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  3. 1108577634

Tweaks That Don't Work

This may be the subject of some discord, but a great community service would be to help others not waste money on snake oil.

Please let us know what you've tried that had no impact - or negative impact, even - on your system. Also, if there are tweaks or products that are only useful on some systems for whatever reason, please let us know what kinds of systems do and don't benefit from the particular products.

Some of you out there have tremendous experience trying to squeeze every last ounce of performance out of your equipment and probably have a laundry list for us - let's hear it!
aggielaw
aggielaw OP
267 posts
 
I'll be posting more about Richard Hardesty's work on other subjects, but he had just a short bit to say about tweaks. Generally, I believe his position was most tweaks are not worth the money spent (I assume directed at commercial tweaks), which mirrors a comment made in this thread. I believe he also infers that most tweaks damage the sound (or the accuracy of the sound, at least) rather than help it.

If you agree with Hardesty's theories - and particularly his position on tweaks - then most tweaks are useless or worse, harmful.

Thoughts?
aggielaw OP
267 posts
 
PS: when I say "he had just a short bit to say about tweaks" I'm referring to a segment in his "Audio Perfectionist Journal," not referring to an actual dialogue I have with him.
zaikesman
3,017 posts
 
I replaced my nearly 50-year-old wall outlet with a cryo'd Hubbell hospital-grade one (my entire system is powered off this one central plug) and tested it against another original outlet that was left as-is. Verdict: no audible differences I can detect. (For those who care, I do hear differences in power cords and 'conditioners'.) But the new outlet is much more heftily built and grips tighter, and it didn't cost a lot.

Russ: Yes, Shun Mook disks are "necessarily snake oil" in my book :-)

Tom: Maybe it's that in your, shall we say, somewhat unusual living/listening environment, you are subliminally subjected to a confoundingly high background level of real 'prehistoric fear excitement' at all times, which swamps that of the artificial variety introduced by your audio system...or maybe it's just that 2 solar watts simply ain't scary enough for that stuff to work! :-)
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