Stereophile Article - Holt telling it like it is.


http://stereophile.com/asweseeit/1107awsi/

Gordon Holt telling it the way it is. I have to tell you; I agree almost with 100% of what he's said. I look forward to the Stereophile print where a full article is too be written. I will purchase that issue.
lush
Atmasphere, I usually agree with you, but I have know to many brilliant, interesting, and stimulating people who were disorganized messes in their physical space to say JGH may be as you describe, but it has little to do with his judgement of things audio.
the sound of stereo systems is far removed and inferior to the sound of live music. it is that way now and was the same 30 years ago.

audio is a subjective, aesthetic medium. while there may be standards of sound quality, they too are subjectively imposed.

since it is all subjective, what one likes = quality.

don't confuse facts with value. quality is not objective. quality is assigned by human beings to a set of conditions. it is arbitrary and there is more than one concept of quality.

live and live and don't worry about what other people think. it is irrelevant. just enjoy the music, regardless of the judgment of others.

gordon holt's view is just one of many. he sounds very dogmatic to me.
"We've lost our direction....The High End in 1992 is a multi-million-dollar business. But it's an empty triumph, because we haven't accomplished what we set out to do. The playback still doesn't sound 'just like the real thing.'

My living room can never sound like Carnegie Hall or the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.
Any notion that it can is naive at best and arrogant at worst.

Nor have we solved the common cold, cancer, aids, segregation, poverty, etc.

Some progress has been made.

If all I wanted was accurate music I would only listen to live music. I still enjoy our hobby after 30 years.
Jbaussie, although we can't actually bring the Carnegie into our homes, It is possible to bring it darn close.