the audio analyst – A Weekend Tweakfest for the Economically Challenged!
Greg Weaver

I. Yer’ Deluxe Three Hundred Fifty Dollar Equipment Rack Starting As Low As Thirty Five Bucks!

One fine winter’s day while visiting Hal, I noticed his really cool equipment rack. It was about thirty inches high and had four one and one half-inch thick shelves. The four posts for the rack were black all thread, a long piece of round metal with a continuous thread running its entire length, allowing for fully adjustable placement of the shelving. It seemed like a pretty versatile and solid idea. When I later saw that it listed for $350, I about lost it! No thanks, I’ll make one.

My next trip to my local building supply store found me in the back of the building where they stock all kinds of wood. I wandered through the wood section till I found what I was looking for, 5/8" thick Medium Density Fiberboard. This stuff is dense, made essentially from sawdust and glue pressed together into one decidedly non-resonant 4’ by 8’ sheet, and sells for about $10.00 a sheet.

The shelves in the rack I had seen advertised were 16" by 24". Now it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that a 4’ by 8’ sheet of wood cut squarely through its running length then in 16" wide cuts will yield 12 shelves 16" by 24" by 5/8". As this store‘s policy is to make the first two cuts free and charge $.25 a cut after that, milling fees came to a total of $2.25 (one up the middle, then five each on the two resultant halves). Since I didn’t own or have access to a table saw at the time (as you likely may not), that is a small price to pay for perfectly square cuts.

After communicating the cutting instructions to the woodcutter, I headed off to shop for all-thread, washers and nuts. I found the all-thread (simply a long, continuously threaded rod) in both 36" and 72" lengths. The shorter length was perfect for my project and they sold for $3.16 each in the 5/8" thickness. Obviously you can use the longer lengths of all-thread to add more height, and more shelves, but keep in mind that taller is likely to be less stable.

I would have gone to the 3/4" all-thread for my corner posts, but the store did not have the 3/4" washers, which are also an integral part of the plan. If they had, the price jump from the 5/8" all-thread to the 3/4" all-thread was only about $1.50 a rod.

However, the price jump from a 5/8" washer ($.08 each) and nut ($.10 each) set to the 3/4" set went from $.18 to $.68 a set. As you need 32 nut and washer sets for a 4-shelf version (four sets on top and four sets below each shelf), this is a significant cost increase. It will raise the cost of the project by about $20 (more than 40% of the cost of the whole project), including the $6.00 increase for the larger diameter all-thread. Quite honestly, in my application, the 5/8" all-thread supports work more than adequately. Opting for the sturdier 3/4" version will raise the price from about $35 per finished unit to about $55.

Last on my list were Elmer’s Carpenters Glue and Flat Black spray paint. Off to the carpentry section for the glue and the paint. I got one bottle of the glue and two cans of paint, on sale no less, totaling about $5. With my precious cargo loaded into my car, I was homeward bound to assemble my new equipment rack.

First, I measured and prepared to drill the holes for the all-thread corner posts in all the shelves. As I was only going to use four selves, I was to going to pre-drill eight of my twelve sections, with four sections left over as extras. Who knows, I may add more shelves in the future.

I loaded an 11/16" bit into my drill and aligned four of the 5/8" shelf segments at a time for drilling. I measured in 1 1/4" (on the diagonal) from the corner to center my hole on the top shelf and then drilled through four pieces of wood at a time. This is easier than doing each one separately and assures that the holes will be aligned and it also prevents excess chipping as the bit comes through each layer. I then moved on to my second stack of four pieces to complete the drilling.

Next I took the first two shelves from stack one and applied a thin but even layer of Elmer’s carpenters glue to the top of one shelf piece with an old paint brush and aligned the second on top of it, creating a 1 1/2" thick laminated shelf.1 

I then threaded a nut followed by a washer onto one end of each piece of the all-thread and run it about two inches down. I placed my first laminated shelf pair over each piece of all-thread until it was touching the washer/nut combination just installed. Next I inserted a washer followed by a nut on top of the shelf on each piece of all-thread and tightened it down on the shelf to secure my top (or bottom) shelf.

