Recently I swapped out my Arcam CD73 for a Mac Mini after conducting some A/B comparisons between the two. Naturally, the Mac Mini caused my jaw to drop when I realised there was absolutely no audible difference in sound. So next, A/B comparison time with a slightly more expensive spinner - this time a Roksan Kandy cd player. Again, no audible difference. So I've thrown it all out, cleared up a lot of space, and now I have 50,000 songs on a box the size of 5 Cds.
I've been into audio for around 5 years now and this is the best it's been.
Listed as my first and most important component. This brings everything together. And let's be honest, it's all about the music, and I have 50,000 tracks worth. Mac mini Intel Core Duo attached to a 320gb external running Front Row. Absolutely priceless! On board DAC sounds incredible. A/B comparison to previous Arcam CD73 shows Mac Mini come up on top!
Advantage S101
The most dramatic change to my system. Perfect. 175w per channel.
Monitor Audio Gold Ref 20
2 x 6.5" drivers. Metal dome tweeter. Pretty good for the money. Sometimes can sound a little forward, although I think this is down to my listening room (aka living room)
Nordost Blue Heaven
Picked up for $60, this has to be one of the best bargains I have come across during my time in hifi. Incredibly open and detailed, although only 60cm in length.
Chord Odyssey
4 - 2 Bi-wire. Very cheap considering the change it made to my system. Worth every penny. 2 x 2.5
Isotek Isol-8
Currently connected to the Arcam. Really does put this budget player on another level.
Merlin Tarantula
Not bad considering the price, although I plan to replace this very soon. Currently connected to my integrated.
The cones I have tried and use are three per component for easier setup as Jlind325is says. In the case of the CD player many suggestions exist... my latest approach has been to look for a flat underneath part of the player chassis and put them there, I got lucky my player has a flat spot exactly underneath the disc rotation center and it has worked very good. The other two forming a triangle if closer to the center or the edges of the player the sound and detail changes. this as usual you have to play around to get the sound you prefer. When you have found your best sound you can using a ruler state the position of each relative to the player sides.
The cable thing is that the better the separation between cables and floor the less interference you can get. So avoid parallel runs of power cables, speaker and interconnects. Try to keep at least 1 inch separation. Excess cable length I have found should not be coiled nor bundled tied.
In some friend case I found some tweaks didn't show improvement due to other problems that had to be taken care of first... hope I conveyed the idea in a clear way. I'm not a native speaker and sometimes my writing is confusing...
It seems you're on the right track. The TV covered + an area carpet between speaker and couch also will improve your sound.
One of the areas that has been very rewarding to me is vibration related tweaking. Your player on top of the amp besides getting lower vibration still get's some. I'd like to bring your attention to the fact that TV's do have large magnetic fields surrounding them and this situation might be affecting your player and amp. Do some trials and see if you have some improvements. I'd suggest using music with lots of ambience details as a means to gage the changes better. If you can keep the drape or blanket you are using to cover your TV on the wall between speakers (a couple of brooms might do) you might get better soundstage .
So if you're willing to try something vibration related : get a wooden cutting board the kind made of different woods clinched together, large enough to support your player. If interconnects allow place source in front of the amp on the floor using soft pencil erasers as footers for the board and give it a listen. If interconnects don't allow, temporarily take your TV from it's place and put the CD player there and do the same. This might give you a glimpse of what might be ahead for you sound wise. Better yet if you can get some cones for underneath the player chances are you might be amazed by the changes in sound this could get you. All this can be done without investing too much money but could open a "sound" route for improvement.
Since you have all your components very close try to keep cables and interconnects neatly layed out avoing parallel wires and specilly interconnects and speaker cables that might be adjacent to power cables. Again I have to mention the TV magnetic field effect. Sorry about the lengthy post, there are many things to try........
