Brass screws make a real difference on Dunlavy s ?

To answer a couple of comments/questions, I just simply tightened all existing driver mount screws to a secure/snug level. I did not try to apply a lot of force or torque but tried to bring all the screws to about the same point of rotation. I did this with seven speakers associated with two different systems. As I mentioned before, some screws were already very tight, some I could move maybe a quarter turn and some were loose enough to require a couple of full rotations. The benefits to the two channel systems were readily observable but not earth shattering by any means. The speakers in the HT room were harder to get a gauge on, but overall I would say there was at least some minor improvement there as well.

It's been interesting to see some of the rather skeptical reactions to this post. All I can say to this is that tweaking a system is a process of trial and error, but the cumulative results of staying open minded and incorporating minor changes can have (and often does have) major improvements to a system. That can be true even if the system is performing already at a very high level.

Tweaks are typically the least expensive things to do to a system. In this case tightening the screws took all of ten minutes or so. I then had the pleasure of listening to familiar source material and finding a trace more detail present than I thought possible to extract.

Brauser, the skepticism you likely read in my post comes from the perspective that what you're doing isn't tweaking (or incorporating a minor change, as you put it), any more than inflating car's tires back to spec means you're tweaking that model's gas mileage potential, or fixing a hole in your roof is tweaking a house's weather sealability. All of these things, like tightening those screws that you found needed two full rotations, is simply bringing the item back up to spec (again, assuming that specification for any speaker doesn't include loose drivers). I'm not saying you shouldn't do it, I'm saying that re-tightening loose screws, at least in my personal estimation, isn't a case of finding new improvements in a system, it's simply a case of returning a system to the level you should have been enjoying all along if the screws weren't loose.

The upside of course is that maybe this thread will remind everyone to check your screws, in case the manufacturer did a poor job of securing the drivers and you never noticed before. So, screw away!

Begator, seems to me you enjoy splitting hairs. Am I to understand that tightening screws to their original tension level is not a tweak, but if they are now secured better than new and an advancement in sound is the result, that somehow this is a tweak?

I guess if drawing these distinctions makes you feel wiser and better about the discussion, I say go for it. Hey, it's a free country.

Brauser, actually your OP was focused on brass screws not tighening existing screws? Have you forgotten already? Lol

Brass balls are often cited as a useful tweak. ☝