What’s your vote for the most ridiculous, overpriced, and useless tweak?


My vote: Furutech Outlet Cover 105 NCF $220, with “special crystalline material that has two “active” properties.” https://www.thecableco.com/outlet-cover-105-ncf.html

glow_worm
Yes I own one. I would not have the gall to criticise something without having heard it in my own system for a long period. I know exactly what it does to the sound (but not how it does it). It’s main effect is to artificially exaggerate front-to-back dimensionality (not the same as depth, because sounds appear to come forward from the speakers), at the expense of soundstage accuracy. Try to imagine a processed, blurry 3D photo compared to a normal crisp 2D photo of the same scene. That’s what it does to the sound.

Important note on the  €2000 Maxiimus P16... be sure to buy the right one:

“ Note: if your home has 3 phase electricity, only one of these will be harmonised by the P16. In case you would like full harmonisation, the MAXiiMUS P40 is the right choice”

Luckily the P40 actually costs less than the P16 (go figure). And let’s face it, the last thing you need is to leave 2 phases of your electricity unharmonized, so why take a chance?

If one guy must already know that some facts are unexplained yet by engineering science and tough these facts are linked to audible experience results it is Geoffkait :)
I dont pretend to explain anything, tough in my system there is a difference...But I am ok with you to put that tweak in the category ridiculous but not overpriced nor useless (orange light increase placebo effect perhaps)...My best to you Geoff...
Thanks for the explanation.
Makes me wonder if that is one reason some equipment manufacturers don't subscribe to tweaking (beyond providing good power, solid support, and room treatments) since in many cases the tweaked result may be different but not necessarily better or, at best, subjectively better - i.e., some like it some don't.
I guess it boils down to how much time, energy, and money someone is willing to spend to change the sound of their system by 5% +/-.
Since I have the power, support, and room thing covered, I continue to find component/speaker changes move the ball way more than whether I use Herbies feet or cones under my gear, what fuses I use, whether the EVS ground enhancers are plugged in, whether my high end zobel networks are attached, etc.
Uh, you guys must be slipping by not mentioning Peter Belt very much, if at all. Peter Belt’s products have, over the years, epitomized what many audiophiles perceive to be the high water mark 🔝for preposterous, ridiculous, bizarre, far out and inexplicable audio tweaks. One need look no further than Silver Rainbow 🌈 Foil, those teeny, tiny little holographic foils that are stuck onto barcodes on CDs, barcodes on books, COMPACT DISC logos on CDs, etc. to get an inkling of just how off the charts the Belt stuff really is. Not that I think his stuff doesn’t work. Surely the Belt stuff must put a bee 🐝 in somebody’s bonnet.