Does "everything" REALLY matter? (A No-Arguing Thread...)

[PYP]

I would like to add two I discovered recently.

1. Grounding the router.
2. Using a dedicated server over the hard drive in my MacBook Pro. Love the MacBook but it is quite the noisy beast.

@Lee is the router a standard (ie, not "audiophile") one? How did you ground it?

 

[Lee]

@Lee is the router a standard (ie, not "audiophile") one? How did you ground it?

AT&T current model, grounded with Shunyata Altaira with ethernet end insrted into unused ethernet port.

 

[TonyW]

I see this Audio hobby as three basic philosophies like the three primary colors.
RED 1) It is all about the gear- the speakers, amps, cables, source- be it digital, analog, vinyl R2R tape.
BLUE 2) It is all about the music.
YELLOW 3) It is all in your head.

Everyone is a blend of these three colors like Red, Blue and Yellow. So the "White Knight" is the person who is a perfect blend of all three.

 

[PeterA]

I see this Audio hobby as three basic philosophies like the three primary colors.
RED 1) It is all about the gear- the speakers, amps, cables, source- be it digital, analog, vinyl R2R tape.
BLUE 2) It is all about the music.
GREEN 3) It is all in your head.

Everyone is a blend of these three colors like Red, Blue and Green. So the "White Knight" is the person who is a perfect blend of all three.

What do you mean by “It is all in your head”?

BTW, I had thought the three primary colors are red, blue and yellow. Green is a combination of yellow and blue making it a secondary color along with purple and orange.

 

[TonyW]

What do you mean by “It is all in your head”?

BTW, I had thought the three primary colors are red, blue and yellow. Green is a combination of yellow and blue making it a secondary color along with purple and orange.

You are right. Dementia is setting in. Too much rock music.

It's all in your head- the deniers. You know, you just think you hear a difference.

 

[Dr Tone]

1) Room
2) Speakers
3) Good Master
4) Preamp/Amp
5) DAC

Things I did anyway: Power Conditioning, Quality Streamer, Cables

Things I would never do to improve sound quality: Ethernet equipment and cables, Music Server

 

[aljordan]

Things that make a difference - in no particular order:
1) A great recording.
2) Well behaved speakers for your particular listening room
3) Listening room size / absorption / reflection
4) Digital room correction / equalization done well (cleaning up bass / stereo width / depth and overall tonal balance without destroying dynamics)
5) Listening during/after a dousing rain (better grounding?)
6) (I hope I don't get kicked out for going past 5) Allowing big class A amps to be powered up long enough to hit the depth and beauty they are capable of.
7) A great R2R DAC vs a great Delta Sigma DAC (palpable body and leading edge dynamics vs a suggestion of real instruments).
8) Well designed linear power supplies vs generic switching supplies for streamers.
9) Listening to live acoustic music for a reality check


Things that don't make a difference, or can be a detraction:
1) Ultra expensive cables vs finding the right cable
2) Cable risers
3) Power regenerators for amplifiers (detraction).
4) Crystals to ground you or your system's negative energy
5) Placing your component on the Oxford English Dictionary to increase definition.
6) Placing your component on a stack of 50 dollar bills to increase richness.
7) Posters of Charlie's Angels in the listening room to increase body.

 

[PeterA]

Things that don't make a difference, or can be a detraction:
1) Ultra expensive cables vs finding the right cable
2) Cable risers
3) Power regenerators for amplifiers (detraction).
4) Crystals to ground you or your system's negative energy
5) Placing your component on the Oxford English Dictionary to increase definition.
6) Placing your component on a stack of 50 dollar bills to increase richness.
7) Posters of Charlie's Angels in the listening room to increase body.

Very funny. There was a time when stereos were advertised in Playboy. I found it more of a distraction than a detraction.