Well, gents, this thread goes on and on, with a lot of chatter, and like the discussions with my girlfriend, they reach no conclusions. I have a Don Sach's tube preamp, a modest Emotiva 5.1 amp driving a pair of Linkwitz LX mini speakers, with an Ayre DAC, upgraded Oppo 105 and a SOTA Sapphire TT for the poster who asked about my rig. This thread has devolved into a theological debate. I have tried a bunch of tweaks over the years. Steve McCormick's steel spikes 30 years ago were and are fantastic for heavy speakers on carpet but the new appalations of them are goofy expensive and of dubious value (Stillpoints). I tried SR's Magic Dots which made no difference to my ears. They are a silly notion, but were worth a try. I tried a couple of Shakti Blocks, to the amusement of my audiophile buddies. They were totally ineffectual, quite silly really. I have tried expensive power cords with my former Modwright amp/preamp and found no sonic benefit. Each and each piece went back for a full refund.
I tried two or three of Herbies tweaks -- tube dampeners and isolation devices, and back they went for refund. My $.05 silicon tube dampeners function just fine.
I guess from the number of folks on this thread who find the fuses, etc. improving their system, I think that is just great. They don't cost much and if they, like speaker cable elevators, do something to improve the sound of their system, then what the hell, go for it. I do advice you to turn in your "BS filter" to what is being said in an advocacy of these tweaks and understand that folks like GK, who chimes in on this post with baffling assertions coming from the realm of pseudo-electronics, have economic skin in the game to entice you to try the expensive stuff they peddle.
To finish, rolling tubes is an extremely worthwhile tweak to consider and the sonic effect of different tubes can be profound. BTW, I have $3.00/ft Neotech speaker cable in my system and I am completely happy with it, after comparing it to far pricier cable. Whitesix
I tried two or three of Herbies tweaks -- tube dampeners and isolation devices, and back they went for refund. My $.05 silicon tube dampeners function just fine.
I guess from the number of folks on this thread who find the fuses, etc. improving their system, I think that is just great. They don't cost much and if they, like speaker cable elevators, do something to improve the sound of their system, then what the hell, go for it. I do advice you to turn in your "BS filter" to what is being said in an advocacy of these tweaks and understand that folks like GK, who chimes in on this post with baffling assertions coming from the realm of pseudo-electronics, have economic skin in the game to entice you to try the expensive stuff they peddle.
To finish, rolling tubes is an extremely worthwhile tweak to consider and the sonic effect of different tubes can be profound. BTW, I have $3.00/ft Neotech speaker cable in my system and I am completely happy with it, after comparing it to far pricier cable. Whitesix