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Maybe critical listening skills are bad?

In another thread about how to A/B compare speakers for a home I was thinking to myself, maybe the skills a reviewer may use to convey pros and cons of a speaker to readers is a bad skill to use when we evaluate hardware and gear?

I'm not against science, or nuance at all.  I was just thinking to myself, do I really want to spend hours A/B testing and scoring a speaker system I want to live with?

I do not actually.  I think listening for 2 days to a pair of speakers, and doing the same to another pair I need to focus first on what made me happy.  Could I listen to them for hours?  Was I drawn to spend more time with music or was I drawn to writing  minutiae down?

And how much does precise imaging really do for my enjoyment by the way?  I prefer to have a system that seems endless.  As if I'm focusing my eyes across a valley than to have palpable lung sounds in my living room.

Anyway, just a thought that maybe we as consumers need to use a different skill set when buying than reviewers do when selling.

erik_squires
sls883
708 posts
 

I agree with the comments above. I know my system is good when I can't draw myself away and want to hear the next song, and the next...

I think reviews can give a potential buyer a basic idea of how a component performs, but it is very subjective and it depends on the other gear in the reviewer's system.  I see reviews of certain pieces of gear and have to wonder if the rest of the reviewer's system is neutral and revealing enough to really make judgements.

All I can say about my gear is how it sounds in my system with my cables, etc.  

sns
3,700 posts
 

Over many decades and much equipment I'm trying to think of a single piece I purchased based solely on a single professional review. Early on prior to internet/social media my purchases all based on listening at dealers and shows. Since social media I need to see many user reviews over a relatively long term to consider purchase, professional reviews mean very little. Their opinions based on relatively short term listening, likely in a system very different from mine, and agendas not fully disclosed. Professional reviewers obsolete for me.

newbee
4,805 posts
 

Obviously critical listening skills are bad. Without them you might be able to just enjoy the music. Or not. Without them you'll never have to worry, or if not, you won't have the skills to fix a problem you can't diagnose. 

For OP, how do you distinguish critical listening skills from plain old ordinary ones? What skills do you use to set up a new system? Listen to music? Is it really a shortage of hearing skills or just audio sloth? 

Back under the bridge. :-)

 

decooney
2,333 posts
 

Eventually you will move from critical listening skills back to enjoyment listening.

larryi
4,247 posts
 

It is easy to get caught up in something that a speaker does that is not commonly found in such abundance and the thrill of that experience can cloud judgment; after some time, that very quality that attracted you to that speaker becomes its bane.  

There is a brand of speakers, I will not say which, that is extremely dynamic and exciting sounding, and most speakers sound comparatively lifeless, yet after a time, many listeners grow tired of its bright, etched, hyper-detailed sound.  It helps to have some experience and critical abilities to identify what may become an annoyance in the future.

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