Every Little (Tweak) Helps

[ESP2009]

Right, before I get on with something arguably more useful, just one more post. []

Whilst trying out a few different discs this evening, it occurred to me that some of the bass notes were still tending to boom a bit. My speakers sit on blobs of BluTak atop the smaller size Tesco granite chopping board on top of Atacama 24 stands spiked into carpet which is on a wooden suspended floor. This floor had been the undoing, I believe, of my floor-standing RTL2 speakers. I looked at the setup afresh, ran an experimental hand up and down a slightly but discernibly vibrating Atacama and thought to myself: "squash balls!"

The other day I had popped into JJB Sports and found a couple of 3-packs for a fiver each with an eye to more insulation of my hi-fi separates. However...sliced open with a kitchen knife (shhhh, don't tell!), four of them were inserted into position between Atacama top plate and the chopping boards. Hey presto! A definite tightening of the sound and, upon investigation, hardly a vibration to be felt in the actual stands.

Yes, a definite improvement - not major, but certainly a cost-effective one.

 

[Anonymous]

I used to use a similar tweak with sorbothane for a while.

From my experience, the best sound is when you take vibration away from the speakers and into the stands. If the speaker stands aren't vibrating then the speakers probably will be.

I used to use granite underneath my speaker stands but got a better balance of sound from using blu tack to couple the speakers to the stands and 25mm blocks of mdf under the stands that sit on the carpet.

The squash ball tweak is definitely a good tweak for cd players, turntables and other equipment that is sensitive to vibration.

 

[Anonymous]

Hightone:
From my experience, the best sound is when you take vibration away from the speakers and into the stands. If the speaker stands aren't vibrating then the speakers probably will be.

I've never considered it like that but that seems to make a lot of sense and aligns with my experience. My (small) speakers don't seem to appreciate loaded, high mass stands but sound much more detailed and open when unfilled. The stands certainly vibrate more when unfilled.

 

[ear]

I find weird you put granite choping boards on top of the speakerstand.

 

[shooter]

igglebert:Hightone:
From my experience, the best sound is when you take vibration away from the speakers and into the stands. If the speaker stands aren't vibrating then the speakers probably will be.

I've never considered it like that but that seems to make a lot of sense and aligns with my experience. My (small) speakers don't seem to appreciate loaded, high mass stands but sound much more detailed and open when unfilled. The stands certainly vibrate more when unfilled.

This a good point, but it could be more about vibrations or resonances and how they work together? If you have a cabinet that likes to resinate then putting it on a solid stand, wouldn't it make it worse or visa versa? If you place it on a stand that resonates with the cabinet wouldn't it give a better quality of sound because theres no conflicting resonances? Are they at one, in harmony? Couldn't experimenting with fill in the stands more than likely bring better overall sound to any system? Each fill would have to differ and be suited to the individuals system based on the volumes the music was played at and how the cabinet reacted. The higher the volume the more resonances there would be. This is definitely true of a turntable and all their moving parts. If the manufactures get them to resonate the same way it a great table, if you don't and they conflict well..............

 

[Anonymous]

I can see weeks of my time disappearing in experiments like this. This adds weight to ordering some SA1 stands; decisions made for me

 

[ESP2009]

Some very interesting points there. I think I will have to see (or hear) how things go for a while. However, I will repeat that my initial impression is one of improvement.

I did forget to mention that my stands are filled (silver sand in plastic bags), but as for experimenting with the degree of fill...well, that would be darned inconvenient.

Anyway, I am glad that this thread has helped you to a decision, Igglebert.

 

[Anonymous]

Interesting thread this. I thought ( probably wrongly ) that the rule of thumb in getting as near to the original sound in music replay was less is best, it seems that a lot of the guys after purchasing the speakers they really wanted or amp or cd etc, after setting up and listening and posting about how impressed they are, they then try to tweak that sound by purchasing more techy add - ons, change every cable, change the mains power, rip up the carpets, put down concrete slabs on the wooden floors, hang heavier curtains, take concrete slabs away and re-carpet in heavier pile, cut up tennis balls, use chopping boards etc etc etc. Whats wrong with just inserting a disc, power up amps, sit back and enjoy.

 

[Anonymous]

I also don,t understand comments made, for instance about how if someone changes for instance the speaker cable and says that the bass became more controlled ? How can you tell how the bass should sound in the first place unless you are a bass player and have some knowledge in how the player attacked, skipped, fretted what amp he used, what sound he was trying to achieve etc. Not trying to start an argument here guys, just my opinion, don,t know much about hi-fi, only know what sound i like.

 

[shooter]

johnnyjazz:Whats wrong with just inserting a disc, power up amps, sit back and enjoy.

Nothing wrong with plug and play but if you can tweak the sound to your to you liking with minimal of outlay then why not!

All those tweaks you mentioned above are sonic improvers one way or another. It doesn't mean it will work for all because most of are listening rooms differ from each other and most of them i would imagine differ from a dedicated listening room like your local hi-fi dealer's. These small tweaks could get you closer or improve on the dealers experience.

 

[ESP2009]

You both make very solid points and I readily agree with both - it just depends on what you enjoy. After all, there are people out there who buy perfectly good road vehicles and then tune them up... again, some do take it to extremes.

However, I have to agree that I sometimes wonder whether what I am hearing is an accurate representation or not. Just because you buy a decent system, doesn't mean you will automatically get the very best out of it straight from the box, particularly if your listening environment is less than perfect.

We are all different: my OH is quite happy to listen to music at volumes that render music IMHO drab and uninteresting; no more than elevator muzak. I like to hear the music and what goes into it, so am willing to tweak here and there to optimise. Therefore, as I have said previously, it was great to suddenly hear that the bassline in an album track was actually provided by a double bass, rather than a bass guitar - the new cable allowed greater clarity and, I believe, accuracy of delivery. Now, sometimes you can be lucky enough to get this straight off because you have been clever or fortunate enough to combine all the right components and circumstances. Me? Not clever or fortunate enough!