Adding one tweak at a time - is it worth it?
-- Thu, 10/15/2009 - 14:39
I am fortunate to own several speakers, several different amps, preamps, etc. I can move stuff between different rooms. I pull stuff in and out all the time, as I like variety. When I first put the major componenets together, the system already sounds great. Only then, I then tweak - just to clean things up.
I find that speaker/ amp combinations make the most difference. This is followed by good preamps, and then cd players. (All of my stuff is pretty much toward the better end of the spectrum.) Also, I find that cables, power cords and conditioners, footers, stands, cd cleaners, etc., make a sonic difference, but are not earth shattering. If I add things one at a time, it's beneficial, but I am not sure if it's worth it. When I add all of the tweaks together, the sonic jump is more "WOW". What do you guys think? Do you have the same experiences? Does it really make sense to make tiny incremental changes one at a time?
It makes sense to me that the speaker/amp pairings would make a big difference - the complex impedance of any given set of loudspeakers would probably react differently with the output stages of the amplifiers. It would seem to me though, based on theory, that the "leveling effect" of output transformers in the audio path would reduce the variability of how a given amp would sound despite the speakers. In other words, a given tube amp (or a McIntosh solid-state with audio output transformers) should have a more consistent sound despite the speaker attached than would any amp that lacks the audio output transformers. Since I don't have the amount of equipment needed to test this theory, would you comment, please?
I'm also not surprised that preamps make the second largest difference. I've heard this same comment from a half-dozen different dealers over the years. Again - I don't have the amount of equipment needed to personally verify this, but since it seems to be such a common truism, I suspect that there's some fact there.
Finally, as to your question - "One tweak at a time, or all at once?" I think that it depends on what you are trying to achieve. If you just want to listen and enjoy the music, then trick out the system & be done with it. If you're in "analysis" mode and want to evaluate or quantify the specific difference that a given tweak makes, then the only option is to audition one change at a time.
Happy Listening! - Boomzilla
A good sense of humor makes it ALL sound better!
I always add ONLY ONE Tweak at a time. Going this way I feel that everything else is held constant and that you can play with the tweak to fine tune your system and see what changes "it" brings to the sound. I think most of the difference is made by a free tweak....i.e. moving things around (move speakers, listening chair, equipment rack). Others are from cables, isolation devices specially with air bladder type devices. A lot of the other tweaks are really really hard for me to tell the difference. Example keeping cords toether, perpendicular placement of cords, pucks under things, lifting cables from the ground are some of the tough ones....and Id be carefull before spending tons of money on some of the tweaks. But I definately go one at a time.
I always add one tweak at a time so that I know the effect it has. Incidentally, it's easy to go backward with tweaks (the system sounds less good) and get lost unless you apply a systematic method.
I like the one at a time approach. I have tried most types of tweaks and tell people to start with the best electronics they can afford and try tweaks from there one at a time. A couple of independant heavy gauge circuits with surge protection at the power board, line conditioning with additional surge protection is good. Good power chords, though not as important as speaker cables and interconnects, are necessary. Isolation devices(especially under cd players) are a good idea. One of the best upgrades I made was putting a quallity equipment rack in the system. It really made a huge improvement in the sound and was not one of the super expensive types.
You are very lucky to have a stock of high-end components you can mix-and-match. In building a system, I would absolutely start with the pairing of speakers and amp. That is the heart & soul of your system. A bad pairing there cannot be fixed by any pre-amp or source, and will ruin the sound of the best of them.
Once you've got the major components hooked-up with some decent cables, interconnects, and power cords, go with Sam's advice, and work on speaker placement & listening position. Remember that your room is also major component - and not an easy to swap out! (So maybe it is THE major component.)
After all of that... it's time to evaluate tweaks. And you MUST evaluate them one-at-a-time to have any idea of their individual effects.
Very interesting thread. I've largely done the tweak-at-a-time method. The thing I appreciate is that over time it lets you evolve with technology so you're never too far out of step with what's current. The problem is that the system I envision when I buy one component may not be my ideal system when I move to the next step. So, sometimes you have to get creative. In the process I've been able to create 2nd and third systems with the components that get shuffled out - A/V recycling program of sorts.
I feel strongly that 'systems' are often ignored, as systems. Someone does one 'tweak'' to a component and many want to see if they will reap the same benefits.
As TheArt states so well, the problem with that approach is not all components play the same way together. This does not necessarily mean the match-up is good or bad but simply different. So if someone responds to a tweak with a different than expected response, don't be surprised.
Another example are found in A/V forum discussions about displays. One of the most common requests from a poster is if they can have your 'settings' so they can obtain similar results. Obviously, the more enlightened understand there are sample to sample differences even in the same model. Enough variation to keep a fair number of professional calibration technicians in business.
Tweaks can be fun if they are cheap or even free. Some education on the subject at hand, along with a good measure of common sense generally leads to the most useful tweaks.
As RH and others mentioned, adding one tweak at a time lets you know what each one is doing. But there is a compounding effect as each area is addressed. For each component, there is the possibility of changing the cable(s), power cord, footers, and maybe other vibration control. Multiply this by every component in the system, and you can drive yourself crazy and/or become sick and tired of the recordings that you use for this purpose. As I am not an obsessive/compulsive audiophile (and if you are one, this is not meant as a derogatory term), I don't play with tweaks very often, usually only when some part of my system is obviously out of date. Financial considerations also help keep things in check. But there is no question that tweaking can raise ANY system to the next level, and does not have to be over the top, price-wise. At $500-100o per component, you are likely to get more improvment than by spending the same amount on one component upgrade.
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