Enter to Win free hifi! subscribe, like, follow me instagram.com/cheapaudioman and fill out this form forms.gle/w6qbPKGPFGUKiasX9 Pelonis Quiet Fan amzn.to/3L2Rz4m Iso Acoustics Stand amzn.to/45vKD8d Intro graphics by johnvilardi.com Support the Channel! Shop on Amazon amzn.to/3W8vsgK Crutchfield shop-links.co/cguPK8XEGmt Join the best hifi community out there! patreon.com/cheapaudioman TRY ROON roonlabs.com/r/RTmYWdCP9kitqouBa5pcIw Tidal Deal bit.ly/3siuqSF Amazon Unlimited Music Trial amzn.to/3DRAVj9 Crutchfield shop-links.co/cguPK8XEGmt Best Buy Deals shop-links.co/cf9yDZeYtUH amzn.to/3GkNaop

I hold firm, about 4 beers is the most reliable way to increase your hifi enjoyment.

1) Remove the grills. Many speakers have grills that can negatively impact their performance. 2) Move the speakers out into the room away from the back and sidewalls. Room refleactions and absorbtions can also have a major influence on performance. Not always easy to do for the practical aesthetics, but often very effective.

You got it Randy! The drinking straw hack works by adding the surface area *along* the length of the port - which adds some friction, and so the air acts like it is slightly greater density. This can extend the bass a few hertz lower and it can help tame an excess "bump" at the port frequency. Lastly, it can reduce the woofer getting "unloaded" below its tuned frequency - if the air starts to move a *lot* in the port, the straws can damp down some of the excess; becoming closer to a sealed speaker. You do need to cut the straws to be the same length as the straight part of the port. Extending them beyond the flare (if any) would negate the flare's benefit. Since the walls of the straws are so slim, the change in the effective area of the port is negligible. This mod is much more sophisticated than stuffing socks in the port - it doesn't completely change the design from ported to sealed; and it can help you get a better balance. By the way, this is definitely not my idea - there are a few speaker manufacturers who have done this. If you like the change, but don't like the color(s) of the straws - take the bundle out and give a light spray with black paint on the outside face.

Stand mount speaker isolation = silicone baking sheets, cut to fit. Work well and the nonslip surface helps to grip the speaker too. Single or double thickness for the win.

Speaker placement and listening position are the greatest improvements I have found for free:) Love these types of videos

Randy, you have single handedly reignited my long lost audio passions! I was heavily smitten with the audio bug back in the 80's but lost interest after a home break-in that resulted in all my gear being taken and a year long insurance settlement. By the time the check came in, I had lost the bug. I have been watching ALL your videos for over a year now and finally made my first audio gear purchases in almost 30 years. I started with some used Magnepan MG12 speakers and due to your video now own a Wiim Pro Plus which I am thoroughly enjoying. Running everything through an old used Pioneer Elite HT system for now but I'm hunting for a stable high power class D amp to power the Maggie's soon. Keep up your excellent work and thank you so much for helping me rediscover this passion which I had forgot could bring so much joy.

I smoke 2 joints in the morning, I smoke 2 joints at night, I smoke to joints in the afternoon, you know my system sounds alright.