Now came the tedious part. I had to spin the next nut on each piece of all-thread all the way down to the position where the next shelf was to rest. This was time consuming, but I just followed the nut, washer, shelf, washer, nut recipe till the other three shelves were in place2 .

Now I adjusted the shelves to the right height for each piece of equipment I was using. Once I had squared the top shelf and set each other shelf for the right clearance, I made sure each shelf was tightly anchored between the nut/washer combo by using two wrenches to firmly secure the position. All that was left to do was to spray paint it as desired (flat black), let it dry and I was set!

At about one tenth the cost of the "store bought" units, this new inexpensive rack will offer a very stable and solid platform on which to base the rest of your isolation techniques. Or, even left by itself, it is still much less resonant and offers better energy transfer than the other, more expensive hollow tubular steel variety of devices. And if you have access to a tapping set, you can tap the bottoms of the all-thread and insert spikes. I plan to do this, just as soon as I locate a friend who will either let me borrow his tap set or will do the tapping for me.

This is a VERY rigid platform from which to now add our next tweak, the acoustic environment de-coupler — or, as I’ve dubbed it, the $10 seismic sink.

Fellow Positive Feedback contributor Doug Blackburn seems destined to earn a doctorate in isolation and damping research. While I am in complete agreement with his direction and feel that he has been quite thorough in his quest, I have a slight suggestion as a modification to his inner tube isolation work that I feel offers improvement in two areas, performance and utilization of space. The first part of this tweak, just using an inner tube, will afford you about 50% of the results of the "Higher Priced" Isolation products for an investment of about $3.00! Can you live with that? I thought so. Going all the way with this technique will take you into isolation heaven for less than $10.00 a platform!

The work from many writers, most notably Doug, suggests the use of boat trailer or wheel barrel type inner tubes, sized at 4.00/4.80 X 8 (about 15" round and 4 1/2" tall when inflated), partially deflated under your components. For some time now, I have used a very thin walled, narrow diameter tube under my Linn LP 12.

My original intention was to improve the resolution of the ‘table/arm/cart synergy by helping to isolate both air and floor borne vibration. It just seemed to make sense that floating a sensitive device like a turntable on a cushion of air would provide an effective environment-decoupling platform. When I saw these tubes for next to nothing, I decided to give it a shot.3 It worked. It worked VERY WELL. With the proliferation of all the isolation devices from the likes of Townshend (starting at $349), Bright Star (starting at $99) and Vibraplane (starting at $1695!!!), I have followed the lead and applied this very affordable system to just about every component in my system. And with wondrous results.

After reading about the use of the larger tubes, I had to experiment. To my surprise, they seemed WAY too rigid and stiff, even when placed under the heaviest of components, not appearing nearly elastic enough in comparison to the smaller diameter ones I had been using. To me, it seemed as if this was a step away from, rather than a step towards, improvement. So, I abandoned this direction and went back to my original sized tubes.

Head on down to your local discount mart or hardware store and make your way to the bicycle maintenance section. Search out some 14 X 2.125 (about 14" round and 2 1/8" tall) bicycle inner tubes. The apparent advantages to the smaller tubes are that 1.) the walls themselves are comprised of MUCH thinner rubber offering a higher compliance (i.e., less stiffness) and 2.) they don’t take up as much rack height when installed.

The advantage of the higher compliance of the thinner tube walls is that the tubes bleed energy better. The thicker walled ones are more rigid and can be very stiff. This makes them less effective at the dissipation of energy. The second advantage is a more shallow isolation device, allowing better use of a probably already over taxed space. More efficient energy bleeding/less wasted space. If this isn’t the perfect example of a "win/win" scenario, I don’t know what is.

