2. misc-audio
  3. 1059834824

Audio Diversity - What is it?

I've noticed that there are always alot of threads put up about "this vs that", tubes vs transistors, analog vs digital, cone vs electrostat, high price vs high value, cables make no difference, etc, etc. It seems that there is a wide variety of opinions as to what actually sounds good or better than the rest. Sometimes this elicits very strong opinions.

My question is why is it, that there is so much difference of opinion on this subject? Doesn't everyone hear the same music? Is it something to do with some other factor like, whether they never really heard many other things, or this was all their dealer had so they think it's best, is it listening skills, or what? Or is it ego, pride of ownership, and protecting resale value of their equipment, that is coming into question here? If that is the case, then are people lying about it to support their self-esteem or bank account, by exaggerating the quality of their systems to others? Do people who can only afford low-fi state that there is no difference in gear, only to make themselves feel better that they have just as good gear as the guy who paid $50k? Or are we all just imagining differences? Or perhaps, some of us don't want to get "closer to the music", but would rather have certain "airbrushed" qualities to it that they like, but take it further away from truth? Personal preferences? I don't know.

It seems to me that if 2 people listen to the same system in the same room at the same time, there should be some consensus about whether it is better or worse than some other system they compare it to. But yet, we seem to not be able to agree on this. There is always this and that getting in the way. But I say it's either closer to the music or further away. It should be easily determined. When 2 people look at a red car, they both know it's red. Nobody has to measure the reflected wavelengths to know that. One may like red better than the other, but there is no doubt that the car is red. Can't do that with audio systems. When 2 people listen, one says better, another says worse. Why?

What I would like to know is, what you think is the reason for such large differences in opinion about what sounds right and what doesn't. I don't want to start an issue about one particular type of equipment vs another, but I want to focus on why we don't seem to hear things the same.

I think this is at the root of alot of our discussions here on this forum, and I'd like to hear some opinions on it, which will likely be just as diverse.
twl
psychicanimal
1,738 posts
 
Most audiophiles really don't know audio. That's why they go on the "This vs that" type of question. They lack the fundamental skills to make a whole setup sound synergistically--from the power delivery/noise control to selecting and tuning components, vibration control and then on to room acoustics. I will say it over and over and over, "High end is who you are, not what you buy.".

And I'll add what my father taught me when I was in seventh grade:

"Twenty years' experience is not the same as twenty times the experience of a year."

****
zaikesman
3,017 posts
 
Ah, Twl is in prime agent-provocatuer form...I will agree with him, thus disproving his theory. :-)
theaudiotweak
2,796 posts
 
Ego is a prime candidate for deciding which is better, the one I built or the one you built. Time, energy, experience, knowledge even money to maybe a smaller degree all interfere with two parties hearing the same thing. I am very proud of the unique Frankenstein I have assembled over the years. Some of these parts may seem old to some but much of the chase is to make what you have the best it can sound. Taking a stock chassis and making a race car out of it, example my still almost barely Dunlavy SCIV's. All that I have done with these now radical speakers could be applied to and I feel improve many other fine speakers. That was years long gestation period as well as a great learning process. Oh that ego part of me speaking... I feel I have learned much about passive room geometry enhancement because my perfect room 10 years ago turned out to be imperfect. Passive acoustic room cures much like managing the airflow of an automobile manifold have mitigated much of the problems I originally had. Sounds really good looks really cool. A recently added pull down movie screen was encased in another acoustic device much like the first but designed so as to capture resonance and disperse it to the ceiling studs as well redirect energy off the ceiling and back to the listener. I have tried to preserve the natural dynamics with out the negatives of dampening.. These journeys into and out of audio madness I feel have made me a better and more knowledgeable listener. It also keeps me out of the strip joints...Tom
psychicanimal
1,738 posts
 
"It also keeps me out of the strip joints...Tom"

You're just getting old.

Ever hear of Yohimbe bark? It's sold in health food stores. Give it a try--a capsule in the morning and a capsule in the afternoon. Walk every day for a week, go to the strip joint and report back to us!!!

With psychic power and primal intensity,
theaudiotweak
2,796 posts
 
Yea, I do that bark stuff. It does make me howl. The strip joints, well thats to protect my monetary position..Tom
More to discover