Blessing!
A blessing? Or a curse?
We all know there’s people who seem to have no memory of or ability to recall anything they hear. We know because they tell us so. In no uncertain terms, either! They are quite certain the only way anything can be compared is to flip back and forth instantaneously, because no one can remember anything they have heard for more than like a microsecond.
So okay, they can’t hear, can’t remember, they are quite certain this is the case, what can we do but believe them?
We also know there are people who seem to be able to recall very well things they have heard, sometimes even quite a long time ago. We hear this one all the time too. They tell us how a certain speaker or whatever sounds, even though they heard it only maybe once at some show or whatever many months ago. Let’s not quibble was it the speakers or the amp or the room or whatever. Point is a definite acoustic memory formed and has stayed with them.
Which at long last brings us to what you already know its really all about: Me! I have this decades long ritual where whenever people are coming over I do something, and sometimes a lot of somethings, to make the system really shine. My favorite thing about this, if I’m totally honest, is at the end when its late at night and the system is truly peaking I get to relax back and take it all in.
So this last time with the guys from Portland coming up, and then on to Mike Lavigne’s, well guess what? Left the Herron and the table on from the night before, woke up early to get the Melody going, ran the XLO demagnetizing tracks about a zillion times, demagnetized, sprayed, and then played a few sides. What they heard when they got here was pretty good. Or as I am told the unanimous opinion was, "Fantastic!" Then off to Mike Lavigne’s. So by the time I get back and relax that night its all been running for like 24 hours.
Holy moly did that sound good! Did not even want to go to bed.
Okay so here’s the problem. Last night, system been off a week, usual 30 min warm up, nothing else, anyone wonder why I was kind of underwhelmed? Its that dang auditory memory. If only I could forget! But then, if I was one of those guys who can’t remember a ding dong thing, would I have the system I have?
So what say you? Is it a blessing? Or a curse?
So okay, they can’t hear, can’t remember, they are quite certain this is the case, what can we do but believe them?
We also know there are people who seem to be able to recall very well things they have heard, sometimes even quite a long time ago. We hear this one all the time too. They tell us how a certain speaker or whatever sounds, even though they heard it only maybe once at some show or whatever many months ago. Let’s not quibble was it the speakers or the amp or the room or whatever. Point is a definite acoustic memory formed and has stayed with them.
Which at long last brings us to what you already know its really all about: Me! I have this decades long ritual where whenever people are coming over I do something, and sometimes a lot of somethings, to make the system really shine. My favorite thing about this, if I’m totally honest, is at the end when its late at night and the system is truly peaking I get to relax back and take it all in.
So this last time with the guys from Portland coming up, and then on to Mike Lavigne’s, well guess what? Left the Herron and the table on from the night before, woke up early to get the Melody going, ran the XLO demagnetizing tracks about a zillion times, demagnetized, sprayed, and then played a few sides. What they heard when they got here was pretty good. Or as I am told the unanimous opinion was, "Fantastic!" Then off to Mike Lavigne’s. So by the time I get back and relax that night its all been running for like 24 hours.
Holy moly did that sound good! Did not even want to go to bed.
Okay so here’s the problem. Last night, system been off a week, usual 30 min warm up, nothing else, anyone wonder why I was kind of underwhelmed? Its that dang auditory memory. If only I could forget! But then, if I was one of those guys who can’t remember a ding dong thing, would I have the system I have?
So what say you? Is it a blessing? Or a curse?
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- 31 posts total
If your system is on the bright side a system that is neutral will sound dull. If your system is dull the neutral system sounds bright.....at first. Listen long enough and it will be the new normal. I find it interesting that in spite of all the tech we have "the vast majority have no idea what they are listening to". They have never seen a frequency response graph their system and it will be anything but flat. You can see such a graph on my system page.I dont think that what define S.Q. in audio system can be understandable and perceived by an experienced listener ONLY in term of frequencies graph first and last.... What i listen to to create my own audio system with my listenings experiments were the real " instrumental timbre" and " imaging" ongoing experience for a long time experiments and for a pair of ears(mine) and not some frequencies graphs first and foremost ....I dont have any tech. apparatus anyway.... And "instrumental timbre" for example cannot be reduce to frequency attributes only, and same for the imaging experience....For example there exist 5 attributes at least for the definition of instrumental timbre:
Then i dont think that what constitute an " ideal" audiophile experience must be linked necessarily to a flat or so called absolutely total neutral graph.... For sure all the homemade devices i created in my audio embeddings experiments comes from my biased hearing experience only and are suited to my likings.... But i prove for myself that we dont need money at all to live hi-fi experience, but we need our biased ears for sure...( all ears are biased by virtue of their own specific structure different for each one of us) the vast majority have no idea what they are listening to And by the way i know very much what i listen to without any technical apparatus help....Timbre and imaging can be perceived and recreated by the help of real ears only, especially in a small room with unique acoustical properties complex content and a particular topology of his own and a specific geometry....Small room acoustic is not reducible to some simple programmed linear algorythm... Ears are more than necessary here....Especially the specific ears that will live and listen music in this specific complex room.... :) «Listening to pure frequencies only is like listening to an abstract soul without body»-Anonymus «Like my wife, my biased ears are nevermind perfect, they are all that i need and all that i have anyway»- Groucho Marx « What do you do for a living? i devise audio system for half deaf people»-Groucho Marx :) |
- 31 posts total