Does it have to sound good for you to like it?
I listen mainly to classical music. The SQ of classical recordings is all over the place, not nearly as consistent other types of music. Recording large orchestras is a complicated and difficult endeavor. Smaller ensembles are easier to record. So, if you listen to a great performance of an orchestral (or any) recording but have trouble with the sound will you avoid listening to it?
Parsons has videos on youtube on his home gear and speaker setup. He owns pretty expensive stuff. All his recordings sound great - at home. Perhaps because he knows home music reproduction well. But hey - people discuss Ethernet cable performance. Surely they know networks more than any network stack engineers. Who is Alan? Just a recorder of some Pink Floyd… |
I actually think it is not a great quote. First of all, it seems to lump all audiophiles as one monolithic block of listeners, who care much more about their gear, than the music. Which I believe describes a minority of audiophiles. I have actually met Alan Parsons several times. A great friend of mine was one of the leading experts in the world on analog synthesizers. When he worked at Moog toward the end of his life, he met Alan and they became good friends. I actually confronted Alan on this quote while at my friend’s house, and he literally used the "no true Scotsman" fallacy on me. He said if I love music more than my gear, I am not an audiophile. He is a great guy. And a really good musician. But he is simply wrong. As far as using my gear to listen music, or listen to music to listen to my gear. I do both. For the vast majority of time, I listen to music, and pay almost no attention to how my gear is performing. I am a music first audiophile. But that doesn’t, every couple of weeks, for several hours, I can’t also have loads of fun by just paying attention to my gear, and maybe making changes to speaker placement, adjusting room treatment, changing out a piece of gear. I am temporarily a "gear first audiophile". |
I agree. I believe he is describing a minority of audiophiles, not the majority. His quote also seems a bit of a false dichotomy. As if a music first audiophile, at times, I can also be a gear first audiophile. It’s not an either/or situation. |
“On this forum, the OP has asked what is essentially the same question many times over the years; in a variety of different ways and approached from different angles.” The relevance of this post is borne out by the number of members (including yourself) who have responded. I think It is an important issue for many and worthy of repeating in different ways. |
@rvpiano , I haven’t suggested otherwise. I’m sure it will be brought up again. As I also said, I hope you can find some resolution. Cheers. |
