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Critic's Corner Discuss a review. Provide constructive feedback. Talk to the industry. |
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Critic's Corner Discuss a review. Provide constructive feedback. Talk to the industry. |
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In Reply to: Re: "measures flat but doesn't sound flat" posted by Bruce from DC on May 12, 2006 at 15:12:02:
But as a lawyer, you know that whether one is labeled a subjectivist or obejectivist depends on how you define the words. And many elements of an electronic sound reproducing system are submissible to being completely characterized by objective measurements. Such as audio amplifiers, preamplifiers, radio tuners, and other purely electricly functioning devices. This is not my opinion, it is the conclusion based on nearly a century of theory of electrical measurements, countless thousands of electrical engineers and scientists who rely on it, and several centuries of mathematical theories which back it up. It won't yield to a relative handful of audiophiles who do not have the scientific training to seriously challenge it. And even if someone with sufficient knowledge did, it would merely mean the current practice had to be modified, not abandoned as a hopeless cause. It is for those who disagree to prove otherwise IMO but they have a very weak case. And the performance of energy transducer devices would similarly be able to be completely characterized by objective measurement...if the method of measurement was sufficiently developed to be usable. But at this time it isn't. Real research requires measurements of what parameters people can and can't hear, how well or poorly devices like loudspeakers can duplicate those parameters in real environments, and double blind tests to verify that these are in fact the only set of parameters which matter and that they are sufficiently identical to what they try to emulate. We do not have such a system...yet. That is what this thread is about, whether the current system of measurements is adequate to explain what we hear. In the case of loudspeakers, I think the answer is clearly no.Rather than perpetually swap one unsatisfactory piece of equipment for another like a cat endlessly chasing his tail, when I get something I am not happy with, I often take it apart to figure out how it works, try to figure out what I want it to do (in specific terms) and then try to figure out if there is anything I can do to modify it to perform to my satisfaction. In the case of loudspeakers, I was not happy with any of the units I bought or with those which were avialable on the market but didn't buy, After what I heard last weekend in Piscataway, I probably wouldn't be any happier with what's on the market now either. There was no equalizing my speakers to get them to sound anything like the musical instruments I owned. Have I been successful at solving this problem? For some recordings, yes to my satisfacton. That's about as much as I think I can reasonably expect. Would they be satisfactory to anyone else? I don't know and I don't care. Will I replace equipment which finally works the way I want it to because someone else says there is something out there that's better? Not a chance.
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Follow Ups
- Reproducing sound to be perceived as identical to something else is always subjective, that's what perception means - Soundmind 05/12/0616:03:52 05/12/06 (0)
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