However, there is always going to be a limitation, even with the best equipment. The reason for this quite simply comes down to cabling, connections, mains supply and room acoustics. In other words, it is a sheer waste spending a lot of money on fantastic Hi Fi equipment if your not going to do justice to it by using high quality cables and so forth. In fact it is possible to make budget system sound rather good with a little cabling expertise. No one would dispute that a higher quality audio system will be better than its budget counterpart (higher quality does not always relate to price). However, once you have heard a sound system tuned up with high grade wiring, you will not go back to the old philosophy.

So, what is possible? There are many possibilities that await the sound system: clearer sound, better bass definition, music that is more vibrant, larger sound staging and better imaging. If you have a stereo system with 2 loudspeakers it is possible to make the sound appear very wide and deep, taking it beyond the boundaries of your room, as though you are listening to the music in a larger venue (if this is what you want). And / or it is possible to make the musicians sound as though they are in your listening room. The loudspeakers should disappear as though they are not there. Such is the illusion.

It is possible to gain a better image, sound picture. This image is similar to when you watch your television. You can see where everything and everyone is. It is clear, hopefully. Similarly, within the sound stage, there is that sound image, where the musicians are playing, or where the sounds are coming from. The overall sound image needs to be solid rather than floating around, otherwise clarity becomes degraded.

Also a more 3 dimensional sound is possible, similar to the optical illusion of when you gaze at one of those 3D Magic Eye holographic pictures. Remembering that this is with only two loudspeakers in the room! It is understandable why many people are in the rush for a surround sound system, yet high quality stereo reproduction for most people remains unrealized. Plus the fact that people who do not want loudspeakers all round their living room can still have the mind shattering experience of a well set up stereo system.

If your want to hear this stereo sound stage in all its width and depth, then a balance and a solid image needs to be achieved.

Note: it is worth listening to each change you make so that you are in a position to either carry on or go back a step / try something different. If you lose where you are, with what changes you've made so far, it can be very frustrating.

Any audio system can be made to sound better simply by moving the loudspeakers to their 'optimal' position. What is this 'optimal' position'? That will depend on the loudspeakers, the room and your own listening preference. It is worth keeping loudspeaker instructions in mind, but more important is to experiment by moving the loudspeakers to different positions and listen to the different results. Different rooms have different acoustic properties and the ideal loudspeaker positions will, to some extent, depend on this factor. (It can be tricky enough trying to set up two loudspeakers for an optimal position for stereo let alone trying to set up a surround sound system!)

(If you are pulling out or disconnecting any loudspeaker / power amplifier connections, don't forget to turn of the power amplifier(s). Also, when moving loudspeakers, banana plugs or other connections might accidentally come out. If the power amplifier is on and the banana plugs / spades / wires touch each other they may well damage your power amplifier!)

The loudspeakers may require repositioning if you are upgrading with a high quality cable or a different cable be it an interconnect, a power cable or a loudspeaker cable.

What you tend to find, when upgrading with high quality cables, is that the loudspeakers can be moved further apart (in stereo systems) from one another thus bringing into play a wider and possibly deeper soundstage. Loudspeaker placement may well be determined by the practical dimensions and practicalities (e.g. if you have children) of your listening room. However, it is worth noting that when you change cables the treble, mid range and bass response of the audio system can also change to a larger or lesser degree. And / or the timbre of the instruments and vocals are more distinct, brought out in their natural detail and tonal qualities

Such changes in sound quality may well mean repositioning the loudspeakers: perhaps out from one another and / or back further towards the back wall and / or readjusting the toe-in angle (or whatever repositioning is required).

Likewise, if the bass has gone deeper or clearer (less boomy bass), then the loudspeakers may be able to be moved closer to the wall (moving them towards the wall increases bass). However, too much bass may make the sound muddy, so it’s a matter of trying to find the right loudspeaker positions in order to get the room ambiance and atmosphere in balance with the clarity of the overall sound..

Ultimately the right balance between clarity and atmosphere needs to be found in conjunction with your subjective stance: how you like to listen to your music. Also, music systems / loudspeakers / listening rooms can be unpredictable so, although there can be guidelines, it's not worth sticking to too many hard and fast rules.

Some people may like clinical clarity, others may prefer a breathtaking atmospheric sound-scape, that almost moves into another dimension.

Whilst achieving the latter, the details might become slightly blurred. On the other hand, achieving greater clarity might reduce the the impact and feeling of the music's atmosphere as a whole, where you cannot see the wood for the trees. However, both increase in musical detail and atmosphere are possible but the ultimate balance may need to be juggled. Inevitably, the axis of a good sound system revolves around balance, like life.

