Share Your Inexpensive Tweaks ?

[garn63]

One that is a stand out for me is the use of Dynamat. It's not that expensive and can be used strategically to improve the sound/signal. Tinny chassis, underneath component shelves & spkr stands are a good place to start.
* The use on the base of spkr stands (none frame type) preferably with a large steel plate, reaps the greatest rewards. You can use too much Dynamat so never exceeding 2/3rds of a given surface area seems a good place to start. For the base plate of a spkr stand I use the Extreme Dynamat. This can make a significant improvement to the overall focus/definition and bass quality. Imo of course
Worth a punt.

 

[rdale]

One that is a stand out for me is the use of Dynamat. It's not that expensive and can be used strategically to improve the sound/signal. Tinny chassis, underneath component shelves & spkr stands are a good place to start.
* The use on the base of spkr stands (none frame type) preferably with a large steel plate, reaps the greatest rewards. You can use too much Dynamat so never exceeding 2/3rds of a given surface area seems a good place to start. For the base plate of a spkr stand I use the Extreme Dynamat. This can make a significant improvement to the overall focus/definition and bass quality. Imo of course
Worth a punt.

I agree - I used Dynamat to damp the bass horn ports on my Klipsch speakers, which are quite resonant plastic. For about £25 a pack or so you can’t go wrong, and it’s worth keeping some around.

 

[MF 1000]

Having my ears syringed ….

 

[HiFimanDan]

Having my ears syringed ….

Indeed, things sound a little bright afterwards but then you realise it’s just more detail you are hearing

 

[rabski]

Clean all your contacts. Deoxit and similar are good, but a bit of careful fine sandpaper or an old pencil rubber are fine. RCAs, mains connectors, valve pins... All of them oxidise slightly and I've often wondered whether half of the 'improvements' with new cables are simply down to unplugging stuff and plugging it back in, which on its own helps clean things. Never use wire wool. It 'sheds' small pieces of metal that can get into things and do some serious nasties.

Spend a bit of time moving speakers around. Sometimes just a few degrees of toe-in or just a few inches further from (or closer to) the wall can suddenly make things snap into focus. No matter how much time you spent moving them at first, give it another go. On first acquaintance, you get used to the sound of speakers and spend a while on placement. That doesn't mean you got it spot on. Once you're more familiar with the sound, smaller changes become more apparent. The vast majority of people either don't spend enough time positioning at first, or do it once and then forget about it.

Shift kit around on your shelves/rack/sideboard. Sometimes, there are very small but subtle differences because of radiation from transformers. Especially with vinyl systems, a few inches can drastically lower (or increase) the noisefloor. We tend to become immune to low level hums and the like, but remove them and things instantly sound notably better.

Clean things other than contacts. Dust everything, including underneath kit. Does it improve the sound? Almost certainly not. Does it improve your perception? Almost certainly.

Move furniture and soft furnishings around a bit. They all work to absorb reflected sound, and moving (or adding) a few cushions can sometimes make more of a difference than you may expect. Similarly, if you listen at night or don't care during the day, pull the curtains closed. Glass and windows are excellent sound reflectors.

All the above costs nothing or almost nothing. All of it can add up to small but noticeable benefits.

 

[Sir_Franc]

Cable dressing. Try to keep power cables away from signal leads and speaker cables. It can be a PITA to do, but it's worth the effort.

 

[Southeastern]

Insulated the motor on my Gyrodec, £4 foam donut

 

[bigfish786]

Replaced all the tiny gel pads on the Atacama Equinox rack. cost about £2 for a hundred of them.

 

[uzzy]

Beware tweaks, a slip when fiddling with TT or speakers could result in expensive damage ... just note the number of destroyed stylus/cantilevers dusting the turntable.
Other than that, what Rabski said

 

[marko]

Imho, experimenting with speaker placement is a tweak that can have seriously ‘profound’ improvements on musical presentation and is completely free!
If I sit in the listening chair and lean ‘even’ 20cm forward, the fullness of bass almost disappears, leaving the musical presentation lacking in focus, depth and body. Alternatively, if I stay in the same position and toe the speakers out by 2-3cm, exactly the same thing happens. Yuck!
There was a time in the distant past when I might have considered throwing money at new sp cables and interconnects to tune a system. I think cables can make a difference (as I can hear between the two different cables I use) but all things being equal, speaker placement can be critical. If you’re not happy, move your speakers, even slightly. You may save yourself a shed load of ££££!

 

[rdale]

Imho, experimenting with speaker placement is a tweak that can have seriously ‘profound’ improvements on musical presentation and is completely free!
If I sit in the listening chair and lean ‘even’ 20cm forward, the fullness of bass almost disappears, leaving the musical presentation lacking in focus, depth and body. Alternatively, if I stay in the same position and toe the speakers out by 2-3cm, exactly the same thing happens. Yuck!
There was a time in the distant past when I might have considered throwing money at new sp cables and interconnects to tune a system. I think cables can make a difference (as I can hear between the two different cables I use) but all things being equal, speaker placement can be critical. If you’re not happy, move your speakers, even slightly. You may save yourself a shed load of ££££!

It sounds to me that the inconsistency in the sound for different listening positions is a result of lack of acoustic treatment, and fixing that is more cost effective than buying fancy cables, but not really a ‘cheap tweak’ in the context of this thread.

But in my opinion the best value acoustic treatment is expanded polystyrene acoustic diffuser panels. You can get four Vicoustic DC3 panels for 300 euros, although you can’t buy them singly. I would say just two panels in the centre behind the speakers would make a substantial improvement in a small or medium sized room, and four even more so. Maybe that still qualifies as a ‘cheap tweak’ because of the size of the improvement relative to the cost.

 

[pmcuk]

Clean all your contacts. Deoxit and similar are good, but a bit of careful fine sandpaper or an old pencil rubber are fine. RCAs, mains connectors, valve pins... All of them oxidise slightly

Seconded. I use a 4mm fibreglass pencil, which is wonderful for cleaning surfaces before soldering. For me an essential tool.

https://cpc.farnell.com/c/tools-maintenance/cleaning-chemicals/precision-cleaning/fibreglass-pens

 

[hiesteem]

Place isopods underneath CD, Amplifier, Dac . It lifts them off the surface and is very easy to hear more clarity in the music.
Also service electronics, especially amplifier. This was a huge upgrade , made me aware of how much detail an amp can allow through if looked after, with a few quid spent on a full service.

 

[bigrod]

Keep your vinyl clean

 

[Gray]

Having my ears syringed ….

Only when you've needed it and had it done successfully do you understand that no greater improvement is possible

 

[Shadders]

Everything sounds good. Even the wife.

 

[Sir_Franc]

Another cheap tweak is to use washing machine isolation feet. They are designed to stop the machines moving and reduce the amount of vibrations passing through to the floor. They work as designed and can also be used under racks & equipment.

For example...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0834KR...jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

 

[Vincent52]

Beware tweaks, a slip when fiddling with TT or speakers could result in expensive damage ... just note the number of destroyed stylus/cantilevers dusting the turntable.
Other than that, what Rabski said

No don't remind me. My Shelter is still sitting waiting for repair.

 

[DUVET]

Your mood has a direct relationship to your enjoyment

 

[Tony_J]

Your mood has a direct relationship to your enjoyment

Indeed. I find that a wee dram is a very inexpensive upgrade to the (perceived) SQ of a system