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"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?

 

 

devinplombier
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viridian's avatar
viridian
5,328 posts
 

The whole thread reads like an entry level introduction to physiology, thanks teach.

medium_grade
111 posts
 

I mean, objective measurements can certainly help you get to where you're trying to go, but isn't the ultimate judge how it sounds to you? I trust my ears in the same way I trust my taste buds when evaluating a good steak. The butcher can go on and on about how this cut or marbling should taste better, but it's ultimately up to what I find enjoyable to eat.

devinplombier OP
840 posts
 

Measurements can be a useful screening tool if nothing else. For example, speakers that roll off 6 dB at 50 Hz, or amps rated 200W into 8 ohm, 250W into 4 ohm, and "not recommended" below that, I know right away they’re not for me.

But they could make other folks happy and that’s great.

mazian's avatar
mazian
433 posts
 

@gdaddy1  I am 84 years old and by definition must have deficient high frequency hearing but I still can't listen to most B&W speakers for long because of their over emphasis on high frequencies. Is that my ears or my brain?

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