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I Just Don't Hear It - I wish I did

I am frustrated because I am an audiophile who cannot discern details from so many of the methods praised by other audiophiles. I joke about not having golden ears. That said, I can easily discern and appreciate good soundstage, image, balance, tone, timbre, transparency and even the synergy of a system. I am however unable to hear the improvements that result from, say a piece of Teflon tape or a $5.00 item from the plumbing aisle at Home Depot. Furthermore, I think it is grossly unfair that I must pay in multiples of one hundred, or even one thousand just to gain relatively slight improvements in transparency, detail, timbre soundstage, etc., when other audiophiles can gain the same level of details from a ten dollar tweak. In an effort to sooth my frustration, I tell myself that my fellow audiophiles are experiencing a placebo effect of some sort. Does anyone else struggle to hear….no wait; does anyone else struggle to comprehend how someone else can hear the perceived benefits gained by the inclusion of any number of highly touted tweaks/gimmicks (brass screws, copper couplers, Teflon tape, maple hardwood, racquet balls, etc.) I mean, the claims are that these methods actually result in improved soundstage, image, detail (“blacker backgrounds”), clarity, bass definition, etc.
Am I alone in my frustration here?
2chnlben
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,363 posts
 
I tend to be very skeptical of the value of many elaborate high cost tweaks and that skepticism has served me well over the years.

Still, I do not doubt that many make a difference of some sort, but not all differences are necessarily "better", just different.

Over the years I have found there are affordable ways to accomplish most of one's listening goals.

There are some fundamental things one can do that are relatively easy if you just do some homework first to understand how the technology and physics behind audio works, like chosing amp and speaker combos that work well together, fitting speakers to the room properly, and assuring good physical and electromagnetic isolation of components.

There are other tweaks that both technically make sense to me that they will affect the sound and I can also hear a difference to confirm it. Simple precautionary power conditioning is one. Different sounding ICs are another.

Just remember that no two things sound exactly the same. However some differences are significant and others are not. The best way to find out is do some homework, experiment with different stuff, and listen carefully.
zargon's avatar
zargon
453 posts
 
I think it is important as an audiophile to keep some balance between "the system" and "the music". Yet we seem to treat them differently. We may be frustrated because we don't hear some of what others report are obvious differences in system components and tweeks. At the same time, we a quite comfortable with liking some genres of music that others have no interest in.

I have decided what I hear and like is for me, not others. If a component makes a difference to me, I buy it. If I like a musician's work, I buy it. If not, don't. I have also found that where there is some science behind a tweek which I can understand and appreciate, I am more likely to give it a try. But even then, it might not make a difference which I can appreciate of find worth the cost.

Bottom line is don't fall in the trap of implementing something just because you have read somewhere that it provided a benefit to someone else. And don't feel guilty about it, because as these forums demonstrate, for every person that is promoting a change that makes a difference, there is someone just as deteremined that it does not.
tholt
551 posts
 
It's a conspiracy, marketing or both. I am with the OP -- I struggle to understand how feet and other tweaks the night and day differences that I read about, moreover that the component itself was seemingly putting out a fraction of its potential without them. I've decided to take all those testimonials I read about with a lot of salt. Money for me is the determining factor -- beyond what i consider a reasonable expenditure, I won't try it. Any 'real' money is going to be spent on an upgrade, not a tweak.

In general, what I have discerned is that anything I put on brass spikes seems to be lighter in bass, thus sounding more 'airy'. Sorbothane has improved bass slightly in some instances (CD players). No tweak has ever been night and day. And the best tweak I've ever done was not to any component but to the room with acoustic paneling.
cruz123
586 posts
 
The only changes that have been significantly noticable in my system are component changes, modifications to equipment (and sometimes those are iffy) and speaker cable /interconnect changes. I have yet to hear a footer make much, if any, difference, though I do use soft footers under every device (I've yet to uderstand how placing a component on a hard object such as brass or grantite can reduce vibration, though my feable mind can kind of understand how a soft footer could insulate from vibration.) Also, contrary to many here, I have yet to notice significant, if any, improvements from a power cord, though I have tried many hoping something will eventually floor me. I use tube dampers and various CD tweaks, but I'm not sure they make any difference.

The crazy thing is that although I doe not perceive that I can hear the changes from many tweaks, I keep using them, believing that if I take them out of my system it will somehow result in a degradation. On the other hand, I am very happy with my system as it currently stands. Perhaps the cumulative effects of the various tweaks I use do, somehow, make a difference. Or, perhaps I just want to believe.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,363 posts
 
There are two categories of "tweaks" which based on science must have some effect on how a piece performs:

1) a tweak to anything in the signal path from source to ears
2) a tweak that isolates a piece of equipment whose performance is affected by external vibrations or EM fields.

Turntables are the most susceptible to external vibrations. Other components may be as well but to a much lesser degree I believe.

Low level devices like phono step up devices and phono pre-amps are most susceptible to external EM fields. Line level pre-amps are also but the effects here are often more subtle and harder to hear without an a/b comparison.

You can see that phono setups can have a double whammy working against them so they are probably the part of a system that requires the most "tweaking" to get right. I think that's part of their mystique these days.

Tubes and IC and a few other components are the least expensive devices in the signal chain of a good system to tweak to good effect. I think that is part of the mystique with them for hobbyists as well.
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