"I Trust My Ears"
Do you? Can you? Should you?
I don’t. The darn things try to trick me all the time!
Seriously, our ears are passive sensors. They forward sonic data to our brains. Ears don’t know if the data in question represents a child crying, a Chopin prelude, or a cow dropping a cowpie. That’s our brains’ job to figure out.
Similarly, our brains decide whether A sounds better than B, whether a component sounds phenomenal, etc.
So, "I trust my ears" should really be "I trust my brains".
And that has a different ring to it, doesn’t it?
Yes, @devinplombier, this is can be very tricky, indeed. I don’t anticipate (because I started in this hobby so late), I’ll ever accrue the skill/experience that our friend @ghdprentice describes, so I’ll continue to only purchase gear I can demo at home and return if necessary. Still, speaking from experience, I know this strategy cannot guarantee one will not make mistakes! ;o)
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How YOU perceive the sound is most important. The physics is known but perception is not. Many variables to consider. Two experienced listeners can have two completely different opinions listening to the same component. Hearing sensitivity varies from person to person. Expectation bias can also cause differences in opinion. Placebo effect also. Even your mood can affect the sound. Bottom line is YOU are the final judge of what sounds best. |
What else should you trust but your ears, unless of course you are doing an audiogram test? Certainly not 'scientifically' obtained measurements. I note that a LOT of folks want to apply measurements in the electronic devices that measure the sources, i.e. audio equipment, and the sonic characteristics of the room using sound level meters. They get to think that the figures should be absolute in determining the results, forgetting I think, that if their audiogram aren't correlated to the sound of the instruments/room they really have nothing much to offer when accessing what his ears are telling him. They may be a rough guideline for someone who understands his hearing acuity. Ergo my purchase dollar is controlled by my ears, especially when compared to my eyes. :-) |
