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A blessing? Or a curse?

We all know there’s people who seem to have no memory of or ability to recall anything they hear. We know because they tell us so. In no uncertain terms, either! They are quite certain the only way anything can be compared is to flip back and forth instantaneously, because no one can remember anything they have heard for more than like a microsecond.

So okay, they can’t hear, can’t remember, they are quite certain this is the case, what can we do but believe them?

We also know there are people who seem to be able to recall very well things they have heard, sometimes even quite a long time ago. We hear this one all the time too. They tell us how a certain speaker or whatever sounds, even though they heard it only maybe once at some show or whatever many months ago. Let’s not quibble was it the speakers or the amp or the room or whatever. Point is a definite acoustic memory formed and has stayed with them.

Which at long last brings us to what you already know its really all about: Me! I have this decades long ritual where whenever people are coming over I do something, and sometimes a lot of somethings, to make the system really shine. My favorite thing about this, if I’m totally honest, is at the end when its late at night and the system is truly peaking I get to relax back and take it all in.

So this last time with the guys from Portland coming up, and then on to Mike Lavigne’s, well guess what? Left the Herron and the table on from the night before, woke up early to get the Melody going, ran the XLO demagnetizing tracks about a zillion times, demagnetized, sprayed, and then played a few sides. What they heard when they got here was pretty good. Or as I am told the unanimous opinion was, "Fantastic!" Then off to Mike Lavigne’s. So by the time I get back and relax that night its all been running for like 24 hours.

Holy moly did that sound good! Did not even want to go to bed.

Okay so here’s the problem. Last night, system been off a week, usual 30 min warm up, nothing else, anyone wonder why I was kind of underwhelmed? Its that dang auditory memory. If only I could forget! But then, if I was one of those guys who can’t remember a ding dong thing, would I have the system I have?

So what say you? Is it a blessing? Or a curse?
128x128millercarbon

Showing 3 responses by audio2design

audio2design
1,351 posts
 
There is that lack of self reflection I was talking about.
millercarbon OP6,606 posts11-19-2020 9:11pm... and it is clear (to those who can read and comprehend the English language) that this is not at all about anyone's skill of hearing or lack thereof ...


We all know there’s people who seem to have no memory of or ability to recall anything they hear. We know because they tell us so. In no uncertain terms, either! They are quite certain the only way anything can be compared is to flip back and forth instantaneously, because no one can remember anything they have heard for more than like a microsecond.

So okay, they can’t hear, can’t remember, they are quite certain this is the case, what can we do but believe them?

audio2design
1,351 posts
 
I think you mean people who think they hear better, but never really put that to the test should stop insulting others. All these people who claim they have "superior" hearing, rarely do but they certainly feel the need to tell everyone else they do and that others are inferior. Look how often it happens here.  In all my years, the best "ears" I knew were equipment engineers, support engineers, support technicians and not too far behind recording engineers, some of these people I see regularly made fun of on here. By best I mean people most able to notice when something was off and readily identify what it was.  Good hearing is more than ears, it is about brain power and learning through experience, diverse experience, and many of these people pick up more experience in a year than audiophiles every will in a lifetime. I know several musicians who can hear a tune and play it back fairly accurately. Their brain has been trained, and some would argue wired for notes.  If their instrument is out of tune they will know instantly. Strangely enough, most would be oblivious to frequency response anomalies. Those notes are still fundamentally right. Noisy microphone, not a clue.


Greater visual acuity does not confer greater ability to quickly find detail in a scene, nor to better understand the image being presented. It's not like smells, or even taste, where the sensing is complex, but processing more simple.
audio2design
1,351 posts
 
We know there are people here who have delusions of grandeur and of perceive they have superhuman capability, even though they are no different from anyone else. We know that, because they tell us, in every thread they possibly can, sometimes even creating threads for the sole purpose of telling us.

We know there are some people who completely lack an ability to self reflect and self assess and consider that perhaps their perceptions, untested against a standard, are just that perceptions, but not reality. We know this because they illustrate it in multiple threads across multiple topics and areas of perceived knowledge.

They says ignorance is bliss, so the outstanding question is, is their affliction a blessing or a curse?
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