Tweaks ay ......

[admin_exported]

Well - anyone with a CD player (other than slot loading ones such as Classe or Cyrus) try the Marigo Labs Signature CD stabilising disc. Fantastic improvements in detail, resolution, separation. May seem expensive ...... until you've heard it .....

There are some reviews on line somewhere too.....

Also - things that damp the casing of your CD/AMP - such as the Gutwire Notepad - I have one on CD and Amp and it's a worthy improvement for the small outlay......

There are other threads on things that clean up your mains supply - but they do work!

I'm a fan of Russ Andrews stuff - it makes improvements without ruining the timing or musicality, which a certain other brand [since gone under I believe] did ...... There are several/many companies who do such stuff though at varying price points.

So whether it's power cables or mains purifiers - it all helps bring out the best in your system in ways a unit upgrade may not PLUS you get to keep them to transfer to newer kit as you upgrade, so it's always money well spent in the longer term too!

 

[Frank Harvey]

I know it's all personal and what some like, others hate, and that cables do make a difference. But I personally prefer to spend my money on the electronics and get better wherever possible rather than spending a fair chunk on serious looking cables. Cables can be bought at any time, if needed, and it doesn't matter how good the cables are, they're not going to make up for under par electronics. I'd rather have top notch electronics and basic cables than top notch cables and basic electronics.

I know.....lot's of variables

 

[idc]

FrankHarveyHiFi:

I'd rather have top notch electronics and basic cables than top notch cables and basic electronics.

I know.....lot's of variables

Totally agree with you. But that does not remove the market that Russ Andrews and others fill. Tweeking is great when you get to the real price point limit of what you can afford. I would need to be a lot richer to justify paying more than £500 on any one piece of kit. Also, from the kit I have heard I would need to jump to at least £1000 per item before the upgrade became really worthwhile. So a £100-£200 tweek makes a lot of sense.

For example with my AKG K702 headphones I would hope Russ Andrews could make me up a cable upgrade which would cost £150 ish. (They still just recable the K701s at the moment) For me that is more realistic than upgrading to something like the the Grado RS range. It is the same with my amp. It can go back to MF and get upgraded for £180.

Secondly, if you get a system with a synergy you really like, tweeking is a less expensive way of improving/playing with the sound without loosing the synergy.

 

[Anonymous]

Clearly when buying, that is a serious consideration ... but when you look at an upgrade it can often make more sense to add better cables, to obtain more out of your existing system - than have to bite the bullet and cough up even more for that better CD/AMP etc.

An example could be - owning a £5,000 CD player and thinking "I want to get more, so upgrade something there..."

To get a benefit in kit terms you may have to spend £8k to £10k in real terms, to get a 20-30% improvement - with the law of diminishing returns setting in ( at ANY price level, but certainly more of an issue the higher up you go).

So - let's say you can sell you current CD for £2,500, that leaves you needing to shell out a further £5,500+ for your upgrade [no I'm not being too scientific with the numbers, but reasonable possibilities in those assumptions I think!)

So if I don't have £5,500 to spend how do I get an upgrade to my CD player .... ?? Well, ONE way to go could be to spend £1,500 on a quality mains cable, or conditioner of some sort ........... or even spend £700+ each on 2 cables for the amp and CD player, so improving both. This means I have improved the system by let's say 10%-20% ..... for a smaller outlay - which whilst may be a lot for "JUST A CABLE" as many may say - when you look IN CONTEXT it works and allows further enjoyment of the existing kit for an extended period.

THEN ... when you have the cash to upgrade that CD, perhaps, the new one performs even better with the newer cabling!

If it's kit at a lower level, then the numbers can adjust accordingly......

Upgrade a £500 CD player to one costing say £700/800 ish - If I sell the £500 player for £250/300 I need £500 ish for the new CD player, but perhaps spending £100 on a quality mains lead will give me a fair bit more from my £500 player and allow me to enjoy it more now, until I have the additional funds for that new CD player ........

It all depends on the budget you have to spend at what point in time - as it's not always possible to upgrade to that next worthwhile bit of hardware, for most of us anyhow! To me, that's when & why things such as cable upgrades make so much sense.

Often it can mean you realise just how much better your existing kit can sound for an 'interim' upgrade ... AND it also means you've got something that you can retain as you then move upwards and/or further upgrade when funds allow too.

I hope that makes sense of ONE logic behind such tweaks/upgrades!

 

[Anonymous]

I had RA do some serious work on my Meridian 207 CD/Pre-Amp back in 1989, which then was regarded as the best player on the market.

The transformation was astonishing, head to head with my £2k turntable combo.

The point I am making is even on really very good equipment tweeking still makes a lot of sense. For me it represents the best value for money you can spend (at most price points) once you get onto well designed equipment.

