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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
tbg
5,263 posts
 
Nor would you be likely to find any physicists who would say there could be no effect. I have heard too many EEs say that electrons don't know what cable they have flowed through and other ridiculous statements to pay them much heed.
tbg
5,263 posts
 
A further thought. I once served on a doctorate committee in civil engineering where the candidate sought how to build on landfill. He sought many solutions, but ultimately stated that only penetrating it with footing would work. This may be true and may ultimately be cheapest, but there may be a better solution for someone with a more open approach. The Tacoma Narrows bridge is another example.
shadorne's avatar
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shadorne
7,467 posts
 
Nor would you be likely to find any physicists who would say there could be no effect.

I know what you mean, this is the type of argument used by the "catastrophic" Global Warming advocates - they all point out that C02 is a greenhouse gas therefore it must have an effect. This is all true but it is the relative size of the effect compared to other factors which is actually relevant. No doubt the kind of shampoo one uses might have some effect on the sound quality too.
tbg
5,263 posts
 
Yes, in reality the laws of engineering are incomplete. The effects of quartz on sound are what really mystifies me right now. Sometimes positive, sometimes negative, and sometimes no effect.
mumbles
83 posts
 
05-28-09: Tbg
Yes, in reality the laws of engineering are incomplete.
For sure somethings gotta be missing. It can feel like your on the edge of discovery as we approach the audiophile goal line of system synergy with that last little tweek . Unfortunately the goal line is always just one more tweek away.
I think there has been a mystical attraction to theorys of electomagnetism since before the turn of the 20th century, in Teslas time, when everyone thought like an inventor out of neccessity.
I've always been facsinated by the fact that in 1904, I think it was, the refrigerator and the hullahoop were invented, while at the same time Einstein published his theory of relativity. And it wasn't till 1915 anybody understood it enough to discuss it.
There are more audio truths out there, we want to believe! (cause all the other balloons been popped :)

I like Tholt's idea of removing all tweeks and putting them back for a audiophile rush.
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