Abracadabra functions in gear

[AJM1981]

What functions related to your gear have you never fully understood in the way it presents or the fact that they are even there.

Disclaimer: The examples given are not about the question about what things mean, but the question if they really add something.


Examples

The musiccast app of my Yamaha Wxa50 has a function to select the 'kind' of speakers.

I have a 3 way system and don't even hear the most subtle differences between any selected kind of speaker type out of a list to choose from.

Same goes for the Ultra Low Jitter PLL on level 1, 2 or 3. There are reviews mentioning the same.

Sometimes it gives the impression as if there are 'illusion of choice' options 🙂

Who discovered some of these?

 

[Florestander]

There is a market for 'gadgets' and in my opinion, that is why some manufacturers add them to their gear. I do observe however that many 'purists' and the products aimed at them, try and keep the signal path as free of interference and external influences as possible - and can spend a fortune (in relative terms) doing so. Personally, I am more aligned with the latter class and prefer to hear the music as close to the original recording and as well produced as possible in my listening room. I would not consider any kit that has any intermediate stages designed to 'improve' the sound for the reason given. After all, what we want to hear is a subjective matter, and it is unlikely that a 'tweak' added in a mass production facility will suit a mass audience. This is simply my personal opinion, for what it is worth of course, and you may completely disagree.(which is absolutely legitiimate).

 

[AJM1981]

There is a market for 'gadgets' and in my opinion, that is why some manufacturers add them to their gear. I do observe however that many 'purists' and the products aimed at them, try and keep the signal path as free of interference and external influences as possible - and can spend a fortune (in relative terms) doing so. Personally, I am more aligned with the latter class and prefer to hear the music as close to the original recording and as well produced as possible in my listening room. I would not consider any kit that has any intermediate stages designed to 'improve' the sound for the reason given. After all, what we want to hear is a subjective matter, and it is unlikely that a 'tweak' added in a mass production facility will suit a mass audience. This is simply my personal opinion, for what it is worth of course, and you may completely disagree.(which is absolutely legitiimate).

I mainly use the amp on bypass. Equalizing and stuff is nice for some small bookshelves that can have a little crank in treble like the Tannoy Mercury M1's I once owned in times when 'award winning' stood for the most average and boring.