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Your recording goes through many transistor amplifiers before you ever receive it. Replacing your transistor amplifier with a tube amplifier will make no difference.
Vinyl does sound different. This is mainly because the dynamic range of the sound has to be compressed (loud parts quieter and quiet parts louder). The frequency response is also manipulated to improve the signal-to-noise ratio (said to sound "warmer"). Some people prefer the sound of vinyl, but it is not a faithful reproduction of the original.
Most people run a single speaker wire pair from the amp to the speaker. From there it splits (through a crossover circuit) to the tweeter and the woofer. Some think it's better to run separate wires to the speakers (example). It's supposed to reduce crosstalk (Seriously? Crosstalk between the high frequencies and the low frequencies?) According to one manufacturer, Axiom, scientifically-controlled double-blind studies prove that it makes no difference https://www.axiomaudio.com/blog/tips_biwiring_and_biamping). Nevertheless, speakers still come with bi-wiring ports for those who insist there is a difference and want to double the cost of their speaker wiring.
Professional systems often use bi-wiring. This is because they use separate, optimized amplifiers for the higher and lower frequencies.
Some people say digital audio is inferior to analog audio because the voltage sent to the amplifier has tiny little stair steps in it (called aliasing). The frequencies contained in these stair steps is far above that which a human can hear. Any difference heard between an analog recording and a digital recording of the same event is not due to this artifact.
Some people say that music played such that an A is 440 Hz sounds ugly and harsh. You need to send all your CDs out to have them professionally retuned to make an A 432 Hz (that rattling noise you just heard was Beethoven, Mozart, Shostakovich and practically every other dead composer rolling over in their collective graves). They are saying that every great composer, from Bach to Williams, didn't realize that they were tuning to the wrong frequency.
Tests show that you can't tell the difference between an expensive cable and a coat hanger.
Do buy quality cables. Cheap ones tend to break internally, which does significantly affect your sound quality.
They claim that heavier-gauge wire improves the operation of the amplifier's power supply. Unless your amplifier is using more than 15 amps, standard 14 gauge wire is fine. If your amplifier uses only 10 amps, 18 gauge wire will do. A 200-watt amplifier uses about 2 amps (at full volume).
Some people believe that once electrons travel one direction through an audio cable that the cables must never be hooked up in the opposite direction. They will even point out arrows on some cable to indicate the proper direction of the electrons.
The audio signal is alternating current-the direction of the electrons alternates.
The arrows on some audio cables indicate on which end the shielding is connected to the ground.
Yes, oxygen-free copper (99.99% pure copper with 0.0005% oxygen) is better than typical copper (99.9% pure copper with 0.02% oxygen). It is nearly 1% more conductive and makes absolutely no difference in the sound of your audio equipment.
You can buy green markers made just for inking the edge of your CDs. This makes them sound better. It really does.
If you can't afford a green marker, just wipe the surface with Armor-All. It works just as good.
Alternating current creates an oscillating magnetic field around the wire. This pushes the electrons toward the surface of the wire. Since the electrons have less wire to travel through, there is effective more resistance.
The skin effect is significant at VHF and UHF frequencies, but non-existent in wires less than about ½ inch in diameter at audio frequencies. Gold plated speaker wire makes no difference at audio frequencies. Stranded wire makes no difference at any frequency (the skin effect affects the overall bundle, not individual strands).
No, electrons will not escape the wires if you have sharp bends. It doesn't increase the impedance either.
Sharp bends do affect optical cables. Don't bend optical cables sharper than 10 times the diameter of the cable.
If you have a channel separation of 60 dB, no human can hear the crosstalk. Completely-separate amplifiers for each channel makes no difference.
Your music has already gone through countless amplifiers before you ever get it. Removing the preamplifier from your system won't make a difference.
I don't even know the theory behind this. Needless to say, studies show that people who say they can hear a difference, can't.
It compensates for the temporal displacement between the time your music was recorded and the time you play it. Just put this $300.00 clock on the wall in the room where you listen and your music sounds better.
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