Tweaks That Don't Work

Great question. I'm pretty sure you will get a lot of input and maybe some interesting discussion amongst members. What I have found is that there is a hierarchy of tweaks. Proper set up is kind of a no-brainer but often overlooked. Start there. It's not as easy as it seems but, thankfully, with the internet and this site one can get very close. The next area of concern should be the room, IMO. Temporary acoustic treatments with blankets, pillows and such help get the most out of your system. The next area to concentrate on should be your electrical delivery to components. Without even spending any money of dedicated lines you can play with lifting of grounds to lower the noise floor and plugging your digital source into another circuit. Everything I've mentioned so far falls within the realm of tweaking but these steps are necessary to allow you to even hear any changes other tweaks can make.

I'd suggest that you next audition interconnects starting with preamp to amp. Speaker cables are your next logical tweak. Dedicated lines, permanent acoustic treatments and power cords....

So, I haven't addressed what you really want to know. Is sorbothane better than tennis balls, coupling vs. decoupling, etc.? My point is that you must get your basic system to a point where it is revealing enough to hear what any tweak can do.

It took me so long to realize the importance of the above mentioned basics that most of the smaller tweaking I'd tried before were acts of futility. Even if I heard a difference I can't say that it was positive or negative. It was just different. Now that my system is maximized the smaller tweaks are easily identified as good or bad in my system.

I'll be following this thread closely and hope that I haven't sidetracked what you want to find out with my post. It's just become so obvious to me that many of the naysayers about tweaks in general haven't gotten their basic systems and rooms to a point where any meaningful evaluation can be done.

Two things did nothing for me:

Subaruguru's PC, while a nice kit and still "in" my system, did not do anything I could identify on any component.

Audiopoint speaker spikes. For many months my stock spikes were lost, so I purchased audiopoints merely as a replacement. The salesman told me they would transform my speakers to sound like the "next model up", so that is why I mention them on this thread. Months later I found my stock spikes and did not hear a difference in comparison. The APs have since been relegated to component stand duty. The negative was that with their narrower base left ringed marks on my speakers. Blaming the poor curing of my speakers' wood cabinets, the salesman would not let me return exchange for a model with a wider base.

Aggielaw, I see this as a very rational request and wish that it could be implemented without rancor, but I just don't see how. My latest successfully implemented tweak will always be someone else's snake oil. And I'll likely think you lack perspective or hearing when you tell me that using XXX made a vast difference in your system. I think its enuf to "discuss" the efficacy of each tweak as it comes up and let subsequent subsequent interests in the tweak by satisfied either thru renewal of the thread or thru forum research. This way there can be a more complete airing of opinion, not just a consensus listing, or a listing with allowance for a summary w/proviosion for the numbers of folks who agree or disagree.

And, most importantly, it will give us something to argue about ad infinitum, ad naseum. :-)

Newbee, I had the same thought as you. Ironic that I tried to re-edit with why I did not think they worked, but you posted after me!

Good spikes on floorstanding speakers do work if the mass of the speaker is great enough to keep them firmly planted(unless your floors are creaky and resonant).
Throw rugs and plush furniture do work to calm a lively room.
Good (not necessarily expensive) power conditioners on things that spin work.
The cost of most tweaks far outweighs the benifit though. Even the tweaks that do work only improve the sound relative to the capabilities of the equipment. Careful placement of speakers can make a modest system sound quite impressive and enjoyable though.