The best way to install the tubes is to completely inflate one so that it takes its full round shape. Place it centrally on the surface on which you plan to install the audio device. You should prepare the equipment by removing any feet from the bottom of the device, as well as any other obstacles that may interfere with the unit’s ability to sit completely level on the tube. Also make sure that any sharp edges such as screws and cabinet corrugations, which might cut or puncture the tube, are covered with electrical tape or something similar.

Place the suitably prepared device on the tube. Now, deflate the tube slightly until it gets very squishy. I do mean very squishy! You may have to adjust the position of the unit on the tube as you deflate it in order to keep the unit level as the tube settles. Continue to deflate the tube until you get a very low system resonant frequency, something on the order of 2-6 Hz. Proper deflation (or inflation?) is achieved when the unit rocks between twice to six times a second when pushed. To test it, just push down on a corner and watch it rock back to stable. It should cycle (rock up and then back down to the point where it began) about 2 to 6 times in one second. Generally, the lower the system resonant cycle the better, but don’t be afraid to experiment. Higher may work just fine in some applications.

As I have indicated, this alone yields about half the performance of the much more costly devices for isolating source components and electronics from foot falls and both air and floor borne acoustic feedback. Best results were obtained with my digital and analog front ends, but every time I isolated another device, the system performance increased. This tweak provides outstanding improvement of clarity, space, resolution and dynamics and uncovers a much more rhythmic presentation to the music.

If you want to go to the limit (you don’t know what you are still missing), follow Doug Blackburn’s recipe of damping the component as well as just isolating it (first detailed in the Spring 1997 issue of Positive Feedback, Volume 7, Issue 1). To go the distance, you’ll need to fashion some Mass Loading Devices — bags full of sand — and acquire some free-floating shelves, preferably made of MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard). Doug’s suggestion of using Zip Lock style freezer bags for the sand is excellent. Pick them up (if you don’t have any now) at the grocer. Then, once again, head to your local building supply store (the guys know me by name at my local Lowe’s!) where you can get a 50 pound bag of sand for less about $3. You can either buy pre cut shelving for the free floating shelves, or you can have someone cut some to your specifications. You are looking at maybe $5 a shelf for the nicely finished, pre-cut jobbies, and less than $1 a shelf if you have a sheet of 3/4’ MDF cut to order. Let me tell you that cutting a sheet of MDF will provide you with a whole lotta’ shelves!

Fill the freezer bags with sand. You may want to use a measuring cup to get exactly the same amount of sand in each bag. Sound anal? Not really, keeping the bags identically full helps with the leveling process later. You will want to remove all the air from the sandbags before sealing them completely. It sounds odd, but just give it a try. It really helps. Once the bag is filled with the amount of sand you want, zip the bag about nine tenths closed. Lightly suck the air out by placing your lips over that last one tenth of the open seal. Suck slowly and deliberately and you will be able to remove all the air and not pull any (or certainly very little) of the sand into your mouth. Now completely seal the bag. Fold the zipper over onto the bag itself and secure it with some packing tape. This not only holds down the zippered edge, it also prevents it from accidentally opening and dumping sand everywhere. Repeat as necessary to get as many bags as you need. You’re ready to proceed.

First, place the inflated tube on the chosen shelf. Next, place one of your free-floating shelves on top of the tube. Now place sandbags on top of this shelf so that they will support the entire bottom of the component you intend to isolate. This should require more than one bag. The more mass you are able to add the better, so don’t be shy. Place the prepared component (remember to take off the feet and cover any sharp protrusions with tape) on these sandbags. Finally, add more sand bags atop the component (this obviously won’t work with turntables or other top loading devices) covering as much surface as is feasible to complete this Dagwood of an Isolation/Damping Sandwich. Be careful with amplifiers not to block critical ventilation slots or to place them on the heat sinks. Deflate the tube to the proper pressure, just as above, and you are ready to experience the sonic nirvana of this project. THIS PROVIDES STUNNING IMPROVEMENTS!!