To secure speakers to stands - a few blobs of blu-tac. To make taller feet for component cooling and potential sound improvement - squash balls cut in half (tell your audiophile buddies they are sorbothane and then they'll hear the improvement right away). These can be filled with blu-tac to tune them. :) Periodically strip a little of that oxidised copper from the ends of speaker cables and put the banana plugs back on. Speaker with shouty treble? - blu-tac (yes, I love the stuff) a layer of toilet paper over the tweeter (you might prefer to keep the grills on if you adopt this trick). On PC, use Peace EQ and play with subltle adjustments. Don't run your digital levels into clipping - check what the maximum volume setting your PC can handle against loud tracks but don't go so quiet that you lose information either. Try filling speaker stands with lead shot - dry sand is cheaper. I did try coins and have a pair of stands with £5 of copper in each of three legs. It worked great until resonant frequency was hit - don't fill your speaker stands with coins. On PC - buy a newer bluetooth dongle if you're on an older standard and having connection issues. They are dirt cheap and most of us have a spare USB socket. Experiment with unconventional speaker positioning. I've had a few "stand mount" speakers that sounded better put on the floor and leant against the back wall pointing upward at 45 degrees. It gives bass reinforcement and some treble tuning potential. Other speakers have sounded better on their sides when otherwise I'd be forced to have the tweeter a fair bit bove ear level. Put a concrete paving slab under bottom ported subs on wooden and carpeted floors (not good for the carpet mind). Some people might prefer a marble chopping board. Put a concrete block (or marble) on the bottom of your equipment rack. Close the windows and door to reduce external noise interference. Stuff or part stuff port holes with socks if bass is boomy - or move the speakers further into the room if possible. Got CDs, vinyl and tapes that you'll never find anywhere else now (eg local band albums and home recordings etc)? Get them transferred to PC so you have backup copies. Analogue to digital converters good enough for old tapes can be had for not much money (mine was £20). Use the best playback equipment you can to make the transfer. Only demo new kit with only great recordings if that's all you listen to. Try some merely OK or even bad recordings of music you actually like. Look after your ears.

The most direct and free way to (alter) improve your sound delivery is to simply move them around liberally. Try even flipping your speakers upside down assuming they're bookshelf sized so you can see if having the tweeter lower to your sitting position changes things up for the better. Every room is unique and finding that perfect interaction point takes a lot of messing around.

My favorite free hack was changing the jumpers on the bi-wire posts of my JBL 530s. They come with these gold plates and switching them to 12 gauge wire really opened em up

Sometimes computer equipment/electronics come in a box packed with a very dense, stiff foam. It’s not styrofoam-it’s more slick and plasticky-and it works great for small speakers on stands or shelves or cabinets. I have a pair of Miccas that sit on a dresser in a bedroom, and the foam definitely helps isolate the speakers and reduce resonance from the dresser.

Told my wife to stop talking,that improved the sound 😂. She read the comment anyone got a spare bed.

While others have rightfully mentioned moving your speakers around to tune the sound stage, this hack, which is in the same vein, made a noticeable difference to my floor speakers. Tilt the speakers back 6-8 degrees ( I use a small strip of wood under the front legs. Instrument/vocal separation improved. Give it a try.

I agree. Moving the L&R speakers wider or closer and/or rotating them to face slightly on or off axis. For me this changed how they sounded. Dialing it in took some listening time but made a big difference. And it was free.

I've got budget vintage gear, but improved my sound hugely by buying speaker stands. My study is triple-aspect, so I close all the curtains when I'm listening, that's a noticeable improvement that cost nothing. I'm lucky as I live in rural West Wales (U.K), with virtually no background noise on a calm day. Usually cold and wet, so I won't be buying a fan! Another really cheap way to improve your audio experience is to vape a nice bit of bud, though you run the risk of getting into jazz guitar, as I have. Thanks for your channel, it suits me.

This one may seem silly, but it works really well for me: a sleep mask. Cutting down on distractions allows me to pay much more attention to the nuances of the music. My discovery of this technique, ahem, *may* have involved Zero 7 and mushrooms.

For the straws and Bass. While I am not certain how or why it works, I would only assume it is due to turbulence and air. This can be seen with Laminar Flow, typically with fluids. I can only imagine its the same principal. There are tons of Laminar Flow videos out there for water.

re: tightening your speaker drivers: I replaced the wood screws holding my woofers on with t-nuts. This isn't possible on all speakers, but it was pretty easy with mine. This eliminates the risk of stripping out the holes and allows you to tighten them down without worrying about that risk.

Hockey pucks work great to isolate your speakers , sub and also separate components allowing to stack if space is limited and cheap as well $2.00 each at Canadian Tire .They look great too .

