Tweaks you got rid of because they were not effective (enough)?


There are some audiophiles for whom cost is no object; they buy what they wish and every single tweak and gadget which promises to improve the sound. And the industry is all too happy to produce such tweaks -- often made of expensive materials with elaborate engineering explanations. Those who question the value of these tweaks are frequently accused of being "naysayers" who are either too ignorant or insensate to realize that "everything matters."

Of course, money spent one place cannot be spent elsewhere; expenditures on tweaks take the place of other more central factors affecting the sound. In some cases, those tweaks are worth it; you can hear the difference, and that $400 (or whatever) really could not have improved your speakers or sub or amp, etc.

So, the question here is simple: Which tweak have you tried which, after some experience and reflection, you realized was either *not* effective or not the most effective way to improve your system? 
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I just want to touch upon tweaks that did nothing or were bad, not equipment or cabling which I do not consider tweaks
        Green pens for CDs (did nothing?)/Use Walker Talisman instead
        Ferrite cores on speaker cables and power cords-sometimes worse
        Magico Q-Pod isolation devices, out of 11 different vibration devices, these would have been the most expensive and just made the sound like molasses-super yuk under every piece of equipment.  Advertised to blacken the sound.  It certainly does that, and slooooows it down.  Auditioned only.  I use lots of Stillpoints, Townsend and a Buckwheat pillow instead.
         Synergistic Research Black Box-no matter where in the room I placed it with 32 HFTs, it cut the highs above 8K (not just "cleaned up" the sound but cut off it's head).  Gave it back.
         Sorbothane like vibrapod circles used positively (sorry) for speaker cable lifters above 90 oz. nylon carpet.  5% improvement for bupkis.
          PPT anywhere there are magnets.  I still use the Omega E Mats and a few A/C caps where there are no magnets (power panels, isolation transformer and crossover area at rear of speaker).   PPT works great otherwise in moderation for my system.   Easy to overdue though in my system, works great in my friends system (no magnets).  
That's what I remember for now.
One tweak used which I was pretty sure I *could* hear was putting a couple of 10lb weights, one each, on top of some bookshelf speakers. Tightened up the imaging for sure. Then, I started curling with them every time I listened to music. ("I'm huge, Jerry, I'm huge," to quote Banyan from Seinfeld.)
Great thread, great subject! I’ve tried numerous tweaks over the past 35 years.. there seems to be a tweak “epiphany” every several years.. and have I’ve found, to ME, in my systems, nothing that has made a difference in sound that has compared to the level of difference I’ve heard/experienced with: changing speakers, changing speaker positioning, treating the room, changing amplifiers, or changing phono cartridges (roughly in that order). Things I’ve tried and abandoned include: CD green marker and stabilizing rings, various platforms and feet under components/speakers, expensive cables of all types, expensive fuses, contact enhancers on cables/tube pins, weights, brass screws, little doo dads placed around the room/on windows/on shelves, trying different component locations on the rack shelf, lifting cables off the floor, power conditioners/AC purifiers, and likely many more I can’t remember at the moment. To be clear; some of the things mentioned did make an audible “difference”, but the difference I heard was deemed (by Me) to be more work, or more money, than the perceived improvement was worth... if the difference was even an improvement at all, and not a detriment. I typically have several systems set up around the house, and I try the things I try on most of them to see if the tweak is system dependent. It sometimes is. BUT... Speaker placement makes it easy to hear differences, speaker selection is very easy to hear differences, trying different amps on the same speakers in the same system is almost as easy to hear as trying different speakers. Tweaks that DO work are noticeable, and enhance the sound a bit, but I haven’t tried one that made me think; “Wow! I can’t listen to my music without this!” Just my experience, and I’m blissfully content to not spend a lot of money on gizmos. I’ll try anything though.. just in case!
I found that the effectiveness of footers and cones vary by component, cabling, and component rack. 
@krelldreams , Wow, 35 years of trying different tweaks and you end up here....
I’m blissfully content to not spend a lot of money on gizmos.
All I can say is, me too! 
I have found in most cases, the end result of an expensive tweak can be accomplished simply and economically, and the level of sonic improvement is just not worth the big money paid for many of those products.  One thing for sure, the dollars spent on tweaks and cables by audiophiles proves the Jedi have no monopoly on mind tricks.