[bigshot]

I forgot to mention regular bathing and dental hygiene. Good grooming can do wonders for your sound!

See ya
Steve

 

[sonick]

I'm not so sure about the grooming. I find a thin layer of grime and sweat, along with unruly body hair really accentuates the midrange and further smoothing down harsh digital sound, creating a more analog, smooth-sounding soundstage.

 

[Spiug31]

Have you tried wooden blocks to tune the sound ?

see post #7 in
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=97143

I'm using ebony footers at present and find they affect sound.

I've got 26 different woods to try out once my blackgates finish burn in

 

[dvw]

The effect on sound can be sorted in several category;
1. Enviromental, RFI, EMI radiation, as well as room temperature
2. Physical, vibration etc
3. Physiological, your ability to hear
4. Psychological, i.e. your state of mind

IMO, one of the most neglected tweak is temperature. For example, cable works better at low temperature. For electronics it's a different matter. CMOS usually work better at low temperature while bipolar transistor work better at high temperature. So you can use a combo of heater and refrigerator to optimize your set up.

Have you notice headphone sound fuller in the winter when you are wearing a hat. This is because changes the vibration charcteristic between your skull and the headphone. You can change different hat to find the optimal damping.

As we all know, low frequency is mostly visceral. That's why speaker usually sound better with sub woofer. That's where "I can feel the bass came from". You can set up a shake table under your listening area.

Finally, we all know a relax mind can perceive sound much better. A shot of gin will usually help you hear more detail. if you don't like alcohol, valium will sometime do the trick.

Finally, I have to agree and disagree with Sonick. While sweat and grime can help to enhance listening experience, (that's why I think people listen to their headphone during workout), body hair will certainly disrupt some smoothness because of uneven acoustic surface.

 

[Pibborando]

I've found this to be the most effective sonic tweek by far:

 

[GSurge]

What does basil have to do with sound?

 

[Pibborando]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GSurge /img/forum/go_quote.gif What does basil have to do with sound?

Basil? What are you high or something?

 

[Patrick82]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dvw /img/forum/go_quote.gif The effect on sound can be sorted in several category; 1. Enviromental, RFI, EMI radiation, as well as room temperature 2. Physical, vibration etc 3. Physiological, your ability to hear 4. Psychological, i.e. your state of mind IMO, one of the most neglected tweak is temperature. For example, cable works better at low temperature. For electronics it's a different matter. CMOS usually work better at low temperature while bipolar transistor work better at high temperature. So you can use a combo of heater and refrigerator to optimize your set up.

I have found the same thing. Colder cables have more detail. But colder headphone diaphragms have less detail.

I don't know how to do it for my system without the added AC noise and EMI from the fridge making my system worse.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dvw /img/forum/go_quote.gif Have you notice headphone sound fuller in the winter when you are wearing a hat. This is because changes the vibration charcteristic between your skull and the headphone. You can change different hat to find the optimal damping.

My system has a blacker background and more emphasized detail in the winter, but if it's too cold the blackness transforms into brightness and there is lack of detail. It sounded best when it was snowing outside, it's some combination between temperature and humidity. The diaphragms of headphones seem to vibrate smoother with more humidity.
Everytime it was snowing I could hear the sound signature. Black background + detail. The colder temperature made cables give more detail and the humidity made the headphones sound smoother. The best of both worlds!

In the summer the sound is more consistent. But I don't like warm and dry weather, it makes music sound too warm and dry! I like the cold and wet sound from when it is snowing, it makes it sound like real life.

I need to experiment more with this. I think the system needs a different warm-up time in the winter than the summer. In the summer my system needs 2 weeks warm-up until I get the most low-level detail and smoothness. I also need to keep my headphones running 24/7. I run it at about 46dB over night. Once I left it at 50dB and it sounded too warm on the next day. It sounded like someone had been tampering with my system. Then I left it running at 46dB and on the next day my system sounded like before.

 

[HumanMedia]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pibborando /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've found this to be the most effective sonic tweek by far: *Image of basil*

Yes a very good tweak for music and movies.

 

[Dept_of_Alchemy]

Sex?

It's healthier than smoking basil.

 

[setmenu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by edstrelow /img/forum/go_quote.gif I realize that you are somewhat of a gadfly in these forums taking things to extremes. Oddly you seem to be missing disc tweaks, such as polishes, mats, rings etc. I personally am very pleased with the disc trimmer http://www.musicdirect.com/products/...p?sku=ADESKSYS It is rather expensive, but the sonic improvements are definitely in line with the price.

some of my cds could do with truing up, and a few would probably loose a track to the process!!

My portable cd player is a good test for balance.
Some disks make it move so much that it begins to blur!
Mercifully this is a rare occurrence.
I doubt many cd payer mechs are designed to cope with being placed on a washing machine on spin cycle, so I would guess the poor things are not benefiting from such vibrations!

Better dust off that lathe.....

 

[Chu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by setmenu /img/forum/go_quote.gif some of my cds could do with truing up, and a few would probably loose a track to the process!! My portable cd player is a good test for balance. Some disks make it move so much that it begins to blur! Mercifully this is a rare occurrence. I doubt many cd payer mechs are designed to cope with being placed on a washing machine on spin cycle, so I would guess the poor things are not benefiting from such vibrations! Better dust off that lathe.....

Not only that, but this product came up in another thread and there is pretty much no way that it could work properly. The tolerance on a red book CD for centering / radius / thickness (i.e. what effects the balance) is much stricter then the tolerance allowed on the clamping mechanism of that device.

 

[setmenu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chu /img/forum/go_quote.gif Not only that, but this product came up in another thread and there is pretty much no way that it could work properly. The tolerance on a red book CD for centering / radius / thickness (i.e. what effects the balance) is much stricter then the tolerance allowed on the clamping mechanism of that device.

As for the truing machine , not seen one myself, but if any cutting or grinding were to be done on a disk then it would need to be supported accurately and not allow any bending during the cut.
I would clamp it centred between face plates and use a lathe if i were tempted.

 

[GSurge]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dept_of_Alchemy /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sex? It's healthier than smoking basil.

Why would anyone smoke basil? I find it's best utilized when diced and thrown in some pasta sauce. It's part of my special pasta recipe.

 

[bigshot]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patrick82 /img/forum/go_quote.gif My system has a blacker background and more emphasized detail in the winter. It sounded best when it was snowing outside

I live in Southern California. Do you have any tweaks to help me achieve the best sound too?

See ya
Steve