[Bruce C. Miller]

So, I believe we have a mix of con artists and true
believers, plus more subtle types who combine both
characteristics. This goes not only for marketing and
manufacturing people you were referring to, but also for
certain journalists, who for obvious reasons, have a vested
interest in getting current subscribers to resubscribe to
their magazines. They depend upon a readership that sits on
the edges of its collective seats, waiting for the latest
revelation from audio's version of Mt. Olympus.

The result is a multi-headed monster that serves as both a
cash cow and a nostrum. The problem is that the monster has
done much to wreck the hobby and make it attractive to way
too many fools.

Thanks for the insight. I think I could probably get a good notion on
what the deal was with the tweak peddlers if I were to meet them in
real life and talk to them for awhile (like at an audio show or
something), but I've not had the chance to.

I've overheard my local dealer recommending various expensive cables to
customers and talking about how they sounded, but he's never tried to
pull anything like that on me. I guess I don't come off as gullible. In
his case, I'm 100% sure he doesn't believe what he's saying, but the
high profit margins are just too tempting not to. It was the
manufacturers I was really curious about though. Some guy at some point
sat down and actually designed these products and wrote the nonsense
gibberish about quantum effects for the sales literature.