[chych]

It has come to my attention that many of us are going beyond the level of standard components and moving onto the tweaks. Of course, many people aren't here yet, think it is stupid to tweak, and so on and so forth.

So, the question is, how much of a tweaker are you? Just guess at about the levels I describe (I think they are in sequential order, the tweak description).

 

[coolvij]

hehehe.....I'm only Level 2.


I can only pray I never become a jude....or can I only pray to BECOME a jude?

 

[bootman]

I'm only at 2 (so far

) but I noticed one vote for Jude.

Jude, are you there?

 

[rickcr42]

I am at the "jude" level (damn scary) but with a twist.Almost all of my tweaks are DIY.Racks,sandboxes,cabling,sand bags,squishy feet,etc.

I have found that vibration and reflection control give the most easily noticeable results , and while I do my own cables,this is more difficult to notice an improvement.As to AC line,I have found that it helps in some areas but actually hurts in others.All of my digital gear has line filtration but my amps have none.Some line level gear benefits,some is hurt-you gotta listen.

But what DOES work is adding parallel filters to certain home appliances such as refridgerstors,air conditioners,microwaves,Tvs,furnaces,washer and dryer,etc.You would not beleive how much garbage these things throw into the house AC

Another biggie is speaker placement and reflection control.Reflection control is easy if you read-just place a full bookshelf at each "node" between you and the loudspeakers.Throw in some bass traps and a nice wool throw rug and you get there cheap (I AM cheap)

Rickerama

 

[dhwilkin]

Only Level 1 right now, but someday I shall climb the ladder... actually, wait a minute, I do have one of those sturdy audio equipment racks, so where would that put me?

 

[zoboomofo]

I'd like to be a level jude tweaker but I'm only gradually picking up the know how of the goings on inside my electronics. For now, I'm level 2.

 

[jude]

Quote:

Originally posted by bootman I'm only at 2 (so far ) but I noticed one vote for Jude. Jude, are you there?

LOL! Yeah, just caught this thread! Though I am proud to currently represent the extreme end of the tweaking continuum here, I have a feeling I'd be pushed into the middle if you all checked out a lot of the posts in the Tweakers Forum at Audio Asylum. Compared to some of those cats, I swear to you I'm merely a mild case!

 

[dhwilkin]

Quote:

jude said... LOL! Yeah, just caught this thread! Though I am proud to currently represent the extreme end of the tweaking continuum here, I have a feeling I'd be pushed into the middle if you all checked out a lot of the posts in the Tweakers Forum at Audio Asylum. Compared to some of those cats, I swear to you I'm merely a mild case!

Believe it or not, this is true! My personal favorites over at AA are the "floppy disk on CD" tweak and the "store all my CDs in the freezer" tweak!

 

[lini]

I miss level d - standing for diy-cabler & turntable-adjuster.

Grinnings from SF!

Manfred / Lini

 

[lini]

Btw, Jude: There are worse cases than yours, believe me.

It really get's interesting, when people start to rip open their walls in order to renew the power cabling right from the start. And I'm still grinning about cd demagnetizers for $300...

Lini

 

[KR...]

If Jude's a 7 then there are guys at level 40 and above

I, myself am at a level 2. Since I think I have the most high-end cables out of anyone here. But, other than that, I have no other tweaks going for me. I am trying different brands of 9 volts for my RA-1, but that's ok right? I'm a poor college student, so I can't get too crazy even if I wanted to anyway. Well, now that I think about, what the bloody hell am I doing with these cables already? What's going to happen when I start making money, oh no I don't like where this is going

 

[jude]

Quote:

Originally posted by KR... If Jude's a 7 then there are guys at level 40 and above

I agree. Like I said, you all just have to check out the Tweakers Forum at Audio Asylum. Some wild stuff going on over there at times. Again, you'll then see me as a mild tweaker.

 

[Braver]

I picked level 3. I haven't got any nice cables (or a decent system for that matter), but I like those thick stiff ICs, they just look good, level 1

I got a can of contactspray to keep the stuff clean, so level 2. it's also nice to keep the cables from touching eachother and stuff. doubt it matters noticably, but easy to do and keeps your setup tidy. no RFI meter tho

I do keep my stuff away from large metal object and other electronics (like a PC), just to be sure. I'm also definately getting sorbothane feet when I get a cdp. it's just cool stuff and the theory makes sense, so why not? and spikes and heavy stands for speakers as well. I'm not too bothered by the poweroutlet thing tho. as long as it's easy to do and not too expensive, tweaking is just fun, fiddling with the audio stuff.

 

[Duncan]

I'm a Sorobothane person... 1st one here by the looks of it

Not sure that it is more radical than changing mains cables and things... but, wahey... I'm right near the worst of the worst (or... is that best of the best??)

 

[thomas]

see my profile... I'm a 0...

My most expensive interconnect cost me $2.95 CDN, and my best powerchord is from a broken nuclear medicine imaging machine...( the radiation causes the valence electrons in the inner most dielectric layer to move into a higher energy state. This increased rate of brownian motion allows electronics in the copper wire (one of the best conductors in the world) to move through with almost no impedment. The result is balanced, clear highs, a tigher bass, a warmer, smoother midrange, and of course, a wider soundstage. It sounds like a veil has been lifted from on top of my headphones. BTW, the price is only $15 000. ALthough the price seems a bit high, keep in mind that if you listen every day for the rest of your life, it will only be a few dollars a day for vastly improved enjoyment of your music. I don't know how i ever listened to music without it...