The whole tweek-ism thing has it's roots in the early days of Hi-Fi, around 1950. At that time, sound was more an interactive hobby, and constructing your own gear was the norm. The great debate of the day was whether triode or pentode vacuum tubes were better. The thing is, during this time, there WERE obvious sound differences between components. For instance, the difference between triode and pentode topology was real, could be measured, and plainly heard.

Unfortunately, this period also gave birth to the "my ears are better than yours" snobbery that pervades some wine tasting circles. This mentality has persisted to this day. A visit to any high-end audio "salon" is apt to be greeted with a sizing up of your "aural chops" and how much money you have to spend.

As components have matured, they have become much more "monolithic" and less able to be customized, at least in the way they were in the 1950s. So what is a poor audiophile/HT buff to do when he/she gets the urge to tweak? What are you going to do in an age when components are more "black boxes", than something with parts you can actually see and touch? Well, things like "bi-wiring" offer ways that consumers can "tweak" without actully modifying the products. To make real changes requires electronics knowledge that most consumers don't posess. To do things like active bi-amping require the gutting of the crossover from a speaker, or the construction of the speaker system from scratch. Most people can't or won't do this.

THAT is what I believe things like "bi-wiring" are: a way to "tweak" in one of the few ramaining ways consumers have left, given the complexity of modern components. Manufacturers can position themselves as "high end" by supporting such practices. Cottage industries crop up to make money from questionable "tweaks": you can spend literally thousands of dollars on a simple speaker wire (oh, excuse me - interconnect) if so inclined. It has been called "audio jewelry", and I think that description fits.

Sorry for the rant---I feel much better now

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The Soundhound Theater