Transformations

[Carlman]

What gear have you owned that changed from unacceptable to very good or vice-versa depending on modifications only... For example changing tubes in a preamp can make extreme changes...
Just curious what you've done to make something go nearly 180 from dislike to like.

-C

[mgalusha]

The DCX2496 crossover. It it marginal at best in stock form and when modified is pretty amazing. Granted the cost of the mods far exceed the cost of the box but in stock form all you really get is the lowest cost build from China and IMO what you are buying is the DSP technology. Just needs some good analog circuitry around it.

[richidoo]

My Sansui was pretty rough from Ebay, but a cleaning and fresh Black Gates made it my best source. Like mgalusha's upgrade, the radio service cost more than the radio, but was worth it.

Upgrading the heatsink on the altmann BYOB amp delayed the thermal protection from kicking in and increased the sound quality by a large margin. Upgrade cost only 1% of the amp. woohoo!

I ordered the DCX upgrade kit too, Mike. Thanks to your good advice.
Rich

[rollo]

For me it was V-caps in the power amp. Replacing 211 stock tube woith GE 211. Different animal that just made the amp sing. Removing every dam power conditioner and installing dedicated circuits.
    Biggest find was disconnecting equip from power and let sit idle for 24 hours. Now do this once a month with cleaning all contacts. Very affective cost free tweak.


rollo

[mdconnelly]

    Biggest find was disconnecting equip from power and let sit idle for 24 hours. Now do this once a month with cleaning all contacts. Very affective cost free tweak.

Rollo

OK, I understand the contact cleaning, but what does letting it sit idle for 24 hours do?   When I've done this before like when going out of town for the weekend or something, I've found it always takes a hours to sound it's best again.   But yes, cleaning the contacts does work wonders.

[rollo]

  Let me elaborate further. The unplugging allows the component to demagnetize over the 24 hr. period. I found this as affective as using a demagnetizer. Have the Gryphon Exorcist, affective as it is the unplugging offers the same effect. Your are correct about the system needing time to come back. I've found that to be true when leaving unplugged for a week or more but not for 24 hours. The usual 1 hour warmup is standard fare.


rollo

[mdconnelly]

Interesting... I've been meaning to clean my contacts anyway so I'll give this a try this weekend.

Thanks!

[_Scotty_]

What sonic effect does powering down the system for 24hrs. have on your playback. I am familiar with results of contact cleaning and do it regularly.
Scotty

[Phil]

I'm curious about what folks use to clean contacts.

[Carlman]

Phil, I've used CAIG Pro-Gold for the past few years and my connectors all still look like new.  I think they're the 'standard' in electric connector cleaners.  There was some improvement in the sound when I cleaned the contact points in my system in the past... but the last couple of times haven't made much difference.
-C

[rollo]

Phil, I've used CAIG Pro-Gold for the past few years and my connectors all still look like new.  I think they're the 'standard' in electric connector cleaners.  There was some improvement in the sound when I cleaned the contact points in my system in the past... but the last couple of times haven't made much difference.
-C

   


    Very good product. Cleans and protects. Its a no brainer. VG recco.


rollo

[Phil]

Thanks.  Do you two anything abrasive with the pro-gold or just a cloth? 

[richidoo]

No adrasive, the gold layer on connectors is very thin. For two recording sessions I used a mic cable that had dirty connection even though it was brand new. I was unsure of the cause, blamed my sound card for the static and noises. An experienced engineer was on the third session, and had his can of caig cleaner. One shot on the mic pins and work it into the cable a few times, problem gone. Lesson learned.

[Carlman]

CAIG actually makes small, round applicator brushes, which I used to clean the inside area of the RCA cables... but usually I just use part of an old t-shirt or a paper towel. 

The only time I've used an abrasive was on really old, oxidized tube pins... but I doubt that was even necessary.

-C

[Phil]

Thanks, Carl, for the helpful info.  I think I have some craig deoxit (if that is what it is called) which came with some cable I purchased long ago.  Now, where did I put that?