Hi y'all. I'm Paul in NYC, NY. I like both kinds of music (country AND western)... actually, all kinds, except the stuff that makes my hair stand on end. I'm told I was born singing and dancing to the Beatles. (But never been much of a Beatles fan, oddly enough). Right now I'm listening to the Bowerbirds if that helps (In our talons now).
Apart from good music, I've had a passion for good stuff to play it on, since I was about 12. In my budding audiophile days, I used to change kit like people change their underwear. I would sell it off to my audiophile friends, or pawn brokers, or the store that sold it to me... and then something new would take the place on my Target stand. This was my way of figuring out what the goal really was, in the pursuit of audio nirvana. Thankfully, I have, and no longer have doubts about what kind of sound I want. I still have a special affinity for audio produced in that golden era of the 80's (mostly UK gear), when you still could have innovative cottage industry manufacturers putting out gear in small numbers (cough Nytech cough), that would trounce what the big boys were making. Or at least know how to play a tune, and not just sound that resembles music.
I also had a special affinity for tweaking, because I discovered that I could stretch my audiophile budget a LOT longer if I simply modified what I had, instead of just always buying the latest and greatest version of whatever model is out. I have since discovered that with effective tweaking, I can affect changes far greater and more significant, than I could by changing gear in the first place. I also have a much better chance of getting the sound I want, than I do of going the usual route of buying gear that I think sound good in the store, only to find out months later I'm really not satisfied with the sound (especially when I hear what I am missing elsewhere). I remember that some of the tweaks I would indulge in at the time were considered "pretty much out there" by the rest of the audiophile community. But they were all based on conventional principles, and they all effected changes (some good, some questionable). And that's about when Hi-Fi Answers introduced me to Peter Belt's version of tweaking, and "pretty much out there" became "not of this world".
Since I was already used to convetionally-minded audiophiles looking at me funny when I talked of my -conventional- tweaks, it didn't much matter to me what they were saying about Mr. Belt's ideas; my only interest was in seeing whether they would improve my sound. I think I have yet to try one that didn't, and I have tried many. I have since come to understand that no matter what you do, each "domain" of tweaking, changes the sound in ways particular to that domain. The "domains" I am referring to are: changes (aka 'tweaks') to electronics (ie. the signal), changes to the electrical current (power supply), changes to room acoustics, and finally, direct changes to our actual perception of sound (aka "Beltism"). I can often predict what sort of change has been made (what domain was affected), by the characteristic of the sound; even though sound can be changed many ways within a domain. I learned that there was nothing that could change my sound, in the same way as those under the Belt domain (whether via PWB products themselves, or ideas that use their principles). It became my favourite domain to work in, because it almost always improved the sound in musical ways that the other domains could rarely come close to achieving.
All audio systems/environments I listened to thereafter, which lacked any effect from being "treated" by Belt concepts, sounded more strident or harsh to me than what it should be, and less musically engaging; even ones that were pricetagged at over 50,000 pounds. So realizing the potential of what I already had, I started focusing less on buying new gear, and more on improving what was already here. Even working on Belting old gear that was never much good to begin with, I found I could often get results that would outperform gear that was supposed to be good. The "mystique" of new gear was no longer the same thing it was for me, but it was replaced by the challenge of creating diamonds out of coal. During those days of "challenges", I had amassed a number of tweaks, all based on principles first discovered by the brilliant Mr. Peter Walker Belt, some 25 years ago. I realized I should probably not sit on ALL of them, because I couldn't see why there wouldn't be some who would achieve at least some of the same benefits I did. (n.b. If the emails are anything to go by, there have been...). So I created a website to share a few of them, along with all those tweaks that inspired me all those years ago from Mr. Belt. (Every time I discovered new free tweaks that he had popularized, I added them to the list). I think I have now over 30, the most free Belt tweaks available anywhere on the net. What can I say, I aim to please!
For some reason I don't have the inclination to work on, the site's a little slow to get started at the moment, but it does work....: http://www.theadvancedaudiophile.com
Speakers: Avalon Aspect
Amp: VTL (valve)
Source (analog): Clearaudio Performance
Source (digital): Roksan Kandy