This forum is unlike any I have ever participated in. It is apparently populated with irascible, suspicious types.
I reported what I thought was an interesting phenomenon I had encountered while sampling many different pieces of high-end equipment. I have been criticized for NOT naming the manufacturers. I have been praised for not naming them, as this would have been slanderous. The most consistent criticism I got was that the items in question were not actually lemons. Apparently, the reason for this is that they worked. I mean, I was able to turn them on and they did produce sound. This is a particularly bizarre observation for a group presumably interested in high-end audio in which sound quality the coin of the realm. They also were not lemons I have been told because:
1) I didn't compare apples with apples. It was just poor equipment matching.
One of my examples was of two DACS, both the same make and model, and manufacturer. They differed only by the presence of some optional upgrades. One sounded fantastic and the other sounded significantly worse, worse than the cheap DAC it was supposed to replace. This is not a matter of "equipment matching". They were the same unit differing only by the presence or absence of some relatively minor upgrades. They were both auditioned using the same same associated equipment in the same room under the same conditions. Any difference in sound should have been at most minor. In fact, the sound was quite different, with the more expensive unit sounding significantly worse.
Also, I should have mentioned that in the other case, the amplifier, I am very familiar with this company's products. They have a house sound. I own another one of their products. Not only did the significantly more expensive lemon not sound better. It sounded significantly worse, and, more importantly, it did not ever really sound at all like my other unit. I might also mention that it had been widely reviewed and praised by all. When I settled on my final choice, it was also from the same manufacturer. It sounded better than my existing unit, but they clearly sounded similar. Unlike the lemon, they sounded as though they were clearly made with the same DNA.
2) These were not lemons, they were just expressions of personal preference.
I suppose in the broadest sense, ALL audio choices are a matter of personal preference, so to that extent this becomes a trivial observation. The sense in which it is NOT trivial is that after listening to a lot of expensive gear for many decades, believe it or not I am able to make intelligent judgments about gear that sounds good and gear that does not. This is NOT a question of personal preference. I mentioned in the post that some of the equipment that I auditioned sounded refined and of obviously high quality, but just did not accommodate my tastes. That can easily happen. The lemons were not that. Yes, I could turn them on and yes they made sound, but the sound they made was not enjoyable, was not refined, and was not musical. Something was obviously wrong.
