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
Nietzschelover, I don't accept "success" in DBTs as a valid indicator of anything, because "same/different" samplings of 30 seconds themselves are invalid. Science requires valid measures and hypotheses testings.

There, however, is an even more important concern--are audio equipment or tweak buyers engaged in science or just what pleases them? I don't think anyone has to defend their likes for a tweak or component based on how it works.

I certainly have had tweaks that don't work, those that work sometimes, and those that work extremely well.

I really don't understand why some have to take it on themselves to be judges of what is worthwhile, what I call the Scam Police. What purpose do they serve? Certainly when some were selling worthless elixors as cures for ailments with those taking them potentially harmed, society did the right thing to band them. How are Scam Police serving society?
I have to agree with everything 'N' said about varying aural acuity, and training with regard to "hearing differences". Then there's the other crap he's spouting. It takes MUCH more faith to accept evolution, as there is absolutely no scientific process possible to support it. The "scientific process" requires that something MUST BE repeatable, observable and recordable to be proven. Evolution is none of these, and further: flies in the face of the first two laws of Thermodynamics. It's totally grounded in philosophical preference, NOT scientific-inference. On the other hand: Science HAS determined that the simplest living cell has, what's been termed, "irreducible complexity", and Darwin himself stated, "If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down."
--Charles Darwin, Origin of Species. (http://www.ideacenter.org/contentmgr/showdetails.php/id/840) One might also consider MIT's having run a probability program, mathematically determining that it would be TOTALLY IMPOSSIBLE for a single DNA strand to spontaneously occur. When I ran across this video at Blockbuster, I thought it would be a comedy and rented it: (http://www.expelledthemovie.com/) Very thought provoking, and a revelation concerning the fear the scientific and educational establishments have with regards to being found in error. Not exactly, "Misc Audio", but I didn't bring up the topic!
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Rodman99999, "PS: That was all BTW, and I won't be back, so- Relax!."

I, for one, am pleased to hear you won't be back. :-)

Wendell