Hints and Tips - Grahams Hi Fi


Our Range Suggested Systems Accessories Special Offers Manufacturers Hints and Tips Mail Order Customers’ Systems Showcase	Hints and Tips Are you getting the best from your hi-fi? Some improvements can be made to your system with little or no expense and they may completely transform how your hi-fi sounds. Some of the changes may surprise you; the purpose of this article is not to give you the reasons why these improvements work, but to enlighten you on how to get your system to sound better. Take a little time to read through the checklist below; identify any problems which may apply to your system: some of them are easy to solve and the solutions are often overlooked because they are obvious. Speakers should never be placed directly on the floor. Floorstanding speakers are usually provided with spikes at the base and these should be used. Smaller speakers should be sited on good speaker stands which are, again, isolated from the floor by spikes. Some speakers work best with a particular speaker stand. (We can advise you on which speaker stand to choose.) If you are concerned about spikes damaging your floor, ask us about specially-made feet to house the spikes. If you do not want to put your speakers on stands, a good wall bracket can be used, or, if you must place your speakers on a shelf, a little bit of blu-tac can make a world of difference. It is vital that the speaker does not wobble. Adjust the spikes and tighten them with a spanner if necessary. Generally, the more solid the floor, the easier it is to level the speakers. Are your speakers in the appropriate place? Some speakers are designed to work near the wall and some away from the wall. Bass response is accentuated when speakers are placed near walls so be aware of the effect of corners or alcoves. Experiment until the sound is well balanced. For turntable owners, an appropriate support can make an enormous improvement to the performance. Again, we can advise you on which support to choose from, whether floorstanding or wall-mounted. It is interesting to note that equipment supports impart their own particular sonic character. A light but rigid structure is usually quite adequate. Try to avoid placing power amplifiers too near other pieces of hi-fi equipment; their large transformers can interfere with sensitive electronics in pre-amplifiers, compact disc players and tuners. Are all the mains leads in your system fitted with good quality plugs and wired properly? If you are using a multigang mains extension, is it good quality? If not, your system will suffer and will not perform as well as it should do. Amazingly enough, good plugs, good sockets and quality extension leads make a worthwhile sonic difference. We provide good quality plugs and you may already be aware of Grahams own, 4- and 6-gang mains extension units, built in-house (see accessories). For those with turntables, is it time to replace your cartridge or stylus? Does your turntable need to be serviced? What interconnects are you using? An interconnect is a cable carrying the music signal from either a compact disc player, tuner, cassette deck, or video recorder into the amplifier. Good quality interconnects play a major role in the performance of your system. Many interconnects provided by manufacturers with the original equipment are capable of considerable improvement. Are you speaker cables of good quality? Do make sure there are no loose connections in your hi-fi system. This advice starts with the screws in your mains plugs. Did you know that the 50 Hz mains frequency gradually loosens all those screws? Stop now and tighten them up! Then check the cartridge tags on your record player and go from there to each and every lead and plug in your system. Just unplugging and replugging will improve the contacts, even if you don't use a proprietary cleaner. Listen! There's more music! It is advisable to leave compact disc players, tuners, power supplies and pre-amplifiers on at all times, with a few exceptions. A hi-fi system that has been warmed up inevitably sounds much better than one which has just been switched on. Constant switching on-and-off is detrimental and can shorten the life of the components. It takes a negligible amount of power to keep the equipment switched on at all times. If you are going on holiday or there is an electrical storm imminent, it is advisable to unplug the equipment at the mains and disconnect the aerial. If your hi-fi equipment has been put into storage for two years or more, please ask our advice before attempting to power it up.	Search: Advanced Search Latest News: B&W Zeppelin Linn Dynamik Power Upgrades Linn competition Factory Visit - April 27th 2009 Grahams wins CEDIA Award for Best Integrated Home Arcam Solo Mini Epos Mi series