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  3. 183022-156209

Why Are We Breaking Our Brains?

A master sommelier takes a sip of red wine, swishes it around a bit, pauses, ponders, and then announces: “…. It’s from a mountainous region … probably Argentina … Catena Zapata Argentina Malbec 2020.” Another sommelier at a fine eating establishment in a major city is asked: “What would you pair with shrimp?” The sommelier hesitates for a moment then asks the diners: “What shrimp dish are you ordering?” The sommelier knows the pairing depends on whether the shrimp is briny, crisp, sweet, or meaty. Or some other “house specialty” not mentioned here. The sommelier can probably give good examples of $10 wines and bad examples of $100 wines. And why a good $100 wine is worth … one hundred dollars.

Sommeliers do not have a master’s degree in biochemistry. And no one from the scientific world is attempting to humiliate them in public forums for “claiming to know more than a little bit about wines” with no scientific basis to back them up. No one is shouting “confirmation bias” when the “somm” claims that high end wines are better than cheap wines, and well worth the money.

Yet, guys and gals with decades of involvement in high performance audio who claim to “hear differences” in various elements introduced into audio chain are pulled thru a gauntlet of scientific scrutiny, often with a great deal of fanfare and personal invalidation. Why is there not a process for “musical discovery” for seasoned audiophiles, and a certification process? Evaluator: “Okay, I’m going to change something in the system. Tell me what you hear. The options are interconnect upgrade, anti-skate calibration, removal of acoustical materials, or change in bitrate. Choose one.”

How can those with pretty “sensitive antennas” and years of hands (and, ears) on good gear convince the technical world that they are actually qualified to hear what they are hearing?

Why is it viewed as an inferior process for seasoned professionals to just listen, "swish" it around in their brains for a bit, and comment?

128x128waytoomuchstuff
wsrrsw's avatar
wsrrsw
1,100 posts
 

@curiousjim ’I’m coining Loretta.”

@waytoomuchstuff You wax poetic. So thanks.

I’ve posted this quote before but it seems appropriate. ‘There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that ’my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.’ Issac Asimov

The internet has let so many pontificate and prattle as if they were experts. Not using our real names and faces doesn’t help. Most here are kind and want to help. And then there are the righteous bomb throwers (And if someone cuts up and does it well that’s laudable too). But all and all this joint rocks.

Making sausage isn’t pretty and the internet is sausage.

kingsleuy's avatar
kingsleuy
180 posts
 

For some reason, Investigating if ultrasound is harming LPs, has brought me back up here.

Wondering Wednesday.

henry53's avatar
henry53
280 posts
 

Wine and HiFi are indeed very similar. Drink and listen to what you like, what someone else measures or consumes makes no difference to what you may actually like.

sfgak
137 posts
 

If you are using the wine analogy, you should read up on The Judgment of Paris tasting in 1976.

[T]he greatest underdog tale in wine history was about to unfold. Californian wines scored big with the judges and won in both the red and white categories, beating legendary chateaux and domaines from Bordeaux and Burgundy.

Sometimes the underdog can taste better... sommeliers can be taken aback. Similarly, a "lesser brand" may sometimes sound better in a system. Trust your ears, not the hype...

 

tylermunns
601 posts
 

Why would someone “know what they hear,” so to speak, and then give a good gosh darn about specs, measurements, and other figures printed on a page?  
Why would someone in this position care if some other person attempted to delegitimize and invalidate what they know good and well they’re actually hearing in human life?

I wouldn’t. If someone wants to enjoy music via measurements on a page instead of with their ears, brains, heart and soul, that’s their prerogative, but their protestations against my personal experience wouldn’t amount to a hill of beans in my world. 

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