at the very end of the list he mentioned how "q-tips" could improve sound quality. he made no mention of the "audiophile-grade quality" q-tips.
there's a difference.
the audiophile-grade quality q-tips are factory treated with a special, proprietary formula that's body heat activated. the solution gently treats
the ear canal and actually improves on mother nature by filtering sibilance and other sound properties (which we would interpret as "noise") just before those sound properties can reach your ear drum.
and he just lists "q-tips." and just throws that on the list as an aside. hmm.
what serious music lover uses generic, off-the-shelf, regular q-tips?
maybe that's his problem.