Accessories

Accessories: benefits and necessity

Most products in this webshop belong to the category of accessories for audio and video systems. During the last decades, the marketplace for this kind of products has more or less exploded. Continuously, new, intriguing, even weird accessories pop up. Serious audio enthusiasts and music lovers are increasingly willing to allocate part of their budget to this stuff. On the other hand, often these products are regarded with misunderstanding and prejudice. This suspicion even gives rise to accusatory statements on forums. So what about benefits and necessity of accessories for audio and video systems?

The target audience

Most people use affordable audio and video components. They do not listen to music really seriously. They are not driven be a desire to get optimal performance from their gear. To this kind of people, the products in this webshop bear no significance. This webshop is intended to serve those who own high-quality equipment and appreciate -or even: demand-  accurate, natural and refined rendition of their music without stress and noise. They can find much to their liking here. This online store belongs to the most complete of its kind.

External conditions

The acquirement of a costly audio system with high quality components may lead to disappointing results. External conditions may be the cause, such as -most importantly- the acoustics of the listening room. No system will sound good -or even acceptable- in dreadful acoustical conditions. Furthermore, the quality of the mains can be compromised by high frequency pollution, the room may contain electrosmog from wireless communication devices, the components may experience harmful vibrations and so on. These and related problems can be dealt with using accessories. So applying accessories does not mean that the components of the audio system are no good. It is about creating optimal conditions for the system to unfold its potential.

Tuning towards a preference

Besides creating better conditions, accessories may be used to tune the system somewhat towards a personal taste. This idea should not be taken too far. One should not want to tune a very bright system until it sounds very warm, if possible at all. In that case, buy components that meet the goal first.

Miracles do not exists

Accessories are no medicine for all diseases. For instance, when an amplifier can not deliver the current needed to drive certain loudspeakers, there is no accessory that will solve this fundamental problem. In that case, give the system a critical evaluation. Accessories do not perform miracles.

Accessories are effective

Every once in a while, someone puts forward the proposition that applying accessories boils down to pathetically fooling around with some costly stuff that will yield only marginal of even detrimental results. It can even be read that simply installing the system should be sufficient to get 98 percent of the potential performance. Based on many years of listening experience, we could not disagree more. In our opinion, roughly installing a system will yield 50 percent of the potential performance rather than 98 percent. Anyone with deep pockets can purchase high quality gear. To realize maximum quality of sound for a given system is an art in itself.

Improvements using accessories

Effective accessories always yield more or less the same improvements. The difference between the products is primarily in the relative strenght of these improvements. As far as the reproduction of music is concerned, the effects will be a lower noise floor, allowing better retrieval of detail; a better organized soundstage with more focused placement of musical instruments; a more relaxed, full-bodied, musically-warm sound; less harshness; a more realistic rendition of tone colour; more intelligible lyrics and so on. As far as video is concerned, we experience a quieter, sharper picture with -above all- a better definition of colours which therefore appear to be “deeper”.

Accessories: more relevant than ever

Increasingly, we hear music lovers complaining about a certain tendency in high end audio towards a leaner and cleaner type of sound with extreme retrieval of detail which in the end may not be perceived as “more musical” at all. Even the sound of very costly systems is sometimes described as somewhat thin, sharp, clinical, analytical and such. Accessories may contribute to a balance of sound that will be perceived as more musical and enjoyable.

Accessories need break-in time

Similar to any other audio product, accessories need to break in. This means the accessory should be in the system a certain amount of time before the impact will be optimal. For instance, this is obvious in the case of audio grade fuses. Typically, these need to break in for at least a week. One shoud keep this in mind when judging the effects of accessories.

Working principle versus effect
Not all accessories come with an explanation of its working principle that will convince everybody. Such an explanation may be perceived as vague or even nonsensical. The reason for this vagueness may be the manfacturer’s understandable desire not to share the details of his invention with competitors. We agree with the well-known author and journalist Robert Harley who stated:
1. If the device makes an audible improvement, buy it, regardless of whether or not there’s a scientific explanation
2. The best accessories yield improvements that can not be attained otherwise.

14 days money-back warranty

The appreciation of an accessory is a personal matter. The perceived performance of the thing depends on the listener’s taste, the system, the local conditions and so on. Therefore, quibbling about whether the product is good or not is totally fruitless. The way to go at his webshop is simple: the potential buyer is allowed to evaluate the accessory in his own system for two weeks. If not satisfied, the item can be returned for a full refund.