Audio Woo Checklist on improving sound quality

[Analogous]

Audio Woo Checklist (found this on Reddi​

attributed to Sean Adams, founder of SlimDevices
You claim that an:

• audible
• measurable
• hypothetical

improvement in sound quality can be attained by:

• upsampling
• increasing word size
• vibration dampening
• bi-wiring
• replacing the external power supply
• using a different lossless format
• decompressing on the server
• removing bits of metal from skull
• using ethernet instead of wireless
• inverting phase
• installing bigger connectors
• installing Black Gate caps
• installing ByBee filters
• installing hospital-grade AC jacks
• defragmenting the hard disk
• running older firmware

Your idea will not work. Specifically, it fails to account for:

• the placebo effect
• your ears honestly aren't that good
• your idea has already been thoroughly disproved
• modern DACs upsample anyway
• those products are pure snake oil
• lossless formats, by definition, are lossless
• those measurements are bogus
• sound travels much slower than you think
• electric signals travel much faster than you think
• that's not how binary arithmetic works
• that's not how TCP/IP works
• the Nyquist theorem
• the can't polish a turd theorem
• bits are bits

Your subsequent arguments will probably appeal in desperation to such esoterica as:

• jitter
• EMI
• thermal noise
• existentialism
• cosmic rays

And you will then change the subject to:

• theories are not the same as facts
• measurements don't tell everything
• not everyone is subject to the placebo effect
• blind testing is dumb
• you can't prove what I can't hear
• science isn't everything

Rather than engage in this tired discussion, I suggest exploring the following factors which are more likely to improve sound quality in your situation:

• room acoustics
• source material
• type of speakers
• speaker placement
• crossover points
• equalization
• Q-tips

https://www.reddit.com/r/audiophile/comments/2rcv6s

 

[raghupb]

Add "Hearing Aids" too
It has opened up a new world for me
Cheers,
Raghu

 

[keith_correa]

Add "Hearing Aids" too

Did you audition them first or did you go by how they measure?

 

[raghupb]

Based my decision on budget and comfort. They sound/correct as well as better spec'd (and expensive) models.
Tried a few before deciding.
Cheers,
Raghu

 

[ankitbhargava]

"Source Material", the king of all

 

[waris]

Add "Hearing Aids" too
It has opened up a new world for me
Cheers,
Raghu

Cheers to that.

 

[liverpool_for_life]

Add "Hearing Aids" too

Do tell more.

 

[raghupb]

Well ...
A few months ago, I finally admitted that I have a hearing problem and got my ears tested.
Moderate loss in both ears (canal and nerve).
This is the device I selected. It supposedly corrects up to 50 or 60 dB loss.
Programmable to match the individual's "lossy-curve".



Now, I can hear normal conversation better. As a side effect music and TV experience has also improved.
I don't feel the need to read sub-titles all the time.
Music wise I am hearing a lot more HF (sometimes more than what I'd like it to be)
So, my advice to HFV folks is please take care of your hearing.
If you feel you have hearing loss, get your ears tested and go in for remedial measures.
Tinkering with dacs, dsp, cables, caps and whatnot may not be the solution to the actual problem.

Cheers,
Raghu