 

[Anonymous]

most of you guys being paid by ra?

 

[Anonymous]

Simple answer is NO - not being paid by anyone - least of all RA !!

Ever wonder why so many comments end up about them though ?? err ..... 'cos their stuff works!

There are many brands doing such stuff, I have not tried them all - but the RA stuff works for me - I have a number of the powerkords on my a/v kit, as well as using the ultra purifier block on my hi-fi + interconnect for my CD.

That said, I also use some Gutwire power cables on my hi-fi which are also excellent.

 

[Anonymous]

I must say Russ Andrews helped/educated me in discovering the really big differences in replacing parts in speakers, power supplies and pre amps with better quality components.

He has done such excellent work over the years and the results of which are plain to hear for those who have tried out his stuff.

He opened a door of discovery for me, on which I have been tweaking my Hi Fi / AV systems ever since!
Having a system that has been modified well makes me realise just how poor it sounded 'out of the box' and in demo rooms.

 

[Frank Harvey]

one off:most of you guys being paid by ra?Definitely not!!

 

[Anonymous]

based on what I have read, better cables do make a difference (speaker cable and interconnects)

however, I have also read that there is not a great deal of difference in sound quality between a good £100 interconnect and a good £500 interconnect ....

so correct me if I am wrong?

 

[Frank Harvey]

It'll depend on the system, especially if you pick the best at each price point rather than the best £100 and worst £500 interconnect. One will be technically better, but it's down to the individual as to which they prefer for their own reasons.

 

[Anonymous]

I hear what you say, however I am led to believe that the difference between a good £100 interconnect and a good £500 interconnect are very minor .....

there is a hige difference between a standard 'out the box' interconnect and a good £100 one (I have experienced this with the standard interconnect supplied with my Marantz CD63 MKII K1 sig cd player and a silver high breed coherence LE interconnect (only paid £30 for that) ...

so my question: is it worth spending the additional £400 for minor changes?

 

[Anonymous]

Again - that depends on the quality of the kit you are using it with. There's little point spending £500 on an interconnect for a £500 CD player - you are better spending the cash on a CD upgrade perhaps - but if you have a CD player costing a few grand, then it's certainly worth a better interconnect.

This said - there can also be a huge difference in quality [subjective] between cables of the same price. It's all about what brings out the best balance in a system. For example - if you have a bright sounding amp and CD, then you can tone this down with a smoother interconnect, but if you stick something on that highlights the treble perhaps, you may find it just too much and hence hate it!

The same interconnect in a different system with less sparkle, may benefit hugely from the additional lift to stop it being boring.

I have pretty high-end cables and have always felt the benefit - now using Kimber Select KS1030 which works fantastically in my set-up. Was far better than any other I tried, including things like the Chord Indigo, though that was the best of the bunch I had tried, until I heard the Kimber one.

Personally - if I had a £500 CD and £500 amp, for example, with a £100 interconnect - if I had not yet done so, I would rather spend £200+ upgrading the power cables on each, than spending more on the interconnect, at that time. This would improve detail, dynamics, bass depth and musicality for a lower outlay than just going for the better interconnect.

Also though - if you are wondering what will work - then just try!

Your local shop may let you have stuff on home demo - if they are worth their salt ...... either by leaving a deposit, or paying in full, ensuring they know it's just a demo at that stage.

Russ Andrews send you their stuff and you can return it if not 100% happy, so that worked well for me in the past [never felt a need to return their stuff yet though]......

It's enlightening (to your system!) when you find the right cables, because you realise what your system was capable of before, that you simply weren't being allowed to hear, with poor cabling holding things back before.

One other thing - the law of diminishing returns always comes in to play - so above a certain point - a cable costing twice as good won't be twice as good........ but you will still get benefits if you choose wisely.

 

[Anonymous]

I just got some granite plinths to put my floorstanding speakers on and it's interesting .........

See other thread for this "Floorstanders - using granite plinth"

From garden centre £15 each for a 600mm x 600mm paving slab

 

[Anonymous]

dim_span:
so my question: is it worth spending the additional £400 for minor changes?

That depends entirely on what the changes are and how they fit into the sound of your system. With experimentation it seems that I get my best sound with a Chord Chameleon Silver+ between pre and power, and an SHB between CDP and pre. The SHB tones the bass down perfectly to get rid of an annoying room reinforcement I was getting. In this case I'm lucky that I managed this for £30.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi,

I think the benefit for me was the fact that I had to negotiate space for the current system I have, in a shared living room. I still wanted to get a "better" sound in the mean time. So, the only course of action to take was to improve cables, mains and isolation.

