2. misc-audio
  3. 1059834824

Audio Diversity - What is it?

I've noticed that there are always alot of threads put up about "this vs that", tubes vs transistors, analog vs digital, cone vs electrostat, high price vs high value, cables make no difference, etc, etc. It seems that there is a wide variety of opinions as to what actually sounds good or better than the rest. Sometimes this elicits very strong opinions.

My question is why is it, that there is so much difference of opinion on this subject? Doesn't everyone hear the same music? Is it something to do with some other factor like, whether they never really heard many other things, or this was all their dealer had so they think it's best, is it listening skills, or what? Or is it ego, pride of ownership, and protecting resale value of their equipment, that is coming into question here? If that is the case, then are people lying about it to support their self-esteem or bank account, by exaggerating the quality of their systems to others? Do people who can only afford low-fi state that there is no difference in gear, only to make themselves feel better that they have just as good gear as the guy who paid $50k? Or are we all just imagining differences? Or perhaps, some of us don't want to get "closer to the music", but would rather have certain "airbrushed" qualities to it that they like, but take it further away from truth? Personal preferences? I don't know.

It seems to me that if 2 people listen to the same system in the same room at the same time, there should be some consensus about whether it is better or worse than some other system they compare it to. But yet, we seem to not be able to agree on this. There is always this and that getting in the way. But I say it's either closer to the music or further away. It should be easily determined. When 2 people look at a red car, they both know it's red. Nobody has to measure the reflected wavelengths to know that. One may like red better than the other, but there is no doubt that the car is red. Can't do that with audio systems. When 2 people listen, one says better, another says worse. Why?

What I would like to know is, what you think is the reason for such large differences in opinion about what sounds right and what doesn't. I don't want to start an issue about one particular type of equipment vs another, but I want to focus on why we don't seem to hear things the same.

I think this is at the root of alot of our discussions here on this forum, and I'd like to hear some opinions on it, which will likely be just as diverse.
twl

Showing 2 responses by psychicanimal

psychicanimal
1,738 posts
 
"It also keeps me out of the strip joints...Tom"

You're just getting old.

Ever hear of Yohimbe bark? It's sold in health food stores. Give it a try--a capsule in the morning and a capsule in the afternoon. Walk every day for a week, go to the strip joint and report back to us!!!

With psychic power and primal intensity,
psychicanimal
1,738 posts
 
Most audiophiles really don't know audio. That's why they go on the "This vs that" type of question. They lack the fundamental skills to make a whole setup sound synergistically--from the power delivery/noise control to selecting and tuning components, vibration control and then on to room acoustics. I will say it over and over and over, "High end is who you are, not what you buy.".

And I'll add what my father taught me when I was in seventh grade:

"Twenty years' experience is not the same as twenty times the experience of a year."

****
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