Tweaks

defy my logic.I may not be as knowlegeable,well versed,exposed etc as you guys but really can wire be worth $1K a meter?I mean aomebody get's a $5K speaker and spends $2K on each other component.Wouldn't that dough be better spent getting a better 1)Speaker 2)amp3)source?I just can't believe that a $1200 'table with a $500 speaker couldn't use a $750 cart or better 'table rather than a $500 piece of wire.When you look into a lot of (but not all) "high end" gear any refigerator/TV repair guy could tell you that a lot of the parts can be bought off the shelf a Radio Shack for 1/10 the list.This is bad enough but when you see how much some wire/stands etc cost it's just a missapropriation of funds into an overall budget that could be better used elsewhere.Wire and such can sound different but not neccesarily better.I just think the big changes with differnt speakers and amps make way more sense.

Properly set up gear is so hard to find.There are many stores that sell HIFI but very few who now how to really show it off.
Locally Alternative Audio have it down to an art.
8 rooms properly set up.
Any one within 8 Hours of Dundas,Ontario make a weekend out of it.USA Dollars go a long way in Canada.

Kelly, I have found that Kentucky Blue Grass works best with SS gear while Rye works best with tube gear! Also, one foot square sod plugs make EXCELLENT accoustic wall tile! Happy Tunes!

Don't do like I did and try to cut corners by using astro turf, it sounds completely hard and artificial. Might bleach it to see if it will sound less colored. Thanks for the tip about the flamingos, they brought out alot of subtle nuances in my system.

Sean, you are absolutely right on target. We hear differences and we don't know to what they should be attributed but we are confident that they exist. I think that's a given for most of us. It is where we go from there that makes the difference in our long-range understanding of good sound.

In the short run, these matters are easy: Try it. Like it? Got the cash? Do it.

In the long run, we need to continue to explore and measure and poke and prod and make careful comparisons. We need to be unafraid to put our subjective comparisons to the test, knowing that testing methods are imperfect but likewise not without value. We need to candidly acknowledge that:

(1) Some clearly discernible differences in sound exist that cannot be measured or quantified...at least not yet, possibly never.

(2) Some perceived differences probably arise from a whole lot of extraneous factors such as how much we paid for our gear or how many hours we spent tweaking it.

Exploring these possibilities ought not be so intimidating to either EEs or GEs that they go into conniption fits of character assassination every time they come face to face.

Augustine said it: Love God and do as you will.