Well I will post a dissenting view of the OP's linked site. Yes there are plenty of wacky "audiophiles" around, but there are probably even more "everything measures perfect so it must sound perfect" types, and they are just as deluded. I think this Dan guy comes mighty close to qualifying as one of the latter. How many of you remember the loads and loads of Stereo Review "reviews" of $500 receivers where they basically said the equipment measured so well that of course it sounded just fine. All audio electronics was so close to perfection that the key to getting great hi-fi was to have lots of buttons and lights on your equipment. Well, I believed that line of thought for years, but what an absolute load of horse crap it turned out to be! Yes there are excesses in the audiophile press, but thanks to them, I have a system that makes wonderful music--that sounds like real acoustic instruments are playing in my room. If I had listened to the people like Stereo Review (and Dan?), I might have great "hi-fi sound" but nothing that really remotely resembles real instruments. So, you can chuckle all you want and feel superior, but in the end, unless you adopt some of the audiophile way of thinking (that some audio equipment can actually sound more realistic) you are doomed to what I would now consider crap sound. I remember having a music lover friend over one time and when he heard my system he was just blown away, going on and one about how it sounded like real instruments were playing in the room. My response: well that is the goal of hi-end audio. His response: I never even considered that could be a goal for a hi-fi. That pretty much sums it up, in my opinion. Pick your system by measurement if you want, but I will stick with my ears.
Incidentally, I am a PhD research scientist/professor, so know more about experiment design and scientifically valid methodology than most people. Audiophile listening tests are hardly the only listening tests that have serious methodological flaws--so do many "scientific" listening tests. Furthermore, virtually all of the descriptions I read about how audiophiles do listening tests represent no more than straw men, as nobody with half a brain does things as described. "Wow, I swapped in the $2000 Wondercable and was just blown away by how holographic my system now sounded, so I immediately bought it." Oh, rubbish. Never run into a single person that even remotely fits that stereotype. -- ncarver ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ncarver's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=15905 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=81616 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
