Hype, Hyperbole and high price!

My take on the defense industry as I have dealt with LM: they are used to getting $$$ from the government, are highly inefficient, bureaucratic,... Look at their latest "achievement": F22 way over budget, way over the deadlines. Now, what is your definition of an hyperbole again?

"I have friends that are audio snobs..." this is how you think of friends? Please look up the definition of friends.

kenny928, look in a mirror once in a while helps!

I have a serious question. First of all I respect higher education although I don't have any.

If engineering expertise can be applied in a factual manner to audio, why does a company not dominate as a result?

Seriously, I often read what doesn't work. But what does? I assume electrical engineers are designing at least some of the available equipment. Is it just the nature of audio that lends itself to this differing of application and result?

I read and try to learn in these forums but it is very, very difficult to build a foundation of knowledge that isn't undermined or disputed by seemingly educated people. 

I'm happy with my system- or possibly too ignorant to know the difference. Ignorance is bliss in my case, but I am still curious as to the lack of consensus regarding scientific principles.

Thanks,

a neophyte.

"All of these approaches seem valid and tend to tell more about how the purchaser views the world than about the products themselves, IMHO."

Brilliant. 

viridian..good post..the bottom line is that if a system is not resolving enough then you will not hear much of a difference, in the sound,  when trying new cables.They certainly do,however, make a difference with each change.

Uncledemp wrote,

"I read and try to learn in these forums but it is very, very difficult to build a foundation of knowledge that isn’t undermined or disputed by seemingly educated people.

I’m happy with my system- or possibly too ignorant to know the difference. Ignorance is bliss in my case, but I am still curious as to the lack of consensus regarding scientific principles."

I suspect there actually isn’t so much argument over the scientific principles although there probably is some, but the real arguments are over why a thing would sound better than another thing when the measured scientific parameters are essential identical or perhaps even not as good. There are of course other arguments in these forums with regard to many controversial devices and tweaks that seem to defy scientific labeling or characterization or are otherwise mysterious as to operating mechanism. Thus, in the audio hobby, IMO, if one wishes to trace back and find the scientific explanation in a textbook why some things sound better than others or why certain audio techniques or innovations work might not be possible. And one cannot look even to NASA, Lockheed Martin, AES, MIT or the National Science Foundation to provide answers.