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what percentage of us really knows sound

Hi,been in audio preatty much all my live,play a few instruments myself, and it is chocking to me how many people in this hobbie, because they have a few Hi end gear
think that they can discern sonic diferences,or that their system sounds amazing, when 80% of time when I' listen to those fellows system, the sound is horrible, I'm talking about systems in the upper $50000, and this people come out, talking about soundstage, inner detail, and layers of sound cascading thru a huge soundscape, another thing is that, I'thought all this audiophile people where a group of well to do business people, that had money to speare,
when the truth is that most of audiophile people are broked
and dont' have their priorities toghether, been at many many, audiophile people's house, and it is sad, people with, high end systems, and no furniture,just bought a pair of speakers, $11000 retail and an Aiwa,component has more BASS THAN this speakers, affter spending more than $2500, on cables,think someone is taking advantage of the audiophile community
juancgenao

Showing 3 responses by martykl

martykl
3,578 posts
 
Interesting that the OP focuses on insufficient bass.

The funny thing is that I find the opposite of Juan - many high end systems have too much bass. (For the record, so does many an Aiwa Boom Box.) A lot of speaker systems substitute quantity (of output) in the mid/upper bass for true deep bass extension.

On top of that, room interactions usually create a hump in the mid/upper bass that drives me nuts. You don't get this effect in a performance space, but listening rooms are almost always small enough to create this problem. It's why I moved to room corrected subwoofers. Since relatively few people correct for this (digital correction or hemholtz devices - like a bass buster), it's curious that Juan's issue is the opposite of mine.

Also curious - I, too, spend about an hour a day with a guitar (usually an acoutic archtop for jazz and western swing), so my reference is quite similar. It really points to the original question:

What % of us really knows sound?

The answer is that all of us are sensitive to something or another and many of us disagree as to what is "right". Personally, I hold Harry Pearson responsible. There is no "Absolute Sound" out of a stereo system, only a rough approximation limited by - in addition to the character of the system - the room and the recordings. In the end, there is only an illusion that is convincing (to one extent or another) in one way or another.

Just MHO.

Marty
martykl
3,578 posts
 
As to the money thing - it's capitalism, baby!

You want to put Wilson Alexandras (purchased with 8 different credit cards taken to the max) in your 300 sq. ft. rented condo - that's your choice. You may have to deal with certain unpleasant consequences down the road, but so does the guy who bought wine or cars or.... Audiophiles aren't really unusual in this regard. For every responsible saver out there, it seems that there are three who are less cautious. And for the female equivalent, start counting the shoes in your significan others' closet.

BTW, Polk, good call on the gold, but do bear in mind that people lose money on investments, too. You might need patience (and patients, too, if you're a doctor), but skill and a little luck help a lot.

Marty
martykl
3,578 posts
 
Tng,

Virtually every musician I know (a small horde) has a crappy system. I'm sure that it's partly economic (musicians are not, for the most part, investment bankers), but I think it's also almost a badge of honor. I KNOW that they hear the difference, they just like to make the point that they don't care about that difference.

They swear that its the "idea" of the music - not the actual listening experience - that matters. I understand why that stakes out a sort of moral high ground, but I still find it kind of bewildering. I guess that I'll just take the low road and dig it.

Marty
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