What are we objectivists missing?
I have been following (with much amusement) various threads about cables and tweaks where some claim "game changing improvements" and other claim "no difference". My take is that if you can hear a difference, there must be some difference. If a device or cable or whatever measures exactly the same it should sound exactly the same. So what are your opinions on what those differences might be and what are we NOT measuring that would define those differences?
Audio for audiophiles is like golf for golf enthusiasts. If you think there's a problem someone is willing to sell you a solution. If you don't know there's a problem, someone is willing to invent one - and sell you the solution. People have fun with either pastime attempting to invent perfection for themselves - which they'll never achieve but that's all part of the challenge. |
Being an Audiophile is primarily about 2 things, your equipment and how it sounds. Each person is unique, what you hear is determined by your ears and your brain, what you enjoy is determined by your preferences and experience. I have frequently sat in a colleagues room or store demonstration room and listened whilst someone told me how great it sounded, but to me it sounded awful. Long experience trying to like Klipsch or Cyrus electronics comes to mind (separate story told here more than once). I cannot say Klipsch speakers sound terrible, but I can say they do to me. You can measure them until the cows come home, they will still sound terrible to me. This pastime is all about finding an illusion,( the Beatles or Bach are not playing music in your lounge room tonight), that you like. Someone telling you that a different illusion sounds better or measures better is completely pointless. Trying to be completely objective about something that is essentially subjective is not scientific. |
@jtucker
Exactly. Our hearing acuity is much more complex than current science can define. Not just cables but components as well. Great measurements can only get you so far, then the rest is an art of trying different things to improve the sonics. If we can measure what good sonics sound like, we’d have fatter bank accounts. |
+1 @henry53 for: "Trying to be completely objective about something that is essentially subjective is not scientific." |