First, it was the speaker cable. I moved from QED silver anniversary to Ecosse MS4.45, which gave me improvements that are future proof.

Then the mains cables. Stock cables to DH labs cable with MK plugs and wattgate. Another improvement in sound,

I am currently implementing isolation in the form of sorbothane feet, granite plynths ect.

During this time I have also dabbled with BT mains conditioners but I did not like the change in sound quality (clearer but less dynamics). Also, I introduced a box which I could not hide.

These "tweeks" give me a better sound to my system and I do not have to replace boxes that require negotiation with the missus (domestic harmony).

By taking this course of action means I can keep the same boxes and get an upgrade at the same time.

I guess tweaks can be hidden where as box swapping takes time (in my life anyway). For all those people out there who have family who are happy with their bloke to swamp the living room with audiophile components, have fun! I can't do that and have to justify the different living room asthetics when large changes are made. When I do decide to upgrade my components, following a lengthy negotiation, the tweaks have satisfied my upgraditis for the duration and can also be taken along for the ride when I can swap a box.

Thats why I like tweaks as opposed to box swapping.

 

[JoelSim]

igglebert:dim_span:
so my question: is it worth spending the additional £400 for minor changes?

That depends entirely on what the changes are and how they fit into the sound of your system. With experimentation it seems that I get my best sound with a Chord Chameleon Silver+ between pre and power, and an SHB between CDP and pre. The SHB tones the bass down perfectly to get rid of an annoying room reinforcement I was getting. In this case I'm lucky that I managed this for £30.

Try a decent Nordost Iggs, a Heimdall or suchlike, and a Shiva mains to boot. Seriously nice. Much better than the Chord.

And I'm a big fan of tweaking, especially to a sound you already like, it mostly pays off. A new CDP for me would cost several thousand, a new cable perhaps 1/20th of that.

 

[Anonymous]

I have found the Russ Andrews conditioners DON'T rob the dynamics ........ whereas the Isotek Sigmas I had previously definitely DID - so may be worth trying RA stuff if you want a conditioner......

 

[idc]

BigAir:I have found the Russ Andrews conditioners DON'T rob the dynamics ........ whereas the Isotek Sigmas I had previously definitely DID - so may be worth trying RA stuff if you want a conditioner......

With you BigAir on the opinion about RA and The Silencer. I had not heard of the negatives till I found this forum.

 

[Anonymous]

Hey folks!

Have you ever heard of "Omicron Magic Dream" ? Well, Omicron is the brand name of the Italian producer of the stuff I'm gonna tell you about. They produce amplifiers, cd players, loudspeakers, etc. as well. But the thing is they produce something which is hard-to-believe! It's called "Magic Dream" !! This thing works as a harmonic stabilizer. You can simply put it on top of any cd player, pre-amp, power-amp, integrated amp and so on. And, it reduces the inner vibrations produced by the toroidal transformer. The results are incredible. I actually got more authoritative low frequency range and a very open sound stage. Maybe, the most important thing is that this thing is adjustable. It has a bright yellow circle placed on its main body, and you can rotate it 360 degrees. Well, actually you can get 360 different sounds I believe one of which could suit your taste. I got the most significant results when I placed it on the transformer on my amp, and the top of the cd transport mechanism on my cd player.

You can get more info on http://www.omicrongroup.net/products/accessories/mdevolution/

 

[Dave_]

dsom:
Hey folks!

Have you ever heard of "Omicron Magic Dream" ? Well, Omicron is the brand name of the Italian producer of the stuff I'm gonna tell you about. They produce amplifiers, cd players, loudspeakers, etc. as well. But the thing is they produce something which is hard-to-believe! It's called "Magic Dream" !! This thing works as a harmonic stabilizer. You can simply put it on top of any cd player, pre-amp, power-amp, integrated amp and so on. And, it reduces the inner vibrations produced by the toroidal transformer. The results are incredible. I actually got more authoritative low frequency range and a very open sound stage. Maybe, the most important thing is that this thing is adjustable. It has a bright yellow circle placed on its main body, and you can rotate it 360 degrees. Well, actually you can get 360 different sounds I believe one of which could suit your taste. I got the most significant results when I placed it on the transformer on my amp, and the top of the cd transport mechanism on my cd player.

You can get more info on http://www.omicrongroup.net/products/accessories/mdevolution/
Cobbler's!!! Nice advert though

 

[Anonymous]

Come on!! Just don't humiliate it. My purpose was not advertising it actually. Don't worry about it I'm not working for that company

However, if I was, I would definitely be sure that this forum was not to be the place

Actually "What Hi-Fi" does advertising much better than me. Doesn't it? Think about the brands they oversell : Cyrus, Sony, QED, Arcam...

These are all piece of junk!!!