Are you too old to be an audiophile?

if there are better systems in an absolute sense, there exists a best system. if there exists a best system , it must satisfy certain criteria.

the criteria established are arbitrary , because they cannot be proven true or false.

rather , by definition they are opinions.

the only thing that is absolute is that which can be mathematically proven.

so doug, your logic is invalid. remember, music is an aesthetic medium, not mathematics or boolean logic. aesthetics are based upon taste.

is there a best painting, or best book or best movie ? i think not, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and quality of sound is purely dependent upon the listener. you cannot argue otherwise such that your arguments represent knowledge and hence certainty.

there is no certainty associated with the statements you have made, only probability.

Doug, when you mature, you'll know better.

WOW! SO many responses. And seemingly no hostility either. Thanks!

I totally agree that it's all about the enjoyment of the music and how you perceive it, and that most of the music lies in the midrange and not in the extreme upper frequencies. I also agree that its about LISTENING and not just HEARING, but obviously compromised hearing must degrade the ability to accurately judge a system from a neutral perspective. For example, if you can't hear about 14khz then adjusting an EQ all the way up or down above tat point makes no difference to you, but may be driving others crazy!

but obviously compromised hearing must degrade the ability to accurately judge a system from a neutral perspective.

I'm not sure I get this. What's the point. Who needs to judge a system from a neutral perspective? Do any of us listen from a neutral perspective? What would a neutral perspective be judging a system based upon and how does that bear any relation to how any one of us may actually enjoy (or not) that system? That's like suggesting some culinary dish be judged from a "neutral" perspective...really, how do you do that and what is the point?

I often get the feeling from this sort of slant on the hobby, that it's some kind of contest and there will be prizes awarded at some point. Who's gonna' win the shiny new George Foreman Grill this year?! I can't wait to find out.

@Jax2 The point is that people read reviews of equipment, they come on to Audiogon and ask people's opinions of gear.. People/Reviewers respond in such detail about how certain speakers, amps, preamps, cables, etc sound to them. How accurate or useful can this information be if their hearing is compromised.

Audiophiles want to talk about how they can hear the difference in a cable. How much positioning, room treatments, stands, etc, etc, etc, can make a difference in sound, yet most here seem to be arguing that their ability to HEAR doesn't matter. IRONIC?