I have tried several tweaks, namely IC, Speaker wire, power conditioners (I live in Florida, and power here stinks! Finally own a house, so dedicated lines are coming soon
..) and some isolation devices. Here are my thoughts..
In my opinion speakers NEED to be on spikes! The difference between speakers on spikes and casters or just on the floor or carpet are HUGE, at least they have always been for me with my <100lb speakers. I find the bass to be tighter and smoother on spikes, and the sound just seems cleaner and less distorted, all of these attributes Ive found seem to be magnified at high volumes. I suspect if you own speakers in the several hundred pound range, the benefits will be less, as the speaker will be more stable on its own, but likely still be there as any speaker weighing that much likely does really low bass and/or high volume. I also find imaging to be better on spikes and I suspect this is due to subtle variances in the baseline point of the speaker/cabinet (sorry, Im sure there is a term for this, I dont know it).
For me, living in coastal Florida, lets just say power is horrible, and surges and brown outs are regular occurrences, so I do try to have some power conditioning on my system to cover them ..well, hopefully cover them. When I lived in my apartment, the first power conditioner I added was a Chang CLS 6400 and WOW! The noise in my system (which prior to the PC was barely noticeable unless listening at very high volumes) suddenly was gone and when I tried the system without the PC .. it was suddenly the center of my attention. I still have several Changs in my systems Dedicated lines soon to come as I do find better sound from the system when I dont use the power conditioners, but living in the lightning capital of the world, I am a little apprehensive about going bare
One other tweak Ive gotten significant mileage out of has been isolation feet for the CD player. I have sorbothane feet (~2 tall) that can go under the feet of your CDP. I got them for like $20 so I figured I should try them and see. Well, again as I seemed to find for the speaker spikes, bass seemed to tighten up and so did the imaging! The problem I had is they are way to tall to comfortably keep under my current universal player so they are in the closet.
Interconnects interesting topic. I have tried some (I would say many, but I know you guys on this site have had countless in your systems, so Ill tried ~20) and have found definite changes in sound, which is influenced by where in the system they are. Do these improve sound?? Well, depends on your system. I personally didnt think video cables should matter much until I changed out my Monster M100SV for a Nordost Optix S. WOW was I wrong! The picture, even on my 32 Proscan (then) was markedly better, sharper and clearer. Well, sound changes with them as well .
OK on to the real question of the post ..
I think you are right, the unit will still have the same sonic characteristics .but some tweaks I think will just let it present these more easily, like spikes on speakers preventing/lessening the slight movement/oscillation of the speaker. Power conditioners, for me here seem to be a necessity until I have the dedicated lines installed. Cables definitely do change sound, but is it an improvement or not?? That is your call, if your system sounds best without any tweak ..keep it that way and be happy!!! Some of us are maybe more critical, or just addicts to the hobby and looking for nirvana, and theres room for all of us. As long as you enjoy your system, dont worry about it. Try to listen regularly, buy as much software as you want/need (for me I try to buy all the new high-res (DVD-A and SACD) stuff as much as I can to keep the formats going) and just enjoy it!!!! Or
If YOU like it, keep it, if not, resell it and move on!!! Isnt that what Audiogon is all about??
In my opinion speakers NEED to be on spikes! The difference between speakers on spikes and casters or just on the floor or carpet are HUGE, at least they have always been for me with my <100lb speakers. I find the bass to be tighter and smoother on spikes, and the sound just seems cleaner and less distorted, all of these attributes Ive found seem to be magnified at high volumes. I suspect if you own speakers in the several hundred pound range, the benefits will be less, as the speaker will be more stable on its own, but likely still be there as any speaker weighing that much likely does really low bass and/or high volume. I also find imaging to be better on spikes and I suspect this is due to subtle variances in the baseline point of the speaker/cabinet (sorry, Im sure there is a term for this, I dont know it).
For me, living in coastal Florida, lets just say power is horrible, and surges and brown outs are regular occurrences, so I do try to have some power conditioning on my system to cover them ..well, hopefully cover them. When I lived in my apartment, the first power conditioner I added was a Chang CLS 6400 and WOW! The noise in my system (which prior to the PC was barely noticeable unless listening at very high volumes) suddenly was gone and when I tried the system without the PC .. it was suddenly the center of my attention. I still have several Changs in my systems Dedicated lines soon to come as I do find better sound from the system when I dont use the power conditioners, but living in the lightning capital of the world, I am a little apprehensive about going bare
One other tweak Ive gotten significant mileage out of has been isolation feet for the CD player. I have sorbothane feet (~2 tall) that can go under the feet of your CDP. I got them for like $20 so I figured I should try them and see. Well, again as I seemed to find for the speaker spikes, bass seemed to tighten up and so did the imaging! The problem I had is they are way to tall to comfortably keep under my current universal player so they are in the closet.
Interconnects interesting topic. I have tried some (I would say many, but I know you guys on this site have had countless in your systems, so Ill tried ~20) and have found definite changes in sound, which is influenced by where in the system they are. Do these improve sound?? Well, depends on your system. I personally didnt think video cables should matter much until I changed out my Monster M100SV for a Nordost Optix S. WOW was I wrong! The picture, even on my 32 Proscan (then) was markedly better, sharper and clearer. Well, sound changes with them as well .
OK on to the real question of the post ..
I think you are right, the unit will still have the same sonic characteristics .but some tweaks I think will just let it present these more easily, like spikes on speakers preventing/lessening the slight movement/oscillation of the speaker. Power conditioners, for me here seem to be a necessity until I have the dedicated lines installed. Cables definitely do change sound, but is it an improvement or not?? That is your call, if your system sounds best without any tweak ..keep it that way and be happy!!! Some of us are maybe more critical, or just addicts to the hobby and looking for nirvana, and theres room for all of us. As long as you enjoy your system, dont worry about it. Try to listen regularly, buy as much software as you want/need (for me I try to buy all the new high-res (DVD-A and SACD) stuff as much as I can to keep the formats going) and just enjoy it!!!! Or
If YOU like it, keep it, if not, resell it and move on!!! Isnt that what Audiogon is all about??