Why do many discussions about sonic performance disintegrate into technical discusions?

George,

Technology is in reality in terms of subjective ways of telling a difference are useless in correlation to what you can perceive.

The only way to know the affect on a circuit of a particular part is to build x then take out the part  in question, and put in the other part and then listen. Some speaker designers have tried many brands of the same level of cap in their circuits before figuring out exactly which one they use.

In terms of pure statistical data guys. Take a gas chromatograph pour in
a bottle of ripple, a bottle of 15 dollar table wine and a 1,000 bottle of wine and see what your results look like?

Drive three different sports cars on the same road and see what the specs tell you.

Erik subjective experiences are just that, a particular set of criteria for that person, we usually don’t pass judgement on a product until we have heard it on a number of occasions.

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ

The only way to know the affect on a circuit of a particular part is to build x then take out the part in question, and put in the other part and then listen.

 Yes, using what before listening?           That's right!!  the dreaded laws of electronics test equipment and measurements.
There isn't a piece of audio equipment worth it's salt that hasn't been designed using these, and if there were, I'd suggest a very wide berth.

Cheers George  

Men are from Mars and women are from Earth. They are not interested in this infantile nonsense and rightly so, they have better things to do. As for some members mentioning their wives and girlfriends, if they really have them, it is because they are part of their audiophile gear to be proud of and to exhibit.
There is always room for some technical discussion in any thread, I think, just not to the point of overtaking everything else.

Gosh, whatever happened to good old (1) psychology, (2) evolutionary biology, and (3) the study of sensory perception: philosophical, subconscious and physiological.

Maybe add (4) flaws inherent in testing procedures. 😛

With mostly geriatric listeners and a crowd that hear the heavens open up from some gunk they threw on their contacts or a mere replacement fuse, I guess you should ask “is there actually any point in discussing sonic performance at all?”