Embarassing tweaks!

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Anyone else try anything equally/more outlandish they'd care to share?

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Ok, but bare in mind that (a) I have been at this for over 23 years now, and (b) one of my friends works in a high end shop, so used to lend me stuff to try…

• Concrete blocks: Used under my original Goldring Lenco GL75 turntable. I am now eyeing up local building sites to see if any Kan stand sized ones are lying about…

• Bicycle inner tube: Used in conjunction with the above concrete blocks.

• Home made turntable mat made out of a glued laminated of LPs (was better than the Lenco rubber mat).

• Glass mat (was better than the laminated LP one).

• Blu-Tac: Use 1 - 4 packs used to damp the Lenco plinth. Use 2 - under equipment / speakers.

• Lead shot: Used in conjunction with Blu-Tac to damp Lenco plinth. I want to get some now to stick in the bottom section of my Kan stands.

• Twin and earth ring main cable: Over the years has been used for both interconnects, mains leads, and speaker leads.

• Cooker cable: Used for mains leads and speaker cable (not as good as 1.5mm).

• 13 amp twin core mains lead: Used as speaker lead, the better quality stuff is pretty much indistinguishable sound wise from the likes of QED 79 strand, and a damn site cheaper.

• Rubber door mat: Used in small chunks to damp ringing casework of various equipment.

• MDF slabs: Tried very recently under Kan stands - radically reduce energy going into floor and helped tonally, but kill groove, so out they came again. I want to try something harder next - see concrete above. If concrete works I will get some granite, slate, or marble.

• Orientation: Some stand mount speakers sound better upside-down. Worth a go if things are boomy.

• Fuses: removal of same. Some equipment can be transformed by bypassing the fuse in the mains plug. Always leave the plug in the equipment for safety, Naim kit does not really seem to benefit, so I now leave well alone. My old Quad 33/303 and Onix both loved it.

• Cones: Tried under just about everything that it is possible to stick a cone under. Tons of different ones tried over the years. None used now.

• Interconnects: Tons tried over the years, I now run Aro between my phono stage and amp and the stock Naim interconnect for the CDX.

• Mains leads: Tons tried, both self build from twin and earth, and various 3rd party ones tried including Kimber, Krell, Deltec, Finestra, Music Works. Some kit loves twin and earth, though not always a winner with Naim (I have heard it work in certyain situations though). I currently use Music Works.

• Mains blocks: Home made using various grades of twin and earth, and the 4 way Maplin block with Naim leads, plus the Music Works Megablock. The MW is IMHO better than my attempts.

• Record cleaning: Loads tried from the 70s Lenco Clean wet system - horrible stuff that can screw up records. I now use a upmarket VPI wet vacuum system that is really excellent and should be considered essential to the second hand buyer.

• Record sleeves: Loads, including those flimsy Nagaoka ones.

• Stylus cleaning: Audio Technica vibrating cleaner, still got it and its excellent, also used Linn green stuff and Last.

• Duraglit: Used to clean plugs. It works, and is worth doing regularly.

• Alignment protractors - many. I have used the Elite system in the past, and have a few two point protractors, but now just use Rega's standard 60mm null point on the P9.

• Test records - I have an old Hi-Fi for Pleasure one and the Hi-Fi sound one. I keep on intending to get the Hi-Fi Snooze one.

• Demagnetisation / Burn-in CDs, I have the Densen one plus the XLO one, though I can't find the XLO anymore - might have leant it to Jawed or someone… Both work.

• Cartridge demagnetisation - have used the Gryphon Black Exorcist in the past, but have been largely warned off its use as it allegedly reduces the cartridges life. It bloody works though.
  
  
• Fancy plugs - quite a few tried, I now use the Eichmann Cables Bullet plugs on connections to the phono stage. They are definitely better than normal RCAs.

I hate to admit it, but the above is honestly only the tip of the iceberg, there are replacement headshells, arm leads, replacement springs, software to calculate room resonances that I then don't understand, many crazy attempt to tame room response etc. It must be said that I am now far more conservative, and partake in the madness far less. With my old Lenco / Quad / JR149 system I would try every single tuning tip that was published in Hi-Fi Answers at the time (which is why many of the above may sound strangely familiar to some slightly older readers…

Tony.

After reading all that lot, I only have one thing to say - you need to get out more often

respect!
Dev

Anders

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Tony, do you have the DOS version of the Listening Room software made by Sitting Duck software?

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No, I have never used that, in fact I can't remember what it was that I did try. I will have a look around at some point and see if I can find it (assuming I still have it - I lost a HD last year!).

Tony.

One day, my dealer comes by to check on everything when I complained my system was sounding rather soft and pillowy. He sees this arrangement with a look on his face like "WTF?". After removing all the ballnutters 'n boards, Bang! congestion gone.

Looked like a bit of an ass that day.

[This message was edited by Mike Sae on WEDNESDAY 12 December 2001 at 09:05.]