This is no joke.

I have 2 pair of beaks on my Forests. Bought 'em used (of course) for less than half of list so I wasn't really disappointed that they really dont affect the sound at all. Moreover I was disappointed to find out they were actually machined metal.....

I have listened to the beaks, could not tell a difference. sand bags do, however.

Man, ya gotta be really obvious to get a rise around here, eh?

It would take a man with special qualities to hear significant improvements with that...gadzooks, I don't even know what to call it...thing sitting on his speaker. But those special qualities pale in comparison to the bravery it took to initiate this thread. Mapman, you're the man I would want next to me in a foxhole.

Personally, I dont think they do anything at all other than look weird. (My wife hates them, but she wont let me have a cat so I'm punishing her).

The sand bags may change the sound but not necessarily for the better. A lot of speakers are designed to have 'live' sounding cabinets and it's one reason why mdf is used less than plywood in speaker cabinet making.

I have mass-loaded my cabinets though with 12.5 pounds of lead in each. I think the change was very modest, not really noticeable to me (tin ear maybe).