JBarchives
Posts : 34 Join date : 2019-04-23
| Subject: Allow your system parts to settle before you make judgements Tue Apr 23, 2019 8:45 am | |
| Hi TuneLand, “What a difference a day makes, 24 little hours….” How many of you remember or know this song? Well, the name of that song is so applicable to tuning and the settling process which takes place with all parts of an audio or video system. I have 3 changes which prove the point. Change # 1 I have a Tunable Table Top for my turntable and I have been using the copper transfer devices ever since I got the Table Top stand because they sounded best to me. This past week I started thinking more and more about the spring transfer devices and why I chose the copper devices over them. Well, I decided to swap out the copper transfer devices for the springs once more, but this time I just made the change to the springs and walked away from the turntable part of my system for 3 days without even a “peek” listen. Well, 3 days went by and I fired up the turntable and the springs outperformed the copper. I had realized that I had only given the springs a few hours the first time around and this time I decided to give the change a few days and it paid off. Change # 2 I have been using a Magnavox MDV455 DVD player as my CD source now for a little over a year. I have two Samsung P-241 DVD players, one of which I have been using in my bedroom home theater system. I have been very impressed with not just the video of the Samsung, but also the audio portion of the P-241, so I decided to give the extra P-241 a shot in my main audio system. Well, I put it in Saturday, took a quick listen, and decided to just let it settle in overnight. Well, let me tell you, like the song “What a difference a day makes, 24 little hours…” was never so true. It did not even sound like he same player. While it sounded “good” a few hours after I first made the change, those 24 hours totally transformed (as well as opened up) the sound into something very special. It was especially noticeable on the top end which opened up and the harmonics really blossomed overnight. The Samsung P-241 is really quite an excellent CD source. Change # 3 This last change involves the use of my power strip, the PS Audio Juice Bar, which I have used for a few years now. The Juice Bar has no power conditioning circuitry inside, weights about 2 pounds, costs $199 USD retail and I was quite satisfied with it for all these years that I’ve used it. But, I’ve changed racks from birch wood to Brazilian pine and so I swapped out the PS Audio Juice Bar with a $7 USD Belkin power strip which I purchased from Home Depot several years ago. The Belkin also has no power conditioning circuitry inside, but weighs less than half of what the Juice Bar weighs (about a pound, if that). The outlets are “tunable” since they have securing screws on them on top of the power strip. Well, after this change, the surround envelope grew in size and harmonics, notes were jumping at me with what high end calls “startle factor” and dynamic range of recordings increased. However, unlike the other changes, this took place in about an hour since the Belkin has been in use all these years in my bedroom. So, I can’t wait to see what things sound like tomorrow. I simply have the Belkin resting on two very thin “blocks” of western red cedar, one on each end, and top tuned at the preamp power plug with a tuning canopy and composite rod. Change # 1 really shows how important it is to allow parts of your system to settle before forming conclusions. As I thought though it, it just made sense that “springs” would take some time to settle to where they were operating at peak performance. So, I just walked away from them and waited the 3 days before taking a listen. Settling is so important to obtaining good sound and is something which should never be “assumed” about how long the settling process will take for any given part or component or tuning method. Here is where patience really pays off. In this day of “instant gratification”, most of us look for this in everything we encounter in everyday life. But, with tuning, “gratification” comes with patience and allowing things time to settle. That may be the toughest part for people to become accustomed to when they get into tuning, but it is the formula to success and good sound. Give things time to settle and you can’t judge, when you start out, how long it will take a given part or component to settle to where it is producing the best sound possible. Tuning is a lot like making love to a woman. The more time you take and the more patient you are, the more gratification you will receive in return. If that doesn’t make sense or make it real for the “guys” reading this, nothing will or it means you need to make some changes in your love making techniques Wink. Enjoy yourselves tuning your systems. _________________ Jim Bookhard | |
|