Twerking the tweaks

Reviewer: Srajan Ebaen
Financial interests: click here
Main system: Sources: Retina 5K 27" iMac (i5, 256GB SSD, 40GB RAM, Sonoma 14), 4TB external SSD with Thunderbolt 3, Audirvana Studio, Qobuz Sublime, Singxer SU-6 USB bridge, LHY Audio SW-8 & SW-6 switch, Laiv Audio Harmony and Sonnet Pasithea; Active filter: Lifesaver Audio Gradient Box 2; Power amplifiers: Kinki Studio EX-B7 monos & Gold Note monos on subwoofer; Headamp: Kinki Studio THR-1, Enleum AMP-23R, aune S17Pro Evo; Phones: Raal 1995 Immanis; Loudspeakers: Qualio IQ [on loan] Cables: Kinki Studio Fire, Furutech; Power delivery: Kinki/Vinshine Tai Hang on amps, Furutech GTO 2D NCF on low-level gear; Equipment rack: Artesanía Audio Exoteryc double-wide 3-tier with optional glass shelves, Exoteryc amp stands; Sundry accessories: Acoustic System resonators, LessLoss Firewall for loudspeakers, Furutech NCF Signal Boosters; Room: 6 x 8m with open door behind listening seat; Room treatment: 2 x PSI Audio AVAA C214 active bass traps
2nd system: Source: FiiO R7 into Soundaware D300Ref SD transport to COS Engineering D1 DAC/pre; Filter: Lifesaver Audio Gradient Box 2; Amplifier: Kinki Studio EX-M7; Headamp: Cen.Grand Silver Fox; Loudspeakers: MonAcoustic SuperMon Mini + Dynaudio S18 sub, sound|kaos Vox 3awf, Albedo Aptica; Power delivery: Vibex Granada/Alhambra, Akiko Audio Corelli; Equipment rack: Hifistay Mythology Transform X-Frame [on extended loan]; Sundry accessories: Audioquest Fog Lifters; Furutech NFC Clear Lines; Room: ~3.5 x 8m
Desktop system: Source: HP Z2 work station Win10/64; USB bridge: Singxer SU-2; DAC: iFi Pro iDSD Signature; Speakers: DMAX P61; Headphones: Final D-8000 & aune SR7000 Audeze LCD-XC
Upstairs headfi system: FiiO R7; Headphones: Meze 109 Pro, Fiio FT3, Raal 1995 Magna, HiFiMan Susvara
2-channel video system: Source: Oppo BDP-105; All-in-One: Gold Note IS-1000 Deluxe; Loudspeakers: Zu Soul VI; Subwoofer: Zu Submission; Power delivery: Furutech eTP-8, Room: ~6x4m
Review component retail: various

"Twerking is a move in the New Orleans style of hip-hop called bounce. It involves hip thrusts and booty shaking." That's rephrased from Wikipedia. As a sped-up form of bump 'n' grind, it's obviously suggestive even explicit. Today's brief article is on how tweaks could shake up our hifi to become more suggestive even explicit. Writing it was prompted by a recent range of six reviews which in short order covered resonance attenuation tweaks by Stack Audio, Virtual Hifi and LessLoss. As so often, this accumulation of gigs governed by a unifying theme wasn't planned. It just happened. It got me thinking on why this type of tweak should happen to mature audiophiles too; but deliberately planned. By mature I don't mean silver-haired but carefully curated systems tied to the recognition that for their owner's available funds and room, nothing preferable exists. Owners of such systems are typically most averse to adding anything that would fundamentally change their existing tuning. They've been there, done that and finally arrived. Should interest continue to further perfect 'n' polish such systems, resonance attenuation tweaks can become excellent targets.

That's because if they're engineered for broadband effectiveness, they lower our structural noise floor. I'm not talking about obvious noises like aircon vents rattling when our subwoofer kicks in; or footfall feedback in a poorly sprung turntable. I'm talking about subliminal so embedded noise which we don't hear until it's gone. And even then we don't hear it per se but rather notice what now unmasked steps into its place: more low-level detail. This very often is not about what hifi discourse typically means by detail like the proverbial 4th chair of the second violins squeaking.

Instead it tends to be more audible space as superior recovery of recorded ambience so subtle reflections; or more timbre diversity and tone-modulation variety from superior recovery of the most subdued upper harmonics. The former gains could be paraphrased as more specific imaging; the latter as more sophisticated tone. It's even possible that our perception of microdynamic expressiveness enhances; or general presence as a function of higher contrast ratio. Regardless of how these gains manifest in individual circumstance, they invariably mean exactly the same. We hear more of—and from—what we already own.

Shazam!

That's the beauty of such tweaks. They acknowledge that we already love what we own to nurse zero interest in undoing the careful balance of qualities we worked and paid for so hard to achieve. They appreciate that the only meaningful improvement we can still make is maximize how our existing system performs. If we follow the foundational adage that anything that's not the signal is distortion, any form of noise equals distortion. Potential sources of noise are many. Mechanical noise could come from spinning transports or vibrating transformer laminations. Electrical noise could come from power supplies or ground loops. Structural noise comes from mechanically coupling the kinetic energies of loudspeakers and subwoofers to our floor whence it propagates into our hifi rack and its equipment plus furnishings, walls and neighbouring rooms. Having investigated mechanical isolation footers ever since I first embraced stereo 2.1 with powerful subwoofers on wood floors, I've concluded that addressing the transducer/floor then rack/floor interface might, for mature systems, just yield the highest unsuspected returns.

For details, follow these embedded links. Some of them even carry links to 2nd opinions so feedback from multiple writers. Unlike twerking, these tweaks aren't sexy. Properly engineered specimens that make demonstrable differences cost money yet disappear beneath other gear out of sight, out of mind. A shiny new faceplate or gloss-lacquered speaker scores far higher on the eye-candy meter. It's simply not what today's target audience is after. They already have their perfect eye 'n' ear candy. Their only remaining interest is how to lick the most sugar from it. Now you know where I think they ought to lick for that suga. Twerk those footer tweaks in all the right places. Start on the floor. If needed, work your way up the rack but you might already be sugared out by then…