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The myth of "best" in audio needs to be addressed by all of us

After spending a year and half deeply immersed in audiophilia (with so much enjoyable benefit), I've identified my tendency (seemingly share by many) to chase the fantasy of "best" in this perfectionistic hobby/pursuit.  It leads to obsessiveness, second-guessing, acrimony between audio tribes, and personal insecurity when reading these forums and all the reviews.  

But, thinking about it, how could there ever be a "best" component, cable, or speaker for listening to music.  This is a subjective experience!!! 

From a purely measurement/engineering perspective -- "best" could mean a lot of things (but they don't automatically mean more enjoyable sonics). 

In listening and enjoying music, there is no "best" -- only "favorite".  And even "favorite" can change -- it certainly has for me.  I've gone back and forth multiple times on all sorts of gear preferences. You can like what you like, you don't have to defend it, and nobody should mess with it!

Anybody else want to fight the harmful myth of "best" in audio?
redwoodaudio

Showing 1 response by mijostyn

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mijostyn
8,224 posts
 
Redwood, it depends on how you define best. Best sounding? There surely is a subjective element to that. But there is also an objective one. Can a system missing the bottom four octaves be "best?" Can a system that is two dimensional be "best."
Then there is best as in built and best as in designed. There can certainly be more than one way to skin a cat but there is an obvious difference in quality between components.
Then what are we comparing "best" to? How many of us really know what "best" sounds like? How many of us have lived with a truly brilliant system long enough to get the hang of what best really does. 
My own definition of best is, when I am happy enough that I do not feel like buying any more equipment.
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