The perils of modifying gear

[struth]

If mains cables really make no difference at all and any old kettle lead will do then why did my Krell amp come with its own mains cable and why do Krell advise in the manual that if you use any other lead the world will come to an end? (They don't actually say the world will end but it is implied).

can think of a few reasons

[Joe]

They're trying to 'brainwash' you with marketing spiel, of course, so don't let yourself become a victim of expectation bias!

Marco.

I say give it a go and see if the world really does end.

[Marco]

Marco.

[Marco]

The Exposures in the upstairs system have captive mains leads, so there's no possibility of experimentation there (though Russ Andrews suggests you can make an improvement by cutting off the captive lead and adding a male IEC socket, thus enabling use of their £££s mains cables).

Remember, Joe, that you don't need to spend lunatic money on a mains lead that's properly designed for hi-fi purposes. RA is known to be, erm, somewhat 'adventurous' with his pricing structure

This lead made a notable and worthwhile improvement to the sound and picture quality of my Sony Blu-Ray player (compared with the piece of shit it came with): http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SILVER-Fig...item3d1e1c5f3c

£22. Absolutely ZERO 'foo' there - just basic, sound engineering principles!

Marco.

[Macca]

I say give it a go and see if the world really does end.

Might do if Liverpool don't qualify for Champion's League. Nothing left to live for then.

[Marco]

After my recent crossover mod which I have lived with for a few weeks, after having spent a few months with cheap components of the same value, I am seriously impressed by the improvement foo parts have made.

So much so I am trying hard not to spend stupid money on some really silly stupidly expensive caps.

Exactly my experience, too! Both my Tannoys and Celection 15XRs were totally transformed, sonically, with the fitting of some high-quality 'boutique' capacitors to their respective crossovers.

Some caps are undoubtedly stupidly expensive, but some no more so than decent interconnects from well-known companies, such as Chord - and I know ultimately which makes the most difference!

That's the way to look at it, when spending your money: think 'source first'

Marco.

[jandl100]

That's the way to look at it, when spending your money: think 'source first'

Marco.

Bah, humbug. That's Flat Earth thinking. ... PR crap made up when Linn only sold turntables.

My maxim is that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

[Beobloke]

The problem I have with modifications is that some people don't know when to stop, or what the consequences are of the changes they are making. I have absolutely no problem if people want to mess around with interconnect, speaker and mains cables as this is a fairly harmless (mostly...) pastime but, as an engineer, I do get quite irritated by enthusiastic bodgers thinking they know better than the qualified design teams of large organisations delving into equipment and faffing around with it. I know of several manufacturers' repair departments that spend much more time than they would like, undoing modifications to their products to make them work again, and I've done it myself on more than one occasion.

As an example, internet "wisdom" has long prevailed that changing capacitors can cure all known ills but often it can do more harm than good - witness someone I know of who changed all the caps in his high end direct drive turntable "as a precaution" and completely stopped it working! A friend of mine who does a great deal of repairs now adds a minimum of £10 to his repair costs if the owner confesses to having already changed capacitors - I've even known him to take the new ones out and put the old ones back in, once he's proved there is absolutely nothing wrong with them!

As an aside, the latest episode that is annoying me is a chap on a different forum who is currently "modifying" a fine pair of Mordaunt Short bookshelf speakers by slapping unnecessary coatings all over the drivers, attacking the cabinets with a chainsaw and junking the crossovers. I used to work with the guys who designed this speaker and we used them on many occasions for reference duty at Mordaunt Short - they were actually something of a 'sleeper' in the range and incorporated much of the technology that was adopted into the new range that followed them, at a lower price. However, the stuff he's removing was there for a very good reason and I would put money on it that the damn things will both measure appallingly and sound hideous when he's finished, which makes me a bit sad. And why is he doing all this? Because some other "expert" on the forum is egging him on by telling him it's a good idea!

[Marco]

Bah, humbug. That's Flat Earth thinking. ... PR crap made up when Linn only sold turntables.

My maxim is that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

Whatever works for you, sweet-cheeks. At the end of the day, the results you achieve have to satisfy YOUR ears, no-one else's.

I'm just saying what works (and has worked) greatly for me. And judiciously upgrading things like capacitors and resistors, at key points in the circuit of equipment, has resulted in vastly greater improvements in my system than anything I've gained from changing interconnects or mains leads.

YMMV

Marco.

[Marco]

I have absolutely no problem if people want to mess around with interconnect, speaker and mains cables as this is a fairly harmless (mostly...) pastime but, as an engineer, I do get quite irritated by enthusiastic bodgers thinking they know better than the qualified design teams of large organisations delving into equipment and faffing around with it.

So did that apply when you used to work for HFW, and David Price was championing (from the rooftops, and correctly so) about just how good a Technics SL-1200 could sound, after being judiciously [the key word again here] modified?

Presumably then, according to your logic, National Panasonic/Matsushita Electric (one of the large organisations in question) had produced a better product *before* the modifications David rightly concluded (to anyone with a functioning pair of ears) had significantly improved the Technics?

Remember that, at the end of the day, everything is built to a price!

Marco.