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First, I think we can all agree that we enjoy listening to music more when we are in a mental state of relaxed alertness and focused concentration, than when we are distracted, annoyed, or preoccupied with other things. And we can agree that the purpose of audiophilia (the pursuit of better sound) is to allow us to hear further into our recordings, with greater clarity and resolution of detail, so that we may connect with the music on a deeper intellectual and emotional level.
I would argue that many of the "rituals" audiophiles perform prior to listening -- particularly those involving "tweaks" with no measurable or conventionally explicable effect on the electrical signal or the acoustics of the room -- may produce actual and positive psychoacoustic benefits insofar as they help induce a mental state of relaxed concentration. In such a state of mind, the audiophile may indeed "hear" greater resolution, depth, PRAT or whatever from his system, since he is more focused on the act of listening and more connected to the music. The "tweaks" may further be effective in inducing such a state, proportionally to the degree that the audiophile BELIEVES they will result in sonic improvements, and this belief may in turn be proportional to the amount of money one has spent on the tweaks. Let us not discount the power of suggestion, simply because it cannot be readily measured or quantified.
We can compare this situation to the use of the I Ching. The book of the Ching contains a number of short chapters, filled with good generalized practical advice (particularly if one is a medieval Chinese official, trying to advance in the imperial court), and one could easily open the book at random and start reading. BUT, it is customary to throw the yarrow straws to arrive at a hexagram which leads you to a particular chapter. The ritual of throwing the straws helps focus the mind, so that you will think more deeply about the advice in the selected chapter. It also helps if you believe that the ritual somehow invokes mystical forces which lead you to a particularly relevant chapter.
I notice this sort of phenomenon when I listen to vinyl records vs. CDs. I can just pop a CD in the drawer and push "play." Highly convenient, and great when I just want background music while I do other things. With a record, I have to carefully remove it from the sleeve, place it on the TT, clamp on the Sorbothane record weight, dust it with the deep-cleaning brush, zap it with the anti-static gun, lightly brush the stylus, position the stylus over the groove and drop it in, close the dust cover, and only THEN be able to sit down and listen, knowing I'll have to get up in 20 minutes and turn it over. With that amount of preparation (akin to throwing the yarrow straws), I am much more inclined to just sid down, listen closely, and concentrate on the music.
I suspect the same principle applies to other ritualistic activities, like cleaning all the electrical contacts once a month (which MAY result in a tiny reduction in resistance and capacitance), installing resonance damping/isolation devices over/under components (which MAY reduce some forms of low level distortion), or placing various wood, metal, or stone gimcracks and doohickeys around the room (which probably don't do anything on the physical plane). If you BELIEVE that these ritualistic activities will improve your sound, then you probably WILL hear improvements disproportional to the actual physical effects of the tweaks, since you have prepared and focused your mind to do so.
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