You will be witness to an almost magical increase in focus, clarity, inner detail and harmonic purity. You will discover more stable and precise imaging, a greater sense of space, a larger yet more defined stage, greater dynamic contrasts, electron microscopic resolution and a revelation of musical pace and rhythm! In short, the music sounds more like music.

We are talking about achieving 80% of the performance of the previously mentioned VERY EXPENSIVE devices. To recap, all you’ll need is:

This mass/isolation sandwich produces improvements which can not be achieved any other way! Quite honestly, even replacing your components with mega-buck gear may not get you anywhere near this level of performance enhancement. Those of you out there with mega-buck gear, guess what? It will do the same thing for you! This isolation method gives any unit the chance to sound its absolute best.

Give it a try and be prepared to save a BOATLOAD of money! The better to spend on software, my friends! This hobby/sport/disease is, after all, about the music, isn’t it?

Our own Harvey "Gizmo" Rosenberg started a revolution back in Positive Feedback’s Fall 1996 issue with his "$25,000 Gift" article. It seems that the part of that piece I am speaking of actually was first brought to light in Art Dudley’s Listener, when he responded to the near raving of the inimitable Dr. Gizmo in the Summer of 1996.

This is all well and good, but way back in the spring of 1988, brother audiophobe Matt Eggleston and I embarked on a similar experiment. It would seem that Matt and his father had done similar experiments with magnet wire and inexpensive RCA ends back in Matt’s childhood. This seems to be one of those "cyclic" ideas that comes and goes in each generation of new audiophobes. Let’s ninety-ize it!

My first trials were done with the Radio Shack Magnet Wire4  (Cat. No. 278-1345a) which contained one 40’ roll of 22 AWG (American Wire Gauge), one 75’ roll of 26 AWG and one 200’ roll of 30 AWG for $3.99, just as the "Giz" suggested. Unlike the recommendations there, no doubt because of all my recent hang time with Pierre Sprey at Mapleshade filling me with the notion that "thinner is better," I used the thinner 30 gauge magnet wire for my experiments with superlative results.

I also abandoned the ideas in the articles about using the cheesiest RCA’s available at Radio Shack. Rather, I used the entry level gold plated RCA (Cat. No. 274-850) at $2.59 each, or $10.36 for one completed interconnect set. While I whole-heatedly concur with avoiding too much mass for the relatively low current involved, and prefer the more simple plating schemes, I wanted to keep similar surface to surface contact for transfer, and for the sake of reducing oxidation and other pollutant build up over time. As my pre amp uses gold plated inputs, this was especially important to me.

My last deviation from the recommended is in perhaps the most significant area. The original work suggests using adhesive tape to attach the finished cables to pieces of lumber, which must certainly make them unwieldy and cumbersome. I decided to forego the lumber and use just 2" wide clear packing tape from 3M which claimed to be fashioned from polyurethane (a very good dielectric).

To make your cables, start by measuring out the lengths you will be making. Using a knife or chemical made to remove the enamel coating on the cable, strip away about 1/4" to 1/2" of the enamel ONLY at the very ends of each wire. Using silver solder (Ersin 62 or Radio Shack Cat. No. 64-013), solder the ends to the gold plated RCA. Once both plus and minus wires are attached at one plug end, hold them up and apart (about 1/4") and apply a thin, long piece of tape about 1/2’ wide and 2" long5  up the length of both wires to act as a bit of strain relief and to separate them about 1/4". Adjust the length of the wires so they are just right to run parallel6  when soldered to the other jack, then finish the second end identically to the first.

