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I Just Don't Hear It - I wish I did

I am frustrated because I am an audiophile who cannot discern details from so many of the methods praised by other audiophiles. I joke about not having golden ears. That said, I can easily discern and appreciate good soundstage, image, balance, tone, timbre, transparency and even the synergy of a system. I am however unable to hear the improvements that result from, say a piece of Teflon tape or a $5.00 item from the plumbing aisle at Home Depot. Furthermore, I think it is grossly unfair that I must pay in multiples of one hundred, or even one thousand just to gain relatively slight improvements in transparency, detail, timbre soundstage, etc., when other audiophiles can gain the same level of details from a ten dollar tweak. In an effort to sooth my frustration, I tell myself that my fellow audiophiles are experiencing a placebo effect of some sort. Does anyone else struggle to hear….no wait; does anyone else struggle to comprehend how someone else can hear the perceived benefits gained by the inclusion of any number of highly touted tweaks/gimmicks (brass screws, copper couplers, Teflon tape, maple hardwood, racquet balls, etc.) I mean, the claims are that these methods actually result in improved soundstage, image, detail (“blacker backgrounds”), clarity, bass definition, etc.
Am I alone in my frustration here?
2chnlben
tvad
9,467 posts
 
Of course it’s hyperbole – as are the claims! That’s my
point.

2chnlben (System | Threads | Answers)

Well, I disagree that all the claims of hearing benefits resulting from tweaks
are hyperbole. That's my problem with your argument. You seem to be
lumping all reports of positive results as hyperbole.

Now, if by hype you're speaking only of the over-the-top reports of
"jaw-dropping", 25-50-100% improvements, then I agree.

Regarding the cable riser comment, if raising the cables off the floor
somehow reduced low level background noise (how, I cannot say), then I can
believe that the soundstage would open up, blacks would be blacker, and
more details would be heard. Reducing low level system noise is the primary
method of improving a system's sound, whether it's accomplished with better
component power supplies, AC filtering, power cord filtering, shielding of
interconnects, etc. Generally, the results of lower background noise are a
larger and clearer (blacker background) image with more detail. Low level
system noise often cannot be "heard" (like hum or hiss), but it's absence is
more easily detected.

Most tweaks that I'm aware of...and I mean things like isolation/vibration
control, AC tweaks, swapping in better capacitors, etc. reduce low level
background noise to some degree.
2chnlben OP
595 posts
 

Tvad,

What, they’re not exaggerated? Maybe “amplified” would have been a better choice of words! I never said improvements weren’t realized, I merely implied that some of the purported claims of the results gained by employing some (certain) relatively small tweaks seem questionable (“amplified”).

I think it’s true!
jimjoyce25
215 posts
 
When my friend and I did the comparison between Equarack and Marigo, we were hoping that Equarack would come out on top, since their footers are half as expensive.

No such luck.

My friend's wife listened and immediately and enthusiastically noted the difference made by the Marigo footers.

Even otherwise uninterested spouses of other friends who tried the footers noticed the difference.

Maybe it's the word "Mystery" in the name: Marigo Mystery Footers. Women are attracted to that sort of thing.
2chnlben OP
595 posts
 
Rushton, I think I speak for most if not all that we're jealous you have a spouse who is as enthusiastic about this hobby as we are! nice!

Be careful what you wish for!!!!!
shadorne's avatar
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shadorne
7,333 posts
 
“You wouldn’t believe what putting my speaker cables on risers did…it opened the entire soundstage up, the background is so much blacker, I can hear new details…” - thing!

Be careful here - many speakers are badly designed. The cabinets waffle around like a washboard. The crossovers create huge suckouts around the crossover frequency at different angles. So that a few inches of height difference or a slightly different tilt or just getting them off teh floor can make a huge difference...of course whether you use a hockey puck or a one thousand dollar cone may not be the significant factor but differences are sometimes obvious. Some speakers sound markedly different when you stand from when you sit - it can be that bad.

And of course everyone knows that stands DO MAKE a huge difference (brings things up to the right height and can change the way the omnidirectional bass interacts with the floor and celing.
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