Specifications VS Sound Quality

millercarbon:

As someone whose eyes start to glaze over whenever technical specs become the topic of discussion, I'm reassured by your post, given your  knowledge and experience  I've always depended upon my ears and so far, they've served me well. . . 

mapman:

"The main value  of specifications to someone who knows how to interpret them properly  is objectively deciding which components to try ie which components are likely to work best in a specific system with others"

The above makes sense to me but this next part of your post I find confusing:

"Otherwise deciding what to buy is a total gamble with nothing concrete to validate buying decisions other than hearsay or pure guessing"

Seems to me that listening is very "concrete". And it's not unusual for reviewers to state that a component sounds really good even though it does not measure ideally in some regard. 

What is it I'm not understanding about your post?  

mapman:

Sorry-- I naively assumed no-one would buy gear they couldn't try out first in their room, either borrowed or bought with a return policy! ! !  

Limiting my choices to only those brands I can demo at home (and return if need be) does cut down on my options but I haven't found that a barrier to assembling a system I very much enjoy. 

Thanks for your very patient response. 

mapman:

Understood. In fact, I'm fairly obsessive when it comes to researching when I feel an upgrade cycle approaching.

orpheus:

Price is the first thing I look at, because I don't have huge amounts of cash to spend.  This has the effect of dramatically shrinking the pool of potential purchases from the onset. Furthermore, as mentioned, I only purchase gear I can demo at home and return, if need be, minimizes options still further. Haven't found this to be a problem, though.  

millercarbon:

You are light-years beyond me in knowledge and experience.
I hope you'll indulge my naivete a little further...

Earlier in the post, you state:

"Technically, there is a level of analysis where the answer is yes. In terms of finding musically satisfying components however the answer is a big fat no.

The problem is it can often times take a great deal of understanding technical specifications combined with real world experience to get to where you understand just how unimportant specs really are".

So, how, exactly do you leverage your understanding when it comes to buying components? What does your buying process look like, if specs and listening are not involved?  This seems quite mysterious to me. 

orpheus:

Looks like you've answered the question I'd posed to millercarbon.
The "crux of the biscuit", as F. Zappa might say, appears to be this: 

"Now that high end salons are no longer an option, I'll be relying heavily on past knowledge of "sonic signatures"; such as the difference between CJ and ARC, instead of auditioning..."

I'll assume you've gained this "knowledge of sonic signatures" by listening. 

Speakers are like acoustic guitars, I guess. Last fall, I spent nearly $1000 for shipping a handful of boutique acoustic guitars out here (CA) from various shops back east. Didn't like any of 'em. Got fed up and decided to just keep my mid-level Martin. If I ever upgrade my Silverlines, it will be to the current version. At least I know what sort of sonic signature to expect. 

Thanks for your helpful posts.