Biggest difference I made to my speakers in my HT was to treat the first reflection. I did my left and right wall plus the ceiling. Ceiling made a huge difference (Already had carpet). Even going the cheapest way like I did will make a difference if you do it correctly. Sound-dampening curtains work good as well. You can even use thick moving pads (or thin and just double, triple them up) for really cheap!

Isolation with squash balls is amazing. They fixed my turntable from skipping whenever kids were running around. Replaced the feet with 4 squash balls, ensured it is level and never looked back

IKEA Bamboo cutting board excellent for supporting record deck. Cost approx £20 compared to isolation platforms 👍

Here's a free one. Take five minutes to check the polarity of your speaker wiring to ensure they are in phase.

Straws Cool! My hack is play around with crazy speaker positions, especially if your room has questionable acoustics. For example, my awesome sealed 15" HSU sub is best for critical two-channel listening, four feet off the ground on cinderblocks, kinda over there on the left side of the room, not the right side LOL!

200,000 subscribers! Who'da thunk it?? ROCK ON, RANDY!!!

My favorite hack is the cheapest one of all - speaker angle. I recently purchased a pair of KLH Model 5s. Love them. Problem is my listening room isn’t the best. By slightly toeing-out the speakers the soundstage expanded and the small room disappeared. Wonderful.

I choose to isolate my speakers. I have Elac Debut 2.0 F62s floor standers. Rather than spike my speakers (which I did for years) I use sorbathane isolation feet. I have carpet so I placed a 12"x12" ceramic tile under the speakers and then placed the speakers on the isolation feet on the tiles. Two benefits: first it decouples the speaker from the wood floor under the carpeting greatly reducing room resonances and second it makes it very easy to reposition the speakers when ever I get the tweaking bug.

A solid base under a speaker definitely improves sound quality. I made mine from oak 2x2s screwed and glued together to form a plinth about 14" x18". Made one for my amp as well. If you want to experiment with resonance isolation, take a carpenter's wood clamp or two , large enough to span the width of the speaker, and play music through the speaker while you tighten the clamp. Go easy, the boxes are fragile. I put a wood slab under the clamp to spread the pressure. You'll be amazed at the resonance you can eliminate on some designs.

Spiking speakers is a MUST. All speakers need a solid reference from which the driver(s) can deliver their sound vibrations. I spike my DIY speakers with long wood screws that contact my concrete basement floor. Talk about cheap! Makes ALL the difference.

Good valid tips. Comes down to little micro optimisations too eek out all you can from a setup. I use sand in my stands and half a pack of blue tack under each speaker to affix to stands while offering some damping. For my subs i use round hard rubber furniture feet onto thick paving slabs again to dampen things. A useful tip is also to use sticky back resonance reducing mat inside your speakers on all sides. This helps reduce cabinet resonances but only generally beneficial if the cabinet is built on the lighter side.

I have the Iso Acoustics stands for my JBL L82 Classics on my Vintage System. They sit on some wooden stools I got from amazon. (I’m not paying $400 for the L82 stands) My CM5 surround speakers are on sand filled stands, spikes and Herbie’s spike gliders. My CM10’s are on spikes and sit on Herbie’s spike gliders. All my racks are on Herbie’s gliders. My subwoofer sits on SVS Isolation Feet. I also have my turntables and most components on Herbie’s pucks. It all ads up to a massive improvement in clarity, separation and soundstage. The CM’s, the sub all sit on a floating hardwood floor. The isolation products were essential to deal with the boominess the floor created. Well worth the expense.

Just taking my bookshelves off of the table top i started out with and put them on dedicated speaker stands made the single BIGGEST and most dramatic improvement in not only the sound quality but the "experience" as well. Finally appreciated what this whole sound stage and imaging thing is!

Number of things to isolate speakers, or are worth trying. Paper egg cartons ( the bottom half) taped together side by side cab work. There is sound deadening insulation they use in cars that sometimes auto body repair places might have scraps you can get for the asking. There is also insulation that is foam covered by metal used in attic insulation. Foam insulation board ( they sell small pieces at home Depot) may work. I would wrap it in cloth or even shelf paper so it doesn't look tacky.