Take a length of your 2" wide packing tape about 3 or 4 inches shorter than the running length of your cable, just enough to slightly overlap the 2 inch strain relief pieces of tape on each end, and lay it STICKY SIDE UP on a table or counter where you can work. If necessary, use a small strip of tape (applied at the center of each end of the upside down length) to keep the length from moving. Now, carefully lay your first pair of finished conductors onto the sticky surface, starting with one conductor about 1/4" from the outer most edge of the length of tape, and it’s partner at least 1/4" away from it in a parallel pair the entire length of the tape. Do the same thing with the second pair from the other side of the tape. This will give you about an inch of tape between the two closest conductors of each running pair. All that is left to do is apply a second equal length of 2" wide packing tape, STICKY SIDE DOWN, over the sticky surface with the attached conductors on the table and you have a manageable, yet low involvement dielectric patch cord.

WOW! When I inserted the first one of these home brew interconnects, which I have dubbed "Signal Tape", into my system (between my Audio Alchemy DDEv1.2 DAC and my Threshold FET nine/e pre amp) the digital system was transformed! I found it hard to believe that they totally slaughtered my expensive silver-plated, OFHC copper conductor, tubular wound jobbies! But it wasn’t even close!

More inner detail, more dynamics, more accurate timbre, tighter focus, more controlled bass, better extension, deeper and wider soundstage — and a quieter back ground! Go figure! The only concern I had about implementing these cables was their potential susceptibility to EMI and RF in the room because they weren’t shielded. But they were quieter than the heavily shielded cables I had been using — even on my phono input! Pick a category, they bested anything I had to play with by a county mile!

Now, with my juices flowing, I followed the Giz’ most infinite wisdom and phoned Myron Toback, Inc. in NYC, purveyors of high quality solid silver wire (and talked to one VERY helpful Dave Walton). I ordered up 220 feet of 30 gauge solid silver for my experiments. The total, with shipping, $23.10! As this wire isn’t insulated the way the way the magnet wire I had been using is, I called Allied Electronics (800/433-5700) and ordered up a 100’ spool of PTFE (high grade Teflon) in the proper size (stock number 708-4926 at $20.93) to insulate my new solid (not sterling) silver 30 AWG wire.

I experimented with insulating the entire run in the PTFE sleeve, but I ended up just choosing to insulate the ends where the wire is soldered to the RCA jack. Feeding the wire through the Teflon is a bitch, even with lubrication. The finished cable is also very stiff and unruly. I settled on the EXACT construction technique described above (sans removing the enamel at the conductor’s ends, as there is none).

Once more, WOW! The improvement with these cables, dubbed "Silver Signal Tape", or SST’s for short, over the magnet wire, though not as large in scope, was quite significant in several areas. The overall smoothness was significantly increased. There was a bit more extension and ease in the high frequencies. This had been an area of some concern to me, as some of my previous experience with silver interconnects had left me expecting a brightness and harshness in this area, which gratefully did not materialize in the slightest. Dynamics and transients were now breathtaking! Not that they weren’t greatly improved previously with the copper magnet wire, but now they were just staggering! And the most significant difference overall between the copper and the silver to me was the utter control exhibited in the bass department! I had never experienced this kind of control in my system.

If the significance of the enhancement noted in moving from my old "expensive" interconnects to the home brew "Signal Tape" was represented by a ten, the move from the "Signal Tape" to the "SST’s" was another four and a half or five. You have got to try this out for yourself to believe the sonic benefits! If you are familiar with my work, you know how I feel about both saving money AND getting your hands on this hobby/sport/disease we affectionately call audio. These "SST’s" give you a taste of the "higher priced spread" for about $15 a set and an hour’s labor with a soldering iron. What more can you ask for?

Listener’s Art Dudley said that the only interconnects he had heard recently that he liked better than the "Signal Tape" versions with the Radio Shack Magnet Wire would cost more than a week on Cape Cod! Do these sound better than anything costing less than a week on Grand Cayman? Let me know what you hear.

