Don't get me wrong...I do like reading published measurements, in many cases, they sure provide clarity that something scientific is behind the differences I hear. Plus, I am curious, and I want to know why a certain thing sounds different.
Better measurements don't necessarily equate to better sound, and buying gear based on price is a sure way to part a fool with his money. But emperical types who focus on measurements to the ignorance of their god given senses continue to amuse me. I recall reading several years ago about a speaker whose waterfall decay plot was pristine. I went out of my way to listen to it, even bringing in my speakers (which had measurably inferior waterfall plots) to compare. Well, the sound was horrid. Same experience with comparing solid state amps with crappy measured vacuum tube SET amps. Who knew different higher order octaves of distortion could be pleasing to the ears, even when the measurements suggested the SET amp had to be broken? When engineers finally figured out a way to measure jitter, some fifteen years after the commercial release of CD's and after emperical types derided audiophiles for buying expensive CD players, lo and behold, better jitter measurements didn't always equal better sound. It turns out the frequency/spectrum of jitter was as important as the measured amount of jitter. Once the empericals figured out what to measure, they began to once again draw lines based on emperical measurements. "What good is DAC than can provide measured improvement above 20khz if the human ear can't hear above 20khz. Oh wait...turns out AES types found that extension beyond 20khz has a measurable effect on perception of spatial differences and upper harmonics. I would love to know why my expensive power cords sound different, and to mine, my wife, and my non-audiophile friend's ears, better. Frankly, I would find considerable comfort in measurements that would explain this, given how much I have invested. But buy something based solely on emperical measured performance? No, I'll trust my sensory perceptions, which is why I chose a BMW over comparably-priced Japanese imports which "measured better" on paper, but which did not have the same "feel" as the Roundel-laden cars. So far, they haven't figured out a way to measure that "feel", or maybe they just haven't figured out what to measure yet. Experience listening to different components are what make this hobby enjoyable. Slavish dedication to the scientific principle are what makes this hifi hobby not so fun. -- davehg ------------------------------------------------------------------------ davehg's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2269 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=19818 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