So after I heard this, and you saying tighten your drivers I went and checked mine pause this video lo and behold, seven screws loose. That’s the noise I was hearing thank you cheap audio man.

I’d emailed Noel Nolan of Skylan speaker stands about what would be the best stands for my small sealed Spendor speakers (Spendor advocates open frame stands, expects the sidewalls to resonate a bit etc. He said just to use my existing stands and take some plywood, cut 4 pieces to the dimensions of the speakers, sandwich some roofing shingle between two (in a pair) and screw them together (counter sink). A bit of blue tack to hold the new diy plates on, and wow. What an improvement!! Great guy, understands/advocates the importance of trying simpler solutions to first realize what you’re dealing with 🙏🏼👍🏼

Cheap/free adjustment: put the tweeters at ear level. related, if you have the speakers on a table, put them on the front edge of it so you're not getting reflections off the table

I have always been into car audio. I'll never forget a guy I worked with had four 2-way speakers, two in front and two in rear with a sub in the back of his Honda Civic. He told me he wasn't hearing his sub and wanted to get another bigger sub and amp. I talked him into disconnecting the two speakers in the back. He was blown away with how well it sounded after. Separation helps. I know in my own system getting an EQ with crossover really helped. My front mids would sound better cutting the low frequencies out and have the sub in the back play them. You don't see crossovers much in home systems. The larger speakers enclosures handle low frequencies better but if you have some that can't a crossover can help clean up your mids.

I made two full turns on some screws of my Lintons! It made no difference in sound quality but I feel much better now! WOW

For speaker isolation i would prob look into sorbothane for stands and drum gel pads for the speaker bottoms.

The drinking straw thing was pioneered by British speaker manufacturer Celef, way back in the 1970's. It was incorporated into their Celef Monitor speakers. I had a pair and it worked.

Can't believe you just made a "Better of Dead" reference!! "Two Dollars!!"🤣

Weights on your kit, even speakers stops vibrations. Isolation under kit, squash balls, wooden door knobs or sorbothane. Sound deadening inside a turntable on the metal bits and the baseboard and also isolation, the Ikea bamboo chopping board with sorbothane feet is good. Clean the pins on your electric plugs with sandpaper to get better contact. All good and free or cheap.

I used to put Scunci No Slip Grip Evolution Super Bandz Hair Elastics under my speakers, very elastic silicone hair ties, did wonders and basically created "spring" effect. Also adding a small mass like drum-skin silicone pads or bluetack on the woofers lowers the bass octaves.

Adding car audio sound dampening material to the inside of the cabinet and the bass port. The difference on my klipsch sub was like a different unit was there. 😮

I have left over marble slabs under my Klipschorns . Its a crawlspace house & yes the bass became tighter.

I bought some 1/4" foam rubber adhesive pads for my desktop speaker stands which helped isolate the speakers. Of course speaker placement is huge. I also bought some really cheap plastic diffusers (~$20) to put behind my speakers. Which really seemed to clear up the mid range in the room. I've had my speakers for a few years now, I'm thinking it's time to see if the drivers are loose.

Reverse the speaker polarity on one speaker to see if it improves the sound. I bought a set of speakers that the previous owner had for 3 years that the center image was non existent when listened to them before buying them. After getting them home and listening for another 20 minutes I check the wires, which we correctly installed, but reversed the wiring on one of the speakers anyway and everything improved immediately. I found the source of the problem when I upgraded the crossover, the internal wiring on one of the speakers was backwards from the factory.

straw hack just lowers tuning. Checking the speaker screws is good reminder. sorbothane pads under speakers and equipment. Pull speakers into room, have speakers symmetrical and equidistant from side walls. sit away from back wall, have a listening chair with no or very small headrest. Only use your stereo for music listening to great music you love, not background noise, no podcasts, TV, or youtube, it's psychological trick but it works.

