Archimago wrote: > But Jason, although Raph has already answered quite well already, I > actually don't see what's wrong with owning whatever one desires... Give > that this is the "audiophile" forum, many of the objectivists have main > systems in the 5-figures because there's nothing wrong with enjoying > luxury items for what they are whether we believe the "utilitarian > function" (ie. sound quality) improves or not. I could buy a Burmester > front end, enjoy the nice gold color, and show off the bling to my > audiophile friends when they come over without necessarily claiming that > the Burmester beats an Oppo in sound quality. > > Material quality, workmanship, reliability, socioeconomic status symbol, > esthetic appeal are all part of the price of luxury items and anyone of > us can justify the "value" of something we buy without claims of sound > quality... > > The "issue" with objectivists arises with claims of "remarkable" > differences in sound quality where there is no evidence or rationale.
No buts, Arch. Of course, what you've stated is a given, and backs up Ralphy-boy's explanation as to why he still owns the Simaudio stuff. Fair is fair. However, your gang is forever harping about how audiophile stuff specifically, totally doesn't at all sound any better than low-brow pawn-shop gear. That's your thing right? Right? The audiophile stuff is a blatant rip-off because it DOESN'T SOUND ANY BETTER than gear missing one or even two zeros off the end. And my thing -- what I believe is the nut of the audiophile mistrust of ABX testing -- is that switching back and forth in real time MASKS the types of differences that distinguish high-end gear. That's why those audiophiles were so wamboozled by that Stereo Review test way back when and couldn't distinguish between (I forget the exact gear) Mark Levinson monos, tube OTL amps, and a mass-market receiver. By all accounts, they SHOULD have been able to do so - especially given that there were those nasty, distorting tube amps in the mix. I say they couldn't because a) ABX masks the type of differences that this gear makes and b) ABX is really, really hard to get the hang of, and the only people who care to master it are those with an agenda, who will then happily generate null results in tests (ok, that's a slanderous assumption on my part, but I'm not above the occasional cheap shot) So here's a chance for Ralphy-baby to put his money where his mouth is and turn the tables. Listen to a cheap receiver for a month or so, sighted, and then come back and report if after the month is over, whether he's just as happy with the cheaper component. Realistically, in your worldview, he should be just as happy. Shouldn't he? Jason ------------------------------------------------------------------------ doctor_big's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=15196 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=103950 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
