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RE: A list of sonic properties "un-measurable" (or, not easily measured)?

Very good question. Clearly there are audible distortions. And though I never want to diminish the importance of quality-oriented components, what you are really alluding to are the inaudible distortions that so greatly raise the noise floor that I would attest the vast majority of music info embedded in the recording, though processed, remains inaudible below the much raised noise floor.

So severe is this problem that Robert Harley, editor-in-chief at TAS speculated in the Mar/Apr, 2009 issue, "I believe that something catastrophic occurs at the recording mic's diaphragms so that much of the music never makes it to the recording." Paraphrased.

I agree with Harley that something catastrophic is occurring so that much of the music remains inaudible but I disagree with his speculation that it's at the recording mic's and can even demonstrate that the problem is not at the recording mic's. But it's this catastrophic element that puts a serious governor on every last playback system so that in the end, every well-thought-out playback system sounds more alike than they do different. And none of them sound even remotely close to the live performance.

Even John Curl admitted a few years ago that all of his designs and others' designs too contain unknown serious deficiencies, as do their sensitive measuring instruments.


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