True or False?

Tweaks are for idol worshipers. If it works, it is not a tweak but rather an essential accessory.

I agree for once with you...

I call them "embeddings controls"...

The more important embedding control is the acoustical one...So impactful that if rightfully implemented almost any upgrade is no more so "sexy" ...

The ratio S.Q./price is the only way to keep money and not throwing it to the hype wind.... For those of us like me less fortunate and more creative....

I never bought any "tweaks".... i prefer to create my own "embeddings controls" at NO cost or almost....

Not only it work but it make my maxim truer with time passing:  embed it all dont upgrade before....

The first thing to understand is that different is not always better and often time is required to really determine the worth of a change. Another important point is that "always" or "never" coming out of an enthusiast's mouth pretty much excludes their responses from serious consideration. See djones above. If people comment on products that they havent heard immediately dismiss their posts. 
 

I was real big into cycling before my accident brought me to a Audio. Cycling is the same way . A guy spends thousands of dollars to save 100 g of weight on a bike. Does it make them any faster? You could do the math and say yes. Is it in his head?mostly. I think the same rules apply to audio. Did the new cables look better? Yes. do they sound better or is it in the guys head? It’s mostly in the guys head. It’s probably the same way with guys who work on cars, motorcycles and any other hobby you can think of. If it’s a hobby and people love it they will find a way to accessorize it. That’s what keeps some of these marginal products in business.

FALSE, the cost doesn't matter. Tweaks are useless in an inexpensive, moderate or expensive system. 

Instead of asking inane questions on a forum to arrive at a solution you should read inane articles on an inane webzine. 

In my experience different pieces of gear react to different thing.. I found the better the power supply, no mater what they are suppling react LESS to high dollar power cables. If there is a huge gain in performance because of a PC change, I'd look more at the power supply other than the cable.  I wholeheartedly believe that because I've proved to myself..

An old Mcintosh MC275 doesn't know a piece of lamp cable from a Krell PC.  WHY? Look at the power supply..

Their BRAND new stuff ALL has room for either Mac or aftermarket PC.
WHY... thing are a changing even MAC has much better cabling NOW.. Sure took long enough..

I could see a Mac fuse.. I wonder what they would price one at.. Macs aftermarket cabling is pretty reasonable. 

But even I have to look at what we're getting when we buy a Mac NOW.. I'm looking for my LAST preamp/power supply C100/1000/2000 series..

I think ALL tweaks, and even cables are a back burner issue. 
Plug it all in, clean up the mess and Prepare the room FIRST.

Speaker placement in a treated room goes a long ways to ELIMINATE future tweaks (which are patches in disguise). A real tweak is something like a real good contact enhancer... It works no matter who you are or what it's used on. 5 people will hear a difference in 5 different systems..

BUT someone that's using cabling to modify the way something sounds... NO!  I want it to reveal what's there, not HIDE, CHANGE, or exaggerate it..  REVEAL, UNMASK, SHOW ME, the beef!!!!

Regards

This question absolutely cannot be discovered by simple observation. One has to ask inane questions on a forum in order to arrive at a practicable solution.

What next? Whether paint color influences high end electronics more than low end electronics?

The answer should be obvious to any thinking person. But, in this place many don’t think. Worse, they don’t bother to test whether what they think is true. For that reason, obviously, answers will vary with no consensus to this question without merit.

For those prone to follow waste of life tweaks, read my Audiophile Law articles on Burn In at Dagogo.com 

I don’t tweak my system.  It sounds good enough as is for me. I do use better power cords and cables.  The only tweak I have in my system is adding the GAIA footers to my speakers.  Made an impressive enough difference to warrant the $600 price although my wife has debated this with me.  

@ mijostyn

Tweaks are for idol worshipers.

Yep. Tell that to the race car drivers who modify a sports car with a catch can,  Cold air intake, or shocks and suspension or Tires.  And I haven't even mentioned supercharger, or Turbo or smaller pully.  Did you spend the night at Holiday Inn? I hear a lotta experts come from there. Maybe you should quit representing your views as the final authority especially on things that I KNOW you are dead wrong.  I let it go the 1st time I saw it. But calling those who believe in tweaks "idol worshippers" is out of line. If you don't believe in tweaks, then fine. Don't do any. No problem. But quit acting like a know it all will ya. 

