Actually, our ears work pretty much the same. So says my wife, the doctor. They vary, with age or exposure to excessive sounds, in range and acuity. I'm 41 and my upper limit is a shade over 14khz. That's pretty good for someone my age, actually, and a minor miracle, considering the number of very loud concerts I have attended over the last twenty-five or so years. By the time I'm fifty, statistically, my upper limit might be half of that.
Anyway, that's not the point. The point is that, in fact, we hear the same things. What differs are our expectations, tastes, etc. These are qualities of the mind, not the ear. Someone dedicated to rap, say, might like a system with a grossly exaggerated bottom end. Someone devoted to the accurate reproduction of high quality classical and jazz recordings will be attracted to a system that is linear and highly precise. Someone who specifically desires a warmer midrange and gentle rolling off of the top and especially bottom end (not unattractive with many recordings) might prefer a tube amp over a solid state amp. And so on. So: personal expectations lead to realistic choices of equipment -- most of which, we hope are made by honest manufacturers who will provide accurate information. Case in point: a Rolex or any other fine automatic is akin to a tube amp: no matter how complicated, it cannot be as accurate as a quartz watch. This is a given. They are luxury items and they appeal to us for reasons that can vary from a collector's interest to aesthetic enjoyment to, well, desire for a status symbol. However, they don't pretend to be the most accurate watches in the world. They are COSC certified and that means they function within certain published parameters. My Explorer II is +1-3 seconds a day. That means that it is off, assuming I keep it wound, by upwards of 15 minutes a year. A $15 casio can do better than that. So, do I own it because, to me, it is more accurate? Of course not. It is equally not accurate to everyone. However, I like it, so I own it. I'm a dedicated solid state user and value equipment that is highly transparent and accurate. However, one of the nicest-sounding pieces of gear I've heard in the last couple of years is the McIntosh MA-2275. If you call Mc and talk to Chuck Hinton, their technical rep, he'll tell you in a heart beat that it is not as accurate as the solid state stuff...it is for people who want a certain kind of sound. Make sense? I'm not flaming anyone here...just trying to be clear and to draw what I think are some useful analogies. 95bcwh;143911 Wrote: > This is wrong, subjectivists do not claim that their preferences are > duplicated. Human ears are not built equal, what sound good to one's > can sound crap to another's. -- highdudgeon ------------------------------------------------------------------------ highdudgeon's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2195 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=28368 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