Part 2

Some tips:

Loudspeaker Connections

Note: when working with Hi Fi loudspeaker connections make sure the power amplifier(s) is switched off. Any contacts (ie. banana plugs / wires) that cause a dead short can damage your power amplifier!

Connections are of paramount importance. A systems bass performance, among other things, can suffer at the cost of poor connections.

Serious bass loss can occur from trying to tighten a tinned (tinning is when you apply solder to the end of the copper or silver wire) wire into a terminal post. Even when tightened with a pair of grips. It is better to tighten the terminal onto the wire untinned. This gives a better connection, though unfortunately it is prone to oxidization, even with silver plated wire, due to the compression and scoring of the silver plating through to the copper itself.

It is better to solder the wire onto a gold plated (or other) banana plug or spade lug which then just pushes on or clamps down onto the lug. The surface area of connection is increased and the soldered part cannot oxidize. If the connector is crimped, then heat shrink placed over the join helps reduce oxidization.

The improvements by upgrading with better banana plugs (not chunky metal ones) can be quite surprising and if your budget is low its certainly a cheap upgrade.

The Mains

PLEASE NOTE THAT ANY UPGRADES TO YOUR MAINS / SOCKETS ETC. SHOULD ONLY BE CARRIED OUT BY A COMPETENT PERSON SUCH AS A QUALIFIED ELECTRICIAN. THE 230 VOLT MAINS SUPPLY CAN KILL!

The whole of your system is dependent upon the mains supply. There are some things you can do and some things you can't. You cannot change the 230 volt supply into your house. (you can if you have a generator!) But there are some simple and effective things you can do.

Plugs

Cleaning the brass pins on the 13 amp plugs will provide better contact when plugged into the 13 amp socket. Better contact reduces possible noise interference that dirty contacts may otherwise pick up. This makes for a better sounding system. There are some good contact cleaners / deoxidizers around such as electrolube or Deoxit by Caig. Another cleaner is Brasso, which works very well, as suggested by HI FI World magazine.

Noise interference blockers

Noise interference blocks (ferrite cores) clamped around the power cables / cord will help to attenuate electromagnetic interference, thereby reducing the noise factor of the audio system. Usually these work well when placed close to the connecter input, ie. the IEC connector or near the audio power distribution unit. Though sometimes they can work better in different positions along the cable.

13 amp sockets

Unswitched sockets are better for sound systems than switched ones. No switches mean less contacts, less resistance & less potential for noise interference. 13 amp unswitched MK sockets are of good quality and worth using in Hi Fi systems.

Dedicated mains supply

Considerable improvements to sound quality can be made with a dedicated mains supply for any sound system. It is well worth having a separate electrical supply from the main consumer unit (if there is a spare way) run to the 13 amp sockets for the audio system or for the audio system to have its own isolation / fuse board system. Having a separate electrical supply for the sound system means that it is much better isolated from any potential electrical noise and interference you may get off a ring circuit (ring circuit: a typical method of wiring 13 amp sockets in households today).

Also a larger size (conductor with less resistance) supply cable can improve the bass performance of a sound system: power amplifiers can demand more or less current from the mains supply (dependent upon type & size of amp). A larger cable with larger conductors provides less resistance which does not constrict or impede the current that the amplifier demands. (Note: current ratings of cables are not fixed but are based upon various factors such as ambient temperature. The higher the ambient temperature (surrounding the cable), the lower the cable's current rating will be.

In order to match or better the ring main in cable (conductor) size a 6mm (csa) cable would be required. The ring main (2 x 2.5mm) totals to 5mm csa (cross sectional area). Larger cables can work even better, though not so crucial for very low current devices such as CD players, pre-amps and the like. Power wiring upgrades can have a dramatic effect on a sound system and should not be underestimated.

Acoustics

It is well worth thinking about some basic room treatment to improve sound quality. If the sound from your sound system appears too harsh or bright or overpowering, then hanging up some high frequency absorption material will help immensely. This could be curtain material, insulation board or any soft material that will help absorb higher, treble frequencies. It is usually better to place it on the wall behind the loudspeakers and, if necessary, on the side walls near to the loudspeakers. This helps keep a live feel to the music rather than deadening it too much by placing it on the wall behind the listener. A little experimenting is in order here to find out what works best in your room. (There is also a whole range of acoustic materials designed to do the job).

