The Absurdity of it All

It never ceases to puzzle me how combative so many who post to this site are. The OP, it seems to me, was making a simple point: the "improvements" supposedly attributable to different cables, cable risers, etc. etc., are extremely subtle if they exist at all; in general, they are not even measurable by devices far more sensitive that our ears. And "our" ears, for the most part, are no longer young; even if you've been careful, it's very unlikely you can hear anything above about 12 KHz if you're over 50. 

When I was in college, I made a practice of visiting the campus health center once a semester to have my ears properly cleaned. I'd spend the rest of that day listening to music: the improvement was startling, and thrilling. But it didn't last long. And now, of course, I could not restore my youthful hearing just by having my ears cleaned (I've tried). 

Yes, the ear/brain connection that delivers sounds to consciousness, where they become music, is complex, not very well understood, and arguably improves with age and experience. That's a truism, too. But it wasn't the OP's original point.

To perceive differences due to the electronic reproduction of frequencies that are too subtle even to be measured is problematic at any age, much less with age-compromised ears (and brains). So, sure: it all depends on what makes you happy, and no one, therefore, should make "objective" claims for tweaks or high-end products of almost any kind. BUT...this forum is all about offering advice to others about what to spend our money on. So things get out of hand easily; there's a strong confirmation bias involved in advocating for something one has decided is "worth" the investment.

I want to just say: Get over it! But that's beside the point, too, as it would seem to be advice incompatible with this entire forum.

So, at the end of this ramble, it seems I've answered my own original question. Why are audiophiles so defensive (and aggressive)? Because they've chosen, for whatever reasons, to spend a lot of money on things that cannot be shown to really make any objective difference, instead of on things their families need, or giving their "disposable income" to charities rather than to well-heeled audio hucksters. 

But, hey. Life's not fair. And "pleasure" is subjective and, as often as not, produced by webs of belief rather than objective facts.

@crustycoot  

I would sooner trust someone who has a lot of experience at listening than someone who has pristine hearing but doesn't know what to listen for.

Suspect your colleagues are asking because they trust your listening skills.

So, keep on keeping on!

................what?

@perkri  I really enjoyed reading your list of tweaks and the rationales for each of them! I'm still learning, so can you tell me how you listen to each tweak to determine what difference it's made and whether that tweak is working or not? Serious question because the only thing that will keep me from going down a rabbit hole is a process by which I can know (a) whether a tweak has done something and (b) the degree and character of it. Thank you.

@hilde45  


Too late, you've already become trapped, deep in the rabbit hole :)

I'be built most of my "tweaks". And I consider the chain of my system. Its only as good as its weakest link. And no point in putting one insanely strong link in that chain. With one caveat - is it something that can be moved forward if you start suffering from upgradeitis.

I'm in the middle of dealing with my TT. Isolation is the main thing I'm going to be dealing with over the next little while. 

Not sure I have a specific methodology other than living with whatever I change for a while and see what I like, and what bothers me.

The big sorbothane semi circles I had under the TT as a quick thing so I could physically place the TT on my rack were deadening the sound. Was a bit flat. Made some spikes and put under it as a temporary fix until I decide to go with springs, some kind of pod, roller blocks or some kind of combo of the above. And will I need some kind of big isolation block under it as well. 

I built my own rack as well. Double layer 3/4" ply used everywhere. With all the gear on it, it weighs in excess of 120lbs. It's going to be redone, not because of any audio issues I'm having, but the design doesn't work for my set up as it is now. When rebuilding, I will implement some modifications to the build and will be able to hear whatever difference it makes.

About to redo the wires in the tonearm. The ones in it are the original ones and I'm curious to see what happens to the sound when they are replaced. I have to open it up anyway as there is a slight buzzing/hum coming from it thats bothering me. Not audible with the ESL-57's, but very audible with the Cornwalls. As it's a TT I built - Lenco L70 heavy plinth - it is new to me (put into service a week or so ago) most of the wires I installed were good, but not exceptional. Again, I want to live with it for a while before I start changing out something that may or may not be necessary.

Up until this point, with this system, I have been doing tried and true "things". I built a basic "power bar/filter" using good quality sockets, wires and capacitors to aid in filtering noise on the AC line. Built the same filter for a friend and the noise floor dropped dramatically on his system. The rack is solid, and fairly dead acoustically. I've replaced all the "black plastic" IEC cords with 'better' heavy gauge cables and plugs. I've made new power cords for my ESL's as well as its own filtered socket. They are much quieter than before. All my interconnects are Kimber as are my speaker cables. I've had them for years and see no reason to swap them out. But, having said that, I am going to build some new interconnects using some quality wire/connectors and see what I hear before I move to change anything that gets costly. My speaker wires will also be done as an experiment to see what changes happen. 

I've re-capped my main amp - EL34 based integrated - that I bought new in the early 90's. Opened it up immensely , blacker background and more transparent.

I had a 15 year hiatus from my audio interests - marriage/kids - and since the divorce 6 years ago, I have been returning to this hobby.

When I get this to a point of "done" (which it will never be...), I'm going to remove everything and listen for the difference. 

To me, this is a journey. And its a journey where in between brief moments of "adjusting", I get to lose myself in music. 

In a nutshell. I live with things for a while to get accustomed to them, then I listen acutely to what is good, what is too much or too little.