Audio Tweaks - Tweak Ref. 393

Description		Disclaimer
Styrene foam cylinders [as cable separators]

Reference #	Submitted by	Submitter rating	Cost
393	Morgan	Excellent	$4.00

Source		Brand
Plastics or florist supply		Generic

Construction
This is simplicity itself. Often wires will be forced to nudge up against one another. The increasing number of inputs and outputs along with a.c. power to each box will result in in a snarled mess behind the equipment. Too often incompatible wiring will be pushed up against other wiring, as an a.c. cord may press against a low level signal interconnect, etc... with the result of undoing much of the care in setting the system up. Thanks to the invese square law, removing cables, interconnects, and a.c. cords at a moderate distance will greatly reduce their mutual interference and sonic greying effects. After experimenting with numerous spacers, I finally found the best all around material to keep wires apart. This is a styrene foam cylindrical material that is typically used as the base material for displays, floral arangements, model building, and similar activities. It is extremely light, rigid, and very easy to work with. You may need several thicknesses, perhaps a 1 1/2"! and a 2" diameter. This will cut with a common bread knife more rapidly than bread itself. Cut off a three to five inch piece, and if two wires are trapped in contact, place the cylindrical piece between them so they are held apart. This can also be used lengthwise in some cases to life wires over other ones. Be cautioned that styrene is flammable, but any well manufactured system should not be prone to bursting into flames in the first place. This will simplify your system installation and make it easier to fit it into spaces where you do not have the luxury of unlimited rear space, or some cords are droopy and lay over other ones, etc.

Setup
Cut the sticks of foam into lengths as needed, and space apart any cables that are touching. even "shielded" cables should never be in contact.

Use
Place wires cross.

Performance
Like good detergents, gets the grey out.

Other
People throw remarkable sums of money into top of the line goods then don't make the effort to trick them into working right. If your wires touch, especially a.c. cords over line level, or worse, phono cables, you could be degrading as much as 50% of your system's ultimate performance... although this is subjective and system dependent.

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