I think some of the debates get very close in nature to some of the creationism discussions - "since there are gaps in the fossil records, evolution is flawed", goes the argument, a kind of reverse proof based on destroying alternative rather than providing evidence. Or in audio terms, since there are things that it doesn't seem possible to measure yet, engineering theory is flawed and you should just use your ears.
Everyone will have their own point of view on whether someone selling a product should prove the effectiveness of that product, but my view is that we tend to get more or less bothered by the lack of evidence according to our own backgrounds, such as whether we are engineers or studied science at college or come from an arts or creative background (why you can't be good at both I don't know, Leonardo DaVinci seemed to have a grasp on scienec and art) Myself, I get irritated by products like Bybees and expensive cables because as someone with a physics background, the poor science is almost an insult to people who have studied hard and made genuine discoveries. When someone then compounds it by saying "but engineering just isn't good enough yet to measure how they work", my feeling is that it may well be true that accuracy may not be there or the test hasn't been devised yet, but that doesn't excuse not trying if you are in a position to do so. I do wish I'd been able to use that line during my finals though, it would have saved me a ton of work. At the same time, I buy gear based on listening to it to see if it excites me and pay scant attention to data sheets. Contrary I know, but I do assume whoever built it engineered it correctly and it's good if it is based on solid science because it means it that I have some respect for the company and they aren't insulting my intelligence either. The first sign of psuedo science and my money goes elsewhere. At the end of the day, you are free to spend your money how you like, but if you buy a product that is in any way "out there" and talk about it on a forum, it seems you will invariably set off a stream of counter views that generally start off by taking what what was previously said to the extreme to make it seem idiotic rather than providing a point by point considered response. -- CardinalFang ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CardinalFang's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=962 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=29972 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
