Jeff52 wrote: > I really appreciate your postings here and on your blog. I have gotten > to the point where I don't bother commenting on most of the audio > related sites anymore. I have a difficult time trying to figure out why > so many people would ignore the scientific method, specifications and > measurements. In any event, it is obvious there are a lot of people who > blindly follow "audiophile rules" and spend a lot of money on quackery > and even more time posting about their ability to distinguish among all > sorts of power cables, interconnects and a number of other things. > Unfortunately most audio forums and blogs cater to this subjectivity. It > doesn't take any qualifications or knowledge in the field if one can > simply post subjective opinions and musings. Therefore there is no > shortage of opinions and posters when it comes to telling everyone what > "I hear or heard". The audio writers have done nothing to advance the > field by developing a vocabulary to describe all these "sounds". I was > just reading some posts the other day concerning a company whose > equipment supposedly has a reputation for a "dark house sound" according > to the masses. I own a preamp from that company and in all of the > specifications and measurements of the preamp I have seen nothing to > justify this, but I guess I'm not sophisticated enough to hear that > darkness. > > It is interesting to note that one does not see as much subjectivity > when it comes to video related gear. Yes there is some, but not to the > extent of audio stuff. At least with video one may look at a "picture" > and compare that to another "picture" which sort of takes care of those > issues but audio equipment is an entirely different situation and boils > down to "I can hear a difference with this power cable, why can't you?" > Measurements, specifications and the scientific method are irrelevant > and subjectivity is the linchpin.
Great post! It's funny that so many subjectivist audiophiles feel that those of us who try to be more objective are somehow no longer audiophiles, i.e. no longer interested in having an audio system that reproduces the sound as faithfully as possible. And if one spends any time reading many of the posts in the Audiophile section one will clearly see that is just not the case. From the time I bought my first Squeezebox and learned how digital audio worked with respect to computers I've become more aware of the general lack of knowledge with respect to digital audio of many of the so called "professionals" in the audiophile world. This new awareness of BS passing for knowledge has led me to question whether or not these "professionals" know all that much analog audio as well. On the other hand the audiophile world does get plenty of things correct and many audiophile guidelines are worth following. Proper set up, well matched components and lists of equipment that was "must have" two years ago are some of the good things one can find in the audiophile press. Those lists come in handy when looking for pre-owned equipment. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ralphpnj's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=10827 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=97950 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
