I have a feeling Geoff is experimenting not with the technical side of sound reproduction, but the perception side. “Listening” to music, at its highest level, is primarily a function of two things:
1. The pressurized waves of air in the room
2. The ears and brain decoding the waves
Geoff’s tweaks are not related to #1. Ties on spouts are not going to change the waves.
BUT, that’s not to say that ties on spouts or photos in freezers can’t affect factor #2, how those waves are perceived.
If you expect something to sound better, and you then perceive that it does sound better, then yes it actually DOES sound better! All we have is our own perception, which makes up the entirety of what each of us experiences as “real.” This kind of perception tweak won’t work for everyone...but then again some tweaks to actual components also don’t make an audible difference some of the time for some people.
This is a different kind of snake oil. If Geoff were making outrageous claims based on science, it would be far more disingenuous. But as it stands, he’s saying “hey do these weird things and then listen to music and LOOK FOR changes,” which is a really good way to alter your end of the function of listening.