phasemonger, you were hearing things you did not hear before because you were listening carefully. Remove the cones and listen again. Chances are you will hear the same things. You have to listen back and forth to get the right idea. Listening just once is a trap that most of us have fallen into somewhere in our audio careers.
BDR Cones for SS Amp
Thanks to Millercarbon, from whom I’ve learned a lot by paying attention to his content, I decided to try BDR Mk3 cones on my SS amp. I have a modest system that I thoroughly enjoy, and I like trying different tweaks to experience what might sound “better” to me. I have a Rega Elex-R amp, Tavish Vintage phono preamp, Rega RP8 TT, Hana SL cartridge, ML Motion 40i speakers, mid grade AudioQuest interconnects, and Blue Jeans Belden gray cables. I built a very solid hardwood table for all that stuff, and it sits on some vibration control pads. I also have a dedicated 20 amp circuit and some power conditioning.
I removed the four rubber feet from the Rega amp and replaced them with three BDR cones, two in the back and one I. The middle front. The difference in sound really surprised me - it’s a huge positive difference and not subtle. The wife cliche is real - she has two left ears and told me she could hear instruments she couldn’t hear before, and the system sounded “much clearer.” We listened to Dire Straits Love Over Gold, First Aid Kit Stay Gold, and Mahler 5, all on vinyl.
All instruments and voices became clearer and more precise, but somehow softer and less hard edged. There was distinctly more separation and positioning in space, and the background was noticeably quieter. Vocals became more prominent and bass was bigger and deeper but still tight and clear.
Honestly, I’m very surprised there was so much difference. I didn’t expect it and assumed these things wouldn’t do much.
My system was pretty clear and had a fair soundstage but was kind of harsh before; now it’s beautifully musical, no harshness at all, and has a greater sense of separation and spatial depth. The only change I made was adding the BDR cones as described.
Thanks to MC and others who recommended BDR cones, my modest system sounds better than ever and I love listening to music!
I removed the four rubber feet from the Rega amp and replaced them with three BDR cones, two in the back and one I. The middle front. The difference in sound really surprised me - it’s a huge positive difference and not subtle. The wife cliche is real - she has two left ears and told me she could hear instruments she couldn’t hear before, and the system sounded “much clearer.” We listened to Dire Straits Love Over Gold, First Aid Kit Stay Gold, and Mahler 5, all on vinyl.
All instruments and voices became clearer and more precise, but somehow softer and less hard edged. There was distinctly more separation and positioning in space, and the background was noticeably quieter. Vocals became more prominent and bass was bigger and deeper but still tight and clear.
Honestly, I’m very surprised there was so much difference. I didn’t expect it and assumed these things wouldn’t do much.
My system was pretty clear and had a fair soundstage but was kind of harsh before; now it’s beautifully musical, no harshness at all, and has a greater sense of separation and spatial depth. The only change I made was adding the BDR cones as described.
Thanks to MC and others who recommended BDR cones, my modest system sounds better than ever and I love listening to music!