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Does 'Accuracy' Matter or exist ?

In the realms of audiophilia the word 'accuracy' is much-used. The word is problematical for me.

In optics there was once coined a descriptor known as the ' wobbly stack', signifying a number of inter-dependent variables, and I believe the term has meaning to us audiophiles.

The first wobble is the recording, obviously. How to record (there are many microphones to choose from...), what kind of room to record in (an anechoic recording studio, live environment etc), where to place the chosen microphones, how to equalize the sound,
and, without doubt, the mindsets of all involved. This is a shaky beginning. And the ears and preferences of the engineers/artists involved, and of course the equipment used to monitor the sound: these too exert a powerful front-end influence. Next comes the
mixing (possibly using a different set of speakers to monitor), again (and of course) using personal preferences to make the final adjustments. My thesis would be that many of these 'adjustments' (EQ, reverb etc) again exert a powerful influence.

Maybe not the best start for 'accuracy', but certainly all under the heading of The Creative Process....

And then the playback equipment we all have and love.....turntables, arms, cartridges, digital devices, cables, and last but never least, speakers. Most, if not all, of these pieces of equipment have a specific sonic signature, regardless of the manufacturers' claims for the Absolute Sound. Each and every choice we make is dictated by what? Four things (excluding price): our own audio preferences, our already-existing equipment, most-importantly, our favorite recordings (wobble, wobble), and perhaps aesthetics.

Things are getting pretty arbitrary by this point. The stack of variables is teetering.

And let us not forget about the room we listen in, and the signature this imposes on everything (for as long as we keep the room...)

Is there any doubt why there's so much choice in playback equipment? To read reports and opinions on equipment can leave one in a state of stupefaction; so much that is available promises 'accuracy' - and yet sounds unique?

Out there is a veritable minefield of differing recordings. I have long since come to the conclusion
that some recordings favor specific playback equipment - at least it seems so to me. The best we can do is soldier on, dealing
with this wobby stack of variables, occasionally changing a bit here and there as our tastes change (and, as our Significant Others know, how we suffer.....).

Regardless, I wouldn't change a thing - apart from avoiding the 'accuracy' word. I'm not sure if it means very much to me any more.
I've enjoyed every one of the (many, many) systems I've ever had: for each one there have been some recordings that have stood out as being
simply Very Special, and these have lodged deep in the old memory banks.

But I wonder how many of them have been Accurate........
57s4me
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,250 posts
 
Shadorne,
There`s no absolute standard to judge accuracy in home audio systems/components for the very reasons mentioned in 57s4me`s fine post. Far too many variables and manipulations are involved in the sound reproduction chain to declare anything as accurate. By it`s very nature the performance of audio components is relative, subjective and just based on individual perception(which is just fine with me). Measurements are woefully inadequate(here we go again!) when trying to explain what it is we hear and respond emotionally to(music afterall is an artform that people connect to). What measurements are you aware of that provide indisputable standards for accuracy? When all is said and done the vast majority of music lovers/ audiophiles will rely on their ears, as they should.
jax2
3,031 posts
 
When it comes to electronics, accuracy matters, that's why there is not a lot of difference between the top amplifiers when you compare tube to tube and solid state to solid state. However, once you get back to cartridges, speakers and everything else; you have the "wobbly stack".

SET amplifiers don't measure up very well at all. Yet there are many who prefer them over amplifiers that may objectively measure more "accurate"

Charles1dad - excellent post.
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aldavis
202 posts
 
Jax, There probably isn't a right answer here but let me take up the case for accuracy in hi fi equipment. If you are a musician playing a live event you most definately are interested in what the room ( a hi fi equipment surrogate) is doing to your sound. You play the music as you intend it to be heard and then the room modifies it to a greater or lesser extent. Playing loud rock in a small room is challenging and playing acoustic jazz in an overly damped room is also challenging as examples. Bad rooms exist. You the listener may like the way a particular room (hi fi equipment) colors the sound and thats fine. It's your set up. Here's where the problem lies IMHO. A colored hi fi set up will ( as examples) ALWAYS add 6db to the mid bass and/or ALWAYS shelve down high frequencies making it impossible to ever hear the music as it was intended to be heard by the musicians. This might be preferable in certain poor recordings but not in good or a great ones. You will NEVER hear the music as it was played in the studio. My preference is to really "get" what the musicians are playing and to put up with the bad recordings that come along instead of covering them up with a veneer of "warmth" or "slam" or what ever. - Jim
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,250 posts
 
Jax2,
Thanks for the compliment.
Your example of SET amps is right. After owning various SS and PP Tube amps, I settled down with an SET amplifier simply because it sounds closer to the live jazz acoustic music I adore. I don`t doubt that it would measure worse than any of my previous amps at all.
tubegroover
2,320 posts
 
It doesn't exist and no, it doesn't matter.

"Without it, we'd probably enjoy the music with one less distraction circulating around in our wee brains taking us away from becoming lost in (enjoying) the music."

Indeed I agree with Jax and Charles1dad. Accuracy is relative, it is not exact because it is ever changing. Even if a particular component could be quantitatively and subjectively by concensus identified as "accurate", when placed in a mix of other components with so many variables and then adding in the room it is going to have a specific sonic identity as you state 57s4me. But you really know the answer to this question, it is really rhetorical. The only thing that matters is enjoyment it is the only thing that is real and if it doesn't stay that way, time for a change.

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