When I moved into my new digs, I had to make some serious compromises. First, the ceiling wasn’t high enough to accommodate my eight foot tall full range electrostatics. Bummer. But, a fine mahogany set of Celestions have earned a warm spot in my ears, especially since mated to my home brew sub-woofer consisting of a pair of twelve inch drivers in a push/pull isobaric configuration, driven by a MOSFET Hafler in a mono configuration and actively crossed over at 60 Hertz. My beloved ESL’s have found a nice vacation home at the Gallo-meisters, where I retain regular visitation.

The real problem was my listening room. I had to use the dinning room/kitchen area due to the requirements on the rest of the home. It was a rectangular area about 24’ long, 11’ deep and 7 1/2’ high, but with a short (a little over 2’ long) wall projecting into the listening area near my listening chair. To further complicate matters, there is a long hallway behind the right speaker and a regular corner behind the left. What to do? Well, the audio analyst wasn’t daunted. It was off the (surprise!) discount and home building supply stores.

A very effective upper mid and high frequency trap can be made from combining the cement formers (from $6 to $10, depending on diameter) sold at building supply stores with the egg carton patterned bedding foam (from $8 to $15, again depending on size) available in all the discount stores. The former come in various diameters from about 8" to 15", and are all about 4’ tall. To handle primary reflections, take one of the formers (pick your size) and apply a layer of this foam.

The easiest way I have found to apply the foam is to buy cans of spray carpet adhesive (from $8 to $15 a can). Although there are other adhesives that will work, some adhesives will not let you lift and reset your work as this spray will. It is easy to apply with a nozzle that will let you control your spray area. Once done and left alone for a day, it cures quite nicely. Pre-cut the foam to the right height and length and lie the foam on the floor, smooth side up. Spray the tube and set it aside. Then spray the back of the foam. Carefully lay the tube on the foam and start to roll it as you align the edges, taking care to keep it lined up. You needn’t be too concerned, once you are done, a razor knife will let you trim the excess neatly. Final decor can be handled by making a covering from just about any open weave cloth, the color of your choice.

Essentially you sew up a tube sock with a round cover at one end. If you are feeling spunky, you can also include a drawstring at the bottom (or top, for that matter, in lieu of the round end cap) to neaten up the final result. By the way, it helps to know a seamstress for this last touch.

I use a tube with an outside diameter of 12 inches and insert one with an outside diameter of 9 inches inside it. Once they are both covered with foam, the smaller fits fairly snugly down inside the larger, letting you adjust the height accordingly. If they are a bit loose, several 2’ wood screws driven into the sides will let you anchor them securely once you set on a final height.

One added touch for mine. I had some old plastic wire spools,7, which just happen to be the right diameter to fit into the bottom of the one foot tubes. Turn the spool on one of its sides and slide the finished tube over the top of the spool and attach it with several screws. You can then spike the bottom of this spool to get a good, non-tipsy foot hold on carpeting. It is not essential to its ability to absorb reflected sound, it just looks nice and keeps it in place nicely.

For bass traps, take the bigger sized tubes and, with a 2" or 3" hole saw, perforate the entire tube, leaving enough space between the perforations to retain the tensile strength of the tube. After applying your foam to the outside of the tube as above, fill the unit with poly-fill (the stuff they sell in sewing stores for stuffing pillows) before covering it with your choice of cloth and you have something which does a nice job of trapping excess low frequencies. These traps usually work best in the corners or, surprisingly enough, out in the area between you and your speakers about midway between the side walls and the center line between your speakers.

If you don’t want to go through this ritual, you can effectively treat primary reflections by applying the foam directly to the wall at primary reflective points. I found some of this bedding foam that was also perforated every inch or so with an eighth inch round hole. I simply applied some pushpins to the wall at the right places and the foam hangs nicely. It also allows you to remove the stuff when the in-laws or the landlord drops by!

