[Elizabeth]

for any tweak you have four choices:
Try it It works... great
Try it it does not work... too bad.
Read up on it decide the naysayers are right, do not try it.
Read up in it decide the pro tweak folks are right try it: then go to 1/2 again.

One point: itmay be that way in your system today, yes or no. in a few years, that may change.

And a commnet about the tweaks that cannot be (or only with great difficulty or needed expertise)  had cheap... well then do not try those? gee not rocket science. Skip those and do the cheap ones LOL It is not like "If I try one I have to do them ALL..' sorry no.

[toocool4]

Like some people have said, some tweaks work and some are just a waste of time. You need to try for yourself and don’t take anyones word for it.
Before you tweak i say you need to have done everything else to make the system sound good in the first place, tweaks are icing on the cake once you have done everything else first.

Some tweaks that have worked for me are power regenerator, isolation footers, damping plates etc.

[soundjimmy]

THERE ARE LOTS OF TWEAKS. It comes down to identifying problems then fixing them
Buy some static remover for clothes then wipe it on the speakers and cables . works a treat.
raise speakers to remove wooly bass.

good luck

[robcraigw]

It can be fun and interesting playing around with differrent tweaks, but I find that it's almost like splitting hairs.

[FullRangeMan]

The best tweaks are the simpler,  when I used long power cables I elevated them with coffee múgs tô great effect.

[musicman29]

There are probably just too many tweaks out there, but that's the free market system, right? Tweaks i've tried are the system tuning cd's from Ayre and Purist. The cork sandwich footer pads work, even have them on my amp transformer case to quiet some mechanical buzzing, various cables, of course, but I think a good rack makes a difference. Keeping cable connections clean is probably important. i use Deoxit and Stabilant for better(?) conductivity.

[Letitroll98]

It's easy.  All the free tweaks work fabulously, all the expensive tweaks are baloney, and all the moderately priced tweaks work a little bit, sometimes, if the weather's right.

[FullRangeMan]

Wonder if these Deoxit and Stabilant are oily products ?

[Early B.]

It's easy.  All the free tweaks work fabulously, all the expensive tweaks are baloney, and all the moderately priced tweaks work a little bit, sometimes, if the weather's right.

This sums it up pretty nicely.

I would add that most tweaks that cost money only last as long as the first few songs you play after the tweak is introduced.

[ric]

I would say bullshit. Tweaks can and do work depending on what they are.
My caveats at this point are: you need two things in this hobby, sensitive equipment and sensitive hearing--without one or the other you won't hear much.
Also, part of the addiction to this hobby is hearing differences, which is what tweaks, cable changes, speaker, amp etc. changes do. For me it's always a thrill to hear those (positive) changes. BUT(!) once done your ear will become accustomed to those changes and then you will seek out other potential sound improvement ad nauseam, or ad infinitum depending on your point of view. (my girlfriend thinks the former).
Hence, the desire for more, better, different, latest, etc.
Remember, what we call tweaks, somebody stumbled upon and turned it in to a business. Snake oil is based upon how much things cost (retail) relative to the actual cost in parts--it usually has very little to do with whether it works or not . It's like Gomez Addams said "all you have to do is build something that cost pennies to make, you can sell for a dollar, and it's habit forming"

[Stercom]

I guess comes down to how you define a "tweak". Your excellent example of using cork to dampen a transformer's buzz. Is that a "tweak" or just a fix to a problem with the amp? Anyway, I would say "yes" tweaks work. Do the cheap ones first and then decide if you want to spend more on what seems reasonable.

[Early B.]

In the past 25 years, I've probably removed 100 tweaks (ones I paid for), and not one of them did I ever say to myself, "Man, I should have kept that tweak."

[Stercom]

musicman29 who restarted this thread and said: "The cork sandwich footer pads work, even have them on my amp transformer case to quiet some mechanical buzzing,...."

In the past 25 years, I've probably removed 100 tweaks (ones I paid for), and not one of them did I ever say to myself, "Man, I should have kept that tweak."

Why would you remove a piece of cork that was keeping a transformer from buzzing? Or are you saying something like that isn't a tweak?

[Elizabeth]

As my system has become better at resolving the signal, I can say I tossed out the treated Quartz crystals as not being much use.
The Exotic wood all stays. as I can hear the difference changing the wood types... still.
Have to say the best thing of all was upgrading speakers from Magnepan 3.6 to Magnepan 20.7
Next best was adding all the Furutech Duplex.
Going to Marantz SA-10 for a DAC also was good.
And the icing on the cake was the butcher blocks everywhere with all sorts of exotic wood as footers.
I pretty much have no need to further fiddle around.

[mwstewart01]

Has anyone had an improvement with isolation transformers/power conditioners or is that just snake oil?

[FullRangeMan]

Has anyone had an improvement with isolation transformers/power conditioners or is that just snake oil?

I always liked tweaks inclusive the esoteric ones from Peter Belt, but on transformers I have listened no benefit and after I tourned to use the CD player direct in a 120V outlet I have listened a small benefit just starting in the first song, I have tried 2 Toroidal trafos one 2,5kg and a 4kg both hand made in 220V to 120V.

[rollo]

Has anyone had an improvement with isolation transformers/power conditioners or is that just snake oil?

   Yes and yes. Not snake oil. Depends on design of conditioner and budget. We would never do an Audio Show without them.


charles

[fre11111]

Hi my name is jb and I like trying different tweaks for my system  : has anyone tried the ‘ Dueland’ speaker clarifier? It looks like a capacitor in series connected to the speaker post. I believe Synergistic also has one that they sell. Do these work? Have you tried them?
Another is the Stein Harmonizer. Has anyone had success with this tweak? I am always curious about these tweaks and if they work or not.   

Thanks, JB

Hi there JB,

My name is frederick, I am a former retailer, installer and tuner. I just want you to know my experience with these tweaks both for Home audio and car audio. Everything you do will have an effect on your system, for good or bad we do not know. We have installed very expensive systems before where tweaks made sound worse than what we started. If you can have the luxury to test the item before you buy I think would be best. I am not close minded in terms of allthe tweaks because sometimes it can resolve some issues. Thank you

[gmfisher]

My two favourite tweaks on my current system, that are (obviously) pleasing to my ear?

1. An iFi SPDIF regenerator to clean up the source to the powerdac, and
2. A battery to power the digital source which makes it sound like a totally different system, much much cleaner, even with the reclocker!

Agree with the sentiments above; try it and if *you* like it then hooray.

[Gerben86]

Hi, I'm Gerben new to this forum.
I'm excited to bring my listening experience to the next level, learn und just try stuff.
Good day to all from the Netherlands!