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Falling into the trap

"You subjectivists know better than to fall for this trap now, don't you Tony?"

Actually, no. I did try a double blind digital bypass test using an ABX box and a PCM-F1. It was at a place belonging to a former roommate, E. Brad Meyer. Of course, like all others, I "failed" the test. Indeed, the more I did the test the more everything sounded the same. And indeed, the more I did the test the more everything sounded like s---. Such is the nature of these tests.

I then went to the studio of another former roommate from the same summer, Clark Johnsen, who had different opinions on digital. The significant difference between Clark's place and Brad's place was that the sound was better at Clark's. (In fairness, Clark's taste in music was more along my lines.) This was my exposure to the objectivist - subjectivist split.

The split had divided two old friends. Everything I had learned about scientific methodology indicated that the sound at Brad's place should be as good as at Clark's. I knew that financial considerations had never blocked Brad's choice of components. But I knew that the sound at Clark's place was more true to the music that I loved. I considered this situation to be a mystery. It had divided two old friends and I was determined to resolve it. Indeed, it provided the initial impetus for me to acquire a high end system. I wanted to find out for myself who was right. Along the way, there was a lot of musical enjoyment to be had, although the original mystery has yet to be explained.

I do not consider myself to be a subjectivist. I believe in use of objective criteria in designing, testing and using audio systems. I believe however, that these systems only exist to further the enjoyment of music, which is purely a subjective experience.

Tony Lauck

"Perception, inference and authority are the valid sources of knowledge" - P.R. Sarkar

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