*Chapter 17 of my upcoming novel, Resurrection, is posted here.
Terri and I make a point of walking three times per day: morning, noon, and evening. We traipse around our neighborhood or, if the weekend and the sun’s being cooperative, on the few trails we can access. Fellow walkers are increasingly respectful of keeping their distance as are we. And, we wave and smile at each passerby, thanking them for their courtesy. We may have to keep our physical distance, but we’re determined not to get divorced from connecting as people.
A smile can be powerful medicine.
While outside it’s hard to miss that spring weather is encouraging a hint of green and budding trees.
Spring also means it’s time to roll up your sleeves and get to rearranging and rejuvenating your stereo system.
A major teardown and rebuild of the system is cathartic—tension relieving—because when you’re in the thick of it the rest of the world isn’t pressing in on you.
Here are the steps I recommend:
- Shut the entire system down by powering off all equipment from the mains.
- Remove all interconnects and power cables, stacking them neatly away from the main system.
- Use a piece of tape to mark exactly where your speakers are on the floor.
- Pull all equipment off the shelves, rack, stands, etc.
- Grab a bottle of Windex glass cleaner and go to town. Get down not just on the rack or shelves, but then clean every inch of the equipment itself. If you have tube gear pull out the tubes, make sure the insides of the gear is clean, and reinsert them. (When’s the last time you replaced those tubes?)
- Reassess the symmetry of your setup. Using a tape measure, get the rack and stands straight and orderly. Recheck the speaker placement.
- Grab the vacuum cleaner and with its hose detached from the head, get every corner and crevice of the room cleaned, then mow down the balance.
- Carefully reassemble your system ensuring symmetrical placement of each piece of kit (for me, at least, ensuring symmetry helps imaging – probably because I can relax more).
- If you’re into DeoxIT, Kontak, or other potions to improve connectivity, go to town. Me, I stay away from them figuring the in and out disconnect and connect are enough.
- Turn back on everything and play a setup recording to make sure you have left and right channels correct and then the proper phase between channels.
Finally, turn the light on low, play your favorite tracks of music, and enjoy a renewed connection with what brings you pleasure.
Your HiFi system.
