I am very late to the party, so at the risk of being irrelevant, I will add some thoughts to what has already been said. Beginning with the OP, the discussions on this thread have included the following questions
1. Does accuracy exist?
2. Is accuracy important?
3. What IS accuracy?
RE: (1) Does accuracy exist? This is an objective question. It is a matter of fact. Accuracy either exists or it does not. There is a right answer.
RE: (2) Is accuracy important? This is a subjective question. It is a matter of preference. Accuracy is important to some and not to others, but there is no right answer.
RE: (3) What IS accuracy? This both and objective and a subjective question, as I will try to show
Asking the question What is accuracy? could mean
3a. What is the CONCEPT of accuracy?
3b. What is the CHARACTERISTIC that the concept of accuracy represents?
RE: (3a) What is the CONCEPT of accuracy? This is both an objective and a subjective question. It is objective because there are FACTS about how people think about accuracy. But the concept of 'accuracy' differs from person to person. Hence, asking the question, "What is the concept of 'accuracy'?" results in answers that are largely subjective.
RE: (3b) What is the CHARACTERISTIC that the concept of accuracy represents? This too is both an objective and a subjective question. It is objective because, for at least some concepts of accuracy, there is a REAL THING in the world that the concept represents. It is subjective because, again, people have different concepts of accuracy, concepts that refer to different THINGS, or in some cases, to nothing at all.
Whether or not accuracy exists is a matter of fact, not opinion. But there are, of course, different opinions about whether it exists. That may strike you as a contradiction, but it is not. Santa Claus either exists or he does not. If you talk to a group of 8 year olds, there will be varying opinions about whether Santa exists, but it has no impact whatsoever on Santas existence/non-existence. When audiophiles debate the existence of accuracy, our opinions have no more impact on its existence than the opinions of 8 years olds have on Santas existence.
Having said all that, I do have an opinion about whether accuracy exists, and my opinion is that is does. That leads to two more questions:
4. What is the evidence for the existence of accuracy?
5. If accuracy exists, what is it?
Answering either of these questions entails answering the other, so I will answer them together in the following statements, some of which are facts, some opinions. First the facts
Every component in a playback system introduces distortion, noise, or loss to the signal. There are a variety of measurements, familiar to all audiophiles, that quantify distortion, noise, and loss, including: frequency response, impulse response, harmonic distortion, intermodulation distortion, S/N, crosstalk, jitter and so on.
Now the opinions
The kinds of measurements mentioned above provide conclusive evidence for the existence of inaccuracy. And collectively, the characteristics those measurements quantify CONSTITUTE inaccuracy. The existence of inaccuracy entails the existence of accuracy, understood as the degree of absence of inaccuracy. Q.E.D.
That is my answer to questions (4) and (5) above. None of it is particularly original and much of it has been said before, but it bears repeating.
Several posters have tried to cast doubt on the existence of accuracy on the grounds that there is no absolute standard for judging accuracy. They are quite right that there is no absolute standard for judging accuracy, but that is irrelevant to the question of whether accuracy exists. There is no absolute standard for ANY TRUTH WHATSOEVER, including scientific truths. ALL knowledge is provisional, fallible, and revisable.
The absence of absolute standards for judging accuracy does not warrant skepticism about the existence of accuracy. Nor does it warrant skepticism about the possibility of judging accuracy, since there are a number of non-absolute standards for judging accuracy, many of which have been mentioned on this thread. Those non-absolute standards provide knowledge of a components accuracy, even if that knowledge is provisional, fallible, and revisable. Acknowledging the absence of absolute standards for knowledge means we must give up the idea of CERTAINTY. It does NOT mean we must give up the idea of TRUTH.
None of this suggests an answer to the question, Is accuracy important? Again, that is a subjective question. There is no right or wrong answer. My personal answer is Yes, accuracy is important, but ONLY UP TO A POINT. Accuracy is one consideration among many. Highly inaccurate systems, IMO, typically make for a frustrating listening experience. But systems that prioritize accuracy above all else typically make for a dull listening experience. Hence accuracy should be balanced with other considerations. Much more to say about that topic, but I have to pause to take a breath.
