Do you understand your amplifier?

There should be something like a high end audio expert software program where you type in your room dimensions, the gear you have or propose having, the sound qualities you value etc. The software program would generate recommendations on what sources, electronics, cables, speakers etc. you should pair together based on your goals for sound.

I doubt that there would be any more consistency between the recommendations provided by computer programs developed by different people or organizations than there is between the recommendations offered by individual audiophiles.

Best regards,
-- Al

08-11-11: Foster_9
The database could be set up to provide great information.... This could give audiophiles a head start on possible mistakes, especially for the inexperienced. The consistency could be in helping people avoid mistakes in their pairings when making gear choices.

Excellent point.

As I see it the audiophile is basically acting as a systems engineer. It is generally neither necessary nor possible (given the usual unavailability of schematics and meaningful theory of operation writeups) to have a detailed understanding of the internal design of an amplifier or other component.

What is both possible and desirable is to have a good understanding of the interface characteristics of the components (input and output impedances, impedance variations with frequency, etc.), and of the end-to-end transfer characteristics of the components (gains, sensitivities, signal-to-noise ratios, etc), and of how all those things interact.

While of course none of those things will be or should be decisive in finalizing a choice of components, that kind of understanding will, as you said, decrease the likelihood of poor matchups and expensive mistakes, narrow the range of choices, facilitate diagnosing problems, and make it possible to better prioritize investments of time and money.

Best regards,
-- Al