Tweaks you got rid of because they were not effective (enough)?


There are some audiophiles for whom cost is no object; they buy what they wish and every single tweak and gadget which promises to improve the sound. And the industry is all too happy to produce such tweaks -- often made of expensive materials with elaborate engineering explanations. Those who question the value of these tweaks are frequently accused of being "naysayers" who are either too ignorant or insensate to realize that "everything matters."

Of course, money spent one place cannot be spent elsewhere; expenditures on tweaks take the place of other more central factors affecting the sound. In some cases, those tweaks are worth it; you can hear the difference, and that $400 (or whatever) really could not have improved your speakers or sub or amp, etc.

So, the question here is simple: Which tweak have you tried which, after some experience and reflection, you realized was either *not* effective or not the most effective way to improve your system? 
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Showing 3 responses by djones51

I probably got things off topic. What I consider jewelry would be different than tweaks. I've tried a lot of the mentioned tweaks never heard any quantifiable improvement. I've also tried what I call jewelry same deal never really heard any improvement once my biases were removed from the equation. 
For example, a speaker cable is not a tweak. A fancy speaker cable is. Etc.

A DAC is not a tweak in a digital system. A fancy DAC is. Same with amps, streamers etc.. that’s what I meant when I said once it’s beyond audible it’s jewelry.  There's nothing wrong with jewelry or tweaks. I thought we were just voicing opinions. 

Depends on the definition of tweak. To me a lot of amplifiers, DACs and to a lesser extent exotic speakers are tweaks. Once the components are transparent to human hearing and you get a good in room FR at a comfortable SPL the rest is jewelry.