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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 4 responses by mumbles

mumbles
83 posts
 
No doubt some tweaks make a real difference. I can feel the vibrations on the surface below my amp. Isolating it made a distinct difference.
Spent all day yesterday building sound adsorbtion panels, bass traps for room treatment. This morning everything sounded better, in suedo fact my tinitus disappeared.
Was it the addition of the sound traps getting rid of those pesky first relection points or my usual relaxed Sunday listening frame of mind?
BTW, the ringing returned after listening a while and then turning on plasma, DTV box and computer. Maybe i should apply those RMF sheets to the ceiling?

Somedays I hear the differences more than others.
Hard to isolate your self from the process.
Maybe the key is to meditate or self hynotize before applying a new tweak. Alternatively, get a third party skeptic with better ears to confirm and enjoy the change vicariously through their affirmations. :)
mumbles
83 posts
 
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
2chnlben (System | Threads | Answers)

I have 3 highend, silver PCs made for me by Mel at Crystal Clear Audio Cables. Great guy, solid product. They were all supposed to be 1.5m long, but I had him make two of them shorter, 1m. Over the last three days I have swapped them around and find the 1.5m powerchord makes which ever component it is in sound much better. Finally left it in the preamp for maximum effect, tuner ect., now sound better.
Ive read here that 1.5m length is ideal for power band, so maybe there is a reason for my perception.
Point is if you mess around enough with tweaking here and there you may eventually get a ah-ha moment, and set a new baseline for tuning.
To use Tvad's analogy, once you driven a Ferrari you know what good is suppose to be.
mumbles
83 posts
 
Dopogue, cool experiment, that's half the fun!
You mentioned when you first listened by yourself you were not so impressed for the money, maybe a little buyers remorse. But when there was a direct comparison and a second opinion the improvements were more noticable.
This is the interesting part of this discussion. Maybe with incremental tweaks we need a baseline for comparison or others of like mind to help validate, or point out where that constellation is, for us to appreciate it.
mumbles
83 posts
 
05-28-09: Tbg
Yes, in reality the laws of engineering are incomplete.
For sure somethings gotta be missing. It can feel like your on the edge of discovery as we approach the audiophile goal line of system synergy with that last little tweek . Unfortunately the goal line is always just one more tweek away.
I think there has been a mystical attraction to theorys of electomagnetism since before the turn of the 20th century, in Teslas time, when everyone thought like an inventor out of neccessity.
I've always been facsinated by the fact that in 1904, I think it was, the refrigerator and the hullahoop were invented, while at the same time Einstein published his theory of relativity. And it wasn't till 1915 anybody understood it enough to discuss it.
There are more audio truths out there, we want to believe! (cause all the other balloons been popped :)

I like Tholt's idea of removing all tweeks and putting them back for a audiophile rush.
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