@douglas_schroeder Nice article.You're going to raise some temperatures around here with MC at the head of the line of true believers regarding some audiophile tweaks like this Schumann Resonator thing (which I think is among the craziest I've heard of).
I do believe (and have most definitely heard) tremendous improvement is possible with vibration control of turntables, assuming they have existing issues with that as my Rega P8 did. I doubt putting the platform under an SME table would have the same impact. I probably had the most room for improvement - a 10 pound table sitting on a credenza on a suspended floor over a crawl space. Putting it on a wall shelf on top of a Townshend platform made it sound like a new table. It sounded almost as good sitting on the credenza and the platform, but that combo created foot falls that didn't exist before, so I had to put it on a wall shelf. Luckily, I was able to do that because I would have kept the platform without the wall shelf because it sounded so much better, and I would have lived with stepping lightly near the stereo.
I also believe as AJ van den Hul states in his 100 page audio white paper/encyclopedia on his web site that moving wires has a short term change in sound until returned to their steady state. That would imply that vibrations in cables, amps and the like would impact SQ, however, I don't believe it is audible under "normal" circumstances. I put Herbie's tenderfeet under my amp and phono stage because of the low cost and theoretical improvement, but haven't noticed any. I also had the high cost Townshend pods under the amp for a couple weeks and they made no difference. This is on top of the credenza and suspended floor!
Plinius recommends leaving their amps on, which I do, and really never experimented with turning them on just for listening sessions, and my phono stage has no on/off switch. Perhaps frequently turning the amp on and off puts some stress somewhere in the amp and may cause it to wear quicker? Their products will last longer and sound better from their experience, so who am I to question?
I was told that my speakers would sound better over time as the drivers broke in, but they sounded great from the get go, and I can't say if they improved over time as there is so much variation in SQ from album to album. Plus it's not like you turn a switch and voila, they sound better. It's probably very gradual like an asymptotic graph reaching a theoretical optimal level.
Like you, I am not interested in subtle or very subtle improvements, and I have been surprised by how little my turntable improved in sound in an upgrade from the Rega P5 to the P8 while using the same arm from the P8. If I can't hear am easily noticeable change when hooking up the new equipment or change, it's not worth it to me.
I think if people want to hear a difference, they can convince their brain that they do, but if they wanted to really be honest with themselves, they would do blind tests. I asked posters on this discussion to do that, and so far only one has done it and he said it made no difference to the sound, and maybe widened the soundstage very slightly.
I do believe (and have most definitely heard) tremendous improvement is possible with vibration control of turntables, assuming they have existing issues with that as my Rega P8 did. I doubt putting the platform under an SME table would have the same impact. I probably had the most room for improvement - a 10 pound table sitting on a credenza on a suspended floor over a crawl space. Putting it on a wall shelf on top of a Townshend platform made it sound like a new table. It sounded almost as good sitting on the credenza and the platform, but that combo created foot falls that didn't exist before, so I had to put it on a wall shelf. Luckily, I was able to do that because I would have kept the platform without the wall shelf because it sounded so much better, and I would have lived with stepping lightly near the stereo.
I also believe as AJ van den Hul states in his 100 page audio white paper/encyclopedia on his web site that moving wires has a short term change in sound until returned to their steady state. That would imply that vibrations in cables, amps and the like would impact SQ, however, I don't believe it is audible under "normal" circumstances. I put Herbie's tenderfeet under my amp and phono stage because of the low cost and theoretical improvement, but haven't noticed any. I also had the high cost Townshend pods under the amp for a couple weeks and they made no difference. This is on top of the credenza and suspended floor!
Plinius recommends leaving their amps on, which I do, and really never experimented with turning them on just for listening sessions, and my phono stage has no on/off switch. Perhaps frequently turning the amp on and off puts some stress somewhere in the amp and may cause it to wear quicker? Their products will last longer and sound better from their experience, so who am I to question?
I was told that my speakers would sound better over time as the drivers broke in, but they sounded great from the get go, and I can't say if they improved over time as there is so much variation in SQ from album to album. Plus it's not like you turn a switch and voila, they sound better. It's probably very gradual like an asymptotic graph reaching a theoretical optimal level.
Like you, I am not interested in subtle or very subtle improvements, and I have been surprised by how little my turntable improved in sound in an upgrade from the Rega P5 to the P8 while using the same arm from the P8. If I can't hear am easily noticeable change when hooking up the new equipment or change, it's not worth it to me.
I think if people want to hear a difference, they can convince their brain that they do, but if they wanted to really be honest with themselves, they would do blind tests. I asked posters on this discussion to do that, and so far only one has done it and he said it made no difference to the sound, and maybe widened the soundstage very slightly.