What are the best tweaks in your experience?

[Ron Resnick]

it is possible in your mind all horns are vintage.

What makes you think that I think that Acappella, Cessaro, Destination Audio, Diesis, Blumenhofer, Viva, Volti, Horns Universum -- all current production horn loudspeakers off the top of my head -- are vintage?

 

[Ron Resnick]

You can still buy them: https://www.shakti-innovations.com/product/shakti-stone/

interesting! Do you use them?

PS: I was actually kidding. But maybe I should dig them out and put them on top of the amps? They are passive, so I doubt they could do anything deleterious to the sound.

 

[Ron Resnick]

A little too much of an absolutist consideration in this for me Ron … I would feel more comfortable with Some Vintage Speaker Designs and Some Contemporary Modern Designs .

I agree with you. I will correct my original post.

 

[bonzo75]

What makes you think that I think that Acappella, Cessaro, Destination Audio, Diesis, Blumenhofer, Viva, Volti, Horns Universum -- all current production horn loudspeakers off the top of my head -- are vintage?

so why do you think people detweak vintage?

 

[Ron Resnick]

Thank you for thinking of me and my choices as interesting Ron .

My "process" in the high end has been going on for + 40 years. During this time I have owned a lot of expensive high end products. When I say " a lot" I really mean it. I was constant seeking "better sound" and changed gear often several times pr year because I wanted "higher resolution", "deeper soundstage" and so on. It got to the point of near obsession which is not a good thing. When I ordered something new I almost got "an high" and that feeling is not supposed to occur when buying equipment.... Not healthy!

So my process to end this madness was to slow down which I have done over the last 2-3 years. I still have my dedicated, well treated listening room and now a smaller system. The only "tweak" I have is a dedicated power line to my system, I see no reason to remove that. Gone are dedicated stands, cable lifters, power conditioners, footers etc etc. And, very expensive cables!

And you know what; My system sounds really good and I relax completely when listening to music. I am not thinking about what I am "missing" or "what could be better if" anymore. Coming from very expensive systems I know what I heard then compared to what I am hearing now. The minor differences are there of course, but it does not bother me at all. And these "improvements" costs a lot of money, money I am not willing to spend anymore for small "details".

Maybe we should have an AA in our community as well: Audiophiles Anonymous......

JP

Thank you very much for explaining. I interpret what you are saying to reflect both a change in your audio philosophy, your mental approach (no longer thinking about "what I am "missing" or "what could be better if") ,as well as a change in what you believe you are actually hearing from your system (my system sounds really good and I relax completely when listening to music).

Congratulations on getting through audio rehab and staying on the wagon!

 

[Ron Resnick]

so why do you think people detweak vintage?

Now that is an excellent question, which goes counter to the hypothesis.

I actually don't have data points of systems built around vintage loudspeakers being de-tweaked.

 

[bonzo75]

Now that is an excellent question, which goes counter to the hypothesis.

I actually don't have data points of systems built around vintage loudspeakers being de-tweaked.

I know you don’t

 

[Keith_W]

interesting! Do you use them?

PS: I was actually kidding. But maybe I should dig them out and put them on top of the amps? They are passive, so I doubt they could do anything deleterious to the sound.

I don't. I had a rather unconvincing demonstration of Shakti products. It might work for you though.

 

[PeterA]

Not sure whether or not you have AC or signal noise filtration….isolation platforms/feet….room acoustical treatments? Every room/system I’ve owned you could see evidence of these things from the listening position.

I have no filtration add-ons. I used to have Vibraplanes which I do consider isolation platforms but now I use stainless steel plates on top of my wooden shelves. I do not view those as isolation platforms. I do not have fancy audio file footers but instead use the stock feet from my gear. I do not have any audiophile treatments like absorption panels and tubes or diffusing panels. I used to have those and got rid of them all.

 

[Cellcbern]

I have no filtration add-ons. I used to have Vibraplanes which I do consider isolation platforms but now I use stainless steel plates on top of my wooden shelves. I do not view those as isolation platforms. I do not have fancy audio file footers but instead use the stock feet from my gear. I do not have any audiophile treatments like absorption panels and tubes or diffusing panels. I used to have those and got rid of them all.

Again, if your system sounds better after removing tweaks/accessories then either component upgrades rendered them ineffective and/or they were poorly chosen and/or deployed to begin with. If you are not doing anything to address power purity, mechanical vibration isolation and room acoustics then you are listening to noise and the room, and not hearing all that your gear is capable of.

 

[Elliot G.]

Stupid! Pay someone to tell you it sounds good...LOL

Paying someone who is an expert to help you is not what your implying. If you know how to do something thats great but if you don't then perhaps you can learn a better way. I dont see it as stupid to find someone to teach me what I don't know.

