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The need for variety and endless search for new details

Humans often crave variety. In our plays, books, hair cuts and even cooking. Reliable is good but there are usually some areas where we simply don’t want the same thing every time. The same dish at the same restaurant every day would sadden most of us. The same hair cut every time for many leaves us depressed. We don’t feel the same excitement the second or third time we leave the salon.

The problem comes in the illusion of new details I often read about audiophile writers chasing, especially in speakers, combining with our desire to hear more and more.

IMHO there are good and bad ways to create more detail. Bad way are to use uneven frequency responses which tickle our ears differently than whatever we were last listening to. "I’m hearing things I’ve never heard before!" is a key phrase. The problem is that it’s not really better, it’s just different. It’s a game of rock,paper, scissors played with large, heavy and expensive objects with explanations easily found in ragged mid and treble responses.

Legitimate ways of creating more detail IMHO are to improve room acoustics and or tailor dispersion to control reflections. This includes horns, planar speakers and wide-baffle speakers (Snell A/III, SF Stradivari, etc.), line sources, D’Appolito configurations, open baffle designs, etc.

I’m not against tone or loudness controls, at all. I’m concerned about fellow enthusiasts chasing an illusory "better" without fully understanding what they are looking for. For some of us, maybe we are better off with multiple amps and speakers we can cycle through rather than replace in order to find long lasting happiness.

erik_squires
stuartk
2,958 posts
 

@erik_squires

I forgot to mention that that part of the brain that habitually seeks one quick fix after another actually gets in the way of my listening to what I already have. It will "tell me" there’s nothing on the shelves in front of me that will satisfy me -- that I’m thoroughly bored with it all-- when in fact this is simply not true! I find that if I pull out something I haven’t heard in a while, it will be usually be gratifying. I’m not at all convinced that fueling this part of my brain with more and more "variety" would be a positive thing. At the same time, I'm not suggesting this syndrome affects others. 

Like Ticketmaster, middlemen who don’t actually make value are telling the world what to listen to.

Just like social media moguls who are solely focused upon content that attracts the most "likes" regardless of how much "value" such content offers or indeed, regardless of how damaging it might be?

mashif
265 posts
 

Another perspective is that "variety" = "novelty" and it applies to music and gear. We become aware of something new and want to experience it rather than repeat an experience we've already had. But it's a trap! Occasionally the New Thing is worth the experience, but the novelty wears off. The things I treasure are those that have stood the test of time and don't depend on novelty. 

immatthewj
2,147 posts
 

 "I’m hearing things I’ve never heard before!" is a key phrase. The problem is that it’s not really better, it’s just different. 

Well, not always.  Some times it really is better.

mapman's avatar
mapman
22,341 posts
 

I keep thinking having 20/20 vision would be better but now I’m starting to wonder. All that detail could be distracting.  🥸

jayctoy's avatar
jayctoy
4,187 posts
 

I have chase details sound thru components , and silver cables, speakers. Detail sounding is good if it’s balance and it goes with the music.One time I have system with amazing detail but works only on strings, once I played jazz it will drive me crazy. 

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