How to Improve A Linn System Without Component Upgrades?

[jbc]

Back to the original thought of improving your system without component upgrades, perhaps a prioritization could be established for 'bang for buck' type tweaks - based on personal experience. I suspect that many of us may differ with respect to opinions/experience, but I'll throw my two cents in just for kicks, and based on what I've heard so far.

If I prioritize based on cost, sonic impact, and domestic acceptability, I'll end up with something like this - starting from best results (in North American 120V environment).

1. Speaker placement. No cost, and can make a really big difference. For example, if bass is boomy, try moving speakers away from walls. If image has a hole in the middle, try increasing toe-in.

2. Dressing cables. For little to no cost, you can separate line level cords from speaker wires, and separate those from AC. You don't have to go nuts here - I found no difference at all by separating interconnects from each other, for instance - but separating interconnects from AC did drop the noise floor a bit for me. Not a huge difference though.

2. Power cords - for $100-120, you can see if a power cord makes an impact in your system. I have found cost-effective benefits here, but would be reluctant to spend $500 or so on one.

3. Room treatment. This will depend on your room acoustics, but you can try throwing a couple of pillows in a corner, or put a blanket up at a first reflection point to see if there's any difference. If so, maybe some foam panels will help. Most are ugly as sin, so you may need domestic approval for these types of things.

4. Power conditioning and cables. This is where things can get expensive - it's quite easy to spend as much as a component upgrade on a power conditioner or expensive cables. Also, some are current limiting, and can constrain dynamics while dropping background noise. You'll want to experiment a bit with these, as not all offer improvement - and that's before consideration of the questionable marketing (and value). In a lot of ways, these end up being the audiophile equivalent of tone controls. If you can, try before you buy, and consider the alternates carefully.

[linnrd]

(2012-07-24 18:21)jbc Wrote:  Back to the original thought of improving your system without component upgrades, perhaps a prioritization could be established for 'bang for buck' type tweaks - based on personal experience. I suspect that many of us may differ with respect to opinions/experience, but I'll throw my two cents in just for kicks, and based on what I've heard so far.

If I prioritize based on cost, sonic impact, and domestic acceptability, I'll end up with something like this - starting from best results (in North American 120V environment).

1. Speaker placement. No cost, and can make a really big difference. For example, if bass is boomy, try moving speakers away from walls. If image has a hole in the middle, try increasing toe-in.

2. Dressing cables. For little to no cost, you can separate line level cords from speaker wires, and separate those from AC. You don't have to go nuts here - I found no difference at all by separating interconnects from each other, for instance - but separating interconnects from AC did drop the noise floor a bit for me. Not a huge difference though.

2. Power cords - for $100-120, you can see if a power cord makes an impact in your system. I have found cost-effective benefits here, but would be reluctant to spend $500 or so on one.

3. Room treatment. This will depend on your room acoustics, but you can try throwing a couple of pillows in a corner, or put a blanket up at a first reflection point to see if there's any difference. If so, maybe some foam panels will help. Most are ugly as sin, so you may need domestic approval for these types of things.

4. Power conditioning and cables. This is where things can get expensive - it's quite easy to spend as much as a component upgrade on a power conditioner or expensive cables. Also, some are current limiting, and can constrain dynamics while dropping background noise. You'll want to experiment a bit with these, as not all offer improvement - and that's before consideration of the questionable marketing (and value). In a lot of ways, these end up being the audiophile equivalent of tone controls. If you can, try before you buy, and consider the alternates carefully.

I would be tempted to add a "0" to the list above. Listening to things as opposed to listening for things is the most satisfying improvement that one can make to the listening experience. I have found that good company, a nice drink and the "warm and fuzzy" anticipation of a nice album set a mood that is pretty much an overwhelming increase in enjoyment. Perhaps Gilad does have something there when he mentions making listening a more social experience than a solitary one.

[ukandrewf]

Without reading the whole thread...

Did we mention

[stunta]

After the eulogy for Shunyata power cords, I am afraid I have ended up returning the more expensive Sidewinder cords in favour of the less expensive Venom cables. This is partly because I am not using the Majik 6100 in my system anymore and the Classe works just fine with any decent power cord I try. And for some reason, the Sidewinders are not really an improvement on my Akurate Kontrol anymore. Maybe the Dynamik has warmed up and doesn't need it anymore? Or perhaps I had a brief episode of confirmation bias The latter is more likely. In any case, I wasn't able to justify the expense. In fact, I feel like the Sidewinders are making things worse. Or maybe I am just feeling better about getting my money back

I think jbc's point below is really worth thinking about. If a component that costs $x needs a tweak that also costs $x, it really does get a bit ridiculous at that point and it is time to go find a different component.

