Free Tweaks That Work ?

[ANADROL-50]

I have just noted the advice in this video regarding re-tightening drive units onto speaker cabinets. Are there any other free tweaks such as this that actually work ?

 

[Beobloke]

Periodically checking and tightening your loudspeakers' drive unit mounting bolts is a wise move.

That said, a bunch of Linn fans on another forum took this far too seriously when it was suggested, which led to pages of arguments about the EXACT torque required for optimum sound quality. It was both disturbing and hilarious in equal measure!

 

[hifinutt]

changing the toe can be massive improvement

 

[lazycat]

changing the toe can be massive improvement

Which one of the ten? Amputation seems an excessive tweak, even for this forum.

 

[HansBertil]

Speaker placement is free but the payback is great.

 

[akamatsu]

Periodically checking and tightening your loudspeakers' drive unit mounting bolts is a wise move.

That said, a bunch of Linn fans on another forum took this far too seriously when it was suggested, which led to pages of arguments about the EXACT torque required for optimum sound quality. It was both disturbing and hilarious in equal measure!

I was involved in that conversation. Thinking back, it was a huge expectation bias induced wild goose chase.

 

[pauljdh]

If you're going to tighten up speaker screws / bolts, a common thought is to rotate the drive unit by 180 degrees in order to equalise "sag" around the voice coil.....

 

[Lawrence001]

Ear syringing on the NHS?

 

[Nopiano]

I think that occasionally unplugging everything and reconnecting it can allay any worries about dust or minute corrosion affecting the connection quality. I usually dust everything carefully at the same time.

That said, dusting turntables is a risk because so many styli are terminated that way!

 

[MVJ]

Ear syringing on the NHS?

They don't do it anymore at most surgeries for fear of being sued if it goes wrong apparantly

 

[MVJ]

If you're going to tighten up speaker screws / bolts, a common thought is to rotate the drive unit by 180 degrees in order to equalise "sag" around the voice coil.....

Thats a good idea unless you break a connection in the process

 

[luxury_scruff]

That only works if your screw heads are aligned. If ones off you are knacked lad.

 

[MickyP]

If you're going to tighten up speaker screws / bolts, a common thought is to rotate the drive unit by 180 degrees in order to equalise "sag" around the voice coil.....

Assuming the cable length will allow, of course.

 

[MickyP]

Turn on and have a lengthy cuppa before seriously listening. Warming up can make a huge difference.

 

[Nothingface]

equalise "sag" around the voice coil.....

I was asked to do this once but she wasn't very attractive so I left.

 

[Nothingface]

changing the toe can be massive improvement

Definitely.

 

[rabski]

Free tweak?

Said this before, but unplug everything and plug it back in. Preferably a few times. It cleans contacts and sometimes can make a surprising difference. Also, dust everything. It won't sound better, but psychologically it feels better.

 

[tackleberry]

I bought some tannoys that sounded sh!t, bass was horrendous. I could tighten the screws with my fingers. Different speakers once tightened, and the crossovers glued back in place as opposed to hanging in the cabinet.

 

[Klassik]

I have just noted the advice in this video regarding re-tightening drive units onto speaker cabinets. Are there any other free tweaks such as this that actually work ?

I think that occasionally unplugging everything and reconnecting it can allay any worries about dust or minute corrosion affecting the connection quality. I usually dust everything carefully at the same time.

This is more of a story of a repair rather than a tweak, but a couple months back, El Klassiko noticed some distortion coming from one of the DCM speakers at around ~1400-2500 Hz. Not knowing what would cause such a thing, Klassik took the drivers off the and noticed that one of the terminals on the tweeter of the offending speaker had a red marker mark on the positive terminal. Presumably, someone at the factory was making polarity with a marker. Without finding any other logical sources of problems, Klassik decided to clean the terminal to remove the red ink. Stranger things have happened, maybe this would fix the problem, eh?

Indeed it did fix the problem! Perhaps something in the ink had changed over time and was negatively impacting the connection. While Klassik was in the speakers, Klassik cleaned all the terminals and connectors. Klassik cannot say if this type of cleaning should be considered part of an obsessive maintenance regimen or not, but maybe it's something that should be considered if one is reconnecting things and working on screwing/unscrewing the drivers.

 

[DomT]

Relaxing whilst listening to the music rather than thinking about the next upgrade.