Your most recent system tweak, did it help or hurt the sound?

Yes indeed, that is their new Bipolar designed super tweeter, and it is a very nice addition to any speaker system.

 

Its a thing of beauty. Fits well in your system!

 

I actually like a dead room. Been adding a bunch of DIY panels over the last few months. I listen to 2-ch audio exclusively in Meridian Trifield so no room-generated ambiance needed. Not sure sound is improved necessarily, but the room looks cool

 

Personally, I like this one better, BUT the function cannot compare to the Bipolar one, but you will have to admit, it looks nice and performance wise it's not too far behind the mark!

Look at the beautiful wood tone offering at $399.00, so nice, great finish.
Super Tweeter Speaker

 

Youtube audio reviewer John Darko came up with that idea and it's been stolen by everyone now.

An update on hi-fi doorstops | Darko.Audio

 

My latest tweak was a change in acoustic treatment. I replaced the skyline-type diffuser in the front wall center with a GIK 6" AlphaPro panel to match two others on that wall. It helped!

After adding a third sub, I've had trouble dialing them in. The added bass trapping fixed that immediately. And, the imaging is more precise than before. It's a nice experience to do something that helps right away, without a lot of head-scratching (the usual case).

(The Vicoustic skyline diffuser is now on a rear sidewall.)

 

I've been using the Russ Andrews X Block for a month now and although it cost £285 it's well worth it. It's really cleaned up the sound, with many tracks, which I've known for years, revealing previously hidden details, bass, high frequencies, everything improved.

 

I had replaced the coupling caps in my cheap phono preamp some weeks ago, didn't hear a difference I don't think.

Moved onto the four RIAA caps that were mylar, replaced with metalized polypropylene and that made an enormous difference, even though I ordered ten of each value and closely matched the original values.

The MPP caps sound clearer, almost like swapping an elliptical for a line contact.

So I guess if you want to hear a difference in capacitors, it helps if they're reactive at audible frequencies.

 

'Ultra-asymetric toe in" !

My two Harbeth's speakers are equally distant from their respectives walls but those walls ain't equally treated (wood and leather on one side / books on the other). I decided to test different angles for each speaker and if it visually hurts me (it's almost a psychological issue for me to have this non-asymetric positioning ;-)), it sounds much better.
Right speaker aims my nose, left speaker aims my right ear (not in a Picasso kind of presentation, I'm fully tridimensional...).

 

Not sure if this counts..
I had my audio equipment sitting on top of two 2 x 2 IKEA Kallax units with records underneath.
My Monitor Audio Silver Series speakers at each end.
I decided to utilize an audio stand I had and moved the Kallax units out.
To my amazement the sound has opened up dramatically with the speakers away from the Kallax Setup.
I can’t believe it.
More depth, improved soundstage, improved bass..it’s like I bought a new system.

 

Of course that counts! And excellent result congrats!

 

Mylar caps are not very linear in as a function of temperature whereas polypropylenes are much more linear. This can result in a measurable difference in an RIAA circuit which directly impacts your frequency response. This is especially true when a unit warms-up.

Changing coupling caps is more subtle since these will have no impact on your frequency response.

 

bass traps
bought these from a guy in ukraine off his etsy site. he has suspended operations at this time. hope for the best.
i figured why not. they weren't even expensive at $24.oo each. i figured they would make some difference.
wow is all i can say. nearly light-switch noticeable.
wonderful improvement in bass management. it is the watershed piece in my journey to reduce boom in my room.

 

It certainly counts, in fact I'd say that the biggest improvements possible come from addressing the issue of isolation for all equipment .

 

How deep are they? In your photo there only appear to be a few inches of foam behind the front panel so acoustic panels yes, bass traps not sure...

 

I had to remove my Audioquest ground because it was defective and caused a great deal of noise.

I took a lamp cord, checked it for defects, made a few tweaks, used it for my ground.

A great improvement. Its so quiet I've left it as is.

 

haven't measured. appears to be at least 6" and possibly 8.
definitely bass traps. effect was immediate.

 

New isolation pads (cheap, from Amazon) under the feet of my turntable, replacing hockey pucks. Haven't noticed much of a difference.

Before that, a Denafrips Ares II added between my disc player and my preamp. Helped a LOT. Now I'm feeling like my CD playback is in the same league as my vinyl setup. I've stopped feeling like I need to buy vinyl to get the best sound. Now it's kind of a toss-up. I'm actually leaning toward CDs these days because they're much cheaper and more convenient, and being much more selective about vinyl purchases.

 

That's a nice post.

I've often wondered if there is a need for after market iso pads. If one purchased a decent TT the isolation is normally adequate. That's why I think in most cases there is a subtle improvement. But it's almost impossible to detect.

As an example; my first turntable was a true beginner's component. The legs didn't come with any type of iso pads. When I improved on them with a cheap DIY solution you could hear the difference.

I appreciate the comments on the CD side of your system.

 

Isolate all you can the more you can !
For the cost of an audiophile power cable you can buy a full wheelbarrow of Vibrapods !

 

I feel like I'm getting closer and closer to working on my power supply. It's one thing I haven't really addressed yet. I may need to take a look at these.

 

I have to say, the Denafrips Ares II was the biggest leap of faith I've taken in a long time. I couldn't demo it, of course, and I don't have anything to compare it tor, but it has exceeded all of my expectations.

I agree about the iso pads. These were cheap, so not much risk. At least they look more technical than the hockey pucks. I think it depends a lot on how sensitive your system is and what kind of environment your turntable is in.

 

Interesting. What does this do ? Besides making it difficult to swap my tonearms wands

 

Added this to my CD player

Upgrade from an entry level DH Labs which itself was nice sounding. This was a significant improvement.

Listening to CD's again (was mostly vinyl in the past 4 years)