To All Subjectivists-
[sarcasm begins]
Cast off your subjectivist sins and all will be forgiven. Become an objectivist, it's cheaper and there's no need to pursue "happiness." Because so-called "happiness" can't be scientifically quantified surely it's just an illusion created by chemicals in the human brain.
When are you going to stop "listening" to music and realize the truest and purest way to "appreciate" it is via oscilloscope? It has the added benefit of being cheaper and the SAF* is much higher too.
You should also be enjoying your wine by testing it's chemical composition instead of wasting it by dumping it down your unscientific throats. This method has the added benefit of getting rid of the wines unfortunate side effect that many refer to as intoxication.
A painting should be evaluated by the number of colors per square inch and the size of the work rather than how it makes you FEEL.
I also advocate the testing of cars by seeing how fast they can make a piece of toast out of a slice of bread placed on the engine. There's no need to actually waste ones time test driving the damn thing. My 2001 Hyundai Accent does it just as fast as the top of the line BMW 5 series, therefore they must be just as good.
[sarcasm ends]
One of the things that I don't get about most objectivists when it comes to audio they deny anything that can't be measured as if it can't exist. Don't they realize that the first step to scientific understanding is many times anecdotal observation which is then followed to a new scientific understanding? The most eloquent word for this is serendipity. Penicillin was discovered because Sir Alexander Fleming had a runny nose that dripped onto some slides containing bacteria. Louis Pasteur once said, "In the fields of observation chance favors only the prepared mind." Just because we can't measure something doesn't mean it is non-existent, it just means we don't yet have a method to quantify it. Newton didn't discover gravity he only found a way to quantify and describe it. Gravity existed long before him.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sREBSuJDnYg&feature=player_embedded
Ken Ishiwata makes an excellent point in passing. Why are specs seen as so important when they are obtained using CONTINUOUS (or static) test tones and yet a piece of audio gear's purpose is to reproduce a constantly VARIABLE set of tones? The measurements are obtained in an entirely different manner than the product's intended use.
*SAF, or Spouse Acceptance Factor is the more politically correct
version of WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor.)
6 comments:
Audioexplorer,
I couldn't agree with you more. Not being able to measure something is because we do not know how to measure it yet.
But what also surprises me is that I found that a lot of people do not how to listen. They can't discern the change in the sound when you add something to your system. They also could not believe the change in sound that you describe. But the most disturbing thing is that these people have been dabbling in this hobby for ages. Scary!
Ken-
Thanks for the comment. Please feel free to stop by often and add your thoughts as the mood strikes you.
You might also enjoy my short post on the difference between "hearing" and "listening." http://audioexplorer.blogspot.com/2008/08/hearing-vs-listening.html
The other contributor to the blog, my friend Clint is just getting into audio. He recently purchased a full set of Audioquest cables for his new two channel system. Before he took the plunge I told him some people hear it some don't. When he first hooked them up he was an immediately believer and has wondered a loud how someone could FAIL to hear the difference.
Audioexplorer,
I am happy that your friend Clint has managed to hear the difference.
I can also hear the difference when I first started dabbling into hifi more than 10 years ago. At that time, I was using some really low-end secondhand items like a Laser disc player into Audiolab integrated amp hooked into Castle Warwick speakers. I was trying some freebie cables that comes with the Laser disc player vs the Straightwire Encore interconnects. It was so easy to hear the difference. And I did not have any hifi experience.
I always wonder why some people cannot hear a difference. What is perplexing is that some audiophiles own some really highend stuff and their system sound awful. They have no idea on how to rectify the situation.
Ken-
Many times it's all about system matching. I've heard systems where each component individually was of a very high quality but together they somehow failed to make music. Many times I WISH that it was all as simple as the objectivists make it out to be it would have saved me a lot of time and money. But my ears tell me differently, in spite of my naturally skeptical outlook.
Audioexplorer,
I don't think it is just poor system matching that results in a poor sound. Other things like speaker placement and room affect the sound as well.
Anyway, I just find it sad that some people who own great stuff can accept such a poor sound. What is also perplexing is that they don't have a clue on how to improve it.
Ken-
Poor speaker placement is certainly a MAJOR problem too as is room acoustics and even the placement of non-audio objects that are hard, reflective surfaces.
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