That’s anywhere from several hundred to several thousand dollars worth of equivalent improvement. For $60.Apparently one of the great things about being a tweak guru is being able to extract thousands of dollars of better performance from a piece of gear that the designer/manufacturer should have included for mere pennies of incremental cost. That makes the tweak guru orders of magnitude smarter and of more value to the audio community than a gear designer/manufacturer.
Tweaks - An Honest Discussion
I know there is a lot of talk about performance tweaks in this forum and the value that can be realized. I've started this thread because it seems that folks tend towards believing they are either the silver bullet to sonic bliss or conversely simply snake oil. I believe tweaks are somewhere in between and in most cases, worth about what you pay for (crazy I know).
I'm open minded to tweaks and have employed many in my system over the years including isolation, fuses, footers, HFTs, cabling, cable risers and attempts at reducing RFI (among others). While I believe that many of these tweaks incrementally helped me get better performance out of my system I never for a second found any tweak make a transformational difference the way that a significantly upgraded piece of gear brings to the table. I think many of us have been quite happy with our systems over the years but that doesn't mean implementing a tweak can possibly compete with the benefit of replacing a piece of gear that is well matched to elevate your system. Just because you're happy with your setup doesn't mean a major gear change can't really elevate the experience - surely well beyond any form of tweakery.
As an example, I've been very happy with a Hana ML cart and how it's performed in my system. I recently decided to acquire a Lyra Kleos cart - for a $2K increase the change has been transformational in terms of dynamic range and ability to convey detail and imaging. There has never been a dot I've placed on a wall, carbon platform placed under gear, or RFI shielding device I've ever used that could possibly come close to this equipment upgrade. Same goes for upgrades to my system over the years in terms of amps, pre's, and speakers. For anyone to suggest that through tweaks alone you can elevate your system to a level that only gear changes can achieve simply falls flat in my experience. Some may be shocked to hear that most of the time a $200 tweak truly only gets you about $200 worth of improvement (if any) and not the equivalent of a $5000 gear upgrade. I know there is a certain allure that by simply being smart and applying elbow grease that we can extend the sonic limits of our system well beyond it's design, parts, and capabilities but that's just not true IMO.
What's your experience been?
I'm open minded to tweaks and have employed many in my system over the years including isolation, fuses, footers, HFTs, cabling, cable risers and attempts at reducing RFI (among others). While I believe that many of these tweaks incrementally helped me get better performance out of my system I never for a second found any tweak make a transformational difference the way that a significantly upgraded piece of gear brings to the table. I think many of us have been quite happy with our systems over the years but that doesn't mean implementing a tweak can possibly compete with the benefit of replacing a piece of gear that is well matched to elevate your system. Just because you're happy with your setup doesn't mean a major gear change can't really elevate the experience - surely well beyond any form of tweakery.
As an example, I've been very happy with a Hana ML cart and how it's performed in my system. I recently decided to acquire a Lyra Kleos cart - for a $2K increase the change has been transformational in terms of dynamic range and ability to convey detail and imaging. There has never been a dot I've placed on a wall, carbon platform placed under gear, or RFI shielding device I've ever used that could possibly come close to this equipment upgrade. Same goes for upgrades to my system over the years in terms of amps, pre's, and speakers. For anyone to suggest that through tweaks alone you can elevate your system to a level that only gear changes can achieve simply falls flat in my experience. Some may be shocked to hear that most of the time a $200 tweak truly only gets you about $200 worth of improvement (if any) and not the equivalent of a $5000 gear upgrade. I know there is a certain allure that by simply being smart and applying elbow grease that we can extend the sonic limits of our system well beyond it's design, parts, and capabilities but that's just not true IMO.
What's your experience been?
Showing 7 responses by three_easy_payments
@millercarbon If I had not tried so many tweaks with an open mind, while also admittedly realizing some gains, then sure you could call me ignorant. I'm a guy who has fully embraced tweaks and believe they have a legitimate place in enhancing our audio experience. My point is that the value of these tweaks generally match about what you paid for them. A $60 tweak is not going to yield thousands of dollars worth of gains. I use BDR cones and I think they are a good value - at $60. i would never pay 5x-10x that amount for what these bring to that table for instance. To address some other comments by others, speaker placement isn't a tweak - it's using speakers correctly by experimenting with position so you get the most from them in your room. Speaker manufacturers instruct you to do exactly this. Acoustic treatments are not tweaking your equipment, they are improving the acoustic characteristics of your room. Room treatment is of high value and should be done first before investing heavily in audio gear and beginning to apply tweaks like footers, fuses, tape, goo from a tube, etc. While I have heard subtle improvements by using HFTs, dollar for dollar my GIK treatments are far more effective in the same room. |
I’m not going to going argue about whether defining speaker placement as a tweak or simply an adjustment according to manufacturer instruction. I agree it’s highly important if you want to get the most from them. Not at all tweaks perform exactly on their price point. The point I’m trying to hit home is that in my experience not even the best tweaks approach providing multi-thousands of dollars of value while replacing transformational upgrades that component upgrades can provide. If 99% of the market could realize the gains of a $5K amp upgrade through buying $60 cones wouldn’t that be the worst kept secret on earth? Tweaks have their place and it’s typically around their price point. Like most things in life, you get what you pay for. Yes, some items represent higher value for sure but these categorical assessments that you can employ tweaking in lieu major gear upgrades is simply over the top and overstated. |
@tooblue Thanks...and I agree there are many analogies outside of audio that apply to tweaking in terms of realistic costs/benefits/value. w/r/t to the Hana ML I see Fremer posted a recent review here: https://www.analogplanet.com/content/high-performance-high-value-hana-ml-and-mh-cartridges Fast, timbrally neutral, non-mechanical-sounding, transparent and delivering levels of detail usually heard from more costly cartridges, the Hana ML is in every way an impressive sounding and performing cartridge. |
@reven6e But once everything is in place and the big job is done, I see no harm in trying lifting cables, controlling vibration, trialing different cables and any other number of "tweaks". Completely agree with this and it has been my approach. The tweaks get me the last bit of goodness allowing well designed gear to work its best. Through experimentation I've noted benefits from raising speaker cables off the floor (haven't found a benefit on power cords though). I have adjusted speakers, added footers, added cones under most components, added HFTs to improve imaging a bit....etc. But at the end of the day NONE of these tweaks ever were transformational enough to claim any one was the equivalent of a multi-thousand dollar component upgrade. Not even close....tweaks are rewarding, allowing you to be hands on and get even more engaged in the hobby, train your ability to hear subtle differences, better understand what sonic qualities are most important to you, etc...but let's not pretend we have a choice on either spending $5K for component upgrade or putting some tape on a tonearm or putting some cones under your DAC and realizing the same benefit. |
@newbee What also has always struck me as conspicuous is the great lengths that some folks go to promote tweaks, often as the primary source of their sonic joy. Fine tuning your system and room is one thing, but dedicating thread after thread solely to the power of the tweak leaves me dubious of the underlying motivation. |