How many of us look under the hood??

Mrjstark: I was only kidding. From the looks of your rig and listening room you seem to know exactly what you are doing, which I do not (on an under the hood level)!

Most of us don't have technical background, I'm no exception. But I like to see what is inside a component. If I see a neat layout with quality parts it gives me certain feeling of "trust" with regard to both the product and the manufacturer. But I also know that just nice "cosmetics" and cool looks can be deceptive. OTOH some components don't have this neat interior but they are very good in reproducing music (= very musical). For example some of the point-to-point wired tube amplifiers (from Supratek and Atmasphere). Especially the Supratek units have very messy looking interiors.

Chris

Chashmal: I laughed my ass off when I read your comment.
I knew you were kidding; that's why it was so funny-- no offense to MrJ.
I think it's fun looking underneath the hood. It gives me a sense of how much care a mfr. has for being neat:
a quality a lot of us admires.

Of course I look under the hood, I touch and caress under the hood, I play under the hood. I also do the same to my audio components :-)

But seriously, I've modified my own gear for many years now with spectacular results. Since I don't have to deal with manufacturer's price points I can put better components inside. Yes, there's been a lot of trial and error, but with time and help from others here and on other forums comes learning and experience.

Bob