By far the most improvement in sound I’ve ever heard in my vinyl playback setup was to completely isolate the turntable from mechanical vibration/feedback from the floor or cabinetry. This was done by suspending a floating platform in a living room closet I converted to equipment shelving. The platform was held up with monfilament fishing line, islolated from hooks imbedded in 2x4 runners, with the hooks covered in surgical tubing. The opposite end of the fishing line went to rubber covered turnbuckles that were attached to rubber tarpaulin straps running under the platform. Platform itself was two sheets of 3/4” dense mdf separated with an inch of modeling clay. Balancing was done with table on platform and tweaking it to level with the turnbuckles. A full octave increase of bass frequency response for $22.00. Additionally a separate dedicated electrical circuit out of your service panel is worth the cost if you cannot do it yourself. Have your electrician tighten the lugs on your main disconnect switch while they’re at it.

Throwing the wife out reduces background noise, but probably won’t be cheap… As a standard for all my bookshelf speakers, I buy cork mat with adhesive on the bottom which are meant fir kitchen cabinets. Cut it and stick it on the bottom of the cabinet. Same as some of the Klipsch bookshelf speakers.

My best-ever budget hack was when I was in the home theater world, put a nice microfiber glasses cleaning cloth anywhere you have a remote control lol. I wear glasses, and it doesn't matter how good my HDMI cables are if I look through dirty glasses. hahaha

Firstly, "I want my 2 dollars!", is from Better Off Dead (a classic). The straws trick creates what is known as Laminar Flow, where the air is uniform in direction and velocity.

My bookshelf speakers sit on top of my Realistic Mach 2 speakers with hand towels between them. True audiophile trickery.

I pull my front speakers away from the wall a few inches and angle them slightly toward the listening position. It was advice that I think makes a positive difference and doesn’t cost a penny. 🤘

Wood rack for hifi , dedicated ac power line for lps and separate for switch power supply, fill the hifi electronics with cristal sand, treat first reflection of sound, a chair insted of a couch for listening sweet spot

Since my two sealed subwoofers were resting on spikes through carpet and into the subfloor of a suspended floor over my garage, the spikes were transmitting the energy from the subs into the floor which was causing some serious bass exaggeration and room resonance issues. Once I removed the spikes and set one sub on the SVS isolation footers, and the other sub on a Subdude platform, the bass cleaned up tremendously. My main speakers are 2-way stand mounted monitors. They rest on 3 brass points in a triangle pattern atop the stand top plate. The points are designed to allow the cabinet resonances/vibrations a path to exit the speakers and go into the stands. The stands have two vertical steel tubes which are filled 3/4 with sand. The stands do sit on floor spikes however. Since I cross the mains at 80hz low bass is not an issue with them.

I have a pair of speakers on the desk in my home office, I have classic old-school isolation stands. Half squash balls. It does make a difference.

You cost me a lot of $$$ this year Randy. Even your 'free' hack just had me order need aquarium filters. You reminded me that they rattle when you spoke about fan noise!

Re. speaker isolation: I bought a £20 (probably $22-25) pair of foam isolation mats that fit the dimensions of the bottoms of my speakers, to stop the desk they're on resonating with them. I can hear a marked improvement, especially in the bass and mids. The bass is cleaner and more detailed, and the mids sound crisper and clearer. Probably because they're not being muffled by the resonating bass from the desk.

Speaker placement. Free! Make your own absorption panels. Used discarded palette wood for frame. Towels work for absorption, though I went Roxul 80 and had some of my photos printed on breathable fabric on Etsy. Reduced slap echo, and get good soundstage. Did not bother with the whole first reflection stuff, just put them on the bigger walls like art.