Bryon
1. Does accuracy exist?
2. Is accuracy important?
3. What IS accuracy?
RE: (1) Does accuracy exist? This is an objective question. It is a matter of fact. Accuracy either exists or it does not. There is a right answer.
RE: (2) Is accuracy important? This is a subjective question. It is a matter of preference. Accuracy is important to some and not to others, but there is no right answer.
RE: (3) What IS accuracy? This both and objective and a subjective question, as I will try to show
Asking the question What is accuracy? could mean
3a. What is the CONCEPT of accuracy?
3b. What is the CHARACTERISTIC that the concept of accuracy represents?
RE: (3a) What is the CONCEPT of accuracy? This is both an objective and a subjective question. It is objective because there are FACTS about how people think about accuracy. But the concept of 'accuracy' differs from person to person. Hence, asking the question, "What is the concept of 'accuracy'?" results in answers that are largely subjective.
RE: (3b) What is the CHARACTERISTIC that the concept of accuracy represents? This too is both an objective and a subjective question. It is objective because, for at least some concepts of accuracy, there is a REAL THING in the world that the concept represents. It is subjective because, again, people have different concepts of accuracy, concepts that refer to different THINGS, or in some cases, to nothing at all.
Whether or not accuracy exists is a matter of fact, not opinion. But there are, of course, different opinions about whether it exists. That may strike you as a contradiction, but it is not. Santa Claus either exists or he does not. If you talk to a group of 8 year olds, there will be varying opinions about whether Santa exists, but it has no impact whatsoever on Santas existence/non-existence. When audiophiles debate the existence of accuracy, our opinions have no more impact on its existence than the opinions of 8 years olds have on Santas existence.
Having said all that, I do have an opinion about whether accuracy exists, and my opinion is that is does. That leads to two more questions:
4. What is the evidence for the existence of accuracy?
5. If accuracy exists, what is it?
Answering either of these questions entails answering the other, so I will answer them together in the following statements, some of which are facts, some opinions. First the facts
Every component in a playback system introduces distortion, noise, or loss to the signal. There are a variety of measurements, familiar to all audiophiles, that quantify distortion, noise, and loss, including: frequency response, impulse response, harmonic distortion, intermodulation distortion, S/N, crosstalk, jitter and so on.
Now the opinions
The kinds of measurements mentioned above provide conclusive evidence for the existence of inaccuracy. And collectively, the characteristics those measurements quantify CONSTITUTE inaccuracy. The existence of inaccuracy entails the existence of accuracy, understood as the degree of absence of inaccuracy. Q.E.D.
That is my answer to questions (4) and (5) above. None of it is particularly original and much of it has been said before, but it bears repeating.
Several posters have tried to cast doubt on the existence of accuracy on the grounds that there is no absolute standard for judging accuracy. They are quite right that there is no absolute standard for judging accuracy, but that is irrelevant to the question of whether accuracy exists. There is no absolute standard for ANY TRUTH WHATSOEVER, including scientific truths. ALL knowledge is provisional, fallible, and revisable.
The absence of absolute standards for judging accuracy does not warrant skepticism about the existence of accuracy. Nor does it warrant skepticism about the possibility of judging accuracy, since there are a number of non-absolute standards for judging accuracy, many of which have been mentioned on this thread. Those non-absolute standards provide knowledge of a components accuracy, even if that knowledge is provisional, fallible, and revisable. Acknowledging the absence of absolute standards for knowledge means we must give up the idea of CERTAINTY. It does NOT mean we must give up the idea of TRUTH.
None of this suggests an answer to the question, Is accuracy important? Again, that is a subjective question. There is no right or wrong answer. My personal answer is Yes, accuracy is important, but ONLY UP TO A POINT. Accuracy is one consideration among many. Highly inaccurate systems, IMO, typically make for a frustrating listening experience. But systems that prioritize accuracy above all else typically make for a dull listening experience. Hence accuracy should be balanced with other considerations. Much more to say about that topic, but I have to pause to take a breath.
Bryon
