Why Are We Breaking Our Brains?


A master sommelier takes a sip of red wine, swishes it around a bit, pauses, ponders, and then announces: “…. It’s from a mountainous region … probably Argentina … Catena Zapata Argentina Malbec 2020.” Another sommelier at a fine eating establishment in a major city is asked: “What would you pair with shrimp?” The sommelier hesitates for a moment then asks the diners: “What shrimp dish are you ordering?” The sommelier knows the pairing depends on whether the shrimp is briny, crisp, sweet, or meaty. Or some other “house specialty” not mentioned here. The sommelier can probably give good examples of $10 wines and bad examples of $100 wines. And why a good $100 wine is worth … one hundred dollars.

Sommeliers do not have a master’s degree in biochemistry. And no one from the scientific world is attempting to humiliate them in public forums for “claiming to know more than a little bit about wines” with no scientific basis to back them up. No one is shouting “confirmation bias” when the “somm” claims that high end wines are better than cheap wines, and well worth the money.

Yet, guys and gals with decades of involvement in high performance audio who claim to “hear differences” in various elements introduced into audio chain are pulled thru a gauntlet of scientific scrutiny, often with a great deal of fanfare and personal invalidation. Why is there not a process for “musical discovery” for seasoned audiophiles, and a certification process? Evaluator: “Okay, I’m going to change something in the system. Tell me what you hear. The options are interconnect upgrade, anti-skate calibration, removal of acoustical materials, or change in bitrate. Choose one.”

How can those with pretty “sensitive antennas” and years of hands (and, ears) on good gear convince the technical world that they are actually qualified to hear what they are hearing?

Why is it viewed as an inferior process for seasoned professionals to just listen, "swish" it around in their brains for a bit, and comment?

128x128waytoomuchstuff

I'm so glad I'm a retired peddler and not a meteorologist.  I could not have predicted the s---storm this has created.  I'm just happy that I don't have an oscillating fan in the room.

Gimme That Wine   

By Lambert, Hendricks & Ross Lyrics

My wife got tired a' me runnin 'round, so she tried to keep me home-
Well, she broke my nose and hid my clothes, but I continued to roam.
Then she finally hit my weak spot - threatened to throw my bottle out
Well, from the basement to the rooftop, everybody could hear me shout...

Chorus: Gimme that wine (Unhand that bottle) (3 times)
'Cause I can't cut loose without my juice.
Gotta have hot lucy when I go walkin' y'know.

Well, one day while crossin the avenue, a big car knocked me down.
While I was stretched out tyin' up traffic and crowds came from blocks
around
Now the po-lice were searchin my pockets, before they sent me to the
funeral parlor,
But when one o' those cops took my bottle, Jack, I jumped straight up
and commenced to hollar

Chorus: Gimme that wine (Unhand that bottle) (3 times)
'Cause I can't get well without Muskatel
I only drink for medicinal purposes anyway

Well, now, one real dark and dreary night as I was staggerin' home t'
bed,
Well, a bandit jumped from the shadows and put a blackjack 'side my
head.
That cat took my watch, my ring, my money, And I didn't make a sound,
but when he reached 'n got my bottle, you could hear me for blocks
around

Chorus: Gimme that wine (Unhand that bottle) (3 times)
Beat m' head outta shape, but leave my grape.
Watch, ring and money ain't nothin' but don mess with my wine, JIm.

Well one day my house caught fire while I was layin' down sleepin' off a
nap
An' when I woke up everything was burnin' with a pop an' a crackle an' a
snap.
Now the fireman chopped up my TV set and tore my apartment apart,
But when he raised his axe to my bottle, I screamed with all my heart...

Chorus: Gimme that wine (Unhand that bottle) (3 times)
So I can drink one toast before I roast.
No sense goin' out half baked, Might as well be Alll tore up

You can take all those Hollywood glamor girls- Lana Turner, Rita
Hayworth,
Bridget Bardot, n' Lucille Ball,
and all them chicks 'n line 'em upside the wall
Put a GIGANTIC jug beside 'em, n' tell me to take my choice.
Well, there'd be no doubt which one I chose, the minute I raised my
voice.

Chorus: Gimme that wine (Unhand that bottle) (3 times)
Well those chicks look fine, but I love my wine.
Now some folks like money, some like to dance and dine,
But I'll be happy If you give me that wine

Everything is vibration. Get over it or get into it. Most fascinating journey I have ever been on.

I like the wine analogy - but disagree with it from the "Brain Breaking" standpoint.  Obsessing about wine is very different from obsessing about audio equipment and the "quality" of what we are listening to.  If I pick and drink from a bottle of wine that costs $135, I will enjoy it to a certain extent and then will probably never taste it again.  I obsess over audio equipment and music quality because I will expend a lot of energy and downstream time commitment (not the dollar commitment) to get to a point of enjoyment = setting up and improving an audio system and then reaping the benefits.  I then can continue to enjoy varieties of music periodically and repetitively - sometimes with new listeners.  Life is too short not to be listening to great quality music with all its diversity - and to not to take the advantages of the improving technology.  I love helping a young person experiencing his current favorite song in high-res lossless quality over a top quality headphone system that has been EQ'd.  Wine, in my opinion, has not changed very much in top quality end - but it has dramatically improved in consistency of the low to mid range quality.

Great & fun analogy! The major difference is that w/ sound systems, we are trying to REPRODUCE an actual live event that we sometimes get to experience so there is an actual point of reference which the equipment attempts to emulate.  In fact, some manufacturers have over the years, demonstrated their stuff in direct comparison to actual live music being played in the room. 

With wine, there is no set standard that winemakers try to reproduce. In fact, flavor profiles often change w/ each vintage.

Music enjoyment takes no training, it moves you & you like it or you don't.  Trying to listen carefully & decide which sound systems and / or equipment comes closest to live music definitely takes some time & experience to grasp & consistently be able to discern.