It is not true mainly because all components are built to a price point so that means the best parts are not always used - think how many manufacturers use V-Caps or Audio Note non-magnetic resistors, and how many components are build with copper chassis or point-to-point wiring.

Audiophiles have infinite hearing, allowing them to hear down to ever lowering "noise floors" that no manufacturer’s equipment can measure.

Score one for audiophiles.

There is a cost benefit analysis that goes on for components such as power cords.  does the power cord handle the current and voltage (load) requirements with room to spare?  yes or no?  Does the equipment sound great with the manufacturers supplied power cord or fuse (for that matter)?  What prompted me to buy the unit in the first place?

The manufacturer has to complete the piece with the parts used, listen to it to determine if it meets their criteria and market it.  Adding much more expensive power cords and fuses (don't get me started on this one), higher end caps, resistors, etc. would make the price of the piece unobtainable for many.  Also, the availability of the parts.  Some "higher end" resistors and caps are from small suppliers that may go away tomorrow.  If you are producing units that are to be around for awhile, you want consistency in sound and construction standards.

So, no, I would not be trying to find the small producer, latest and greatest caps and resistors, If i'm fairly certain that they may not be available later on.  

Same for power cords.  If after listening to my supplied cord with the equipment, I listen to a higher end much more expensive cord and I hear a difference (for the better) but it isn't such that it justifies the enormous expense that would added to the equipment, then I wouldn't go with the more expensive power cord to be supplied.

Also, a lot depends on what you call tweaks.  Room corrections are not tweaks in my view.  That is room correction.  Not a tweak to me.

I believe that most of us has a "I'm there" moment with their system.  If I'm there and the equipment and music performs to the point where I feel "I'm there", then I don't feel the need to do anything to the system.  no power cord upgrades, no cable upgrades, fuses, stands, etc.  

Now when my "trusted" dealers (Optimal Enchantment in Santa Monica and Tom Vu of Triangle Art) convinces me to take home a new unit to listen to, just to see if there is a marked difference, and I fall for that, take it home and do A/B comparisons and feel the need to upgrade again, well that is a different matter all together.  

Who knew that a stupid usb cable from the music server to my DAC makes that much of a difference?  

enjoy

The better the system is the easier it is to make it sound worse. When you are at the top of the mountain the only way forward is down.
Tweaks are for idol worshipers. If it works, it is not a tweak but rather an essential accessory. 

@mapman

The better they are the less tweaks needed to make them sound good. See how that works?

There is a certain amount of truth there. Yes, the better equipment does sound better. That's why we use the word "better" to describe them. But the question posed was about the better equip responding better, not "needed" as much as we think of our systems, they are not a need. I have found joy in listening to music on the most basic of machines. Do I "need" the better equipment? No. But I prefer it. If you prefer not to tweak, that’s fine with me. It’s your system to do as you please with.

We all can agree that even the best speakers respond to room placement but is it true or not true in (your experiences) that the better your audio components are, the less they respond to various tweaks?

I would hope that we all can agree that ALL speakers respond to room placement. This is after all physics. You would at this point have to find another universe for this not to be the case.

These smoking room hypothetical word games are kind of blasé so let me just say no, it is not true that the better gear does not respond as well to tweaks. Not at all. No way. Game over.

False, the more resolving and balanced the system is the more sensitive to tweaks whatever that would include, cabling, room treatment, fuses, power distributors, ac receptacles, vibration control.
As for manufacturers, they are not  denying anything for a simple reason that all use better cabling and better means of support to evaluate or demo.

The better they are the less tweaks needed to make them sound good.  See how that works?

I concur with Artemis-5. I went through the same progression that he did. As my system got better and more resolving my listening skills also improved . My appreciation for music was always there but as I continually upgraded my system;I heard more details that were obscured by my earlier systems.

is it true or not true in (your experiences) that the better your audio components are, the less they respond to various tweaks?

Not true. Just as a race car responds more to tweaks, so does a high resolving system. Part of the problem in tweaking a lesser system is that it doesn’t respond. Thus my skepticism in Power cords 15-20 yrs ago or so. Tried them. Nothing there. 10 yrs ago, aha. They did work along with many other tweaks I dismissed i.e. Oyaide R1 outlet. Then too, I had developed more listening skills which is essential.