objective vs. subjective rabbit hole

First, I feel that anything sold on the market has already gone through some extensive testing and certification in order to be sold. Having to retest it to satisfy some paranoid fears is overboard behavior.

I also keep in mind that what I listen to in a store or audio show is not how it's going to sound in my system. Something you learn after a few rodeos. I don't walk on eggshells anymore out of some unfounded fear of getting it wrong and especially to not meeting up to others expectations or standards.

The only way you'll know is through trial and error. You'll get a good idea of what it can sound like when auditioning and will only know when you finally get it home. Even then, there's going to be adjustments to make until you're satisfied and for the most part, you will be.

All the best,
Nonoise

Probably very few are still following this thread, so I'm going to risk a few provocative comments.

First, as to objective measurements. The scientifically-trained engineers who create the stuff we buy rely heavily on measurements to work their magic. That's an incontestable fact. So saying that measurements are irrelevant is like saying that, if you are a believer in God, knowing God's intention when creating the world is irrelevant to our enjoyment of it. That may be so, but only given certain perverse assumptions. If you want your understanding of experience to correspond as closely as possible to the Creator's, you need to know the creator's criteria. 

Second, there are many ways for a system to sound good. The wine analogy I, and others, have used here and in other threads is an analogue: comparing one fine system to another is a bit like comparing a fine Pinot Noir to a fine Cabernet Sauvignon. They're different, all right, but it would be absurd to reject the one on the basis of what one values in the other, or vice versa. Bottom line: expensive systems almost always sound better than inexpensive systems, even if in different ways, and they do so to everyone, not just to audiophiles. We obsess over microscopic details that most normal people neither notice nor care about, and those constitute the majority of "debates" on this forum. But I have not yet meet a person with ears who is not impressed by a "good" system, even if such a normal person doesn't consider the cost and emotional investment necessary for assembling that good system worthwhile.

Third: Chacun a son gout/De gustibus non est disputandem. Some of us like listening to Tool or Metalica; others can't stand such music, and prefer string quartets. Some of the latter love Beethoven's quartets but can't stand Bartok or Shostakovich. Those different sorts of music are so different in character, content, and aural impact that it would be crazy to suppose there should be universal agreement about what constitutes the best possible musical reproduction. But this does not contradict my second point, and it relates that point to my first: all music—indeed, all sound—is ultimately a matter of frequencies over time. That's a matter of physics, interpreted by brains attached to bodies. So the technological devices designed by engineers to reproduce those sounds with the greatest objective accuracy will, almost always, be the ones that listeners prefer, no matter their musical preferences. A distorted tone will not compellingly convey Hendrix's feedback, nor the sweet woody sound of a fine violin.

Great post to read!

Thanks...

😊

BTW, I reread the teo_audio post, wow what a great read. I would have never expected to read something like that here. I found it very insightful in bringing the two worlds (the scientific world and spiritual world) into a complete thought.

Many involved in the creation of music know about the emotional communication that music (and other forms of art) brings to the table (no LP pun intended). These thoughts are impossible to quantify or objectify. Yet, they are real enough some devote their lives to it (musicians) and others (engineers) devote their lives to helping musicians get the "sound" they hear in their head on a record.  These engineers are often the true blood brothers to audiophiles, as both share a deep love of "the sound of things".

Brad

I read the posts with my Rabbit.