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Here are some ideas

Posted by Charles Hansen (M) on December 27, 2008 at 12:07:10

In Reply to: Please help: How make my Ayre system "warmer"? posted by TJE on December 25, 2008 at 13:15:48:

I've read the posts to date and there are some interesting ideas. They fall into two categories -- tweaks and component replacements. Here are my thoughts:

1) The very first thing to do is to figure out how badly your TV is screwing up the sound (and I guarantee that it is). So disconnect *any* cables going from your DVD player to your TV and UNPLUG your TV from the wall (as well as any other TV-related junk like satellite boxes, cable boxes, VCRs, DVRs, et cetera).

Then go back an see how it sounds. I guarantee it will sound better. If it is enough better to solve your problem, let me know and I will give you some ways around the problem.

2) Several people have suggested changing components, mostly to tubes. If you don't mind the maintenance hassles of tubes, they can give very good sound. However, I would say that for a given price point, you are only going to get tradeoffs compared to your existing equipment.

On the other hand, if you want to increase your budget, you can definitely get an improvement in sound. So an ARC Ref 3 will be demonstrably superior to the Ayre K-5xe. But it cost 3x as much, so it had better sound better! At that price point you could also get an Ayre K-1xe, which will have pluses and minuses compared to the Ref 3 but be in the same general vicinity in terms of sound quality.

I would probably reserve this option for last, as it is the most expensive thing to do. And I would only do it with a good dealer who will let you take stuff home to try it in your system. That's the *only* way you are going to know if you like something before your buy it. The only other option is to spend months buying and selling stuff on Audiogon. (The selling part seems much harder these days.)

3) A lot of people have suggested what I call "tweaks". Some of them are minor, like the wood blocks. (They tend to open up the sound, which is probably not what you are looking for.) Others have suggested changing cables. I know that the Cardas Golden Reference is not causing your problem. I have never heard the Shunyata, so I can't comment.

As far as other cables, there isn't enough time in the day to listen to all of the new ones that come out every minute. I certainly can't keep up with them all. Every couple of years somebody corners me with "You *have* to hear this new cable, it is so much better than anything I have ever heard, it is in a whole new category, blah, blah, blah." So I set aside a bunch of time. We put the cables on repeat for a week to make sure they are broken in. Then I spend several hours listening to them. I always hear something good that helps me understand why the person recommended them. But I haven't ever heard anything yet that has made me want to switch away from my reference cables. YMMV.

One thing you *didn't* mention was power cords. If you are using the stock power cords, then that is definitely an area where you can realize some improvements, including the specific areas you mentioned.

As far as other tweaks go, I would probably spend $50 for Jim Smith's book. I haven't received my copy yet, but Jim and I are on the same page with regards to system setup. That is, I would say that your components are only about half of your sound. The other half is setup.

The setup is going to vary from room-to-room, from system-to-system, and from person-to-person. A good analogy is F1 racing. Do you think Ferrari uses the same exact suspension settings, tires, engine settings, gearbox ratios, et cetera for all of their drivers at all of the racetracks? OF COURSE NOT! If they did, they would never win a single race, let alone the manufacturers championship every year. You HAVE to tweak and set up your system carefully. I'm sure that there is at least one tweak in Jim's book that will give you far, far more that $50 worth of sonic improvement.

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The bottom line is I would definitely start with item #1 above. It is free, it will only take 5 minutes, and I guarantee that it will improve your sound. The only question is whether it will solve the specific problem you are having. After you do that, then we can start to figure out some other options.

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

Atma-Sphere Music Systems, Inc.

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