Enjoy The Music Tweak Page Two

   Welcome to Cheap Tweaks, wherein we explore 
 that curious urge, seemingly pervasive within the 
 audiophile community, which drives otherwise normal 
 individuals to seek ultimate audio nirvana via the 
 topical application of various gizmos to high 
 performance (and high priced) componentry. To read 
 to the audiophile press, buying a $3000 amplifier simply 
 leads one inexorably towards $500 isolation feet, 
 a $300 dedicated stand, a $200 power cord with a 
 hospital grade plug (no wise remarks here), $225 
 "electronic stabilizer", $700 power line filter, 
 various $100+ tuning dots-and-discs, etc. -each 
 of which "opens up the sound stage, increases 
 dynamic contrasts and delineates inner voices 
 (or here either), and Lifts a Veil Enabling Previously 
 Unnoticed Detail to Emerge". And yes, by most reports, 
 many of these things actually do work as advertised, 
 and can make the $3000 amp seem sonically 
 competitive with...a $5000 amp?
 
      OK, so this is the kind of thing, even more than 
 painting the edges of CDs green*, that gives audiophilia 
 expensiva  a bad name, especially amongst the many 
 collectors who prefer to put their money where the 
 music is (i.e. more records, tapes, and CDs) and who 
 buy their Consumers Reports-approved electronics at 
 Circuit City-on sale. The very idea of a $3000 amplifier 
 is mind-boggling to many; why buy even a $300 amplifier 
 when you can get a top-rated A-V Receiver with all 
 the bells and whistles for $279... Well, because the 
 odds are the $300 amp sounds better, maybe more 
 like the $3000 amp than like the receiver. Once one 
 gets to the point of thinking amplifiers can and do 
 sound different (and you can still get plenty of argument 
 on that alone), then one can begin to wonder if 
 some appropriate tweaking might make even the 
 inexpensive amp sound better. But will a $300 amp 
 with $2000 worth of audiophile tweaks be "sonically 
 competitive" with a $2300 amp? Interesting question. 
 There are quite a few audiophiles out there with 
 1950's vintage Dynaco, Citation, and similar tube 
 amps with several hundred $$ invested in upgraded 
 tubes, capacitors, resistors, and wire. But, basically, 
 there's not much sense in pricey tweaks for less 
 than kilobuck components. What the real world 
 needs is Cheap Tweaks.
 
      We got 'em. Or more correctly, we found 'em. In 
 this issue of PVX we discuss several products which 
 are more or less the functional equivalents of Genuine 
 Audiophile Accessories costing ten or twenty times as 
 much. At $2-5 each, these are the sorts of things one 
 might invest in and still retain a certain fiscal liquidity 
 sufficient to encourage subscribing to a journal like 
 PVX, for instance. However, they are not advertised 
 in Stereophile, and you can't buy them at your local 
 Stereo Shoppe, let alone Circuit City. You can't even 
 buy them from PVX, but we will tell you where you can.
 
      (Drumroll). Our secret source (even they don't know 
 this) for the ultra cheap in audio chic is a mail-order outfit 
 out of Skokie, IL called American Science & Surplus 
 (847 982-0870, http://www.sciplus.com).  Established 
 about 1937, and previously known as JerryCo, they 
 specialize in industrial and military surplus, scientific 
 and lab apparatus, and, uh, well, you know, like, 
 uh, toys? That's right, some of the most cost-effective 
 audio tweaks around started out as stocking stuffers. 
 If you have a problem with that, don't just stop reading. 
 Seek out a neutral observer, perhaps your spouse or 
 significant other, and together engage in a meaningful 
 dialogue which explores the complex psychological
 reverberations arising from the interaction of the phrase 
 "stereo system" and the concept "toys". Feel better now? 
 In fact, the kinds of "toys" that ASS (one cute 
 corporate acronym, eh?) proffers are "science toys", 
 often made of unusual materials and designed to 
 demonstrate scientific phenomena. Mass production, 
 cheap packaging, and not having to advertise in 
 Stereophile means the above-average third-grader 
 can afford them. They also tend to have funny  names.
 
      Consider ASS item 39129 "Happy and Unhappy Balls", 
 $3.95. The Happy Ball is standard, high bouncing 
 neoprene. Give it to the cat. The Unhappy Ball is 
 made from "a proprietary compound" (Norsorex) which 
 exhibits very high hysteresis (and a low coefficient of 
 restitution), i.e. the molecular structure results in internal 
 friction which retards the natural tendency of rubber to 
 return to its original shape after deformation from shock 
 or vibration. The instructions indicate the Balls actually 
 come from Edmund Scientific (P6-1000), detail the 
 chemical formulation, and suggests you "ask your 
students to think of practical uses...they might surprise 
 you with their creative answers". Like putting them in 
1" plastic table leg tips and placing them under stereo 
 components? How do they compare with the 3 for 
 $55 Audioprism Isobearings, balls of the same size, 
 also made of "a proprietary compound", and equally 
 unhappy to bounce? Decide for yourself.
 
      Next is ASS item 89436 "Sticky Balls" (Who thinks 
 these names up?), 4 for $2.50. 1.75" hemispheres 
 of "Memory Gel", a tacky polymer substance both 
 icky and effective at damping vibration. Excellent 
 under turntables subject to acoustic feedback (use 
 as many as necessary). For greater load bearing, stick 
 two together in a 1/2" section of 1.5" I.D. tubing, 
 which results in something comparable to the Deflex 
 Foculpod tacky polymer damping foot (3 for $35).
 
