Tweaking vs. tuning
Join Our Community Subscribe to Paul's PostsThere comes a point in our stereo journey where we have to decide whether it’s best to tweak or tune. By that I mean we can embellish upon what we have or we can rethink that which isn’t working for us.
Much, I suppose, is dependent on whether or not we’re happy with the status quo. If we love what we have built, then perhaps it makes more sense to tweak in the hopes we can get something a skosh better. If, on the other hand, we’re struggling with sonic problems, maybe it’s better to rethink the setup.
For example, if we have a vinyl-based high-end audio system and, for the most part, records sound great then we’re probably best advised to tweak the various arm/cartridge settings to compensate for minor problems. But, if we’re not getting the promise vinyl has to offer, then it’s time to rethink the system components—to tune by either equipment swapping or a radical rearrangement.
All too often I have run into systems tweaked to within an inch of their life with gadgets, process, bells and whistles, when what was needed instead was a radical tuning or equipment swap.
I think it’s part of human nature to want to make smaller course corrections than wipe a slate clean, but it’s also human nature to suffer through a situation because we’re hesitant to make the big change.
Tweaking, polishing, refining are small changes we can leverage to make what’s working better.
Tuning, replacing, rearranging are big changes we often need to make but more often than not shy away from.
To get to where you want to go, do you tweak or tune?
The by far biggest potential of improving the sound quality of an existing system will always be realized by replacing the loudspeakers. And I am pretty sure that active loudspeakers with remote controlled DSP will allow endless tweaking! 🙂
I’m a tweaker, but within reason…not endless.
Set your audio budget.
Buy the best that you can within said budget
And then tweak it, again, within budget.
(A lot of tweaks are free or very cheap)
Have you any recommendation for a cheap tweak? I only know DIY cable lifters and removing static charge from cable surfaces using a spray for discharging monitor displays.
I’m sure you know this but probably the most extensive tweaks are about controlling internal and external vibrations in our equipment. Racks and footers can be violently expensive while some cork, wood and various points are pretty cheap.
Here’s my favorite cheap tweek.
If I’m allowed to mention this, just yesterday I read a blog response by Caelin Gabriel the respected owner-engineer of Shunyata. After describing the special polymer on the feet of an expensive distributor, he suggested someone who wanted to isolate the unit from a shelf it was on, try one sheet of single ply toilet paper under each foot and reply back on how it worked. It’s a great pleasure to deal with those in our hobby like Caelin and Paul McGowan who are credible, candid and accessible.
I hadn’t heard of that one! Seems like something that “shouldn’t” make a difference but in all my decades of doing this, I know better. Now you’ve got me curious. Can’t wait until my wife sees me putting toilet paper under my components and asks me what the heck I’m doing!
Why not try 2-ply Ultra Soft Charmin for more vibration-absorption for a smoother, less abrasive sound?
Not necessary…play a track twice and people will hear differences, with or without a change of the setup 😉
paulsquirrel,
Without going into a Soundmind dissertation here about possible tweaks (love you Soundmind) go to the ‘Mapleshade Audio’ home page & check out Pierre’s ‘Free Upgrade Advice’ site.
Happy listening 🙂
Thanks a lot for sharing. The hints concerning speakers are most interesting. Maybe I am going to check the performance of the new product from DS Audio for continuous discharging the vinyl record during play.
I assembled my system and then tweaked as far as I wanted to go. To further improve I need to retune. This is a dangerous step as you fear losing carefully crafted system synergy.
After retuning I can then start to reapply the tweaks in individual steps to appreciate the benefits of each. It takes a little discipline not to throw all the tweaks on at once but I prefer to change one thing at a time. This establishes what each one brings to the ‘party’ and you also benefit from a multi stage process of continuous improvement. Well, that’s the theory.
I really enjoy listening to numerous favourite tracks afresh. I want to use phrases like ‘love it’, ‘it gives me considerable pleasure’, ‘so invigorating’, but I don’t want give the impression that I’ve lost the plot. However this is what music can, and I think should, be doing to us when everything comes together. Bringing us closer in a shared uplifting musical experience, yet one that is unique to the individual.
What is it Larry says, “a wonderful hobby”.