The straw thing. . . this introduces drag into the air flow in the vent, which is proportional to air velocity squared. Until due to the poisson effects the airflow maxes out and you more or less can't move any more. It's like as your speakers get louder, the vent gets smaller amd eventually chokes off entirely. This should reduce your deep bass, but perhaps tighten it a bit. I can't say I think this is a great idea. The idea that, for example, you know how to improve the carefully calculated vent in an Andrew Jones speaker, which adds a second order filter to a second order speaker system, thus producing a very carefully calculated fourth-order system with enhanced frequency response at or near the port frequency, the idea that you can improve this without computer modelling is quite laughable. Even Andrew could not improve it without computer modelling and we all agree he's a f**king genius. These ports are not something where you fuss around until you like the sound. They're carefully calculated based on the math of Thiele and Small, who were very well versed in filter theory. As am I. And to some extend, Andrew. You know how most everyone thinks crossovers are black magic? Yah, same math. Your friend who claims the straws improve "laminar flow". . . nope. Most ports are 4" - 8" long, which corresponds to a critical frequency of 1.5khz - 3khz. At frequencies below that the port is only seeing a fraction of the wave length and the air in the port moves as a solid mass, not as a wave. Most speakers have ports which are tuned to 30hz - 70hz, which corresponds to a wavelength of 12' - 30'. There simply cannot be non-laminar flow in such a small system at such large wavelengths and (relatively) small mach numbers. And the mach number is part of the design process - too high a mach number and you get port chuffing. Andrew knows this very well, I assure you his ports never see mach numbers above about .15, corresponding to a maximum air velocity of about 100 mph.

SPEAKER PLACEMENT! I'm running a vintage - 1989 Technics SU600 'New Class A' integrated amp, with 2 midrange Sony bookshelf... And... I spent some time placing the speakers out and wide around me (measured EQUALLY), facing direct to my chosen 'Listening spot', and the difference IS SERIOUSLY noticeable! Previous to this I just had them set either side of the amp to give a wide stereo, but... As soon as I rewired two of them to be at around 2.5 metres away from my head at a 45degree angle and placed them on some good speaker stands so they were at head height while I was seated, the difference was NIGHT AND DAY! My next mod WILL need my wallet, as I want to get a good 8" or 10" Sub to compliment my setup for those very low frequencies (the Sonys tend to fall off around 45/50Hz). But even so, detailed music, Live performances... Wow, just WOW! And all it cost me was a reel of speaker wire, a smidge of effort and time to think about where and how to move/mount the speakers! 👌👍😏 😎🇬🇧

Listening in a complete or almost completely dark environment reduces distractions and improves listening enjoyment

Proac speakers back in the 80s used drinking straws packed into the ports of some of their models they were sprayed black on the front. 👍

WOW amazing you really know how to make it sooo easy to setup audio but just one thing why you don't demand straight how to assemble it you are the TRUTH man

My mains are Jamo towers, and they came with isolation ruberized feet, so I didn't have to worry about isolating them. Best way of improving the sound by far is moving your speaker locations. You sit down wherever you listen to music, and play your fav song. While the song plays, walk to one of the speakers and move it toward the wall, then away from the wall, then left, then right, point it left, right, and towards you, etc. It will take you an hour the first time you do it, and that's just w/ 2 speakers, lol. As the days go by, every once in a while move the speakers in smaller increments. After a week of doing that you'll optimize the speaker placement. One piece of advice - if you want the sound to surround your ears more, which is how i like my audio, point the speakers so that the tweeters are at a slight diagonal outward and away from your ears. But only slightly. It'll sound like surround sound. I do the same in my home theater setup.

Fan cooling amps makes a big difference too if you like music loud like I do. So put some amps in the path of that fan and crank it up.

I haven’t tried this yet, but I have heard for speaker isolation, you can get 4 tennis balls and cut them in half (make sure they are all cut evenly) and place one half in each corner of each speaker, with the rounded edge of the ball facing up. Should reduce soundstage smear, and improve the bass response!

I love Better Off Dead, when the group of news paper kids chance him down hill on the race. Good video!!

I use hockey pucks for isolation - Do they work? Well - I'd say they don't hurt... i mean unless you get smacked with one.

hi, I like to play with old speakers also. I took two old speakers and hot glued coffee cans to them. One end completely open and the other I drilled about 5 holes. To me I feel that it works like a horn speaker and it is producing highs with a little metal sound for cymbals. It has worked fine for me ,I think it is worth a try.