 

[Zuman]

I'm not sure whether they would be considered a tweak by most, but the very recent addition of a pair of TakeT Live supertweeters to my system clearly and incontrovertibly alters its presentation.
I consider them a tweak because I can't absolutely define (or understand) what they're doing yet, and I'm trying to avoid using the traditional and hackneyed audiophile phrases. But...they sure make things sound different.
I'm presently in the last stages of building a new pair of T-M-M towers with furniture-quality cabinetry, and I'm temporarily using a 20-year old pair of Infinity IL-10 bookshelf speakers with a NAD M50.2 player/vault and a NAD M32 integrated amp; hardly a high-end setup. However, the supertweeters in that system most definitely alter my perception of the soundstage. Because the soundstage presents as more three-dimensional, the timbre and texture of individual voices and instruments are more defined. I suppose I'd say that the effect is more "holographic."
Now, I cannot yet say whether this is accurate or simply entertaining, and I also haven't yet measured the overall frequency response from my listening position, so I can't say if this is all just an ultimately-undesirable artifact of comb filtering. What I can say at this point is that it's fun listening to small jazz ensembles and getting more of the impression that I'm in a club while the band's on the stage, and also hearing less congestion in mass-market symphonic recordings. Time - and the introduction of my new speakers - will tell if the impact of the supertweeters is satisfying over the long term or ends up being gimicky and/or fatiguing.

 

[Elliot G.]

Please hit ignore and don’t read my posts. Nobody brings more to the table!; so do yourself a favor and ignore me please, I don’t need or want to share my knowledge with you.

Carlos, thats the first time I agree with anything you have posted.

 

[PeterA]

Again, if your system sounds better after removing tweaks/accessories then either component upgrades rendered them ineffective and/or they were poorly chosen and/or deployed to begin with. If you are not doing anything to address power purity, mechanical vibration isolation and room acoustics then you are listening to noise and the room, and not hearing all that your gear is capable of.

Thank you for sharing your opinion. I never said I haven’t addressed those other areas, I just changed my approach as my values changed. If you need to see them in a photograph from the listening seat, I can’t help you there.

 

[Kingrex]

I have tweaked and detweaked. I use to have Gigafoil or EN-30. As I evolved I heard the grain and sort of Higi presentation that is not for me. So away they went. But I still have the LPS feeding the modem, router, switch and those 3 are also fronted by a Torus. I also still use footer and some platforms under equipment. I got rid of the cable lifters. I removed some room treatments. I kept the block under the speakers. I bounced though cables till I landed on what works for me and left it alone.

I don't think any active audiophile removes all tweeks. Some people may hit a point they like what they have and life priorities shift where turning on the stereo for music here and there is all one needs. At this point I am not sure one would be called an audiophile.

 

[Lee]

I have tweaked and detweaked. I use to have Gigafoil or EN-30. As I evolved I heard the grain and sort of Higi presentation that is not for me. So away they went. But I still have the LPS feeding the modem, router, switch and those 3 are also fronted by a Torus. I also still use footer and some platforms under equipment. I got rid of the cable lifters. I removed some room treatments. I kept the block under the speakers. I bounced though cables till I landed on what works for me and left it alone.

I don't think any active audiophile removes all tweeks. Some people may hit a point they like what they have and life priorities shift where turning on the stereo for music here and there is all one needs. At this point I am not sure one would be called an audiophile.

My adding a Shunyata conditioner to the ATT router was a nice improvement for me. Same with the Sortz Supreme device into one of the ethernet ports.

 

[henrich3]

My adding a Shunyata conditioner to the ATT router was a nice improvement for me. Same with the Sortz Supreme device into one of the ethernet ports.

Routers are digital devices. They just pass ones & zeros. Ethernet also incorporates error correction, so any frames with data loss are discarded & resent. I think it highly unlikely that adding power conditioning to a router or an ethernet cable would positively impact sound quality unless you were suffering audio dropouts (data loss) due to power problems. Those would be obvious however.

 

[Lee]

Routers are digital devices. They just pass ones & zeros. Ethernet also incorporates error correction, so any frames with data loss are discarded & resent. I think it highly unlikely that adding power conditioning to a router or an ethernet cable would positively impact sound quality unless you were suffering audio dropouts (data loss) due to power problems. Those would be obvious however.

Nope, that's not correct. They also pass noise which is why my adding a Venom PS8 and a Sortz Supreme made such a difference in sound quality.

 

[Republicoftexas69]

I have no filtration add-ons. I used to have Vibraplanes which I do consider isolation platforms but now I use stainless steel plates on top of my wooden shelves. I do not view those as isolation platforms. I do not have fancy audio file footers but instead use the stock feet from my gear. I do not have any audiophile treatments like absorption panels and tubes or diffusing panels. I used to have those and got rid of them all.

What is important is that you like how it sounds. That is it period.

 

[Republicoftexas69]

Carlos, thats the first time I agree with anything you have posted.

Good idea.