It is worth noting here that a slight movement, say an inch, of the loudspeakers to the left, right, backwards or forwards can alter the sound stage / image somewhat along with a possible decrease or increase in the level of 'brightness' or detail (when observing in the hotspot / listening position). This is also applicable to a movement of, say an inch, (in the listening position) of the head to the left, right, forwards and backwards. People often think about the critical movement of the loudspeakers without paying attention to the critical movement of the head. (Perhaps a head vice tuning device would be useful!)

The reason why such small movements can cause a change in the sound is due to small wavelengths / room modes at higher frequencies. Moving the ears (and head hopefully) you can hear the peaks and troughs of the room modes which translate as hearing a particular frequency(s) as either louder or softer (or not at all!) This experiment can be done if you have sine wave injected (not intravenously) into your sound system. Nowadays CD test discs are available.

If your room is very boomy in the bass region, then you may be sitting in a part of the room that has a bad lower frequency room mode. If you walk around the room with the bassy music playing you will probably notice that in certain parts of the room it reduces or increases. The corners of rooms are usually the most boomy area. To reduce the boominess you can either move the listening position more forward or backwards if its practical. Or the loudspeakers can be moved away more from the back wall or corners. (There are also acoustic bass traps out there to do the job.) However, whatever movements are incurred it is important to note the overall sound stage / image you have gained thus far. Otherwise moving things around without taking note can lead to inevitable frustration.

Recordings

Certain recordings often sound different after upgrading with cables. For example: a bright recording may sound overbearing after upgrading if the upgrade has brought out higher frequencies (or mid range) that were otherwise hidden (attenuated) before. On the other hand, a dull recording may sound better. More 'neutral' recordings should sound better as neither brightness nor dullness should be a problem. These factors depend on the the overall tonal response of the sound system, which 'can' change after various changes to the system. I say 'can' because what you should also find, when upgrading, is that the the instruments or vocals are brought out more (less attenuated) with a more natural sound and with better timbre, which may not imply tonal change at all.

A tuned up system will always reveal better clarity and and a sense of space both around the musicians playing and within the sound stage as a whole. The whole musical experience should just be more involving, with more space, a quieter darker backdrop, where instruments appear localised in the image but balanced as whole. Lots of things are possible but inevitably, even a tuned up sound system cannot overcome the flaws of a poor recording.

The ultimate sound quality of the sound system will largely come down to the quality of the recording. Great cabling can sometimes improve a poorer recording or make it sound worse. Though it will always make a good recording sound great. A poor recording may often sound better in a car music system, because the car is not very critical of sound staging, imaging, clarity, whereas a good Hi Fi set up is. You can hear a poor recording on a well set up system.

In recording studios the sound engineer pans or places each instrument and / or vocal to the the appropriate place in the sound image / mix. For example: main vocals in the centre, guitar, say, to the left, piano, say, to the right, drum beat in the middle and so forth. Well recorded synthesized music (e.g., in some modern dance music) can evoke that abstract sense of space, time and feel, otherwise it can sound terrible!

The sound engineer puts everything in its place for the stereo image (or surround sound) and therefore what we hear in our sound system is the result of his or her work and the quality of hardware that they use - engineering and an art. So, inevitably, the overall quality of sound in any music system is dependent upon the quality of the recording and mastering.

A simple list of other tweaks

  • A good Hi Fi stand works wonders on an audio system: CD players & other equipment (especially  turntables) are prone to  a vibration, which can deteriorate or muddy the sound.
  • Spiking Hi Fi stands to the floor surface works well as it does for loudspeakers.
  • CD antistatic mats improves quality of sound.
  • Antistatic fluid on the non-playing side of a CD improves vibrancy of the music.
  • Green pen mark round the outside rim of a CD can improve definition and image.
  • Cleaning the playing side of a CD with Russ Andrews cleaner works very well to improve clarity and add a   little  breathiness to the sound.
  • Note:
  • The information contained in the above is based on my personal experience regarding testing and listening observations. The information is to be treated as a hint at some insights and possibilities regarding sound systems / Hi Fi.

    • Written by J. Thorpe

Hi Fi Possibilities

I wonder, how many people have realised the possibilities of stereo reproduction with a tuned up system? I wonder, how many audio systems are tuned to only a fraction of their potential? If you want to hear your sound system at it's best then it is worth being aware of some of the factors that will influence the overall sound performance of your system. It can be an awe inspiring experience - just with two loudspeakers in stereo!

There are several ways of upgrading or improving your sound system: change the sound system itself, change the cables, improve the connections and improve the room acoustics among other things. If you change your sound system for a better one, then that will bring improved quality of sound and hopefully a more enjoyable musical experience.