tried the 5m (same chord Ethernet) and it’s clear that the 5m sounds a bit mushy, the 0.5m a bit edgy but 1.5 is perfect.. all very odd. The various links are from router to EE8 with innuos and a nova off the switch.

 

[paulfromcamden]

Some of these tips remind me of the threads on MoneySavingExpert where people have set up ten bank accounts and shuffle money in and out of them every month, tracking it all on a spreadsheet, to make an extra £3.67 a year in interest on their savings.

All good fun if you can be bothered but it just feels like time I'd rather spend staring out the window or watching cat videos.

 

[chris@panteg]

If you have a house over 60 years old and have an original cut out fuse (the sealed one before the meter) get it replaced with a new cut out. It’s free and the difference in sound was clear. Lovely “upgrade”.

Look at https://www.ukpowernetworks.co.uk/electricity/fuse-upgrade

Do you mean the Henley block type thing that comes into your house then meter tails to your meter?

My one is very old, looks like it was put in ,in the 40s or 50s.

 

[Jimin]

Not sure if it's been mentioned already, but tightening the screws on loudspeaker drive units can be revelatory - I did this to a venerable pair of Mission 751 (non Freedom) and they sounded more focused afterwards.

 

[kristoffer]

Hang a blanket over your TV if is in the listening room.

 

[Alex S]

Go to a HiFi show and then come back.

 

[Tony Lockhart]

A few years ago I moved my NAC102 to the top shelf, CDX to the next one down. Pre further from the 180 and HiCap.

An immediate improvement.

 

[Cesare]

I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned it, but the easiest way to improve the sound of your hifi is to turn it up a bit. When I say 'a bit' I really do mean that, something like 0.5db is enough. It's interestingly below the level which is perceived as a change in volume (generally considered to be 1db), and one of the reasons that A/B comparing components where there are no standard output levels/gains/sensitivity is really tough.

But for a cheap upgrade, a slight level boost is a gift which keeps on giving - if you want to upgrade again, add another 0.5db

 

[andriirad]

Go to a HiFi show and then come back.

OMG, this is truly brilliant! After coming back from Bristol Hi-Fi show, I really found out that my system sounds much more intererting then quite a lot, introduced on the show, which was about 100 times more expensive.

p.s: Not trying to fool myself, thinking that my system is so OP, as I understand that in case of hi-fi show setups, the problem was in the listening room, in most of the cases.

 

[andriirad]

Bottle of wine

In my particular case, alcohol always ruined the experience of listening the music. All the times I was drunk to the point to feel more relaxed, but not enough do not realize that my system sounds horrible.

 

[kernow]

eh. it's just music
put it on in the background. cook some nice food with friends.

else you'll be hanging various amounts of coats off your door and making sure no interconnects touch walls

 

[timpy]

Another thing - Try removing that coffee table, whatever twixt you and the speakers….

Especially if it is open underneath. Things that are solid all the way to the floor aren’t as bad.

 

[timpy]

Wooden supports in place of metal and glass.
Change any biwire tabs still in place with a short length of something you know is at least copper
Check ventilation around components and move any dust, dropped cds or lost cats from the components and rack/shelf/whatever.
Turn the system off and check cabling for rodent damage.
Check nothing is causing mains plugs to get warm or causing discolouration of plugs / sockets, especially high power consumption items.

 

[Big Tabs]

eh. it's just music
put it on in the background. cook some nice food with friends.

else you'll be hanging various amounts of coats off your door and making sure no interconnects touch walls

You obviously have issues which are holding you back in life.
Imagining that you have friends is an indicator, along with culinary aspirations beyond the microwave.
Don’t let imagination get in your way. I bet there is a nice club for boys who like sheds nearby. Coats for goalposts, pies at halftime.

 

[foxwelljsly]

Play more John Coltrane

A comfortable sofa and Ascension really ****ing loud gives my life meaning. Not sure the rest of the family are in accord.