The Absurdity of it All


50-60-70 year old ears stating with certainty that what they hear is proof positive of the efficacy of analog, uber-cables, tweaks...name your favorite latest and greatest audio "advancement." How many rock concerts under the bridge? Did we ever wear ear protection with our chain saws? Believe what you will, but hearing degrades with age and use and abuse. To pontificate authority while relying on damaged goods is akin to the 65 year old golfer believing his new $300 putter is going to improve his game. And his game MAY get better, but it is the belief that matters. Everything matters, but the brain matters the most.
jpwarren58
Very good post thanks...

Human voice timbre is the most well known and perceived musical and sound object...

It is the only way to fine tuned a system....Using it....
Back when I was 18 a concert wasn't good until I couldn't hear,a sound concert, then riding the NYC subway home....well now I have ,I'm told hearing loss.....what ,no way.....
Everyones ears are including ones  left and Right are Different
All Audio Judgement is based on What your ears can actually Hear, Training and Knowledge.
I am a 66 year old Musician and Audio enthusiast.
I have well worn and Trained ears.
I have worked at Playing Live and in Studio.
I worked with Live and Studio sound and worked at a Hi End Home speaker manufacturer.
I judge but what my Ears Like to Hear.


Post removed 
Spoken like a young fella!  Full of wrong science.  On average we lose the edge with time, but there are those who hear perfectly well into very old age.  Just as some are deaf from birth, some are spared. 

The second important feature mentioned earlier is the brain.  Studies in dementia as related to age and Altzheimers find that as the brain losses it's functions the centers that process hearing and MUSIC are the very last to go.  I saw Chris Christopherson in concert on stage by himself for 2 hours with a short break.  He said hello and went on from song to song.  It was a perfect one man show.  I noticed at the brief break a stage person came out and escorted him off stage and then back on again.  The music continued without a stitch out of place.  One month later they announced that he was retired and suffering with advancing Altzheimers. 

He may not know his name or who his closest family members were but could pick up a guitar and sing for hours.  It was also noted that his final concerts began with the first song he wrote as a child and that every song that night was in the exact order he wrote them over a lifetime.  So, ya, there is the brain and a perfect set of youthful ears matched to a fine stereo system blasting away with some Kiss or Lead Zepplin may help kill some brain cells.  Then to shut up long enough to listen to George Shearing and Mel Torme... well, I know that is not apt to happen.  

You can drop a needle on vinyl and I can tell the 1950s & 60s 'Decca' recordings from RCA's.  I can tell when 'mono' became 'High Fidelity" from a vinyl 'Stereo' that followed.  The highest qualtiy recordings are still fantastic and the market was filled with some real cheap products.  I can hear that.  I can really appreciate putting a 180gm record on a $2,000 Rega turntable with a $500 cartidge and fine valved pre-amp.  

It reminds me of being a kid in the 1950s.  My dad taught school and with 5 kids there was little extravagance.  Eating shrimp was one of them.  At an early age I looked at cocktail shrimp and asked, "What is that?"  I had a naked shrimp shaken in my face and asked if I want one.  Hell no!  It was on food on my plate that I was not expected to finish.  My mom and dad got all the shrimp and they gave me my wish, Spaghette-Os.  

After 70 some years I love to eat shrimp while listening to the wide range of music that I also love.  I hear some much more than a bowl full of Spaghetti-Os.  If you need some help with that get back to me.


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