(2012-07-24 18:21)jbc Wrote:  2. Power cords - for $100-120, you can see if a power cord makes an impact in your system. I have found cost-effective benefits here, but would be reluctant to spend $500 or so on one.

Sometimes a tweak makes a system sound different. I've realized that sometimes I initially feel this change is an improvement but over time it could turn out be worse.

So for now, all my expensive power cords are on their way out. The $100 power cords are here to stay and a couple of them in the system don't make a dent in my wallet. I think this is a reasonable approach. I must admit I got a bit carried away.

[jbc]

Hmm. Maybe we'll have to come up with the commandments of tweakery.

Thou shalt not spend more on a cable than a component.

Thou shall not succumb to the nebulous and hyperbolic marketing of cable manufacturers.

Thou shall carefully consider whether the change is an improvement - or not.

Feel free to add.

[linnrd]

(2012-08-23 23:56)jbc Wrote:  Thou shalt not spend more on a cable than a component.

From the manual of the Pass 350.5 power amplifier.

"We have a general recommendation about interconnects, which is that they should cost less than the amplifier, and be flexible enough to work with."

"We prefer speaker cables that are thick and short. Silver and copper are the preferred metals. If you find any cable made of gold, please gift us a couple hundred meters.

We have found that about 90 per cent of bad sounding cables are in reality bad sounding connections, and we recommend that special at- tention be paid to cleanliness of contact surfaces and proper fit.
Speaker cables should be firmly tightened down at the speaker output terminals, but do not use a wrench. These connectors will not with- stand unrealistic foot-lbs of torque."

Unfortunately the lawyers have now got into the act and the warranty reads rather bland, as opposed to the earlier manuals such as the Aleph 0, which had:

"The amplifier does not require any maintenance. While the design is conservative, this is a hard running amplifier, as single ended Class A operation is the least efficient operating mode. In fifteen years the electrolytic power supply capacitors will get old. Depending on usage, you will begin to have semiconductor and other failures between 10 and 50 years after date of manufacture. Later, the sun will cool to a white dwarf, and after that the universe will experience heat death."

[Chaucer]

Shunyata power cables seem to be popular, but which of them can be plugged into Klimax components with their narrow opening for the IEC connector? Is an adapter available to allow larger IEC connectors to be plugged into Klimax components?

As long as I'm asking about power cables, has anyone tried Cablepro Reverie power cables with Linn gear?

[Paulssurround]

(2012-08-29 18:59)Chaucer Wrote:  Shunyata power cables seem to be popular, but which of them can be plugged into Klimax components with their narrow opening for the IEC connector? Is an adapter available to allow larger IEC connectors to be plugged into Klimax components?

As long as I'm asking about power cables, has anyone tried Cablepro Reverie power cables with Linn gear?

We had no problems connecting the 15 amp Shunyata power cords to a Klimax DS and Klimax Kontrol

[Chaucer]

(2012-08-30 04:28)Paulssurround Wrote:  

(2012-08-29 18:59)Chaucer Wrote:  Shunyata power cables seem to be popular, but which of them can be plugged into Klimax components with their narrow opening for the IEC connector? Is an adapter available to allow larger IEC connectors to be plugged into Klimax components?

As long as I'm asking about power cables, has anyone tried Cablepro Reverie power cables with Linn gear?

We had no problems connecting the 15 amp Shunyata power cords to a Klimax DS and Klimax Kontrol

Which Shunyata power cables have folks found to be compatible with Linn gear? Photos on a retailer's Web site show some 15-amp Shunyatas (e.g., the Copperhead) with barrel-shaped IEC connectors that wouldn't fit under the lid of a Klimax component. Others seem to have flat connectors that might fit. That's why I asked my first question.

[Paulssurround]

(2012-08-31 15:52)Chaucer Wrote:  

(2012-08-30 04:28)Paulssurround Wrote:  

(2012-08-29 18:59)Chaucer Wrote:  Shunyata power cables seem to be popular, but which of them can be plugged into Klimax components with their narrow opening for the IEC connector? Is an adapter available to allow larger IEC connectors to be plugged into Klimax components?

As long as I'm asking about power cables, has anyone tried Cablepro Reverie power cables with Linn gear?

We had no problems connecting the 15 amp Shunyata power cords to a Klimax DS and Klimax Kontrol

Which Shunyata power cables have folks found to be compatible with Linn gear? Photos on a retailer's Web site show some 15-amp Shunyatas (e.g., the Copperhead) with barrel-shaped IEC connectors that wouldn't fit under the lid of a Klimax component. Others seem to have flat connectors that might fit. That's why I asked my first question.

I started with Venom 3's (one of the greatest bargains in the audio world) for the Pre-amp and DS.

I was driving my 3 amps with DiamondBacks.

I have now converted my Pre-amp, DS and 2 of my amps (front channel) to Sidewinders