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My most significant upgrades to my hifi system

Most significant changes that upgraded the sound include;

+dressing the cables so that power were separated from interconnects
+repositioning the speakers
+simplifying my set up

Del
 
naimnut said:
The model I use is a Goal Zero Yeti 1250. I would have preferred one of the models which uses a lithium-ion battery, since they are much more portable. The one I have is so heavy that it comes with wheels installed and a removable hand-truck type handle.

It is not specifically marketed for hi-fi applications. It can be used for many different purposes. For instance, it can be connected to a solar power system. It can be charged up and put away for use during an emergency, like a power outage. Goal Zero makes them in different sizes. They have some that are small enough that you can take them camping to power a laptop or recharge a cell phone.

Both the dedicated circuit and the battery power supply remove much of the noise that is on the household circuit. As an example, my wife was watching the TV not long ago and I was using my water flosser. She commented that while I had the water-flosser turned on the picture was very distorted. I only have a superficial understanding of all this but I was unprepared for the effect of the battery generator on the sound system. I didn't think I had a noise floor, but it reduced it significantly. A wonderful upgrade.
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What an amazing piece of gear ! It’s quite some years since I sold my Altmann BYOB amplifier, but I remember that Charles Altmann reckoned the benefit was not only the clean power supply of the battery (BYOB = Bring Your Own Battery), but also the ability of a battery to effectively supply very high levels of instant current, greatly beyond normal domestic supply levels (no idea if that concept holds up scientifically).
 
This one can do that. I believe it could power a table saw. *That* is a demand for current...
 
uncl_nigel said:
Context: reinforced concrete (40 year old flats)

Acoustic grade rock wool glued with high strength glue to the ceiling. The whole lot concealed with a stretched, micro-perforated PVC (or some such) ceiling. Prior to this we had the ceiling light fixture replaced with wall fixtures - the one-piece completely smooth ceiling is just so classy :).

The aim was not to soundproof the room above. The work seriously reduced the ceiling echo making for much better stereo imaging. The room is acoustically much "deader" than any other in the flat with neither rug nor curtain.
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Thanks.
 
Using supertweeters with Spendor SP1s, Townshend, set to 2. I’m sure the reason they’re such a good upgrade is that the original tweeters are probably not working as they should given their age. But it made me think that these supertweeters are a good thing with old 2 way or 3 way boxes to compensate for the ravages of time.
 
Both mine are back so invested in some B&W P3 headphones. ;)

For me, I am biamping my Monitor Audio S8, using a Cyrus 3 and q power.

Standard QED cable but I've run another set of QED silver anniversary cable to make the sound brighter on certain productions. Silver cable only run to the mid-range and tweeter connections.

Only caveat, is if you leave them active, and put a leanly produced recording in, it hurts the old lug holes.
 
Tannoy GRFs made me realize that if you want music to be reproduced with scale, authority and effortlessness, a beeeeeeeeg woofer in a beeeeeeg box helps a lot.

Stax cans opened my eyes (ears?) to what's possible to capture on a recording. I'm going to be bold and say that if you can't hear it clearly with Stax cans, it's likely not on the recording.

A Schiit Loki probably cost me whatever audiophile points I may have ever had, but if you listen at low levels or play less than perfect recordings, a Loki in the signal chain can be utterly transformative.

Joe
 
Move from thorens to lp12 30 years ago.
Move from dynamic speaker to Esl 30 years after first move .Well ...you must make some move
Every 30 years
...must find some streamer at 2050 ;)
 
AnilS said:
Both mine are back so invested in some B&W P3 headphones. ;)

For me, I am biamping my Monitor Audio S8, using a Cyrus 3 and q power.

Standard QED cable but I've run another set of QED silver anniversary cable to make the sound brighter on certain productions. Silver cable only run to the mid-range and tweeter connections.

Only caveat, is if you leave them active, and put a leanly produced recording in, it hurts the old lug holes.
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Sounds like a nice detailed set up. Always wondered about the MAs. I suspect they are fast. I use QED cable also but my B&Ws are fine with it and never move into the lug punishing area. I also bought Sennheiser headphones. I sit smugly in the corner a smile at my cleverness.
 
My best upgrade after many years was selling it all and now using Bluetooth headphones and speakers. Expectations have diminished and now I just enjoy the music whilst not trying to justify the money spent was worth it.
 
Weiss-Man said:
My best upgrade after many years was selling it all and now using Bluetooth headphones and speakers. Expectations have diminished and now I just enjoy the music whilst not trying to justify the money spent was worth it.
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I like that.The music should always come first...
 
Love the wife/children comments... but mine will always be around...

I have just made tempered glass plates with spikes for my floor-standing speakers to stand on (on suspended wooden floorboards). Huge difference in sound quality.
 
Del monaco said:
Sounds like a nice detailed set up. Always wondered about the MAs. I suspect they are fast. I use QED cable also but my B&Ws are fine with it and never move into the lug punishing area. I also bought Sennheiser headphones. I sit smugly in the corner a smile at my cleverness.
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It is detailed and further "enhanced" by a graphic equaliser as I have a hearing deficiency so need to compensate :(
 
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