Quiet_Hollow Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Lots of threads with people showing off their fancy gear so I figure I'd post my modest collection of tools. This is what I use to extract every ounce of performance from my system. This is how I stay in the "know". These are the means to making a $2000 system stomp all over a poorly executed 5-figure system. I would consider this the minimum necessary out-lay to measure, setup, and basically maintain any audio equipment in a modern home, shy of the knowledge and skill required use this stuff properly. The only other critical item I forgot to include in the picture was my test CD. [H] Naturally, one could get really expensive in a hurry with test equipment, but that's not the point. This here is enough to put you well into journeyman territory, and save yourself a ton of coin in the end, by letting you know exactly what you need to accomplish your goals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest " " Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 looks good. how about a list of what you have there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike stehr Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Isn't the unit in the plastic translucent blue case one of those capacitor ESR meters you can purchase as a kit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiet_Hollow Posted January 24, 2012 Author Share Posted January 24, 2012 Isn't the unit in the plastic translucent blue case one of those capacitor ESR meters you can purchase as a kit? Yup, that's the one.Across the top row from left to right is:- Anti-static wrist band (in the baggy) for soldering and handling components- Butane soldering pen (in the red case)- Coil of thin gauge Kester 44 solder- Coil of solder wick for component removal- Can of DeoxIT DN5 (formerly Cramoline) for treating connectors and pots- Small tub of flux- Blue ESR meter- Rat Shack SPL meter- Dual unit tape measureIn the foreground from left to right: - Scientific calculator (TI-30, one that does trig) - Digital Multimeters (Fluke 179 and 87V) I use two good meters to confirm a part when doing repair work, but having just one will work for starters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang guy Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Isn't the unit in the plastic translucent blue case one of those capacitor ESR meters you can purchase as a kit? Yup, that's the one. Across the top row from left to right is: - Anti-static wrist band (in the baggy) for soldering and handling components - Butane soldering pen (in the red case) - Coil of thin gauge Kester 44 solder - Coil of solder wick for component removal - Can of DeoxIT DN5 (formerly Cramoline) for treating connectors and pots - Small tub of flux - Blue ESR meter - Rat Shack SPL meter - Dual unit tape measure In the foreground from left to right: - Scientific calculator (TI-30, one that does trig) - Digital Multimeters (Fluke 179 and 87V) I use two good meters to confirm a part when doing repair work, but having just one will work for starters. You forgt two pretty important tools: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groomlakearea51 Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 In Florida, the De-oxit is a rather important tool!!! [H] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T.H.E. Droid Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Ah, I remember the good old days when the test equipment you needed cost five figures. Now so much of it can be packed into a hand-held unit for a few hundred dollars. Add some speaker design and analysis software and you can design 'em too. Now if they could just get those CNC wood cutting systems down to a few hundred dollars.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiet_Hollow Posted September 26, 2016 Author Share Posted September 26, 2016 I'm bumping this thread simply to reaffirm the importance of recognizing and diagnosing error in your system. These tools will help a person along that path. Got some "new-old" speakers in this past week. Clearly there's a problem after plugging them in, and without this trusty suitcase of diagnostic tools we'd be up a creek trying to figure out what's wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schu Posted September 26, 2016 Share Posted September 26, 2016 I have that exact same tape measure... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted September 26, 2016 Share Posted September 26, 2016 1 hour ago, Schu said: I have that exact same tape measure... I sprang for the audiophile tape measure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twk123 Posted September 26, 2016 Share Posted September 26, 2016 Dont forget this little guy for the cabs: And its sidekick: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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