First steps

We all have our own way of doing things that suits us. A good friend of mine starts his annual stereo spring cleaning by first organizing the CD and records, then cleaning the hell out of the room, and finally, he gets down to the business of the equipment itself. His motto is, "clean first, organize second". I do the opposite. I start with the equipment and leave the clutter for last. "Tear apart, clean, organize and reassemble". And I often do it in sections. Whatever the order you choose, a good annual spring cleaning of the music system is a good idea and a wonderful project for Saturday afternoon. In fact, how about this Saturday afternoon? (hint, hint).

Step 1

Turn the system off, disconnect every cable so that the equipment and speakers stand naked without any connection (including power cables). Once disconnected, I set the pile of cables off to the side and get out my cleaning stuff. For PS Audio equipment, I use Windex to get the dust off the outside. It doesn't take long, though lifting the P10s and BHK amps off their pedestals takes help. Everything gets a thorough wipe down. I use a bottle of spray air on the speakers drivers, then I reset all the equipment back up for best symmetry. Yes, I am a symmetry freak and go nuts making sure all equipment on the floor behind my speakers are lined up perfectly. I actually use a tape measure and spend the time getting it right. Anal, yes, but I know when I listen to music any little bit of disorder interferes with my ability to relax. You might not care so much. Disorder drives me crazy. I have too often finished my work, lowered the lights, sat down in the main listening chair, turned the music on and prepared to bask in the glory of the sound - only to discover the spacing between two amplifiers is visually off. Everything stops, I am back at it. If you're like me, first step is to disconnect, clean, perfect symmetry before anything else happens.