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Rank the tweaks, geeks!

How would you rank the general importance of the following gear (not room or electrical) tweaks. You can use your own setup and experience as your basis. If you tried something and it didn't matter, put it in a separate paragraph at the bottom with "didn't matter" next to it. If it doesn't apply to your setup, just don't include it on your list.

speaker wires
speaker isolation
interconnects
cable risers
component isolation
tube dampers
power cords for amps
power cords for preamps
power cords for other compnents
better capacitors (where?)
better fuses (where?)

Did I leave out an important tweak? Please add in as you see fit.

Think it's all snake oil and voodoo? Go watch some TV or take a walk and let folks on the thread have their fun. Because this is a hobby.

If you think that "everything matters" but are willing to go beyond that and suggest what would be the best first step toward doing something, please list the best first things to do. A "to do agenda" rather than a "priority list."
hilde45
hilde45's avatar
hilde45 OP
5,291 posts
 
Anyone who chooses what to do first has implicitly ranked, unless they’re acting at random.
Anyone who makes a checklist has to choose what to do on it, first.
Let's not quibble. Rankings, taken to an extreme, are quixotic, a waste of time.
But we all agree to do the bigger stuff, first. Nuff said.
kennyc
1,827 posts
 
@hilde45
Don’t fully understand the stuff about Cisco switch; have been using wifi rather than ethernet cable because I’ve read that ethernet cables are susceptible in real ways
Read increasing reviews of the sonic benefits of an audiophile Ethernet switch. 
Last I checked the $4k Telegärtner m12 network switch was at the top of the heap. Fortunately, there are some new audiophile Ethernet switches more wallet friendly.

To further lower noise there are optical isolation options for both Ethernet and interconnects. A 2019 list of Ethernet switches: https://www.stereonet.com/forums/topic/298457-ethernet-switches-for-audio-part-a-list-of-switches-re...
A sceptic review who thinks it’s a placebo:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/do-audiophile-network-switches-make-a-dif...
But there are many who hear improvements and not everything we hear is measurable with current science.

There’s also Uptone EtherRegen and audiophile Ethernet cables.

I haven’t yet decided how far I want to go down this $ rabbit hole.
djones51
4,947 posts
 
There are those who claim to hear improvement without using basic controls for bias, everything we hear can be measured. If you want to spend money on a switch get a managed switch and set your streamer for priority. 
hilde45's avatar
hilde45 OP
5,291 posts
 
@kennyc 
@djones51 

Thanks. I need to google "managed switch" because...I am ignorant.

At this point, I'm filing away this information about ethernet switches. From my understanding, and given my system's situation, there are too many other more important things to do to improve the sound.

This is *exactly* why a ranked list is valuable to me -- when a new option comes along (e.g. ethernet switch) I can look at my other options and know what else to do first. 
sns
3,684 posts
 
In the end I can't possibly rank, at one time or another I might have said any of the items you've mentioned as the most important. All links in chain are important, improving the weakest is entirely variable within one's system at any single point in time. This is the essence of evolving our systems.
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