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Maybe being discerning isn't that good for us?

A topic I touch on now and then, I think about what the average person hears, what I hear, and what it means to be discerning. What good is it for us, our community, and the industry?

I’ll touch on a couple of clear examples. I was at a mass DAC shoot out and spoke with one of the few ladies there. To paraphrase her, she said this:

Only with DACs made in the the last few years can I listen to digital music without getting a headache.

I never had that problem, but we both experienced a significant improvement in sound quality at about the same time. Lets take her statement as 100% true for this argument.

On the other hand, I am completely insensitive to absolute phase issues which some claim to be. I’m also VERY sensitive to room acoustics, which many fellow audiophiles can completely ignore.

Lets assume the following:

  • The lady really did get headaches due to some issue with older DACs
  • There really are people very sensitive to absolute phase.

I’ve also found the concept of machine learning, and neural networks in particular truly fascinating. In areas of medical imaging, in specific areas such as breast cancer detection, neural networks can be more accurate than trained pathologists. In the case of detecting early cancer, discernment has an obvious advantage: More accuracy equals fewer unnecessary procedures, and longer lives, with less cost. Outstanding!!

Now what if, like the trained neural networks, I could teach myself to be sensitive to absolute phase? This is really an analog for a lot of other things like room acoustics, cables, capacitors, frequency response, etc, but lets stick to this.

Am I better off? Did I not in fact just go down a rabbit hole which will cause me more grief and suffering? Was I not better before I could tell positive vs. negative recording polarity?

How do you, fellow a’gonner stop yourself, or choose which rabbit holes to go through? Ever wonder if you went down one too many and have to step back?
erik_squires

Showing 2 responses by elliottbnewcombjr

elliottbnewcombjr
5,245 posts
 
I was listening to Joni Mitchell, Live, Miles of Aisles, double LP, with band L.A. Express

Great early Joni, great songwriting, darn good recording, BUT, the engineer messed with the mix, the weirdness of imaging choices i.e. She is dead center, playing a dulcimer, her voice coming center, her dulcimer from hard right,, other ’movements’ of the kind that were so distracting I found myself not enjoying. ....

I told Donna, sometimes being aware of and appreciating imaging is terrific, in this case, detrimental, I moved to a spot on the sofa, corner of the room, and enjoyed it thoroughly.

I had the same experience with an Oscar Peterson Trio mix, sit in the corner, those guys sure deserved to be hailed as one of the best jazz trios ever. I have a lot of Oscar, most is augmented by excellent recording and enginnering choices.

being aware of when knowing too much is reducing enjoyment is important as you say.

elliottbnewcombjr
5,245 posts
 
I knew women were more sensitive to high frequencies, never thought about why. Very good supposition I think. I definitely use a lower max vol when listening with Donna than myself or male friends. 

You would love our friend Fran, every time we had our annual big picnic (business and friends), she would position herself right in front of one of my big speakers and any time I passed into that room, she would ask me to turn it down. MOVE SOMEWHERE ELSE FRAN. She stayed right there.
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