5 steps in developing hearing


I got this from a dealer years ago:

1. Only cares about bass.

2. Start hearing tonal balance like warmer, brighter etc. These are more the mass market type.

3. This is the hi-fi entry level listening. We talk about soundstaging imaging, detail etc. all those technical term that you read from the magazine. Everyone who comes to my place I will try to get them into this level. It is not too difficult once we show them the audiophile recording.

4. People start talking about PRAT. From level 3 to level 4 needs a little bit more experience and listening to more systems and live performance.

5. This is my ultimate level of search. It is the complete disappearance of the system. It is the directness of the system. A lot of technically superb systems fail in this area. We call them technically perfect musically dead. Getting from level 4 to level 5 is even more difficult.
This is the area that many of my customers come back to me telling me that how come they didn't get the same feeling when doing the audition in other dealer's demo regardless of price. They cannot explain it so they use 'feeling' as the term.

cdc

Completely in line with Mahgister.

I would add that timber being a psychoacoustic personal construction, the key is probably to learn how to listen to what “works” for you and seek and tweak to deal with what doesn’t.

Personally, when testing to a system, I also pay a lot of attention to dynamics, transient, attacks, distinction in vibrato and the dissipation of a sound, the death of a note that remains distinctly audible among others…

harmonics and system induced coloration are also on my top list of stuff to pay attention to.

I am also very sensitive to sound staging, literally as I would be when attending a theater play or an opera.

I also have to admit that it has so far always been much more difficult for me to fully appreciate a sound system when “I don’t like” the piece being played to test it… That is a good feedback to self when it comes to trying to find scientific explanation to what works for me or not.

Finally, I try to always keep in mind that a sound system is made of a master signal which has always been designed (purposely or not, wisely or not), current, cables, electronics, speakers, a room, in the moment in the life (and the day) of an individual. So when the individual is me seeking for emotions listening to music, I very selfishly tend to consider it is the foundation of the system. I try and learn how to listen to the other components to gain in pleasure. Very easy to feel, a bit challenging to measure but so far very engaging and exciting, alone and with fellow passionate music lovers and audiophiles !

@secretguy Wrote:

"PRAT" In other words, sell them on BS.

Very accurate definition! 😎

Mike