Jafreemen posts:
Among the pantheon of tweaks, I am highly skeptical of room treatments such as the stick-on chips, blocks, pebbles, discs, boxes and tiny bowls. The idea guys had to go SOMEWHERE with their products though, and since the under-component market was saturated with plinths, cones, bearings, points, racks, rubber cups, etc, it only made sense to move tweaks on top of and around the gear--hours of fascination and wonder for the customer. I would like to try that Novum PMR resonator, though. In choosing external audio tweaks, you have to look for items that either block, dissipate or absorb unwanted energy and sound waves or that clarify or focus the sound that you do want. This often involves items of considerable mass or area.
Wolf Garcia, you are in Dire need of some tweak faith. Jerry would have approved.
Thanks for listing your gear Whitestix. I'm not one to knock a guy's budget, but when it comes to the lower-priced amps, etc out there, you really DO get what you pay for--not much. Emotiva 5.1--is that a Chinese five-channel for around $600? Genius marketing, those guys. And those speakers--geez, couldn't you get some speakers that don't cross paths? You have to realize that the sound we hear is an energy transfer from the cone excursion to air molecules that then hit our eardrums. The smaller speakers should at least point at you........And yes, GK, the L. Ron Hubbard of audio, has combined a love of science fiction with shrewd observations of the audiophile's willing gullibility to try anything that may bring more audio beauty. You just have to learn how to wade through the BS.
Sir,
Thanks for your post. We agree and disagree. You suggest that you don't want to disparage lower-price gear, but you proceed to do just that. Don Sach's tube preamp is the best preamp I have had in my system in 45 years, following on the heels of a Luxman, Klyne, Modwright, Belles, CJ, Berning, a fully restored HK C-I, and a few others that I forget. Don's preamp is by far the best. When I auditioned the Linkwitz speakers in Mr LInkwtiz home, he drove them with the same Emotiva amp I use. (Do not diss the Linkwtiz speakers if you have not hear them. They are a quantum leap in speaker technology.) If the Emotiva amp he has in system good is enough for him, it sounds fine to my ears. I paid $350 for the amp. I will admit that a pair of Pass Labs amps might sound better, but they would not fit in my audio rack.
I agree that one has to wade through the BS to get to the useful tweaks, none of which you suggested passes my BS meter. But jez, the silly notions you cats seem to devote your energy seems to me a mostly useless diversion from the sheer enjoyment of listening to the music we long to hear. Eddie Higgins in the rotation tonight.
PS: Share with us your audio components which so profoundly benefit from the tweaks you find worthy. I am thinking maybe Ayon mono block amps, a Basis TT, Rockports, Wilson, or Raidho speakers. Maybe a pair of the lovely Lansche speakers. Maybe a pair of KEF Blades? Share with us the system you have so we we plebeians can stop wasting your money on foolish tweaks with our modest systems.
