I propose to separate the 2 matters : the more ridiculous tweak and the more overpriced... The more useless and the more ridiculous tough may overlapped sometimes, but the more ridiculous(like salt lamp) is not always the more useless … And for me with my low priced vintage audio system almost all tweaks are overpriced, then it is necessary to replicate without buying when I can...
What’s your vote for the most ridiculous, overpriced, and useless tweak?
My vote: Furutech Outlet Cover 105 NCF $220, with “special crystalline material that has two “active” properties.” https://www.thecableco.com/outlet-cover-105-ncf.html
Showing 41 responses by mahgister
I vote for salt Himalayan lamp for the most ridiculed of tweaks... The only problem I bought some used for peanuts and the light is gorgeous and they add sparkling aura to the sound if the light switch is "on" ... Gosh! I was surprized when i forget to open the switch to "on" sometimes and discover that something was missing in the air...I discover an audio forum in china where some say the samething than me about this salt lamp ...Then this is the most ridiculed tweaks for sure not the more ridiculous at all...My best to all... |
You are right Geoffkait , isolation and resonance control are 2 things and different things to clean and control... In my case the sorbothane duro 70 (other duro are problematic for me) is glued near the drivers speakers and under the feet and it seems to control resonance with success...The 2 granite plates + bamboo+cork+quartz seems to isolate relatively well my gear...It is not perfect but the difference are so great that I stuck with that...Cost is King in my sonic country... |
My system, even if the sound is wonderful now, is very low cost audio system, then almost all tweaks are for me overpriced...They are ridiculous only after I have try them or replicate them if their use is revealed not useful...They are overpriced tweaks that are very useful, resonators for example, it is simple to replicate them at low cost... |
Yes the treatment of the room is the most important tweak for any audio system at any price... After that the cleaning of my electrical room and house grid and audio grid with varied stones and crystals... Last but not least the treatment of mechanical vibrations : I use simple very low cost material with a success without defect...Sandwiches consisting of one granite plate on 4 little feet of quartz, sorbothane on this plate with another granite plate where I put cork plate and finally a bamboo plate with sorbothane under the speakers...The same sandwiches under the dac and under the amplifier... All is crystal clear with that bass included...But I have also treated my speakers with sorbothane and stones and heavy damping with a concrete mass ... At the end my audio system plays at his peak optimum, I know that because there is absolutely no comparison between the same system before and after all that...I am proud of the fact that my amplifier(100 bucks) my dac (50 bucks) my speakers (30 bucks) had a sound that make me jealous no more of my friend magneplanar system...The cost of my tweaks exceed the cost of my vintage system,but is far lower that a new piece of gear and without that my system is not on par with my dreams at all nor with reality if I compare it to the magneplanar system... |
Wise words indeed... I agree with your rant...But my point and I must say that yes I had ants in my pants,my point is about those that shout again the interest and value of any tweaks for the easy pleasure to shout against something in an audio forum... For the rest you are totally right...My best to you... |
Any tweaks can work or less so,or not, for you and your ears, particular room, particular systems but only if you try it...Some are easy to figure out why they work...Like the VPI brick, or the iron meteorite that I use for the same reason...I absolutely not spend big money on tweak, if possible replicate them... |
There is a fine line between between the quality of the components of a system and the listening capacity of the owner on the one hand (in relation with the mechanical grid,acoustic grid, electrical grid, information grid of his actual listening room) and on the other hand his final hability to discern what need to be implemented first and foremost... But Geoff is right, in a good system in general tweaks are more easy to discern in their impact and value...But for example if your room is bad, even if your system is good you will not perceive so clearly good tweaks and the so called "snake-oil" and the placebo effects... Conclusion : some tweaks are more important than other to implement first... For example put resonators even relatively bad one in a room and you will hear clearly evident change, great one or bad one, it is necessary to finetune the resonators for sure to make than very good...My experiment with stones and crystals were great tweaks with positive results but less evident one by one than with the resonators...My tweaking of mechanical vibrations were also evident but less so than the effect of the resonators,but I listen now to my resonators with an already tweaked system, electrically, and mechanically... Without these tweaks perhaps the effect of the resonators would have been there but less astounding in their evidence... All tweaks put my already good system to another level that is for sure... |
kqvkq9 I get your point and there is truth about your observations, thanks Lance I wish you the best... |
