erland wrote: > Isn't it all about feelings ? > > If I feel my system sounds better after a nice dinner, why not always > have a nice dinner before I listen to my system ? > If I feel my system sounds better with a red curtain than a blue curtain > in the room, why not always use the red curtain when I'm listening to > the system ? > If I feel my system sounds better after applying a priority patch, why > not always do new patches of the priorities before I listen to my system > ? > If I feel my system sounds 100 times better after applying 100 different > patches (even though completely unrelated), why not always apply new > patches to the system before listening ? > If I feel my system sounds better if I've told the world about my > improvements, why not always tell the world about my improvements before > I listen to the system ? > > .... > > Double blind tests destroys all this, they just give me a bad feeling > that it doesn't matter if I have a nice dinner, spend 100 hours to > fiddle with my system or apply various patches. What's the fun with this > ? ....
I've never suggested that a listener should avoid doing those that increase his enjoyment of his system. If the color of the curtains or certain magic cables or scented candles help, then go for it! What is annoying is many of these people, when they share their experience, insist they have come across some universal truth that is based in hard fact and stubbornly refuse to consider that psychological factors have played a role to even the smallest degree. They'll quickly apply quantum mechanics as an explanation for their experience, but the possibility of subconscious factors? Forget it. They are not a mere mortal subject to such base human frailties. As for double blind testing, it depends on what one is trying to accomplish. I think I'd be rather pleased to discover that an inexpensive device sounds just as good as a really expensive piece of audiophile bling. Sometimes that may prove true, and sometimes not, but I think almost anyone would admit, that much of the time, there is a lot of smoke and mirrors being used to sell fancy stuff. Double blind tests are also important if one is doing research into how humans hear, or developing a new product. Maybe consumers buying a playback system for their own enjoyment don't need to worry about blind tests, but there are plenty of other situations out there where it'd be nice to have a few facts uncolored as much as possible by the vagaries of human imagination. In summary, that's my one futile wish. I'm all for people doing things to their system that give them more enjoyment and sharing that experience with others. I just wish they'd enjoy their own experience as their own, without this annoying need to insist the world acknowledge they've just discovered some universal truth of physics. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ mlsstl's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=9598 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=94418 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
