tweak, do they realy bring improvement?

i use anti vibration devices under my cdp but thats as far as ill go with tweaks.

mike.

Yes they do work to a very minor degree in most cases,HOWEVER,what people are trying to do with them is to fix what are room tune problems. To do that properly, unfortunately, you need a pro with experience and the proper equipment to do it right. All the tweaks are just shots in the dark. Sometimes you can hit a few targets in the dark, but you can't really kill the beast. Go to www.bobhodas.com and then click on publications. Read all of the articles and you will see what is involved in properly tuning a room.

Most tweaks (Cables are not tweaks, since the system will not work without them) are designed to do one thing: reduce vibrations. Without getting into a big discussion about physics, vibrations prevent audio gear from functioning at their highest level.

The more these vibrations can be reduced or (not likely) eliminated, the better the equipment is able to sound. Vibrations come from the ground, and from the air, each of them have a detrimental effect on the sound. The battle for the last twenty, or so, years has been to minimize them. All kinds of items have been used with varying degrees of success. In overly simplistic terms vibrations are absorbed with items like Sorbothane or vibrapods, or dissipated with items like cones, and stands. Some work in certain environments, while others work better in different environments. The buyer needs to know what he is trying to accomplish when buying the different types of products.

Just like, not everyone will need an AC line conditioner, not everyone will need every type of vibration treatment.

Hospitals, observatories, and science labs have been the main source of understanding the effects of vibration. These places require accurate measurements to do their research, and small vibrations will have large effects on micro measurements in science. Again I hope I am not being overly simplistic in my discription, I'm trying to make it as understandable as possible, but everyone here is above average, so it should not be an issue.

Gentleman,

I agree with above cables whether they are IC's or speakers cannot be classified as a tweak. My experience is that a good cable like wine, cheese,cigars, or even cars is going to perform better. However power cords and conditioners may not improve your system(many engineers don't think so). I have first hand experience with vibration control and can attest to the merit of reducing / eliminating if possible vibration. I think we can all learn from the manufactors, many furnish spikes/cones like B&W and Wadia which I own with there equipment. Most companies make there power cords removable which tells me they expect real or imagined that the customer will want/need to upgrade. The fact that spikes, cones, and power cords have survived in a competitive environment indicates that the majority of audiophiles recognizes there usefulness. To me a real tweak is the cd marker(which I've tried), cd edge treatment, or cd mats these seem to help on low end equipment but will not show much improvement on high end gear. Like everyone else (I hope) I rely on third or independant opions on all tweaks that I have tried. My amp and pre have fixed cords so I couldn't upgrade, out of desperation I tried the AC power wraps which is to be used when you can't swap to a real PC and in my opion and the wifes it gave our system a sonic improvement. It appeared to make the system quieter or darker as some say.

To wrap this up I would say that all components of a system are subjective, that's why Audigon is THE place to audition equipment, and some tweaks just mask poorly designed or built equipment. If your system needs a lot of tweaks your listening taste has matured and you may want to move up to higher end gear because you realize that you are not hearing all the music. Once you experience how good recorded music can sound in your own home it's hard to comprimise. Unless of course you are happy with the sound of an alarm clock radio, then this thread wil be irrelavant.

Happy Listening: to tweak or not to tweak the freedom all audiophiles enjoy.
Woodman

I think the level of improvement is proportional to the quality of the room the system is in. If it is an excellent room acoustically then the tweaks are not only apparent but necessary to make the system sound its best. So the answer is yes and sometimes little tweaks can make the biggest difference.