LFM1 Tweaks

Anyone try any tweaks for their LFM1? (i.e. upgrading the power cord and experimenting with subwoofer cables) I'm considering both in the near-term and was wondering if anyone had any first-hand experiences.

I am currently using the stock power cord and a cheapo Dayton subwoofer cable. I've been eyeing one of the PS Audio power cords and have heard good things about CatCables Coolcat sub cable. One thing about this hobby: too many cool things, not enough money!)

Meantime, I have had good luck upgrading the supplied speaker spikes to a set of Dayton Audios that do a much better job piercing through my thick carpet and pad into the concrete floor.

If you have thick carpet and can't seem to get your subwoofer feet to "bite" into the floor beneath it, I highly recommend the following: http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=240-715

Do you honestly think replacing the POWER CORD is going to improve the audio? COME ON>
Is your sub hundreds of feet away?

This kind of stuff is where audio as a hobby becomes insane.

Oh yes... it already has. My PS Audio Prelude showed up on Friday. I tried a limited experiment this weekend and noticed a difference right off the bat on a Kraftwerk CD that has a lot of low bass. It improved the articulation of some of the bass notes (making them less one-notey sounding) My wife noticed too, and seh's a real skeptic when it comes to this sort of thing. I hope to try some of my favorite bass DVDs this week and will report back.

Actually, audio-grade power cords have been around since I was selling audio gear in the late 80s and are well established as a cost-effective tweak in much the same was as interconnect upgrades. You have to have a good euipment as the starting point of course, these sort of system enhancements would probably make no discernable difference in a home theater-in-a-box system or cheapo stereo.

I use the MIT Z-Cord 2 on my LFM-1 Plus sub, as well as on the 990. It helps clean the AC going into the product, which in the end will produce a cleaner sound.

I wish the 7125 had a removable power cord!

FAUguy: I'd forgotten about this thread until you resurrected it!

I wound up stealing my PS Audio cord from the sub for my main power amp. Since then, I feel like something is missing from my sub, so at some point, I'm going to get another cord for the amp and put the Prelude back on the LFM-1.

I know there are a lot of folks on these board who think the whole idea of after-market power cords is nutty, but in my system, I've had too many confirmations that they help (albeit more incrementally than other upgrades).

Hi Videodrome, you might want to check music direct, they sometimes have the ps audio cables in their demo and closeout section if you are looking to save some money. I also have a prelude on my subs.

Well, the power cord for the LFM-1 is one of the cheapest-looking power cords I have ever seen in a piece of audio equipment. I am one of those skeptical ones but I am with you at least on the LFM-1.
Where do I get one of those cords? I would "upgrade" even if is just for looks.

Looks? You LOOK at subwoofers? And here I'm trying to figure out where to hide it if I get one.

What I meant is that the thing doesn't "look" adequate. It is out of sight.

I think anyone spending $1000 for a power cable to feed a $50 class D amplifier is out of their tree. If there was any truth to these aftermarket wonder cables "cleaning up the sound" it would be a simple matter of a before and after scope of the same bit of music to "prove" it.

I generally make my own power cables so I can control the length and use shielded cable, but expecting life altering changes in the music due to this "tweak" strikes me as a bit unrealistic. Stop in an actual recording studio sometime and look at the quality of the cabling used there (where they actually produce the signal that you're trying to reproduce). :-)

Best,

garcianc2003:

I picked up my Prelude on clearance from Audio Advisor. I doubt I would have ever ordered one if I had to pay the full retail price. $100 and under is my price range. That narrows the field a bit, but the two options I would pursue would be the Shunyata Research Venom for $100, or build your own.

Regarding the second option, I've got parts on order and plan to make some DIY cables soon. My power cord will consist of the hospital grade connectors from Marinco with DH Labs' Power Plus A/C cable. You can order the connectors from Parts Express (Wattgate and Marinco are good brands) and the bulk cable directly from DH Labs for $6.50 a foot; or from Parts Connexion for $5.85 per foot.

So as a roundabout way of confirming Ritz's point, I would never -- not do you have to -- pay $1,000 for a good power cord.

Sorry for the late reply. Thanks Videodrome.
I am not a tweaker by nature. I just don't get a warm fuzzy when the cord looks like it could be crushed under the weight of the equipment it plugs into. I'll check out your recommendations.

Getting away from cords, I am surprised nobody has brought up the issue of port-plugging...

I just read this thread. There are many companies selling upgraded cables. Some of these make sense, others are, well snake oil. The use of litz type wire in speaker cables to reduce 'skin effect' for better high frequency response is one laugher. While skin effect is real, it generally doesn't make any difference until you reach several MEGAHERTZ! The most important thing you want in speaker cable is low resistance, especially with 4 ohm speakers.
So a friend of mine wired his speakers up with #10-2 romex! PS. they sounded great.

Heh. If you didn't need the cabling to be flexible, I could see that working OK. I'm a big fan of Canare star quad 11S cables for speakers.

Best,