fleschler,
Well if you remain so incurious and don’t give a rat’s ass about understanding the phenomenon...which would include the variable of human perception....I guess there isn’t much to discuss.
So...uh...thanks for the contribution?
@jay23,
First, please see my recent reply to nonoise where I expand on my view of blind testing.
We can not blind test everything, that’s entirely impractical. So a reasonable heuristic is that when you *really* want to be careful about understanding a phenomenon, or when it comes to claims that are in any way extraordinary, to the degree they are not backed by a consensus of people in the relevant field of expertise for instance - if these are areas in question - then waiting for more evidence based on appropriate controls is reasonable.
So why aren’t we having this discussion about the possible audibility between speakers?
Because virtually no relevant experts in the field of audio engineering, human perception etc, dispute that speakers sound different. Different designs produce easily measurable changes in the signals that reach our ears, and they fall within the scope of difference well known (and studied) to be audible.
That’s not the case with, say, boutique audiophile AC cables, or audiophile fuses, etc. What you have there is for the most part anecdote.
The type of sonic changes I make to my sounds fall well within known parameters of audibility. Usually for instance I’m boosting a sound a minimum of 3dB.
Back to my view of the audiophile fuse issue: I’m not saying an audiophile fuses can make no sonic difference. (People throw up strawmen like that when they are too emotional to give a more reasoned response to what I actually write).
I don’t know if a fuse can make a difference or not.
What I do know:
1. It’s an area of dispute among people more knowledgeable about electronics than I am. So that’s a red flag.
2. Therefore I’m left only with the usual anecdotal claims by audiophiles that the tweak "clearly made a difference in my system!" But the problem is that exact claim is made, using the same method of "just put it in your system and try!" that lead people to claim "everything makes a difference" from markers on CDs, to ringing discs to all manner of tweaks that have little basis in sound science. In fact just this appeal to simply "trusting my experience" is used in support of every single far out claim you can name, from faith healing, to psychic powers, to every single dubious nostrum anyone has ever peddled. That's a problem.
So....I have reasons to be cautious about accepting the claims about audiophile fuses. And little about the audiophile fuse phenomenon rises above the rest of the audiophile tweakerverse....so I don’t see any reason to spend time on this tweak vs any other.
But...simply point out the scientific facts about human fallibility, note that I am fallible and have been shown wrong, and that we are all fallible and can make mistakes in our perception, and this seems to send some people into fits. It’s pretty odd.
Directionality change in fusing is obvious to me (and to my friends). There is no "subtlety" in the difference. I don’t give a rat’s ass why.
Well if you remain so incurious and don’t give a rat’s ass about understanding the phenomenon...which would include the variable of human perception....I guess there isn’t much to discuss.
So...uh...thanks for the contribution?
@jay23,
Do you blind test the changes?
First, please see my recent reply to nonoise where I expand on my view of blind testing.
We can not blind test everything, that’s entirely impractical. So a reasonable heuristic is that when you *really* want to be careful about understanding a phenomenon, or when it comes to claims that are in any way extraordinary, to the degree they are not backed by a consensus of people in the relevant field of expertise for instance - if these are areas in question - then waiting for more evidence based on appropriate controls is reasonable.
So why aren’t we having this discussion about the possible audibility between speakers?
Because virtually no relevant experts in the field of audio engineering, human perception etc, dispute that speakers sound different. Different designs produce easily measurable changes in the signals that reach our ears, and they fall within the scope of difference well known (and studied) to be audible.
That’s not the case with, say, boutique audiophile AC cables, or audiophile fuses, etc. What you have there is for the most part anecdote.
The type of sonic changes I make to my sounds fall well within known parameters of audibility. Usually for instance I’m boosting a sound a minimum of 3dB.
Back to my view of the audiophile fuse issue: I’m not saying an audiophile fuses can make no sonic difference. (People throw up strawmen like that when they are too emotional to give a more reasoned response to what I actually write).
I don’t know if a fuse can make a difference or not.
What I do know:
1. It’s an area of dispute among people more knowledgeable about electronics than I am. So that’s a red flag.
2. Therefore I’m left only with the usual anecdotal claims by audiophiles that the tweak "clearly made a difference in my system!" But the problem is that exact claim is made, using the same method of "just put it in your system and try!" that lead people to claim "everything makes a difference" from markers on CDs, to ringing discs to all manner of tweaks that have little basis in sound science. In fact just this appeal to simply "trusting my experience" is used in support of every single far out claim you can name, from faith healing, to psychic powers, to every single dubious nostrum anyone has ever peddled. That's a problem.
So....I have reasons to be cautious about accepting the claims about audiophile fuses. And little about the audiophile fuse phenomenon rises above the rest of the audiophile tweakerverse....so I don’t see any reason to spend time on this tweak vs any other.
But...simply point out the scientific facts about human fallibility, note that I am fallible and have been shown wrong, and that we are all fallible and can make mistakes in our perception, and this seems to send some people into fits. It’s pretty odd.