Hi all, I hate to de-bunk this tweak fest you are having, but it's my humble opinion that significant equipment changes or even just trying out alternative audio technology yields much greater improvements than poking around in the dark with tweaks!
As a humourous but true example, I once tried Yamamura Millenium 6000 power cable (@ $400USA) on my Bel Canto DAC-1 and convinced myself over an evening of listening that it was the best thing since sliced bread. Only to wake up the next morning and upon trying my standard power cord, finding that the sound had not changed much at all??
You see, my standard cable for the DAC-1 is a thin bit of zip cord with an in-line switch taken from the rear end of a child's Teddy Bear night lamp (the DAC-1 does not have on ON-OFF switch and this cable allows me to switch it off at will). All I can say is that it must have been a magic Teddy because the cable coming out of it's arse/ass did wonders for my system and more than kept up with the fancy Yamamura power cable!
Tom & others, my advice is:
1. Get a Supratek preamp, they are relatively cheap and get you connected to the music better than any tweak you may have tried.
2. Try Electrostatic loudspeakers like the Quad ESL-57/63 or for that matter ribbons like Apogee Stages or the like. Planar/dipole sound can be the most realistic experience.
3. Try Horn loudspeakers, they can be revelatory.
4. If you must have cone speakers, try and get one with the most expensive drivers and most inert box. Drivers such as Raven Ribbon tweeters; Accuton Ceramics; Cabasse honeycomb foam (21NDC); Eton; Beryllium drivers are excellent and more truthful than all others.
5. Everyone should have a S.E.T 300B/2A3 valve experience at least once in their lives!
6. Bel Canto EVO digital amplifiers and 24bit/96/192kHz DACs are wonderful devices - period!
7. Get at least a Koetsu Rosewood cartridge (or better), a good cartridge makes a greater improvement to any turntable than any arm or deck upgrade/tweak you might make.
In my experience, all of the above changes in equipment yield significantly superior results than tweaky things.
For what it's worth ...
Regards,
Steve M.
PS: Before you flame me, I'm not a total heretic and do use Solid Tech supports under my cdp and other 'feel good' products in my system like the rest of you.
As a humourous but true example, I once tried Yamamura Millenium 6000 power cable (@ $400USA) on my Bel Canto DAC-1 and convinced myself over an evening of listening that it was the best thing since sliced bread. Only to wake up the next morning and upon trying my standard power cord, finding that the sound had not changed much at all??
You see, my standard cable for the DAC-1 is a thin bit of zip cord with an in-line switch taken from the rear end of a child's Teddy Bear night lamp (the DAC-1 does not have on ON-OFF switch and this cable allows me to switch it off at will). All I can say is that it must have been a magic Teddy because the cable coming out of it's arse/ass did wonders for my system and more than kept up with the fancy Yamamura power cable!
Tom & others, my advice is:
1. Get a Supratek preamp, they are relatively cheap and get you connected to the music better than any tweak you may have tried.
2. Try Electrostatic loudspeakers like the Quad ESL-57/63 or for that matter ribbons like Apogee Stages or the like. Planar/dipole sound can be the most realistic experience.
3. Try Horn loudspeakers, they can be revelatory.
4. If you must have cone speakers, try and get one with the most expensive drivers and most inert box. Drivers such as Raven Ribbon tweeters; Accuton Ceramics; Cabasse honeycomb foam (21NDC); Eton; Beryllium drivers are excellent and more truthful than all others.
5. Everyone should have a S.E.T 300B/2A3 valve experience at least once in their lives!
6. Bel Canto EVO digital amplifiers and 24bit/96/192kHz DACs are wonderful devices - period!
7. Get at least a Koetsu Rosewood cartridge (or better), a good cartridge makes a greater improvement to any turntable than any arm or deck upgrade/tweak you might make.
In my experience, all of the above changes in equipment yield significantly superior results than tweaky things.
For what it's worth ...
Regards,
Steve M.
PS: Before you flame me, I'm not a total heretic and do use Solid Tech supports under my cdp and other 'feel good' products in my system like the rest of you.