@krelldreams,
'I’ve found, to ME, in my systems, nothing that has made a difference in sound that has compared to the level of difference I’ve heard/experienced with: changing speakers, changing speaker positioning, treating the room, changing amplifiers, or changing phono cartridges (roughly in that order).
...
Tweaks that DO work are noticeable, and enhance the sound a bit, but I haven’t tried one that made me think; “Wow! I can’t listen to my music without this!”
My experiences too. So far so good but then it gets tricky.
@douglas_schroeder
'Tweaks are how you do not build a great audio system.'
@millercarbon,
'Tweaks are exactly how you build a great audio system. I would even go so far as to say you cannot build a great audio system for any amount of money, it simply will not be great without tweaks. Sorry. You can build an expensive audio system without tweaks. You can even build an impressive audio system without tweaks. But you simply cannot build a great audio system without tweaks.'
I think it's important to distinguish between what constitutes a tweak and what constitutes good system set up.
I mentioned earlier the idea that an optimized $500 system might match a poorly setup $50,000 one, but assuming that @millercarbon is on to something, could it be even that figure was too modest?
Actually I'd tend to agree but don't like the idea of equating good system setup with nonsense such as teleportation tweaks, magic pebbles etc.
For example I think most of us would agree that a low noise floor is a good thing.
Therefore wouldn't a million dollar (boutique) system placed in a box shaped front room next to a busy main road be at a serious disadvantage to a 500 dollar one placed in a near silent room which had asymmetric dimensions for height, width and length?
Maybe that's the real question here, just where does good system assembly and set-up end, and the portal to audiophile snake-oil begin?
It's obvious, as all audiophiles know, that you can't just buy a system and plonk it down willy-and hope for the best sound.
You may get lucky and it may sound good, but on the other hand you might be putting up with seriously degraded sound compared to what your system might be capable of.
I'd say that a room with good acoustics, freedom from electrical and other outside noise, and a degree of structural integrity is desirable.
Speaker placement and perhaps some isolation underneath are also definitely worth experimenting with.
What else is there?
