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Propeller Head Plaza Technical and scientific discussion of amps, cables and other topics. |
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Propeller Head Plaza Technical and scientific discussion of amps, cables and other topics. |
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In Reply to: I question extraordinary hearing ability claims with no witnesses no matter who makes them. posted by Richard BassNut Greene on March 20, 2008 at 09:34:26:
You know, I really don't recall many folks actually claiming such a thing.
I think most audiophiles and even casual listeners recognize that certain aspects of the sound may either really "send" them or annoy them. Screechy violins are frequently mentioned in the latter category. Our hearing, preferences and tolerance really do vary. And naturally you can learn to listen carefully for certain things even clear down into the noise if you care to. Old CW hams seemed to have an almost mystical ability to hear Morse code buried in noise.
I know that you were disappointed with how your blind cable tests turned out long ago, but that really doesn't provide a general proof. For instance, I believe that interconnect cable sensitivity is largely an attribute of the equipment that it's attached to. If your equipment is relatively insensitive to variations in that link then there may be no differences to be heard, or at least not ones worth worrying about. IMHO that would be an indication of well designed gear.
As far as your statement: "A hobby that uses components designed by scientists and engineers can not be advanced by "priests"...". That is simply not true if by "priests" you mean "tweaks". It may be unlikely, but I assure you that it can and does happen, at least on an individual basis. I've had users modify stuff I've designed (not audio gear) to perform "better", and it did. At least for them. Sure the battery only lasted an hour and the output stage was on the verge of melting, but they DID get more output and higher performance by making compromises that would never be acceptable in a stock product. Audio tweakers are often willing to plump for parts whose cost/performance ratio is prohibitive for production.
And then there's the other problem: scientists and engineers aren't omniscient, just close... Yes, you want gear designed by experienced, competent engineers. But that doesn't mean it will be perfect. It's sort of like cooking, sometimes you just get an especially good turn on a design and conversely sometimes you are a little disappointed with how things turn out. But they all meet Spec.
Rick
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Follow Ups
- RE: extraordinary hearing ability claims. - rick_m 03/20/0818:47:03 03/20/08 (0)
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