Personally, I think bias towards a particular type of presentation (sound wise) tells more. ST seems to like the British sound.
Hearing is a funny thing and it's not all about frequency measurements. I'm 54 years old and my last hearing test back in late 2006 showed my hearing (as frequency goes) to be well above average. However, my "Hearing" is not as good as it us to be. You know sound is not a single frequency. Your ears can become directional and your dealings with multiples of frequencies combined may diminish. It could be a mental thing! Try running a 60hz buzz and see when you can "Hear" a frequency an octive above. Then turn off the 60 hz and see how loud that frequency was before you heard it.
When I read reviewers articles, I try to look at what they liked over the years. It shows their biases. I found the bright, sterile sound of some audio equipment horrible. I like a little warmth and harmonic texture. Human voices don't sound sterile in real life! I look for reviewers with similiar tastes. We are ALL biased you know.
As for dealers "Experts" give me a break. Most learn a few buzz words and proclaim to be golden ears. It takes time to learn audio and to learn equipment. Every once in a while, you run across a true audiophile at a dealership. You can usually tell because they will dfiscuss all equipment equally and know what they sell is not for everyone. They also want be 20 years old!!!!
Sometimes, like audio, somethings measure like crap but sound good. In hearing, I think experience and other things matter also rather than basing solely on a frequency hearing test.
Hearing is a funny thing and it's not all about frequency measurements. I'm 54 years old and my last hearing test back in late 2006 showed my hearing (as frequency goes) to be well above average. However, my "Hearing" is not as good as it us to be. You know sound is not a single frequency. Your ears can become directional and your dealings with multiples of frequencies combined may diminish. It could be a mental thing! Try running a 60hz buzz and see when you can "Hear" a frequency an octive above. Then turn off the 60 hz and see how loud that frequency was before you heard it.
When I read reviewers articles, I try to look at what they liked over the years. It shows their biases. I found the bright, sterile sound of some audio equipment horrible. I like a little warmth and harmonic texture. Human voices don't sound sterile in real life! I look for reviewers with similiar tastes. We are ALL biased you know.
As for dealers "Experts" give me a break. Most learn a few buzz words and proclaim to be golden ears. It takes time to learn audio and to learn equipment. Every once in a while, you run across a true audiophile at a dealership. You can usually tell because they will dfiscuss all equipment equally and know what they sell is not for everyone. They also want be 20 years old!!!!
Sometimes, like audio, somethings measure like crap but sound good. In hearing, I think experience and other things matter also rather than basing solely on a frequency hearing test.