1)   A device much like the "Seismic Sink" can be made by making a rectagular frame from 1"x1" pine (finish to suit), placing a wheel-barrow inner tube (~12") in it, only slightly inflated, and resting a piece of flat stone (bluestone, granite, etc.) in top of the inner tube. The dimensions of the wood frame's inner measurement should exceed the size of the stone by about a half an inch on all sides, so the stone will not bind. The stone should be smooth and flat on the top side. Placing a CD player/transport on such a device has distinctly audible results in resolution, soundstage, and musicality.

2)   Kimber PBJ - This interconnect provides a smooth, dynamic, rich and musical presentation way, way in excess of it's modest $60-ish price. PBJ embarrassingly out-performs many extremely expensive labels!

3)   Amp-stands may be made from cinder block and cenent block assemblies painted with black semi-gloss. Multiple pieces may be assembled with epoxy or cement/sand. Just go to your local "Home Depot" or similar store and shop the cinder block section for items appropriate to your application. These work and look great! Intensely solid speaker stands may be constructed by similar means.

4)   IKEA makes hard, Scandanavian pine modular shelving, either finished or unfinished, that a whole walls-worth of which may be had for less than $300. Great for multi-component systems, complete with TV and media storage space.

5)   Component by component, experiment with AC plug polarity to see which polarity sounds better - one always does! The collected effect on the sound of ones system is a more than subtle, especially if several components were changed. "Cheater" plugs available at Radio Shack will facilitate polarity tests on 3-prong, grounded plugs.

6)   Combined Rain-X and CD-Stoplight treatment of CDs is *NOT* a hoax! It will make improvements in resolution and musicality on CDs.

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From Scott Mallonee, smallone@us.Newbridge.com:

Highly effective acoustic damping may be achieved without spending the large sums that some vendors command. Hechingers, Home Depot and other building suppliers carry acoustical ceiling tile. In addition to the conventional type common to most drop ceilings, you can get FIBERGLASS ones that have a higher acoustic rating. This material looks like in-wall pink insulation, except it is thin and stiff, so it will work in drop-ceilings, just like the regular kind. Mine was made by Anderson, bought from Home Depot. I peeled the white pebbled plastic layer off and put 3 or 4 sheets deep on a sheet of poster board of matching size (2'x4') with spray contact cement. I then stapled (non-shiny) fabric over the front (the fiberglass side). These are not as pretty as other commercially produced models, but they work VERY WELL. I put 10 or so up against the tops of the walls, and a couple on the ceiling between me and the speakers. Wow - *astounding* improvements in image focus and inner detail! WAF factor low though - alas. Although harder to find, you can also buy rolls of soft acoustical fiberglass in-wall stuff.

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From Dale Beshansky, dbesh1@pacbell.net:

If you compare D/A convertors in your home, I found a very useful tool. Most modern units provide a dual input (optical and digital). You can use this flexibility to check out more than one source. This is especially handy if you are also comparing CD players, LD players, etc. The improvement in sound with an external D/A, typically overshadows any degradation of using optical over coaxial data transmission. (And for long runs, the reverse may well be true!) More to the point, you can leave the analog output of your source connected to the input of your preamp, and the D/A output to another, and simply switch between inputs. This makes A/B comparisons much more accurate. Choosing the convertor most compatible to your system? The results say more about matching components, than whether any components are actually better or worse. I believe audiophile systems are more fairly judged in this perspective.