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Best Audio Products/Tweaks under $200


joshnich

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My picks would be the Expressimo Heavy Weight and the Expressimo Hextreme End Stub both for Rega tone arms. The weight cost around a $100.00 and the new-machined end stub was about $40.00 if I recall correctly.

These are without a doubt the best tweak for the dollar. Better base Better definition Better sound. If you do not use one of these on your RB250 or RB300 arm you are really missing the boat. Terrific product.

My other pick would be the Onzow Zero Dust Stylus Cleaner. I had tried Lyra and Last products and this beats them hands down in terms of ease of use and end result. It's magic! I think it cost about $60.00

I bought the heavy weight from Expressimo directly. I see on their site that they are reorganizing and will be back up soon. I bought the Onzow Stylus Cleaner from Acoustic Sounds.

Id be interested in others picks!

Josh

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I like the Belkin power conditioner; cannot remeber the model it is discontinued since Belkin came out with a new product line called Pure AV.

Cheaper than the tweaky expensive stuff for less than $ 100.

Not voltage regulation but CD players and DACS i have found like a little cleaner power.

I would like to try the zero dust stylus cleaner as mentioned above.

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Ditto on the Onzow zero dust blob,made in Japan,I bought mine off Audiogon for $30 something,and the www.neauanceaudio.com for under my turntable was a big sonic improvement,$220 something,also one used on Audiogon now. It took several months to get my Neuance,Ken Lyon makes them to order. I too have "The Heavyweight on my Rega 300 arm.

Cheers,

Robert

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I know a lot of guys think these things are snake oil, but the Aesthetix ABCD-1 Cartridge Demagnetizer (usually $150-$175) really makes a difference to my tin ears. I have a low output moving coil cartridge and I swear I can hear a noticible improvement.

Chris

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That is a tuff one, because when I think of the lower cost improvements I made to my stereo system, I realize that many of them made some improvement. Few were really dramatic, but still made effective improvements for the money invested:

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q $0 for more accurate spkr angling, 3-4 away from front and side walls

q $1 for round rubber CD disc mat

q $5 for rubber plumbing insulation for cables and power cords

q $6 for 30 lb paving stone hats for Corns, now Khorns

q $6 for cleaner spray for aging RCA interconnect posts

q $10 for thick rubber floor mat (for amplifiers)

q $15 for orange hospital grade electrical outlet

q $15 for rope caulk of horizontal metal horns in B2 crossover, walnut oiled Cornwalls

q $15 for better surge protector

q $20 for marble trivet for top of tube pre-amplifier

q $30 for UPS

q $30 for used ADC EQ (for Corns)

q $30 for DIY vibration isolation platform (http://www.enjoythemusic.com/tweaks/)

q $50 for new Monster spkr cables

q $100 for Cal Audio Gamma DAC

Nothing affected all of the equipment and sound like a more powerful and steeper slope ACI Titan sub, the Behringer DEQ 2496 EQ and a room full of RealTraps acoustic panels. I no longer consider the EQ and panels as tweaks, but as components of a tweaking audiophiles movie and music reproduction system.

By far the most effective tweak is the positioning most of the stereo set-ups I see, even those of tweaking audiophiles, just do not have enclosed spkrs away from the walls. Yet proper positioning affects the entire audible experience.

After that, I guess the one tweak I employed during my last three moves (in the last year) was the vibration isolation platform, now a Cloud 10 (http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0404/ginkocloud10.htm). [H]

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I am going to definitely agree with the folks who are mentioning: speaker placement and room treatments.

The room treatments (as first step) can be fairly simple, such as adding (or removing) an area rug, carpet pad, drapes, wall hangings, or removing a couple of pieces of furniture. The effects are real!

-Tom

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