I use strap wrenches to ensure that manually twisted parts are really, really tight. I use large and small torque wrenches, as appropriate so that when reassembling components or racks, every single screw is set to the same tightness. Just as laying out the cables removes mechanical tension, so I want to eliminate tension points in the chassis, so that at least it starts with equal loading on all its fixings.
Blue tape is essential, both for marking positions but I also use it to make immediate notes on the floor so that I don’t get lost in the process. I use two Klein tape measure: they’re stiff and accurate but also, they’re the same, which ensures consistency.
I use a small laboratory scissor lift, as a feeler gauge to compare speaker height off of the floor. I use CopaSlip on all threads to ensure that there’s no galvanic response, that they move and tighten smoothly, but I also find that it has a quieting effect: it actually sounds good! As a metal paste, it fills in voids and gaps between metal components very differently to a simple grease.
I’ve already mentioned the ProGold and Super TMD contact cleaners. The thing with both of those is to use them very sparingly. It’s almost a case of apply them and then remove as much as possible.
Tools and cleaning materials are something that are continually evolving. Different situations, different experiences, different exposure all add to the accumulated knowledge. I’m always finding new and better tools, partly because I seek them out, partly because I discuss these challenges and techniques with other people who face the same problems – like you!
RG. How important is acoustic treatment and where does it fit into your process?
ST. Acoustic treatment is a big term and it covers a lot of ground. The questionnaire lists what acoustic treatment there is in the listening room, but in order of priority, I’d say the type and nature of the floor, how stable it is, is much more important. If you tell me that you have a plywood floor, with a big thick carpet with an insulating pad underneath it, with the speakers sitting on top of all that, then I’m going to tell you that, “Sure, you can employ me but, if you have a pair of Rockport Lyras sitting on spongy carpet, I’m not going to be the best investment in your system. You’d be better off, investing in having the floor under your speakers re-worked, so that it’s solid and they’re stable.” Having a solid substrate under the speakers would be a far better investment in audio terms.
RG. A lot of your clients are going to be a long way from audio virginity and, over the years, it’s likely that one of the paths they’ll have investigated is getting some sort of acoustic analysis, maybe a room treatment solution installed. Do you find yourself setting-up speakers in spite of the acoustic treatment in the room?
ST. Absolutely. All the time. I usually have a pretty good picture of what the acoustic treatment is like and what it is probably doing to the room before I get there. It’s always a delicate subject. Many of my clients have DIY applied acoustic treatment. They’ve read a ton of stuff, spoken with a manufacturer or had some sort of acoustic consultancy and then gone ahead and applied all of this stuff. What I tell my clients is that I like to hear the room on its own, without treatment, as a starting point. So, I’m suggesting removing as much acoustic treatment as possible to start with. Of course, some is fixed and some pieces are harder to remove than others. If they’re amenable to the removal, then that’s what we do. If not, or it’s just not possible, then I have to work around it. But my experience is that in the majority of cases, acoustic treatment is over-applied or applied in the wrong way.
