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
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.
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.
Do you know the town where Tesla started an electric power company? At least we can get to something interesting.
"Tesla Electric Light (&?) Manufacturing"?
It was in N Jersey.

BTW, many of the "tweaks" described by a-philes DO affect the sound. I've rarely experienced jaw-dropping, vast and mind-boggling effects...
Whether the result is positive (i.e., the tweak "works") is another matter. The effects are easily explained in most cases.
For tweaks that filter out external vibrations, it would be cool if there were a gadget that could measure the vibration levels a component is subjected to both before and after tweak. That would settle the issue of whether that particular tweak worked or not. Then the next question would be if it did work, did it make a difference in the sound? Scientifically, that still might be impossible to measure objectively.