what percentage of us really knows sound

Interesting thread;all I can say is the audio store I did business with in St.Paul Mn never jammed gear down my throat;they demoed gear based on listening to the music being played and pointed out events that were occuring in the piece being played;things I never even considered when I started out in this hobby.
I owe Paul Szabady many thanks for making me really listen to the source material and understanding it as well;not just playing the music and saying listen to that bass but being able to hear the pluck of a standup bass or the striking of the hammer on the cord of the piano.
Turning 50 though I miss some of that material as the hearing is not what it used to be.
One other advantage was meeting Ralph from Atmasphere when his amps were first coming into the industry and learning about his design and goals for stereo reproduction.

I will start here... Not sure if the poster is in fact just upset and getting a rise out of the "People" or in fact the people are upset because they feel like they fall into the category he lists!!!

Problem is they are both probably correct at whatever is going on here in this thread.

Personally I will say this, I have in fact been in the 100 dollar couch with crappy apartment rental's, and way too much invested in audio camp more than once! And he would be correct I thought I knew something and did not as it did ultimately sounded like crap compared to the money I spent, but I can freely admit this a few years later, but not at the time.

You almost have to really get your hands dirty and realize what it takes to keep audio in "Reality Check". Meaning many have to be hands on in building and tweaking their own gear to find the optimal performance from it. Not everything, but you all know this is true to a degree.

However I will say this, my experience is the opposite when visiting some audiophiles and their system, I always find something cool about another system, or its just new to me because I don't own it, so its kinda exciting, and most of the time I can hear things I like about it, not to say I would trade my system for it, but makes me take the experience to try and mimick some things in my own system sometimes. Its just fun. Self worth can only go so far need to open your mind on both sides I believe in this case.

Experience personally is all we have, buying and seting up audio gear, or which peanut butter you like best from the grocery store.

Juan writes: "Do you think, the Director [sic] of an Orchestra, is listening for inner Details?"

Are you serious? Darn right the conductor is listening for details. Preparing an orchestra is about things like making sure the bassoons are just a tad softer and the timpani is playing a G and not a note a quarter tone above a G.

05-01-10: Avguygeorge
Well we haven't had a thread like this in a while; which is a good thing.==,Oh, and don't we just love it that we can post our opinions;no matter how many folk we step on???
Surely,as enough have pointed out,we all pay our money and have different tastes,ears,budjets,rooms and such.
I did own Merlin MM's and sold them for what I paid;pronto.Just not my cup of tea.---Or, I like that mid coloration and more percieved bass,in room.--Only because I owned them do I trash the Merlins.--Course, violin's don't get that low.
As a guy whom plays an instrument; I have no answer for that. I do play the kazoo,however.
The system I heard at a freind's house was my first recognition of what my system lacked (back in the late '70's's)As best as I remember this is what he had: Lynn tt. Rosewood cart. Mac. ss stuff and I think the brand is Advent 1+1 for speakers.--This stuff just blew me away. For years this was my goal.
Here's what I have now; so any, so inclined, can pp in MY cornflakes: Meridian 808-i2 Rowland 312 Sophia 2's Tara Zero Gold ics Omega speaker wires. Audience T-6 for the conditioning,'cause I live in a 95 unit complex with its horible power.--Spell-check is down so this post shows me at my normal intel. level.
So,anybody can come over. I have ear pluggs and asprin.

........................

Hello Avguygeorge,

Without the comas i had to read it 4 times , it was hard finding a Sophia's 2 tara Zero Gold ics Omega speakers.. -)

I will flat out state I don't want it to sound exactly the same as "live" in my room. Can you imagine a drum kit, horns, and guitars all playing in my average size room. It would sound like crap and be way too loud for comfort.

We only have recordings to listen to, not the real live band. We also have the ability to regulate the sound level of a recording within in our listening space. We don't know the SPL of the original recording, but if we did, and our room and chosen equipment could achieve that SPL, recreating that level would make the replay closer to the original event.

Musicians can play their chosen instrument loud or quiet, but it is a different technique to effect that change. It's not like the thing we achieve with a volume knob.

Do you really want to listen to every performance at "live" levels? I certainly don't. So any reduction in playback level is an instant but essentially necessary distortion. Now we get to the illusion part of the program. How good is your imagination? How many sonic clues does it take for you to accept and find pleasure in the illusion? Do you like row "A" or row "S" in the hall? There are so many choices and so many perspectives. There is no one right choice for everyone or we wouldn't be here.

To the OP, you purchased speakers on reputation/recommendation not your own needs and bias. You want a speaker with big bass and that is not Merlin. Find what you like and buy it. There are thousands of speakers and amps to choose from. BTW I always like Merlins at the shows. I don't own them.