Cheap tweak from Virtual Dynamics:


Has anyone seen the short video from Virtual Dynamics showing the owner replacing all his speaker screws with all brass screws? I was wondering if you could hear an improvement. It's a cheap tweak, so I thought I might go to Home Depot and try out a set. What can I lose?
sherod
Grant,

To place a Sistrum platform under a speaker like yours would require at least two people. The first step is to predetermine where the speaker sounds best and to mark that area. If the floor is carpeted I stand on the platform so the points penetrate the carpet and pad. With the help of a friend or two I would then place the speaker on the upper set of points. I would have on hand 3 APCD discs for each speaker to rest on. These offer surface protection but also in this case allow you to slide the speaker front to rear left to right and adjust for toe in. The discs before they settle in allow for a smooth surface for the speaker to be tweaked geometrically. This is important to match all the angles of say the left speaker to the right speaker. Some speakers sound better, different with or without the APCD discs engaged. They can be removed after the angles are determined. One at a time by tilting the corner of the speaker and allowing for the disc to fall away.

The platforms vary in their reactance. All 3 will improve your speakers. The speakers will sound better on the platforms from the get go. They will need to settle in as will your speakers. Vibrational drain will develop a pattern over time usually complete after 96 hours. Its very informative to hear this steady progressive improvement. Enjoy and if you have any further questions I will be happy to answer as I can Tom
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I searched all my local hardware stores as well as the more popular "nuts and bolts" boutiques and let me tell you folks, brass screws, particularly brass machine screws in small metric sizes( ones needed for my tweeters) were very difficult to find. Most don't stock specilty brass screws because brass screws were almost all replaced by stainless steel screws a while back for most contractors. Although stainless steel is non-magnetic and holds up better to the environmental forces), it still causes "Hysteresis"( did I spell that right?) when in close proximity to magnets. Brass is still the screw of choice for things audio related. Most of the sales people told me that brass screws these days is mainly used for decorative purposes. After a lengthy google search I found a good supplier where I could order directly from their website, Mcmaster-Carr. here is a link for those interested in pursueing special-sized all brass screws for their speaker drivers:

http://www.mcmaster.com/

Just type in "brass screws" in the search window on the left and it will take you to a list to choose from. Prices are very reasonable. I got a box of 50( minimum order. I only needed 16 total, so I have plenty extra) of a metric machine brass screw of M4.7 x 6mm for $9.00. I just replaced the steel screws on the inside of my speaker tweeters and the sound is much more natural and open. I haven't yet experimented with torque, but just changing to brass made a nice improvement. I also found a very nice calibrated Proto torque screwdriver, made by Stanley, (retails for $200.00) for $40.00 on Ebay.
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Grant,
It depends if your screws are US or metric. You'll need to take one of each type of screw you intend to replace to a hardware store or Home Depot,Lowe's and measure for thread type, length, pitch,etc. so that you exchange out for the same in brass. I actually had to buy two types, one wood for the external tweeters and woofers and metric machine type for the tweeter internal screws. I can send you some of mine, but if they're not the same size, you could strip out or damage your speakers. You could always contact the Silverline tech and ask them what the screw measurements are for your speakers. That would save you the time of taking them out and to a store to measure them. If the size is the same as mine, I'll send you some. We'll e-mail privately at that point. I had a very positive transaction with McMaster-Carr( my first). I got the screws from two different warehouses within 3 days from ordering. If you look at the McMaster site, you'll see that they have a variety of heads to choose from. My external driver screws are panheads( factory screws are allen type, but I chose philips. Slot head might also be available. My internal tweeter screw heads are flat heads, philips, that are for presunk machine thread holes so that the heads are flat with the tweeter plates.