To find your primary reflection points, have some one stand at your speakers and point a flashlight at a movable mirror along the side walls. Move the mirror till you can see the direct reflection in the mirror from your listening position. That’s the spot. Usually three feet wide and most of the height of the wall will be enough to effectively tame this position. But feel free to experiment with more or less.

You will probably wish to place some of this material or some of your traps on the rear wall (behind the speakers) as well. Start with the acoustic center behind the speakers (in other words, the center point between the speakers, not necessarily the center of the wall behind the speakers) and work out and around from there. This will help with soundstage depth and image specificity.

This is not meant to be a treatise on room taming (although I’ve been thinking about writing one!). I just want to give you some affordable ideas on building low cost yet effective room taming devices. And I wanted to get you started thinking about how to work with and manage the final component — your listening room.

I also found some really affordable "tip-toe" products, again at the local discount store. This time head for the sporting goods department. Look for archery Field Points. They are 2" long conical points with half an inch worth of 1/4’ by 20 thread on one end. They come 10 to a package for about $3.00. They work anywhere you need a spike or a tip-toe like under speakers, under speaker stands, under equipment. The 1/4" by 20 thread is pretty common and may even thread into the screw hole where your equipment’s old foot did. But be careful not to strip this hole if it is not the corresponding thread. Yeah, it’s value per dollar here, shoppers. None of this over-priced; let’s get the affluent audiophile’s hard-earned scratch spoken on these pages!

You’ve seen it advertised for about $16 in audio stores and in the magazines. Blu-Tack, the re-usable bonding compound with many uses, like coupling speakers to metal stands or anywhere spikes or cones aren’t practical. It is a slightly gummy putty which is blue in color. All I can figure is it must have been about five minutes to five on a Friday afternoon when the guys in marketing came up with this name.

Get ready to go yet again to — you guessed it — your local building supply store. Or, just make a shopping list as you read to save trips and time. I found something called Fun-Tak reusable adhesive at my local Hechingers. Guess what? It’s blue and it is packaged in about the same quantity as the infamous Blu-Tack with only one big difference. It’s $1.58 a package.

Anybody who tries to tell you it isn’t the same stuff either doesn’t have a clue or is too busy trying to sell you something. Either way, find someone else to talk to. The stuff is identical and works great!

Besides being a hopeless cheapskate, I am the type who loves to be really involved with my hobby. Fabricating these things gives you a sense of accomplishment and allows you to learn valuable lessons, besides saving you any undue stress on the bank account. If you experiment with any of these tweaks, let me know what you think, and let me know what great new music you were able to acquire and enjoy as a result of these tweaks — and with all the money you saved!

Speaking of music, if enjoy contemporary blues you should pick up Robben Ford and the Blue Line’s 1995 release, Pocket Full Of Blues. Check it out, especially Robben’s guitar work on "Good Thing." I can’t quit this disc. I play it at least once a week. Killer stuff! Enjoy.

FOOTNOTES

 1 The next one I build will utilize what is called constrained layer dampening. I will get a 4’ X 8’ sheet of polystyrene insulation (also sold at home supply stores in 1/2" or so thicknesses) for about $10 to place between my shelves creating a "sandwich" of wood, insulation and wood. This breaks the resonant cycle of the material by offering both a material with a different fundamental resonance and allowing an area of transfer between the two similar materials.

2 Keep in mind you will have enough pre-cut wood to make six shelves. Just be sure you have enough space between your shelves for all your planed components and that you purchase enough of the nut/washer sets to handle as many shelves as you plan to use.

3 I found 6 of these little devils on clearance at $.79 each while shopping for inexpensive scoopable cat litter for Katana, the audiophile cat.

4 The term "Magnet Wire" simply refers to wire which has been coated with enamel. This wire is typically used in winding motor coils or inductors.

 5 As the tape is 2 inches wide, just cut off a 1/2" long strip — thats all it takes!

7 You can stop by your local audio shops and ask them to save some of their empty wire spools for you. Most places simply discard them when they are through with them.

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