2. speakers
  3. 159485-102681

High Performance Audio - The End?

Steve Guttenberg recently posted on his audiophiliac channel what might be an iconoclastic video.

Steve attempts to crystallise the somewhat nebulous feeling that climbing the ladder to the high-end might be a counter productive endeavour. 

This will be seen in many high- end quarters as heretical talk, possibly even blasphemous.
Steve might even risk bring excommunicated. However, there can be no denying that the vast quantity of popular music that we listen to is not particularly well recorded.

Steve's point, and it's one I've seen mentioned many times previously at shows and demos, is that better more revealing systems will often only serve to make most recordings sound worse. 

There is no doubt that this does happen, but the exact point will depend upon the listeners preference. Let's say for example that it might happen a lot earlier for fans of punk, rap, techno and pop.

Does this call into question almost everything we are trying to ultimately attain?

Could this be audio's equivalent of Martin Luther's 1517 posting of The Ninety-Five theses at Wittenberg?

-----

Can your Audio System be too Transparent?

Steve Guttenberg 19.08.20

https://youtu.be/6-V5Z6vHEbA

cd318
glupson
7,842 posts
 
"...overpriced Wilson, AT and D'Agostino..."
Just because one cannot afford something does not mean it is overpriced.

Sound by Singer experience might have been different at different times, I guess depending on who the salesperson there was at the moment. I stepped in a number of times and was allowed to browse and listen with no intention to buy. When I came to buy something, the man told me to look at it through the window on the door of the listening room.
Post removed 
barts's avatar
barts
746 posts
 
@roberjerman   I too have been to Sound by Singer several times in that same time-frame. First time saw the man himself, Andy Singer, and he let me wander a tiny bit, then asked what I was going to buy.  I replied that I don't see any system playing, store was dead quiet.  That was the end of that visit.  Went back another time and there happened to be several "real" customers in there and music playing in different rooms. Walked into a room and the customer greeted me! So I sat down and listened, it was the best system I had heard up until then. I'm assuming the sales person didn't want to act like a turd and tell me to get lost in front of the customer.  Subsequent visits ended same as the first.  Can't blame Steve for the attitude, it all flows down from the top, and that was their shtick.




 
barts's avatar
barts
746 posts
 
My remedy for hearing a crappy recording in high def is to put the Andrew Sisters on the Victrola (yes, original 1917) and listen to "Take the A Train".

When that's finished I put Manhattan Transfer "Take the A Train" on the main rig and it never fails to kick my butt down the block.

Ain't technology great.
jjss49's avatar
jjss49
6,612 posts
 
pretty much everybody has an angle, a schtick to play the angle

youtubers want views, so they put up click bait and say stimulating/controversial things

high end audio salespeople seek big fish, won’t waste time with tire kickers and peons

even if folks have good intentions (or no mal-intentions), the profit move overrides and the behavior, actions and attitudes follow suit (not to mention other biases towards sloth, self aggrandisement, etc etc)

way of the world folks... capitalist society... human nature... need to eat, so need to hunt and kill - some get angry, disillusioned, jaded in the process, life is hard for most

some other folks are lucky, plenty of money gotten somehow, so kick back, enjoy, observe, try to be neutral, without agenda -- but even some in this position are out for themselves (...more is better, greed is good, keep score on money in bank... etc etc)

but most aren’t in that position - especially in ’passion driven’ industries like fashion, cars, music, watches, movies, tv - these are populated mostly by hungry folks trying to scrape by to the next week, much less build a nest egg
More to discover