Re: FOR THOSE ABOUT TO ROCK, An awdeophile,audiophile,audiofool or just ABOUT TO ROCK
Funny. Well written. Partially true. Many audiophile fantasies deserve to be trashed. But that does not mean that all audiophile components are a scam.
Absolutely not.
Apart from the occasional miracle product that gives great results at a low price, there can be no doubt that, at least as far as major components are concerned, we get what we pay for.
Nobody needs to be an "audiophile" to go
wow at their favourite music played on amazing speakers through high-end components. They don't even need to be told the price first. Nor do they need to know, even, which end is high or low (or middle!) or any of the audiophile language.
Even that language ... yes, it can be irritating, but if we do want to
talk to each other, compare notes, or recommend a product against another product, then some sort of mutually-understood
words are needed.
There are two problem areas, and I guess they are related: the lunacy on the periphery, and the obsession of detail, some of which may, actually, be of no consequence whatsoever to what happens when our ears and brains listen to and hear sound. There have been some great examples, posted recently, about various kinds of "noise" and what can and cannot actually be heard (by
most people. My wife can hear a pair of earbuds, on low volume, from ten feet away: it's a good thing she isn't an audiophile!)
But hey, say one of goes out with multi-lakhs to spend on hifi. Isn't
some detail obsession acceptable? Even necessary? Not to mention ...enjoyable!
When we do this, though, I fear that many forget about psycho-acoustics and what happens in the brain, and what can influence it.
I have the following experience regularly. I go to a carnatic concert. The vocalist sounds as if they have been put in the background. Even though I don't have sound-desk skills, I know that the problem is not necessarily the
gain setting on the singer's mike, but that the high or mid eq controls should be adjusted. Half an hour later, I can hear the artist's voice, but I know that nobody went near the mixer. My
brain has adjusted.
I know very well that spending either money or time, for me, results in better sound. Or worse... ever had that, "Have I been conned, or sold a dud?" feeling? Either may, or may not, be psychological. I think long-term listening "tests" are particularly subject to this. Yes, the speakers or the cables, or whatever,
might have burnt in --- but so have our brain cells. That is not to say that all such reports are wrong or imaginary. Some people
can remember sound; some people can remember colour...
It is probably true that the sound that audiophiles seek is the sound where they no longer have anything to think about. By then, of course, it might have become an obsession --- but I think most of us are able to
just enjoy the music.
As the article says, the best listening experience is when you're not even noticing the sound system.
At the moment, I'm worried that the air in my room might be causing jitter --- Thankfully, manoj.p might have found the answer. I just
hope it's expensive enough!
