Man a good string can make a world of difference. Winner's Choice and BCY strings are the first that come to mind. As far as a string stopper goes do you need one no. But do they make a difference yes. What they do is stop your string at the rest position. Which in turn keeps the string vibration and noise to a minimum. I have never purchased one but one came stock on my Maxxis. And trust me that thing is whisper quiet.