I think tube rolling is my favourite tweak. It always makes an audible difference and it is great fun tracking down and researching new or old or new/old tube brands and because I am only replacing two little preamp tubes it is generally pretty cheap. I cut a block of foam, bought a nice wooden wine box and now have a “box o’ tubes” which looks nice and I can raid when the itch for change strikes. I can also use the same tubes in one of my headphone amps so that’s a twofer.
I dont know if changing a cartridge counts as a tweak. Its a pretty expensive and fundamental change to make. Tweaking should be relatively cheap, like changing headphone pads or buying tumble dryer antivibration pucks and sticking them under your sub. The latter I can definitely recommend.
Since getting twin subs in my stereo set up I do find myself regularly fiddling with crossover settings and volume. Is that a tweak or tuning ? I am going with tuning.
I do find that making component changes tends to biblically begat other component changes like a housewife ( woah, sexist!) or househusband (phew! saved) changing the carpet then needing new curtains and a new sofa and new paintings on the wall and…
I disagree with your definitions Paul. I’ve got a great Steinway piano. But like all pianos it needs to be periodically tuned or retuned. A guy comes with his equipment, adjusts the tension on the strings and back to great sound again. It’s just an adjustment. Same for my sound systems. I had to tune them to the acoustics of my room, and I have to tune them to each recording. Nothing about the equipment changed. Only built in adjustments intended for the purpose were altered to adapt to the circumstances.
Tweaking for me is making minor design adjustments. This tweeter isn’t quite right, use a different one. The crossover network needs some changes in design, a different crossover frequency, a different filter slope, a notch filter to remove a small peak.
And then there’s “DA BOMB!” That’s when you suddenly realize the whole effing idea sucks, isn’t ever going to work, is FBB (effed beyond belief), throw the whole damned thing out, rip up the drawings, specs, trash everything and start from square one again. I’ve done that too.
Tuner. I use few tweaks from start that make sense to me logically and there I don’t necessarily make explicit listening tests before/after (example: tube dampers). The most tweaking WITH listening tests I did is probably resonance control/feet (at least in case of speakers and turntable). Most other tweaking is more or less limited to turntable adjustments.
I am in the last stages of tweaking after addressing every single aspect of my system, from dedicated power line to room treatment. I have nothing more to do but enjoy the music. It has been a labor of love.
I think it would be very interesting to one day share our experiences with our most effective tweaks. Some of these have been transformative .
Sounds like an idea for an article in Copper. I’d be very curious to hear about readers’ tweaks. No one has the time, inclination or money to try everything, and everyone’s system is different — what works in one person’s system might not in another, or one person might like it and another won’t care for it.
As Copper readers know, I have an open mind. No idea is too outlandish as far as I’m concerned, even if it totally defies accepted science or logic, unless it might be flat-out dangerous.
Robert Greene wrote an excellent article in The Absolute Sound a couple of years ago about free tweaks, including some that weren’t so obvious, like taking off your glasses (if you wear them) to eliminate sonic reflections from them. (Haven’t tried that one yet.)
I routinely remove my eyewear at concerts and for serious listening at home. It’s quite effective.
Ok if power line, galvanic isolation and some room measures are tweaks, I’m in there, too.
For a lot of audiophiles (including some poor souls on this site) the most effective tuning would be making a deal with your wife that you, and only you, have total and full control over the audio set, especially when it comes to what speakers you really like to buy and where you wanna place them in the room for the best sound.
If not married yet, then it’s best to tell your girlfriend (boyfriend) you want a prenup. If she/he does not agree, then ditch her/him and find someone else who really loves you. Someone who thinks you deserve this hobby, instead of putting you on her/his leash.
Makes a lof of other tweaks unnecessary, saves a lot of money !
The spouse is then granted to buy a new pair of expensive shoes every month. Keeps every woman satisfied.
And make no mistake ! I’m not joking about this tweak.
I did it, and it worked out so beautifully.
jb4,
So glad you’re back!
When I read your posts I realise how much I missed your input.
Be well & stay safe!
My deal with my wife was I get free reign (for the most part) in the basement, and as such wires and equipment are strewn haphazardly around. Upstairs in the main living space we put in a very non obtrusive soundbar (ouch). That’s OK I was more than happy to compromise. The in-wall whole house speaker system is better than most, still not audiophile quality but enjoyable enough to listen to in the background. She and I usually agree on which tunes to listen to.
