A couple of good cheap tweaks


(1) I've found that cable risers on carpeted floors is a must but have balked at paying the high prices demanded from some of the vendors. Here's a cheap and easy solution. Drop into your local plumbing supply store and buy some pipe insulation. I don't know how many different types are available but I found a black, closed cell foam type that works well. This stuff doesn't become statically charged and if you don't believe me then try rubbing the length vigorously against your trousers and see if you can get a feather to stick to it. Anyway, cut pieces to about a 4" length with scissors and space them as needed to keep your speaker cables off the floor. Some of the insulation has an adhesive strip for sealing but the one I chose instead has a partial cut through. I didn't see any advantage to glueing the gap in my situation. Total cost less than $2.

(2) For those that own a basic Nitty Gritty or Disk Doctor record cleaning machine you probably agree that a bearing for rotating the record would be beneficial. A good hardware store will have a selection of lazy susan bearings. Buy the smallest size which is 3" square. Remove the bottom of the machine and take out the vacuum canister. Remove the rubber pad and o ring that the record sits on. Take care to align the bearing with the spindle. It's not difficult. Mark the holes for drilling. Take the bearing and file the outside corners to the exact record label size and bolt it in the holes you have drilled. Note that you cannot fix a soft surface to the bearing because it's the perfect height right out of the bag. It makes the cleaning process much easier. I've had no marks on any of my record labels from the metal to paper contact because the record turns so easy by hand. Total cost is less than $4.

These tweaks work very, very well. Being the cheapskate that I am I love outsmarting usually expensive purchases. If anyone wants a photo of the finished projects just drop me a line and I'll forward them.
lugnut
Hey Lugnut I'm using the pipe insulation also. Thought I was the only cheapskate around! Some more include cutting 3" square mdf pieces and gluing them to another 3" by 10" inch mdf piece (2) to make a risers so i can set my integrated on top off my power amp and still leave room for heat to escape. Only have three shelves so needed a solution. Another is keeping down sleeping bags in their storage bags in the corner as a bass trap. Of course always store any extra blankets, towels, ect. at your reflection points. I always store extra tp, paper towels, coats in the closet in my listening room. I love fixing things with homemade remedies also but thats another story.
Cheers Larry
For cable risers what is the height that is most effective? is there a minimum?

Also does this benefit pertain only to speaker cable? or powercords and IC's also?

I experimented with this a little by going out to Michaels Art Supply store and buying some of the thing bamboo poles.
I cut them into 12" lengths and made mini-tripods out of them using a simple zip-tie. The weight of the cable + friction of carpet held them in place with no problem.

But I took them down when I moved and never motivated to set them back up.

Do you have any pics of the pipe insulation? I can't picture it in my head and wouldn't know it if I saw it!
Thanks,
Geoffgarcia,

I don't know the best height for lifting cables off the floor. You simply need to get air between the cable and the carpet. A couple of inches should do it. Yes, interconnects and power cords should have the same treatment but I doubt the benefits are as great as compared to the speaker cables.

I've since made my own homemade risers with dowels and some excess MDF I had laying around. It was less than a $10 investment for all six of them but it does require tools and a little skill.

Like I mentioned in the post, just go to a plumbing supply store and look at pipe insulation in 1 or 2 inch diameters. I've given a step by step installation proceedure. It's really cheap to try. Good luck.