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Talk but not walk?

Hi Guys

This isn't meant to start a fight, but it is important to on lookers. As a qualifier, I have my own audio forum where we report on audio issues as we empirically test them. It helps us short cut on theories and developing methods of listening. We have a wide range of systems and they are all over the world adding their experiences to the mix. Some are engineers, some are artist and others are audiophiles both new and old. One question I am almost always asked while I am visiting other forums, from some of my members and also members of the forum I am visiting is, why do so many HEA hobbyist talk theory without any, or very limited, empirical testing or experience?

I have been around empirical testing labs since I was a kid, and one thing that is certain is, you can always tell if someone is talking without walking. Right now on this forum there are easily 20 threads going on where folks are talking theory and there is absolutely no doubt to any of us who have actually done the testing needed, that the guy talking has never done the actual empirical testing themselves. I've seen this happen with HEA reviewers and designers and a ton of hobbyist. My question is this, why?

You would think that this hobby would be about listening and experience, so why are there so many myths created and why, in this hobby in particular, do people claim they know something without ever experimenting or being part of a team of empirical science folks. It's not that hard to setup a real empirical testing ground, so why don't we see this happen?

I'm not asking for peoples credentials, and I'm not asking to be trolled, I'm simply asking why talk and not walk? In many ways HEA is on pause while the rest of audio innovation is moving forward. I'm also not asking you guys to defend HEA, we've all heard it been there done it. What I'm asking is a very simple question in a hobby that is suppose to be based on "doing", why fake it?

thanks, be polite

Michael Green

www.michaelgreenaudio.net


128x128michaelgreenaudio
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
They used to be all over the Internet for $40 previously owned but I haven’t looked in a while. Maybe some kind soul will read this and offer you some. But there’s worse news.  It appears the usual sellers are out of stock. And no ads pop up on the used market. End game. 😫
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
Pop quiz : What’s inside the Mpingo disc?

Multiple choice

1. Nothing
2. Morphic Message
3. The word REDRUM
4. Tiny crystal
5. Graphene
6. Small rare earth magnet

glupson
7,842 posts
 
I saw a monkey named Mpingo a few days ago. He was in a zoo and was quite cute. Just one Mpingo placed judiciously in a room can transform that room from bland to grand.
glupson
7,842 posts
 

Michael Green,


Thanks for that short description about wood. It does seem like a tedious work with lots of trial and error. I am sure with some experience the error part gets smaller, but still. To get to that experience, lots of wood must have gone to dumpster or wherever else.

michaelgreenaudio's avatar
michaelgreenaudio OP
1,019 posts
 

Hi Inna, you said

"I read about some people in Swiss Alps, near the border with Italy, who make great violins. One of them at particular time of the year chooses the day and a few spruce trees to fell. He selects those trees, who knows how, but he doesn't want to be wrong."

As HEA continues to evolve it's going to give way to "Premier Audio" (the more creative side of the hobby). It's the difference between Dollars & Sense. High End Audio is about money whereas Premier Audio is about position of importance.

The more premier part of the audiophile hobby is about Tuning, exactly like a musical instrument. A finely designed and tunable system will out perform a big dollar system any day of the week. Wood and other materials are of course the major contributors of the greatest music in the world, history has proven this, so have I and others like me. Shun Mook is another very good example of this. There are a few companies that understand the development and tuning of resonances instead of killing them and that's the next chapter for the extreme listener. The hobby got way off balance and built themselves into a corner (I'm talking about high end), but during this time the R&D by some of us have moved closer to the musical instrument in our designs and thinking. Tune the energy as opposed to distorting it. Tuning is the opposite of distortion, that's important for the hobby to get itself around. Once it does hold on for the ride of your listening lives.


"The idea of writing a book, Michael, is I think a good one."

The book is in the making, but I am a very lazy writer. I'm more about pushing the hobby in the correct direction (musical instruments) then I am an editor. The newer reviews coming out on Tuning need to find the ears of folks first and then the promoting will follow.

One other thing that makes me lazy is, it's hard to get me out of the listening chair or working on other's systems. Making or watching a tunable system come together for someone is like a transformation for them. What they thought was important fades pretty fast after a couple tuning steps. It's even made some people angry after spending so much money (High End) to find that they didn't need to. That's a head spin for anyone who had bought into the expensive product scam. And that's what it comes down to, a method is more valuable then expensive gear worshipping.

The hobby is getting close to the realization and when it finally does happen HEA as we knew it will be archived.

Let me just add this too. Sometimes things have to die before the next chapter can start. High End Audio hit a wall in the mid 90's and it has taken this long (and continues to) for the money chasing part of this hobby to die. The hobby instead of going after the next logical step was more concerned about cashing in. All of us saw it happen but the magazines were so convincing that the hobbyist had to spend all their money on the HEA revolving sales door, that the audio closets grew till the hobbyist couldn't cram any more failed components in. The hobbyist went in a very weird direction and it became obvious for a lot of guys who didn't bite on the spending that something was up. All we have to do is ask folks here who stopped buying new after the mid 90's or even before and we would find that expensive audio went off on it's own glory trip, but only a few really followed. Anyway I could go on and will if asked, but the next audiophile movement (that actually started many years ago) will be more for the listener then the collector.

Michael Green

http://www.michaelgreenaudio.net/

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