I am using home-built speakers (SEAS Crescendo tweeters, ATC SM75-150S dome mid-range and Volt B2500 bass drivers). These are used in a nearly-all-Naim active system (SNAXO 362, 4 x NAP200, home-built passive preamp).
Although I liked the sound I was getting, I was convinced that the bass level needed adjustment. Experimenting by disconnecting one channel’s tweeter and mid-range suggested that the amount of change was fairly small.
I had a lot of trouble finding out which pots were for the bass (I was very happy with the existing hf and mid levels). Eventually I got brave, opened up the SNAXO 362 and took photos of the adjustment pot settings, taking close-up shots of the marked lines on the pot cases.
After a lot of twiddling, I came to the conclusion that my adjustments weren’t adding anything useful and decided to put the pots back to the original settings. I took pictures after every attempt at getting the pots back exactly where they started, which took a lot longer than my original listening experiments.
Now here is the strange thing - I had to remove the DIN plugs from the SNAXO 362 every time I removed it from my hifi rack to make adjustments, so the DIN plugs and cermet pots had a good workout. I was very surprised to hear that, despite the pots being exactly where they started, the sound had very much improved. After listening for several weeks, this still holds true.
I can only conclude that my tinkering has cleaned up the cermet and DIN connections to let out more of what is in the signal.
Am I going to start fiddling with the pots again? No, not at all. They were fine where they started off and will stay there. Plus, I cannot be bothered with all the mucking about required to get the pot exactly where it started - lesson learned!