      For vibration-draining "cones" order ASS 23133 
 "Rascal Top", 3 for $2.25.  Hollow steel, 1.25"dia x 2", 
 elegantly turned out, paint' em or they'll rust. Fill with 
 Mortite, or if your speakers are threaded for spikes, 
 embed bolt in Bondo. (We used nylon bolts and put 
 the cones in 35mm film cans for filling). Much higher 
 WAF than spikes, much cheaper than commercial  
 "toes and feet" ($10-50 apiece).
 
      But enough toys. ASS 20465 "Ribbon Cable Shielding" 
 is just that: a vinyl/copper cable wrap, 4-3/4" x 8 ft,  
 designed to shield cable from EMI/RF, complete with 
 double-stick tape and embedded copper grounding 
 wires. Slit in half for audio cables, or overlap short lengths 
 to reduce inter-component interference. At $2.50, a 
 fraction of the cost of Audiophile "Cable Jackets" ($50-150).
 
      Ever curious about those $1000  audiophile "passive
  pre-amps"-basically a stepped attenuator in a box? 
 ASS 24524 Decade Resistor Kit provides the rotary 
 switches, metal film precision axial lead resistors, and 
 a schematic, for $6.50. Of course you need two for 
 stereo, jacks and a box.  Nothing Vishay about this bargain.
 
      The back side of your components a rat's nest of 
 jumbled wires? ASS 4138 has 25 Voltrex D-clips for $2.50, 
 your basic little adhesive backed cable clamps. They also 
 have a variety of sizes and flavors of plastic mesh tubing 
 used to sleeve interconnects and speaker cables-page 
 12 of catalog #92-@.10-.25/ft. Worried that the MDF 
 shelf under your turntable is too resonant? ASS 23932 
 is a 19"x 22"x 1/4" adhesive foam rubber pad, $3. 
 Stick it to the bottom of the shelf, or for that matter, to 
 any metal or plastic component enclosure that clangs 
 when you tap it. ASS 23935 is a thinner, more flexible 
 foam, 10"x 10 feet, a true bargain at a mere $2.
 
      Wish you had a VPI, Nitty-Gritty, or Keith Monks 
 vacuum record cleaner instead of that cheesy little 
 Discwasher thing? ASS 25959 is a 8 Amp fan cooled 
 vacuum motor, $12.50. We hope to have a DIY plan for 
 this sucker ready for an upcoming PVX article, but why 
 wait? Design your own and send in a description. A free 
 subscription for the best design under $50.
 
      The latest in high-end audio isolation systems are 
 supported by air and/or silicone filled "bladders", in the 
 $100 to $1700 range. (We'd also love to give a free 
 subscription to PVX to the lady who wrote Stereophile 
 suggesting the inflatable ring designed for hemorrhoid 
 sufferers did wonders under her CD player. Please write!). 
 ASS 23704 is an 11x14 inflatable pillow, actually 2 for 
 $2.00. Similar, double walled bladders are ASS 22868 
 (13x15, 4 for $1) and 22871 (16x18, 3 for $1). I do 
 know the Well-Tempered/Transparent Audio folks will 
 sell their silicone damping fluid direct, or you might check 
 with your local plastic surgeon. Put them under a piece 
 of MDF, or marble, or acrylic, or...?
 
      American Science & Surplus sends out a new catalog 
 each month, and most of the items rotate and re-appear. 
 Many of the above were in #92, but #93 had mostly 
 rubber animals, tools, and lab stuff. You never know 
 what will show up. The point of this whole exercise, 
 we feel, is that tweaking doesn't have to be either 
 esoteric or expensive to be effective. Are these low rent 
 replicas as good as the high ticket items they resemble? 
 If not, are they half as good for one tenth the price? 
 Will they do until you can afford the real thing? If a 
 $2 tweak improves the sound, can you stand not 
 knowing what something actually designed for the 
 purpose can do for $20, or $200, or even $2000? There 
 are many other sources of useful tweaks out there, 
 cheap and not so. The Tweakers Roundtable exists 
 to seek them out and let you know what's what. Your job 
 is to let us know about the tweaks you've found work...
 or don't!
 
 
  * Presumably, painting the inner and outer edges of a 
 CD  reduces the scattering of the laser beam (by absorbing 
 the particular laser wavelength) which reads the pits on 
 the disc, thus improving the datastream accuracy, 
 reducing error correction, etc. It works well enough that 
 some audiophiles paint the entire topside of the disc 
 green-a few go so far as to paint the entire inside 
 of the transport  mech-anism. The Official Audiophile
 Versions are paint pens  which go in the $15-20 range. 
 We've found that the UNIPOSCA #PC-5M  pen is 
 "remarkably similar", and is usually  available through 
 art supply stores for $2. We get ours at Charrettes in 
 Cambridge.  They do work, but no, they don't make 
 CD's sound as good as vinyl...
 
 Bruce Kinch
 Editor, Primyl Vinyl Exchange
 "Old records never die...they seek their vinyl resting place"

 PO Box 67109
 Chestnut Hill, MA 02167