Audio Equipment Reviews: Should You Trust the Pros or Your Own Ears?

[admin]

Are you an audio Objectivist or Subjectivist? Many of us here probably have stories of the days when we were hi-fi 'Subjectivists'. There were days when I bought into the whole perfect sound philosophy. Several friends and I used to share our ideas and we tried everything to squeeze a little more performance from the best systems we could afford with our limited budgets. We elevated speaker wires, meticulously trimmed wires and cables to keep them separate from any other lines. We regularly cleaned all connections and spent a little more than I care to admit on interconnects. Now I know better.

Discuss "Audio Equipment Reviews: Should You Trust the Pros or Your Own Ears?" here. Read the article.

 

[sokrman14]

I definitely would say I trust my own ears, however there are then people who say that cables and wires are "snake oil", what if I actually believe I hear a difference. Are they still "snake oil"?

 

[Joe Schmoe]

How my system sounds to me is the only thing that is relevant. If someone else likes something else better, that is fine for them.

 

[Audioholics]

I definitely would say I trust my own ears, however there are then people who say that cables and wires are "snake oil", what if I actually believe I hear a difference. Are they still "snake oil"?

No, that just means that the esoteric cable is working like an EQ and is made to roll off the high-end to make it sound "warmer". Others do the opposite and aid additional "detail". Cables can certainly sound different - but only poorly-designed cables sound different from good ole 10-gauge zip cord.

 

[davidtwotrees]

My objectivism stems from economics....

Fantastic article, Wayde. You literally described my current philosophy in this hobby. Being objective, yet still having an eau de vie about my stereo and the music that comes from within. I must admit, however, that much of my objectivity comes from a purely economic standpoint. I can't afford Krell monoblocks, or Bowers and Wilken's 800 series loud speakers.
If I won a gazillion dollar lottery I would throw most of my objectivity and the Audio Critic's ten greatest lies right out the window. Names like Oppo, and Denon would be out. In would be YBA, JM Lab, Krell, and all the other stereophile brands. I would like some Nordost speaker cables.........and Aucoustic Zen interconnects. I would like to become a tube roller, and cartridge junkie..... But, ah me. I will just be DavidTwoTrees and be happy with my system and the occassional upgrade.

 

[cfrizz]

I take what reviewers say with a grain of salt knowing that the magazine they are writing in is probably also advertising whatever they are reviewing.

I let my ears decide within a certain budget about what speakers & electonics I will buy. Everything else is decided by my wallet. I won't walk out the store with a product I'm unsure about. So I know I like it.

Once everything is home & set up that's it! I'm satisfied for years. I refuse to play the need to get to the next best level of sound game.

 

[2Channel4Ever]

I think one thing that gets left out of the subjective/objective debate is what your goal or reference is. If you are principally interested in home theater, then objectivism seems to make the most sense. After all, the sound produced for movies is artificial, manipulated to the nth degree and there is no "reference" other than a theater which may or may not have any thought given to acoustics.
If, however, you are principally interested in listening to acoustic music, then there is a real reference (live orchestra, quartet, etc.) to compare against/strive towards. I live two blocks from a major symphony hall. I can go and listen to live orchestral music and then come home and realize the (many) shortcomings of my meager reproduction system. Every decision I have made regarding everything from cartridge to wall treatments have been geared towards getting closer to the magic of live acoustic instruments played beautifully.
I also think the specific equipment you are "tweaking" makes a difference. I don't have funky buddhist stones or megabuck cables (10g monoprice), but I've spent years tuning/tweaking/obsessing over my turntable setup and can honestly say the results are real and reproduceable. Could be because the LP/needle interface is so imperfect and easily manipulated (vs cd).
BTW, I've never met a subjectivist fellow vinyl freak who wasn't equally obsessed about room treatment. Sorry, I just found that line in the article weird.

 

[rynberg]

You are in the vast minority....most so called "audiophiles" haven't spent a dime on room acoustics treatments. I find it very funny to hear some go on and on about the differences between (expensive) speaker cables while listening in a room with excessive decay time, strong early reflections, high levels of background noise, etc. Funny.

There is also a big difference between claiming that one can tell amplifiers apart and then claiming that things like shakti stones, elevating cables, using green pens on CDs (or electrostatic mats!) are improving the sound.

 

[Wayde Robson]

Thanks for the positive responses on the obj v subj debate. I know it can be divisive and I hesistate to bring it up. But I think it's worth contemplating.

The most important thing is that we all love sound. Tom's initial article that got me thinking when he suggested there might be a time when you can't get a DVD player over $50.

In this era of 128bit mp3s and HD content over ultra compressed Mpeg2, I shudder to contemplate a time when all you get to choose from are HTiB or multi-thousand dollar monoblock tube amps.

 

[Tom Andry]

In this era of 128bit mp3s and HD content over ultra compressed Mpeg2, I shudder to contemplate a time when all you get to choose from are HTiB or multi-thousand dollar monoblock tube amps.

Hear hear!!!

 

[mtrycrafts]

I definitely would say I trust my own ears, however there are then people who say that cables and wires are "snake oil", what if I actually believe I hear a difference. Are they still "snake oil"?

I think you trust the ear, eye, brain interface, not the ears by themselves
The brain can and does play tricks trying to find differences no matter what.

The wires are not the snake oil here, after all, they do work, but the claims made for them that are the snakes.
The claims are not affected by what you think you hear, so the claims will remain snakes.
Your beliefs are another story. Some people will never be convinced otherwise beyond their beliefs while other can and will.

 

[jliedeka]

I hope it never comes down to a choice between HTiB and high end monoblocks. I think most of us are somewhere in the middle although I'm guessing we have members in the HTiB and high end camps.

I would guess I lean more toward the objectivist side. Not in the Ayn Rand way but I want to see objective proof. If you can't show me the difference on an oscillosope, I probably won't believe you can hear a difference.

Jim

 

[krabapple]

I don't trust reviewers ears much at all...or my own, unreservedly. I'm always aware that in sighted evaluations, I might be wrong.