Welcome back!
Agreed with Paul here. But, I will add that tweaks can bring significant advantages. But I would only advise experimenting with tweaks in a system where the fundamentals are already in place: components which are singing well together, loudspeaker placement in the room perfectly sorted out and cabling supporting the sound of the system. Once the fundamentals are in place, tweak away! The hardest thing about tweaks is evaluating sideways moves: they (tweaks) often change the sound, and often we “like” the change at first (because different is often exciting) but really evaluating if it is “better” is another thing.
Once a system is really singing, I find that experimenting with different vibration control approaches can be especially beneficial.
IMO, the fundamentals already include vibration control for all components. Once everything is sounding right, those additional tweaks such as improving soundstage, imaging and clarity can be evaluated properly.
Since my younger days, I would watch the older guys buy and old clunker car and invest money from each paycheck to build the vehicle of their dreams. Paul wrote a little about this in his book, 99% True. By the time they were done, all the money they spent could have bought them a better car closer to the real performance they had really wanted. So I figured, I would wait and purchased the dream car I really wanted, brand spanking new! Within a week, I got the windows tinted. A month later, I added an new exhaust system. Few more months down the line, I was l looking at engine modifications. Once the warranty ran out, I replaced the engine with a blue printed engine with racing ports, upgrade turbo, radiator and oil cooler. The drive for wanting more was not satisfied until it got sold and I bought my wife her mini-van. I had to feed my hunger for better performance. I did the same with my audio system, it got bigger and better with each itineration of the my audio journey to sound nirvana. My addition of kids helped to slow my system evolution as legos and Disney videos replaced cds and components.
It only goes to say, I thought I could learn from others mistakes and yet I followed their same path! The more I think I learn, the less I actually know!
Thank you all for provide more knowledge and a few laughs to my audio idiosyncrasies and my journey.
While having a well thought out system is necessary for starts, tweaking can amount to substantial tuning. Replacing Gaia feet with EVP blocks under my speakers radically changed (and improved) the tuning of the system, so much so that I needed to changes some tubes. And as many tube gear owners have found, changing rectifiers is often a way to tune a system, where the results in tone are often night and day different depending on the choice(s) made. There are undoubtedly other examples that can be given.
Audiophile component purchases are like investing in the stock market, initially driven by FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). If you don’t go out on a limb and risk some money and time, you will never know what you missed. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Assess what is working and what is not. Rebalance and fine tune for optimal performance. Take all expert advice with a grain of salt. Don’t boast when you hit the jackpot…especially to poor people!
Sometimes the best tweak. Is a surprise tweak. Finding out that the power cord you had laying around that did not sound so hot in your last sound configuration, suddenly sounds great in the new one.
I had some Vibrapods I had gifted to my daughter for some speakers she had on a hardwood floor, but she moved, changed speakers, and gifted them back. I forgot I had them but then was looking for something to raise my turntable higher on top of my network receiver To get airflow between, and put them to use doing so. I didn’t realize Vibrapods can be squished together two high but it worked like a charm, and, the isolation factor did make a difference to my ear. Easy tweak and I think I had $75 or so invested after buying them on special from Audio Advisor. It is very satisfying when little things like that make a difference.
My 2019 and 2020 can be summed up as:
First I tuned (speakers), then tweaked, then tweaked some more, then partial tuning (new tubes), then disaster, then tuning (SGCD & S300), then tweaking, more tuning (M700 for S300), then more tweaking, lots and lots of tweaking and comparing old versus new, more tweaking new to old and old to new, once everything got settled in one more tuning episode (BHK Pre), one minor tweak with cables using some old in combination with new, then sonic bliss 🙂
Now PS Audio releases the M1200……more tuning might be on the horizon, but am really enjoying the musicality of system as it currently stands.
adifferentpaul,
If it ain’t broke, then don’t ‘fix’ it!
The rabbit hole, as others have described it. Several M1200 beta test reviewers mentioned they owned and really liked the sound quality with the M700’s in their system, but as soon as they put the M1200 in, there was no going back……For those beta testers that upgraded from the M700 to the M1200, they actually sent back M700 amplifiers they liked……..