Just a reminder.......

Good reminder Steve. Remaking the connections, checking the support system and paying attention to cable-dressing can make quite a difference. I have similarly ignored my rig for some time, but my 500 (both bits) has to make the journey to Salisbury at the end of the month, so that'll force me into a rebuild when I get it back from a service and DR-fettling.

Something else to do periodically is (if you have one) to wipe the balance pot back and forth a few times. Also; give the IEC plugs on Powerlines a wiggle. They tend to get hung-up and lose something of their decoupling properties.

John.

Unless for a decoration project or the need to hoover behind the racks I never do this stuff!!

Good one Steve! i think mine is due for a rebulid too last done last May when installing the 500s -- i suspect the Fraims may also need some attention too. Well, one of these days -- system sounds good right now so there is no pressure to do this -- but one doesnt know what one may be missing... 

"Also; give the IEC plugs on Powerlines a wiggle. They tend to get hung-up and lose something of their decoupling properties."

Thats a new one on me John !! will certainly do this too -- though i am sure i know whether the plug is trully 'wiggled' when i get to it ...

enjoy...

ken

Hi Ken,

Grasp the mains lead about an inch or two out from the IEC plug and give a gentle wiggle. You may feel some locked-in-place stiffness 'give'. 

It might sound daft, like a lot of tuning tips here, but the efficacy of the Powerlines is partly about their physical decoupling properties as you well know. It's worth doing this at the 13 amp plug end too.

Good listening.

John.

J.N. posted:

Hi Ken,

Grasp the mains lead about an inch or two out from the IEC plug and give a gentle wiggle. You may feel some locked-in-place stiffness 'give'. 

It might sound daft, like a lot of tuning tips here, but the efficacy of the Powerlines is partly about their physical decoupling properties as you well know. It's worth doing this at the 13 amp plug end too.

Good listening.

John.

Thanks John. Something else i will have to remember come the time to fettle...

Should i unplug my electric toothbrush while doing this?? ... 

enjoy

ken

The hardest part was sitting the 500 head unit in the right place on the Fraim glass, it's a bloody big lump. I guess that's one advantage of the Statement mono blocks, no Fraim.

I will bear in mind your suggestion for the Powerlines John. Every little helps.

I recommend using the Nordost anti static spray and kitchen paper to clean off dust from all cables and surfaces.

Actually I was surprised how little 'pixie dust' there was on the system Toby. I guess it's because the room is only used by me for listening to music, and I'm such a clean boy. 

Steve J posted:

The hardest part was sitting the 500 head unit in the right place on the Fraim glass, it's a bloody big lump. 

Always the part I dread most when rebuilding my system too. Especially when it's on a Fraim base. Sometimes you manage to seat it spot on, but most times it...back a bit...forward a bit...left..right...Argh my back..

I broke down my two Fraim stacks 3 weeks ago. Only do it one a year. Certainly worth the effort and a good time to check all the Fraim legs to see if any tightening is needed.

Cheers

Rick.

Stripping down and rebuilding the system? Always a good idea. I've a man comes and does this.

Seriously, arthritis prevents me doing it myself but the results of getting it done by someone who knows how to dress the cables correctly (take a bow, Andy from Signals) is very worthwhile.

I don't rebuild my system occasionally, but get it sorted and installed right and then forget and enjoy.

Ricky Dasler posted:

Steve J posted:

The hardest part was sitting the 500 head unit in the right place on the Fraim glass, it's a bloody big lump. 

Always the part I dread most when rebuilding my system too. Especially when it's on a Fraim base. Sometimes you manage to seat it spot on, but most times it...back a bit...forward a bit...left..right...Argh my back..

I broke down my two Fraim stacks 3 weeks ago. Only do it one a year. Certainly worth the effort and a good time to check all the Fraim legs to see if any tightening is needed.

Cheers

Rick.

sounds very familiar 

enjoy...

ken

Back in the 80s I used to clean all the mains plugs and RCAs with Duraglit. Used to work as well!!

The Strat (Fender) posted:

Back in the 80s I used to clean all the mains plugs and RCAs with Duraglit. Used to work as well!!

