"Cheapest and most amazing free tweek there is!"

[DanG]

Last night I discovered I have been listening to all my CD's, including all those wonderful DCC Golds, incorrectly.

I finally got off my lazy butt and put a cheater plug on the CD player. Lazy 'cos the cheater plug's been in the closet all this time. Lazy 'cos I figured, "wide blade on the CD player plug, it must be meant to be that way."

Well, there is no doubt. My CD's sound 1000% better with the cheater plug and the blades turned the other way. Vocals are clear and in the center. Placement of all sounds is focused. It makes me realize my vague discontent with the sound I was getting before was general muddiness, and out-of-balance sound.

I can't believe I let this go on for so long. I can't believe I couldn't put my finger on why I didn't like the sound, and ferret out this answer before.

OTH, I am now thrilled I have my whole CD collection to listen to correctly!

I am not the first one to discover this. But I feel this news must be retold, I clearly didn't get it the first or second time around.

Some previous discussions by Steve Hoffman, and other forum members, on this and related matters:

A thread initiated by Todd Fredericks:

SH Forums > The Archives > Audio Hardware Archive > Experiment with VPI Turntable AC polarity... (http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2889&highlight=cheater)

BTW, my thread title is a quote from Steve taken from the thread listed above, with reference to confirming correct polarity.

A thread initiated by Jeff P and Steve Hoffman:

SH Forums > The Archives > Steve Hoffman Forum FAQ > Reversing red/black speaker wires. Polarity vs. Phase... (http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1992&highlight=cheater)

Lastly, a search for the word cheater, listing the results by threads:

(http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/search.php?s=&action=showresults&searchid=252720&sortby=lastpost&sortorder=descending)

It really is cheap, but the results are nothing less than amazing. I see that which way the plug is plugged into the socket is critical. The results can clearly be heard.

[Gary]

Anyone know if there is a cheater plug that is grounded?

I guess I should go visit Rona or the Home Depot. It's always hard to explain what you are doing to those guys.... the blank stares..... ;)

[cwon]

When cheater plugs were readily available, they'd have either a separate ground wire or a metal attachment coming out of it to connect to the screw on the outlet plate. The 3 prong to 2 prong adaptors with equal sized blades are hard to find nowadays. If you do spot them, you should pick up some extras.

[Gary]

Is that all it is? Why can't one simply "snip" the extra large blade to match the regular size blade? :confused:

[Dave]

Originally posted by Gary
Is that all it is? Why can't one simply "snip" the extra large blade to match the regular size blade? :confused:
Because a grinder works much better. :D

[GabeG]

Guys - remember to test (either by ear or voltmeter) to make sure your polarity is correct. Just because Dang heard an improvement doesn't mean you will. Your cd player/house wiring may already be correctly oriented.

In my opinion, use the voltmeter method. You may think something sounds better when it is just different. Even if you think something sound "better" with reverse polarity, you may as well know how your component is oriented.

[-=Rudy=-]

There are also three-pronged "testers" you can buy, with three neon lights, that tell you if your outlet is wired properly.

Even though a plug is polarized, both sides of the wire feed into the same winding of the transformer...and AC voltage is essentially unpolarized in that regard.

Dave--I tried a grinder once or twice. On a cheaper plug, I actually melted the plastic around the blade. Oops!

[indy mike]

Just use a flat file to take away the unwanted metal - shouldn't take long attall; a Dremel tool will also do the trick, but will give you an uneven prong that needs to be filed (so go with the file)...