I loved the story of the loaned CD player where the friend couldn’t hear the difference, but the owner could.
I think that’s what often involved with tests to see whether or not high res makes a difference. (Of course it could be the system itself that masks the benefits).
Its not the audiophile’s ears that are better, but our brains that have developed to hear and appreciate the subtle nuances that better playback brings.
After an upgrade I sometimes feel like my brain is not developed enough to fully appreciate the benefit of the upgrade/tweek. In time I can hear the benefits with greater contrast.
Recently when switching on/ off my subs for a friend, they thought it was a subtle difference. To my ear it was large and the full bandwidth (only coming in at about 35hz and a steep slope) sounded much more like a musician in the room.
I'm soon going to augment my Ethernet cable for an optical Ethernet isolation section. I have a feeling the more relaxed nature of the optical (due to isolation from the computers power supply) will reap large benefits that the casual listener would regard as difficult to hear, or subtle at best.
I think that’s what often involved with tests to see whether or not high res makes a difference. (Of course it could be the system itself that masks the benefits).
Its not the audiophile’s ears that are better, but our brains that have developed to hear and appreciate the subtle nuances that better playback brings.
After an upgrade I sometimes feel like my brain is not developed enough to fully appreciate the benefit of the upgrade/tweek. In time I can hear the benefits with greater contrast.
Recently when switching on/ off my subs for a friend, they thought it was a subtle difference. To my ear it was large and the full bandwidth (only coming in at about 35hz and a steep slope) sounded much more like a musician in the room.
I'm soon going to augment my Ethernet cable for an optical Ethernet isolation section. I have a feeling the more relaxed nature of the optical (due to isolation from the computers power supply) will reap large benefits that the casual listener would regard as difficult to hear, or subtle at best.