Boy you guys just don't get it.
Elizabeth your lack of understanding is profound.
A system may or may not come together based on all of its setup parameters including tweaks, just because you can't justify their cost of production doesn't mean that tweak X doesn't make a large enough difference over its purchase price to justify its inclusion to a system the difference may be akin to changing out a more expensive component!
Or the other way you can look at it may be that the inclusion of x accessory might actually make X amount of stuff finally sound the way the purchaser wanted.
Rarely is the cost of actual production a valid component in pricing of any good, is a $10k Rolex worth $10k when the amount of gold is minute in comparison to the selling price?
The probable production cost of a $10k Rolex is most likely less than $1,000.00 or ten times less than the selling price, yet no one calls a Rolex wearer an uninformed sucker!
The market determines value, a Rolex or whatever brand of watch you prefer is a piece of handmade jewelery it is up to the consumer to make the value judgement. A 10 quartz timxe tells better time than an automatic watch, so people are buying high end watches due to how they make the wearer feel.
In terms of the Bybee stuff they are absolutely worth the money, the degree of liquidity they add is remarkable. I bought a set for use in my own reference system which is a system of about $180,000.00 and the difference was very audible, know if you are thinking I am saying this to sell Bybee I am not a Bybee dealer and never was!
In terms of tweeks some really work and others are bull the Tice clock is bull, QRT technology, Shakti, tuned resonators,Bybee Purifers, Walker Talismen and many other Walker audio products are not.
The Shakti stuff works so do the little tuning bowls aka Acoustic System Resonators and other similar products, we had a reference system at the NY high end audio show comprising the KEF Blades, and Chord Reference electronics etc,
Upon closing day I played the system without the two tube traps, the Shakti products and the resonators and the sound was poor in comparison to how remarkable the sound was with the tweaks in the room.
No change in hardware could make as big a difference as we were already using some of the worlds best hardware: $50k in electronics, 40k in digital, etc, etc.
So Elizabeth I am really curious as to what tweeks you have tried, who installed them and were they used correctly?
You should find a real dealer that would be willing to demonstrate these kinds of devices to you, you might actually be able to make a major improvement to your system.