Nice video, nothing wrong with cassettes especially for people who grew up with them. I never bought pre-recorded ones because the quality was not the best, but I made tons of them using TDK tapes with an Aiwa recorder and my faithful Technics TT, which I still have today. I have all those cassettes, or most of them, and I listen to them in a couple of older cars with tape decks. I still have a functioning Walkman too, uses AA batteries. Great drive down memory lanes, Mr. Randy, well done and truly enjoyed.

The straws. You are basically changing the port tune. Say you have a 3" port in a 1 cubic foot box. Tune the port to 50 Hz is like 5" length. If you make that port 9", you have effectively tuned that port to 40 Hz. So, by adding those straws, your port length is longer, your tuning frequency is lower.

SVS's subwoofer isolation "feet" made a huge difference in my system; well worth the expense. They truly did outperform other "feet" I tried. Tightened and defined bass and greatly reduced room rattle.

I use hockey pucks for speaker isolation, between components and under my turntable. Very dense rubber,inexpensive and they don't look bad.

Taking the extra effort to measure the distance from the speaker to the walls for both main speakers did a lot to improve output. I also found that the placement of the subwoofer affected overall performance. And finally, measuring the distance from each main speaker to my listening position to ensure I was an equal distance from both speakers also made an improvement. Onkyo Integrated amplifier Onkyo CD Player Q Acoustics 3020 Polk Subwoofer

My best cheap hack is using silicone powder paint plugs to isolate speakers on wood flooring. Best free hack is cleaning rca cable plugs and jacks at least once per year, often when people hear a difference changing cables it is sometimes attributed to inadvertently removing or displace oxidization. My absolute favorite is modifying passive crossovers to suit the room but that is not for everyone. BTW, anything you stick in a speaker port will adjust the bass response between total to partial air restriction, you can use anything from foam, polyfill, sock or your wife leggings.

I think it's all about fluid dynamics. I helped conduct an experiment (more a demonstration than an experiment) about 15 years ago in a pool. We squirted water with some dye from a 2" nozzle under water and measured the speed and geometry of the water as it pushed across the pool. Then we filled the nozzle with straws and did the same. The water stream traveled significantly faster, went farther, and the geometry was more coherent. (I should note the water pressure was still about the same, but the stream pushed the impeding water more efficiently) We theorized that lots of small jets created lots of small eddys instead of one large jet creating a few large ones. These little swirls were much more easily moved along instead of being pushed aside by the aggregate flow. Air is mathematically just another fluid with a different viscosity. Your results should depend on whether it's a front or rear firing port. But the result should be similar. The sound waves should be more directional, and a bit louder on axis, giving the illusion of extended bass. But there is a tradeoff. If the other theory is correct, and it actually lowers the port tuning, a properly tuned port will already extend the bass smoothly with no dropout. Lowering the port tune can cause a dropout between the bass driver and the port, resulting in uneven bass tones. This is all just theory. Obviously, someone would have to make some measurements, and not just with your ear. I don't have the tools for it. The problem here is that fluid dynamics is usually post graduate level stuff. Even when we measure it, it is still going to take some pretty heavy math to explain it. Mathematica experts, where are you?

The straw thing, it's my understanding that the straws eliminate turbulence in the airflow. The exact same thing is used in wind-tunnels to get rid of all the twisting vortexes. As for the background fan noise, it makes a huge difference. It's also good to put some sound dampening panels on your walls. you can make them cheap. Since you mentioned cars, back when i bought my 2016 Audi S4, before i got my license plates.... i dismantled the trunk and all the door panels and applied Dynamat to all the metal panels. The trunk lid i then filled with minimum expanding foam. Also, i pulled the carpet and did the floor panels. Doing all this reduced road noise by an incredible amount. Lastly, if you strip out one of those screw holes, an easy quick fix (A proper fix requires much more work) is to take some steel wool, roll it between your fingers so it twists it up, then stuff it into the hole that is stripped. Keep doing it until you cant get any more in, then clip off the excess that is hanging out. Reinstall speaker. Works great.

