Yes, mc I am kidding in one way but serious in another. We all have different perceptions of how our systems should be and this is on display. I find it interesting in the variety of solutions. You have your way and I have mine. In no way am I saying one is better than the other. Theoretically it should make no difference whether your equipment is visible or not (other than the lights:) as far as sound quality is concerned but it does! Whatever makes you happiest sounds better. None of us can separate our emotions from our perception of sound. Why does music make us happy?!
Mahgistar, I am not saying that there are not meaningful improvements you can make in a system and some of them can be dirt cheap. I once had a pair of loudspeakers that I could not get to image (Allison One's.)
One day out of frustration I turned them sideways and darn if the image did't snap into focus. Placebo is really not the right term in this case. Placebo infers a false effect. Sound affects our emotions and emotions affect what we hear. We hear what we hear. Nothing false about it. It is just that what affects what we hear is a complicated issue and hard to fathom. Adding just one dB to the volume, a barely noticeable amount can make things sound surprisingly different. I believe you have to appreciate this when evaluating equipment especially when dealing with minor differences.
Mahgistar, I am not saying that there are not meaningful improvements you can make in a system and some of them can be dirt cheap. I once had a pair of loudspeakers that I could not get to image (Allison One's.)
One day out of frustration I turned them sideways and darn if the image did't snap into focus. Placebo is really not the right term in this case. Placebo infers a false effect. Sound affects our emotions and emotions affect what we hear. We hear what we hear. Nothing false about it. It is just that what affects what we hear is a complicated issue and hard to fathom. Adding just one dB to the volume, a barely noticeable amount can make things sound surprisingly different. I believe you have to appreciate this when evaluating equipment especially when dealing with minor differences.