I read an article about pricey resonators one month ago....Very pricey.... I dont think: that is only and pure "snake-oil", people are so gullible etc...And I dont rant to expel some emotions about the general stupidity of the world except myself... Face reality, think and experiment; I decide to made my own resonators at practically no cost and it is the better innovation tweak that I ever experience and that give me my dream: an audio system of very good level... Forget that without all the tweaks + the resonators I experiment with except with substantial amount of ... Simple: dont rant, think, experiment and communicate to us your experience for a better listening experience... |
The point of this thread is about overpriced tweaks.... Most of the selling tweaks are overpriced... Ridiculous? that is impossible to say if you do not try it...My opinion is replicate at low cost for yourself the basic principle behind tweaks that are evidently useful or tempting to try : tweaking an audio system against mechanical vibration, tweaking the room acoustically, tweaking the electrical system of the house, tweaking with unexplained experience that give positive results is fun I make it happen at very low cost.... If the point of this thread is dividing people in 2 entranchment, this is not useful...My audiophile experience is at the end precisely this: all the tweaks I replicate at almost no cost or low cost, that’s what gave me the true audiophile experience of sound and music at the end.... Final results : I will not upgrade anything like I was dreaming to some years ago... If it was not for this studies I made about the usefulness of tweaks I will always go with unsatisfaction... Then that gives to no one any good to speak about evident too costly tweaks.... What is useful is what is your experience with them and how to replicate them at low cost... This is what interest me...All the rest is complaining rant most of the times and reading them is loosing times...My best to all... |
Nobody can understand what he cannot at first, or be it at last, imagine as a possibility... Alas! An answer for a question we never ask for, seems to some of us like an insult...But why not trying,experimenting and going for the unexpected ? Tweaks are only fun and rewarding if you make them for yourself... It is not necessary to buy anything, only to create for yourself... |
Some of these gullible people that mocks all "tweaks", the bad with the good,wheat and tares, bought the reviews or bought the marketing engineering spins, without knowing that the same product, does not sound the same, in different mechanical audio grid, in different electrical house grid, in different acoustical room grid, in different qualitative information grid... Then instead of experimenting by themselves they changed their gear in so called "upgrade", in the pursuit of an elusive experience of sound and music that was not always only positive,because it is first and foremost necessary to "tweak" the 4 grids, the mechanical,the electrical, the acoustical and the information grid to get optimal results with their actual components... Or you can buy for sure a 100,000 dollars system if you can and lives without any question about "how to get the maximum results with the minimum money ".... And remember that "tweaks" is not a synonym for "snake oil"...My best to all... |
Nevermind closed spirits without any imagination nor creativity....Blake said to them that they does not have to go to hell, they are hell... You can spit your sarcasms; today I change my near listening field position and to recreate the cohesiveness of the imaging I use a big dinosaur back-bone,a thin cable,an Herkimer diamond, and a small copper bell; and guess what? My imaging is more cohesive and better than ever in my new listening position... This is not a joke....My best to all... |
Thanks for the video.... This discovery of Emoto about water is just confirmed science now by the research of Nobel prize winner Luc Montagner after the great Jacques Benveniste dead by now and crucified and Killed by the likes of Maddox of Nature review.... By the way I am a fan of Sheldrake field... I am a disciple of Goethe science understanding.Then the quantum entanglement link between all things goes only in the direction of this genius understanding of nature,he is known but underestimated...My favorite quote is "There is no theory behind phenomena, phenomena are the theory" and this other one : " the history of science is science itself" Goethe was one of the greatest living spirit of the last 2 centuries... It is easy to understand most genius after the fact of their discoveries was made clear and known for every one, but for Goethe it is a little more difficult because understanding him ask for the transformation of the direction of intelligence and consciousness itself and not only intellectual studies... a link to Montagner discovery after Benveniste : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8VyUsVOic0 |
Geoffkait15,695 posts06-08-2019 1:22pmThe whole story how the Teleportation Tweak works can finally be told.I finally understand what you means by information field...You are right it was missing in my understanding of audio mechanical grid, and electrical, and acoustic......Thanks... |