Yep - always did my mains plugs. My LP12 was particularly sensitive to this. Now i just plug them in and out of the mains sockets a few times (with the component turned off !) and that does the trick. 

ken c posted:

J.N. posted:

Hi Ken,

Grasp the mains lead about an inch or two out from the IEC plug and give a gentle wiggle. You may feel some locked-in-place stiffness 'give'. 

It might sound daft, like a lot of tuning tips here, but the efficacy of the Powerlines is partly about their physical decoupling properties as you well know. It's worth doing this at the 13 amp plug end too.

Good listening.

John.

Thanks John. Something else i will have to remember come the time to fettle...

Should i unplug my electric toothbrush while doing this?? ... 

enjoy

ken

If your electric toothbrush has a switched mode power supply (and it probably has) then I would definitely move it away from the Naim kit, Ken.  

After some brief listening tests, I found the place where the electric toothbrush performed best was the opposite end of the house, in the bathroom actually.

SWMBO agrees (which is always a benefit)

Steve J posted:

The hardest part was sitting the 500 head unit in the right place on the Fraim glass, it's a bloody big lump. I guess that's one advantage of the Statement mono blocks, no Fraim.

I will bear in mind your suggestion for the Powerlines John. Every little helps.

No Fraim but the monoblocks weigh over 100Kg each, so I'm not sure of the benefits of that trade off!

Ah, but they don't need to be moved once sited.

Steve J posted:

Ah, but they don't need to be moved once sited.

Even the "light" pre amp was a PITA to haul around.  100Kg in flight case for that, 140Kg for each monoblock.

The sound in my room had slowly grown stale. This thread and a visit to hear Chris Bell's system gave me the inspiration to do a major tear down to ground zero. Rebuilt my Isoblue, purposely putting the shelving in different order and paying careful attention to the tightest fit at each level. Reinstalled glass shelving on dome nuts under my SN2, CD5x, and Stageline. Prior to leveling the rack base I gave myself an additional 2 inches from the back wall which made cable dressing much easier. Also installed a Furutech GTX-D Rhodium socket behind the rack for my Noisetrapper power strip. Did the plug/unlug x 10 at every connection in the system. Even pulled the fuses and spun them and flipped power switches x 10. Spun the volume and balance to max and back x 10. Per Chris' suggestion I went and flipped the breaker x 10 and took a piss on the grounding stake outside (in the dark). Also found time to remount the Grace F9E on my RP6 to a better template suggested by one of my Canadian friends here. All is better. Much better. Have to say it's the best I've heard my system.

This afternoon the postman dropped some "el cheapo" foam panels and corner bass traps at my door. Hardly had a chance to throw them in place and already the clean up of clutter noise in the room is amazing. A very busy week of hi-fi. Probably one of those I'll look back upon as being a big step along the way. 

Joerand,

A worthy effort, and great news.  I look forward to giving it a listen...

Charlie

Yup, the yearly breakdown and thorough cleaning of the system.  Always makes a big difference I find (also makes the wife happy as she will not dust the equipment racks).  In my case it is stripping down the 3 stacks or quadraspire racks, cleaning up all the "black boxes" as the wife refers to them and making sure there is not dust hanging around anywhere.  Even go so far as taking the cases off the 135s and getting all the dust out and making sure the cooling fans are clean and clear.  Surprising how much dust can build up inside the cases at times. 

Charlie,

Thanks. I think your thoughts on rattle with the rack were spot on. Granite plinths and Fraim chips likely to be the next big step for me. Still mulling the physical and financial how to's on that "upgrade".

Enjoy the slopes!

joerand posted:

Charlie,

Thanks. I think your thoughts on rattle with the rack were spot on. Granite plinths and Fraim chips likely to be the next big step for me. Still mulling the physical and financial how to's on that "upgrade".

Enjoy the slopes!

Have you tried the three-point experiment on your speaker spikes?

Charlie,

Still doing a lot of f'ing around with foam panel placements. It's easy, and frankly, it's kinda fun. The foam bass traps were incredibly inexpensive and I'm surprised how effective they are. Fortunately, there's only one possible position for them in my room. The mid range confusion we talked about is still there to a much reduced degree, but yeah, it speaks to the speakers. Will address the three point possibility soon and report.