Thank you Bryon and Elizabeth for excellent posts. I am constantly amazed at how many audiophiles will yabber on about the quality of this or that tube, or the difference between this tweeter and that one, but then cannot tell the difference between a violin and a viola, or a trombone and a french horn. One of my all-time favorite stories, though, is about an "audiophile" I encountered in a high-end audio boutique who was ranting and raving to the sales guy (a friend who I knew had a very good ear) about the speed accuracy being "way off" on a certain turntable my friend was demonstrating for him. While I do not have true perfect pitch, it is close enough, and I came to my sales friend's defense, insisting that the table was at the correct speed. After my friend proved to him I was correct by actually measuring it, I then had him put on a different recording of the same piece that had been playing (Bach, but I forget now which piece exactly) with an early music group playing at Baroque pitch. Sure enough, the guy didn't even notice the pitch difference, which was of course considerable, as the pitch used on the recording I picked out is A415, which is fairly standard for Baroque pitch, and is at least 25 Hz below the modern pitch (I say at least because modern pitch has now crept up to A442 in most places here in the US). That dude has never been back to that store ever since. Good times...
Are you too old to be an audiophile?
DISCLAIMER: This is not meant to be offensive in anyway, just something I've always been curious about and thought it would make for some interesting responses.
One of the things about audiophiles I've always wondered is how they reconcile their age, and the scientific fact that their hearing isn't what it used to be, with their belief they can can hear all the nuances of high end gear, and even the cables. As we age we lose our ability to hear mainly in the higher frequencies. You know that high pitched sound older CRT televisions and some recessed lighting can make? No? Neither do my parents.
Thoughts?
One of the things about audiophiles I've always wondered is how they reconcile their age, and the scientific fact that their hearing isn't what it used to be, with their belief they can can hear all the nuances of high end gear, and even the cables. As we age we lose our ability to hear mainly in the higher frequencies. You know that high pitched sound older CRT televisions and some recessed lighting can make? No? Neither do my parents.
Thoughts?