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I Just Don't Hear It - I wish I did

I am frustrated because I am an audiophile who cannot discern details from so many of the methods praised by other audiophiles. I joke about not having golden ears. That said, I can easily discern and appreciate good soundstage, image, balance, tone, timbre, transparency and even the synergy of a system. I am however unable to hear the improvements that result from, say a piece of Teflon tape or a $5.00 item from the plumbing aisle at Home Depot. Furthermore, I think it is grossly unfair that I must pay in multiples of one hundred, or even one thousand just to gain relatively slight improvements in transparency, detail, timbre soundstage, etc., when other audiophiles can gain the same level of details from a ten dollar tweak. In an effort to sooth my frustration, I tell myself that my fellow audiophiles are experiencing a placebo effect of some sort. Does anyone else struggle to hear….no wait; does anyone else struggle to comprehend how someone else can hear the perceived benefits gained by the inclusion of any number of highly touted tweaks/gimmicks (brass screws, copper couplers, Teflon tape, maple hardwood, racquet balls, etc.) I mean, the claims are that these methods actually result in improved soundstage, image, detail (“blacker backgrounds”), clarity, bass definition, etc.
Am I alone in my frustration here?
2chnlben

Showing 9 responses by mapman

mapman's avatar
mapman
22,762 posts
 
Power conditioning tweaks might be measured objectively as well. It would require a sound spectrum analyzer with very high resolution and digital measurement and comparison of the signal levels for a test recording both before and after conditioning.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,762 posts
 
"And money-back if they don't work in your system."

That would make a big difference to me to even consider an expensive tweak.

You need only resolve an issue once, like dirty power, poor matching ICs, etc. So a tweak that adds value in one system may not in another. I would drop that kind of money on anything that is not a sure bet. I might shop for it used though, then if it doesn't work out I can sell hopefully without taking a loss and another can try.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,762 posts
 
There are two categories of "tweaks" which based on science must have some effect on how a piece performs:

1) a tweak to anything in the signal path from source to ears
2) a tweak that isolates a piece of equipment whose performance is affected by external vibrations or EM fields.

Turntables are the most susceptible to external vibrations. Other components may be as well but to a much lesser degree I believe.

Low level devices like phono step up devices and phono pre-amps are most susceptible to external EM fields. Line level pre-amps are also but the effects here are often more subtle and harder to hear without an a/b comparison.

You can see that phono setups can have a double whammy working against them so they are probably the part of a system that requires the most "tweaking" to get right. I think that's part of their mystique these days.

Tubes and IC and a few other components are the least expensive devices in the signal chain of a good system to tweak to good effect. I think that is part of the mystique with them for hobbyists as well.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,762 posts
 
A tweak is just a change of small magnitude compared to other more major changes that all together in the end determine how things sound.

The effects of tweaks are cumulative though. Some may have good synergy and improve things, others may have a negative effect, the effect of others may be too small to notice.

All that matters is that in the end your system is tuned to your tastes. Tweaks can help get you there. But if things are out of whack to start with in a big way, minor tweaks may be of little consequence. Get the big things right first, like the room/speaker/amp combo, then tweak away from there to fine tune things if needed.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,762 posts
 
Actually, I am like Sounds_real also on this.

I do not sweat changes that make small differences.

I have found some "tweaks" can make a big difference though, often similar in magnitude to a change from one good source or amp to another.

I don't know if I'd say I've ever heard a tweak make as much difference as can be had by changing speakers though.

Tweaks also have smaller downsides when they don't work out for the better than the other bigger changes.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,762 posts
 
For tweaks that filter out external vibrations, it would be cool if there were a gadget that could measure the vibration levels a component is subjected to both before and after tweak. That would settle the issue of whether that particular tweak worked or not. Then the next question would be if it did work, did it make a difference in the sound? Scientifically, that still might be impossible to measure objectively.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,762 posts
 
"That's not to say that any particular tweak that *claims* to achieve these goals actually does. Many/most of them do not. But a few may, and that is what we are looking for."

Or they may, but in some cases the potential problem may not in fact really exist, so even if the tweak works, you may not hear a difference and draw the wrong conclusion.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,762 posts
 
I tend to be very skeptical of the value of many elaborate high cost tweaks and that skepticism has served me well over the years.

Still, I do not doubt that many make a difference of some sort, but not all differences are necessarily "better", just different.

Over the years I have found there are affordable ways to accomplish most of one's listening goals.

There are some fundamental things one can do that are relatively easy if you just do some homework first to understand how the technology and physics behind audio works, like chosing amp and speaker combos that work well together, fitting speakers to the room properly, and assuring good physical and electromagnetic isolation of components.

There are other tweaks that both technically make sense to me that they will affect the sound and I can also hear a difference to confirm it. Simple precautionary power conditioning is one. Different sounding ICs are another.

Just remember that no two things sound exactly the same. However some differences are significant and others are not. The best way to find out is do some homework, experiment with different stuff, and listen carefully.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,762 posts
 
Its all relative.

Lets assume any system change is a tweak, some are big, some are small, some are minuscule, some are in between.

My first big tweak is moving from a transistor radio to a nicely matched $3000 component system with very well reviewed monitor speakers, amp, etc.

If you are hearing impaired, you might not hear a difference even with this major "tweak".

Most of us will fall in between this degree of hearing ability and that of the very best, say that rabbit in the old Doctor Suess story "The Big Brag" who could hear an insect sneeze or something along those lines miles away.

Where you fall in between in regards to hearing ability in conjunction with how much you care and the relative significance of any particular tweak will determine whether you might actually hear a difference with that particular tweak.

BTW my dog probably hears better than me and he seems to enjoy listening to my system so that makes me feel better.

Also none of us can see into the Infrared or ultraviolet EM bands either. Too bad as those could be a really useful ability!

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