Here in the UK, I find that polishing the brass positive & negative pins on our 3 pin mains safety plugs can improve clarity, mostly with the treble. Don't know what the effect would be on a US 2 pin plug would be. Most metal polishes are OK to use for this.

I have lost the ability to hear frequencies abive 12k. To improve the high end sound I usually have speakers placed with some degree of tow in, or facing the center listening position. I also have a beanie handy and will adjust the fit so that my upper ear is pushed out toward the speakers. Kind of similar affect to cupping your ears toward the speakers. Actually works pretty good improving the brightness of the high frequency.

When you said "I will delete it" I got a hint of alien in Galaxy Quest 😆. Best thing for any speakers is Harbor Frieght furniture mover. Wood platform with carpet. 4 ball bearing swivel casters which touch the floor in a tiny padded contact point. The bottoms are open. So a down firing port still isn't blocked. You can roll your speakers around to find the sweet spot. I usualy keep 5-6 pairs on these stands and 4 pairs conneected running off a Niles switch.

I checked my wharfdales driver screws. They were a little loose. It was a noticeable improvement. Thanks man!

I use 1/4 inch sorbothane pads on top of cheap Ikea end tables with my homebuilt speakers. The improvement is dramatic verses no pads.

I use anti-vibration mats for my speakers, floor speakers but sitting on hardwood. I got a roll from Amazon for about 20 bucks... put some under my stereo cabinet as well... huge difference and plenty left over!

Try 3M Command Strips between the speakers and the stand, one on each corner. Makes it safer for kids and improves the sound.

I use Concertmeister foam feet for my speakers - they come in different weight ratings and different colors, really nice and definitely affective. Will still transport lower frequencies which is nice for watching movies

“I want my 2 dollars!!” - Better Off Dead

To prevent screws and bolts from loosening again due to vibrations, you can apply a threadlocker adhesive. The most well-known threadlocker adhesive brand is Loctite, but there are other brands as well. Some people use superglue as a threadlocker adhesive but the manufacturer of Loctite threadlocker warns: "The diverse qualities of superglue have helped it build a reputation as an all-round adhesive. However, it’s rarely a good idea to use it in place of a dedicated threadlocker. After the initial application, superglue is likely to struggle to display the same performance standards as threadlockers. It can’t withstand heavy vibration, for example, which can lead to loosening over time. In addition, superglue will not cure in place or turn into a thermoset plastic like threadlockers do. This can leave it susceptible to grease, dirt and other contaminants that may work their way into assemblies, causing failure."

To isolate the speakers? I use thick adhesive felt pads you might use for furniture. They've pretty much prevented all vibration through to the floor.. Bought them for a couple bucks at the dollar store

Only hack I never heard of was the straw hack, might research it a bit. Amazed you didn't have speaker placement on the list, since it is free and varies by room, chair position & height.

Ear buds, About £1. I clean the wax from my ears, also drink coffee it wakes up your senses stops you drifting off to sleep.

Tight too, the RCA plug inside and outside.the speaker, it reborns a good sound with old drivers

I roll old towers and put them side by side into a thick frame. Cover with acoustic fabric to make a room treatment panel.

I tried the tightening of my speaker drive units. I've heard you talk about it before but never got around to trying it. It has made a noticeable difference. The sound is definitely clearer and tighter, if you'll excuse the pun. Clearer treble and more control of the bass. Cool.

Perform a subwoofer crawl. It's free, and it works. Or reach out for your volume control and turn it to the right about 20 degrees. Your system will sound a lot better for a few minutes at least.

Set my speakers on felt furniture slides.

I'm a set it and forget it audio person, myself. Sometimes I don't even try to maximize the sound but go for what is convenient. My samsung plasma died so went out and got a 2nd hand pioneer plasma, which has a built in 15 watt amp with sub-out. I hooked up my Martin Logan 15's to it and basic ML sub and sounded good enough. I haven't hooked up the Denon in years, It is there collecting dust. I am pretty sure that I would get better sound, but just can't be bothered lol

I have found that some of the best tone differences that I have made Is moving the speakers up and down. Where your ears are to the sweet spot of the speaker system.