No way the same audio components will sound the same in different reviewers room, treated or non-treated by acoustic tweaks for example, without speaking of the vibrations that plague almost all audio system unbeknown to the listener... Then judgement on the value of tweaks are like reviews, only rarely more than very generally significative for each of us and most of the times illusory,because of these differences of implementation,first in different audio components grids, second in different electrical grids,third in different acoustic environment... I dont even speak about the different listening capabilities of each of us,resulting from our specific audiophile habits personal history...That explain much of the contradictory report about specific tweak... If your system is not very refine or at least if not optimally or minimally embedded in these 3 grids, how can you perceive subtle but clear differences? In lack of personal research and experience and experiments many people resort to denigration or denial, I prefer experimenting... But another point, many cie. sold tweaks that are too much costly, I prefer to recreate them by myself if possible... The last tweak that was too much cost for me than I recreate with astounding results at almost no cost were Helmholtz generator... Stupendous artefact easy to create that transform completely for me my audio already treated room...No need to pay thousand dollars... But certainly someone with time to loose will denigrate that without any experimenting...I hate snake oil but I hate people who hate systematically anything they dont like and called that " snake oil" also,because often for them anything is snake oil...Thinking, experimenting, and loving and partaking tweaks are truly great activity in audio... P.S. The simple truth is most audio tweaks are overpriced perhaps, but are not, most of the times, pure snake oil "per se" but depend of the quality of the 3 embedding grids, audio,electrical, and acoustical, where they will be implemented to be listen to with great or less great success.... Perhaps this question will be more interesting: What’s your vote for the most astounding,underpriced, and useful tweak? My answer will be because it is so cheap and simple to make : Helmholtz resonator.... |
wow! thanks...But what is the exact answer,for the benefit of all? And what is flying saucers for Windows by the way ? Ok I got it, I had 2 windows in my audio room, I will try that thanks... This antenna on the top center spot of the schumann generator antenna and perpendicular to it (3 inches) give to me a completely new sound with an unknown clarity (probably by increasing the power emission of the S.G. ) ...I had listen to music I perfectly know of(favorite files) and does not hear that before at all...My system is already heavily tweaked and it was not known to me at all that it was lacking so much....But the connected stones makes a difference after a try with the S.G. nude, and the antenna Gosh! it was like a new sound system TOTL I had bought, except the cost is almost nothing...My best to you Geoff for your idea about antenna and suggestion... |
Geoff I improve another times and on another level the schumann generator, first improvement is with 3 stones, second improvement connected with a thin copper cable to my stones grid these 3 stones on the center spot of the S.G. Third improvement, and not the least, I glued a copper antenna (3 inches) on top of the 3 stones, the gain in clarity is amazing....I am totally flabbergast by the S. G. and these 3 upgrade I have improvised... Your quizz about antenna and wavelength inspire me... thanks Geoffkait. |
I cannot post photo here alas! But I put a link... Just a word saying that I have added 1 very small tourmaline stone like 1 gram maximum to a little shungite and Herkimer to the center of the schumann resonator... That make a big difference in the rendering of a more natural musical timbre ... These stones glued together are linked by a thin copper cable to the grid stones of my audio system and changing one is like changing the tube in an amplifier...Then there is at first sight tweaks that seems ridiculous but are efficient in a way that undermines many upgrading buying gear... a link to it : http://i68.tinypic.com/t6auk1.jpg The black stone at the basis is a piece of shungite, the transparent crystal is an Herkimer diamond and next to it a very small red tourmaline chunk... The addition of the tourmaline push that to a more higher level...The tweaked schumann resonator with stones is amazing upgrade...cost are very low... |
Most of the times people lack the experience linked to an audio system functioning at his peak potential... they bought to upgrade without never knowing the potential of what they already owns... then for them tweaks are only marginal in the final upgrading effect, and they called snake-oil practically anything, especially what seems too costly...For me I dont buy any thing costly and I tweak myself...There is no snake oil if you experiment by yourself...And for me all my tweaks gives more upgrading effect than buying another dac or amp or speakers...My amp and dac and speakers are already top of the line(relatively speaking for sure)…. My best to all... |
TOBOR007 63 post 63 posts06-13-2019 10:21amI would say if you haven't used some of the extreme high end tweaks like audiophile rocks, please don't judge them. After all, I remember the once thought snake oil products such as snake oil, bust cream and sea monkeys were thought to be somewhat suspect. Perhaps, like many people, I was to quick in judging these products without trying them.I think that you speak wise words...For the stones and crystals for example it takes me more than a year of experiments to use them and that transform my audio system...With other important method like treating the room adequately and using also Helmholtz resonators, without speaking of the control of vibration and cleaning of the electrical grid, nothing I had compare with before and after that... The truth is almost everybody here had never listen to their own gear at his peak potential and many are unsatisfied because they dont know how to install and prepare, and treat, and clean and control all the components they own already and are unconscious of the many parameters that makes the difference between a good system and a better one using the same pieces of gear...That is my experience after 7 years of reading forums and reviews and experimenting...My best to you... |